Phone advice for Ting

[chili dude96]

I want to switch to Ting but I need some help choosing phones.

First off, I take it ebay is the best place to buy Sprint phones and port them over to Ting?

Secondly, my two brothers and I all have Kyeocera Rises from Virgin Mobile. They both want smart phones that also have physical keyboards. Are there any other smart phones besides the Rise with slide out physical keyboards?

I've been looking at getting a Samsung Epic Touch 4g/SII/SIII for myself depending on where I get a good price. I'm leaning towards new.

I would like to keep all the phones around the $150 price mark, but cheaper is always better if it works.

Also, a friend told me there was a way to make Virgin Mobile phones work on Ting by using a Sprint phone as a donor phone. Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks for your help!

 

[kate]

First off, I take it ebay is the best place to buy Sprint phones and port them over to Ting?

Ebay is good, Craigslist if you want to buy local.
Ting also has some used phones on their site.

Secondly, my two brothers and I all have Kyocera Rises from Virgin Mobile. They both want smart phones that also have physical keyboards. Are there any other smart phones besides the Rise with slide out physical keyboards?

The EVO Shift 4G is another slider, Ting has used ones on their site.
You can also look through their BYOD phone list for others (but they aren't labeled as sliders).

Also, a friend told me there was a way to make Virgin Mobile phones work on Ting by using a Sprint phone as a donor phone. Can anyone confirm this?

It might be possible, but not supported. Here is a thread I found about the Kyocera Rise from Virgin Mobile, but I would just sell the VM ones and get phones you know will work correctly.

I want to switch to Ting

Feel free to use the link below in my signature to get $25 off when you sign up

 

[chili dude96]

Thanks so much Kate! It seems pretty much impossible to port over our rises unless we are willing to give up data (which we aren't.)

I can't seem to find any of those "sell your phones to us" sites that even have the kyeocera rise listed!

Also, does anyone know if this site is any good Buy and sell Sprint > Swappa or am I better off buying from a well-reviewed ebay seller?

Lastly if anyone knows a good site for buying new sprint phones off-contract, that would be appreciated.

 

[kate]

To sell your Rise I would use Craigslist, maybe Ebay.

Getting a used phone - I prefer Craigslist because it's the only way to test out the phone before buying. If you live near a Sprint store you can meet your seller at the phone store and have them verify it's not stolen. You can also check the phones ESN with Ting here.

New off contract phone - I would buy it directly from Ting if you like one of their models.

 

[chili dude96]

To sell your Rise I would use Craigslist, maybe Ebay.

Getting a used phone - I prefer Craigslist because it's the only way to test out the phone before buying. If you live near a Sprint store you can meet your seller at the phone store and have them verify it's not stolen. You can also check the phones ESN with Ting here.

New off contract phone - I would buy it directly from Ting if you like one of their models.

So do you think refurbished phones on ebay even from verified sellers might be a total crap shoot because they can lie about conditions and there is a possibility of fakes?

 

[kate]

So do you think refurbished phones on ebay even from verified sellers might be a total crap shoot because they can lie about conditions and there is a possibility of fakes?

It's always possible, but if they are certified and have a 99% positive rating you should be OK. I just prefer testing out a used phone before buying.

Ask the Ebay seller for the ESN and verify it's good before buying to be safe.

 

[Drogyn]

Use Paypal to pay for the item.
Search for "sprint phone model clean esn"
Make sure you are buying from someone with good reviews.

If for whatever reason the phone arrives and is not as described, i.e. the esn is bad and it won't activate, if the seller won't refund you Paypal will, and will then chase the seller.

I recently bought an S2 on ebay, it was in pristine condition.
If you are careful there is not too much to worry about.

 

[chili dude96]

Use Paypal to pay for the item.
Search for "sprint phone model clean esn"
Make sure you are buying from someone with good reviews.

If for whatever reason the phone arrives and is not as described, i.e. the esn is bad and it won't activate, if the seller won't refund you Paypal will, and will then chase the seller.

I recently bought an S2 on ebay, it was in pristine condition.
If you are careful there is not too much to worry about.

Do you find that most sellers are honest about condition? As in if it is rated 9/10 will it really have no marks on the screen and a few on the body?

Also my older brother is concerned that are refurbished phones going not last as long as a new phone because they have already been used for 2 years.

 

[kate]

Do you find that most sellers are honest about condition? As in if it is rated 9/10 will it really have no marks on the screen and a few on the body?

All the ones I've dealt with have been honest. If you're worried about scratches you can always ask them to send you some extra pictures of the phone.

Also my older brother is concerned that are refurbished phones going not last as long as a new phone because they have already been used for 2 years.

Factory refirbished phones are checked to make sure they meet certain specifications so they should be in good condition. When you treat the phone well it should last.

