Can they tell?

[NYdroid33]

When you walk into Sprint can they tell if your phone was bought from them?

I buy a lot of my phones off eBay because I feel like the prices are much better and I dont think Sprints upgrade scale is anything special.

Anyway, if I went there for problems with my Moment would they say well you didnt buy this from us? I dont go to Sprint often because with hardware glitches, you get more information on these forums than talking to even the best repair center tech but I heard with a little arguing you can get them to give you a new battery if your battery sucks.

Think I can go in there and if my battery proves to be terrible get them to give me a new battery? Its worth a shot to me as long as I dont look like the person trying to bring my eBay phone in for help haha

 

[RiverOfIce]

Short answer, yes they can tell, no they will not help you. If it has been activated before, aka used. You probably did not get insurance, which means they will not service or cover your phone if it has been activated before. Sorry, one of the many reasons not to use ebay for anything. But to be clear, if it used. If the phone stops working, samsung or sprint will help you. It is a used phone, as far as they know. If you bought it new, it was not activated before, then you stand a chance. But once it was activated before and you dont get insurance, they have no reason to help you. They could decide to help you out of the bottom of their hearts, but I would not count on it.

 

[FreakyLocz14]

You can place insurance on a phone that was purchased from EBay, btw. You just need to do so within 30 days of activating it on your account. I got my old EVO form EBay and I was able to add TEP with no problem.

 

[jen8112]

Short answer, yes they can tell, no they will not help you. If it has been activated before, aka used. You probably did not get insurance, which means they will not service or cover your phone if it has been activated before. Sorry, one of the many reasons not to use ebay for anything. But to be clear, if it used. If the phone stops working, samsung or sprint will help you. It is a used phone, as far as they know. If you bought it new, it was not activated before, then you stand a chance. But once it was activated before and you dont get insurance, they have no reason to help you. They could decide to help you out of the bottom of their hearts, but I would not count on it.

This is completely wrong. No, they can not tell, or don't care. I suggest to everyone to get insurance when you first activate your Sprint account, or when you get an upgrade, because once you do your golden. I got a Moment last year on my annual upgrade. After 2 months I decided I hated it, sold it on ebay and bought a Blackberry on ebay. After a couple of months my BB started acting up, shutting off randomly, and I called Sprint and they sent me a new phone, not through insurance. I have also had many phones replaced through insurance that were bought on ebay. I probably buy 3-4 phones a year, 1 as my upgrade and a few more on ebay. My point, as long as you have insurance you will be fine!

 

[jen8112]

You can place insurance on a phone that was purchased from EBay, btw. You just need to do so within 30 days of activating it on your account. I got my old EVO form EBay and I was able to add TEP with no problem.

This is true but only if you are signing a new contract. I didn't get insurance on my sons phone, yes dumb, and when I bought a new phone on ebay they would not add insurance to it. When it comes time for his upgrade, another year and a half, then I can add insurance to it.

 