 

[Drogyn]

All the ones I've dealt with have been honest. If you're worried about scratches you can always ask them to send you some extra pictures of the phone.


Factory refirbished phones are checked to make sure they meet certain specifications so they should be in good condition. When you treat the phone well it should last.

Exactly... if there are little to no photos or they are of bad quality, look elsewhere. Ask questions, ask for additional pics of the phone and any scratches.

If you are buying a higher end phone, it should still be snappy enough to keep up with updates and apps for another couple of years (though you may eventually find you have to root it to updates the OS, but that is the eventual case for all phones)

 

[chili dude96]

So I can either get one new in "overstock packaging", which sounds a bit fishy, for 170 or I can get a "9/10" for 100, manufacturer refurbished.
Mint Samsung D710 Galaxy s II Epic 4G Touch Black Sprint 635753490350 | eBay
Samsung Galaxy s II D710 Epic S2 16GB Black Sprint Android 4G Smartphone 635753490350 | eBay
Am I better off spending the $170 for new or just going for the $100?

 

[kate]

Mint Samsung D710 Galaxy s II Epic 4G Touch Black Sprint 635753490350 | eBay

Samsung Galaxy s II D710 Epic S2 16GB Black Sprint Android 4G Smartphone 635753490350 | eBay
Am I better off spending the $170 for new or just going for the $100?

The $100 phone is manufacturer refurbished and from a top seller so it should be fine.

 

[Drogyn]

^^ What Kate said

 

[chili dude96]

Ok. One last question.

So it seems that a Epic Touch 4G is the phone for me and my brothers are looking at getting the Motorola Photon Q. My mom decided today that she wants her very first smartphone. I went to a store and she said the Samsung Nexus' 4.65 inch screen was way too big and she liked the Motorola Photon's 4.3 inch screen.

However, it seems unless I do a bunch of work the Photon will be on 2.3. Are there any good phones in the 4 to 4.3 inch screen range that would be good for her. She doesn't need super speed or anything, the most important for her would be ease of use and reliability. Also nothing too heavy, she preferred the lighter weight phones. All she would do is call, text, and check email. A decent camera might be a plus for her as well.

Thanks so much guys. And Kate, I will definitely be using your Ting code as thanks!

 

[Drogyn]

Is the S2 Epic Touch 4G out of the question for her? It has a 4.3 inch screen...

 

[chili dude96]

Is the S2 Epic Touch 4G out of the question for her? It has a 4.3 inch screen...

It is actually a 4.5 inch screen, so yes. I'm thinking about the samsung galaxy victory, thats 4.0 inches.

 

[kate]

I'm thinking about the samsung galaxy victory, thats 4.0 inches.

The Galaxy Victory would be a good choice. If she wants a slider she could get the LG Mach - it has a 4.0 inch screen, but it's heavier.

 

[chili dude96]

So apparently after a fair amount of research there is some 4g LTE in cleveland and more should be coming soon. So it looks like the Epic Touch is a no go for me. I'll probably end up with a photon q. Any suggests for a non-keyboard lte phone around the same specs?

 

[kate]

So apparently after a fair amount of research there is some 4g LTE in cleveland and more should be coming soon. So it looks like the Epic Touch is a no go for me. I'll probably end up with a photon q. Any suggests for a non-keyboard lte phone around the same specs?

Two good phones:
Galaxy S3 (L710).
Galaxy Nexus (L700).

 

[sheureka]

I've bought two phones from Buy and Sell Used Mobile Phones and Tablets > Swappa - and have been very happy with both the selection and the process. It's worth checking out.

 

[jae_63]

I made a similar move recently, from an Optimus Slider phone on VM to a Photon Q Slider on Ting. I bought my used phone on Amazon, and subsequently bought my wife an used iPhone 4s for Ting, also from Amazon. All of this has worked out very well, and I like my Photon Q Slider very much.

 

[chili dude96]

So my mom has decided that she really likes my dad's iphone 5 because it is very thin and also very rectangular. She doesn't like the more square screens because they are harder for her to reach her thumb across the screen.

Any suggestions for an android that has a similar shape to the iphone 5 in that it would be thing and rectangular?

 

[kate]

If she likes the iPhone, Ting can take an iPhone 4S or iPhone 4 from Sprint.

The Samsung Nexus S is pretty close in size and can be brought to Ting. You can buy it on the Ting Used Phones page, or find Sprint versions on Ebay.

4.88 x 2.48 x 0.43 in - Samsung Nexus S (model D720)
4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 in - iPhone 5

 

[sisu]

I just bought a used HTC EVO 4G LTE from ebay for a good price. I think it is a great upgrade from my previous phone, the EVO 3D.

 

[chili dude96]

I just got my S3. Should I update to 4.3 and get stuck with knox or get a custom rom?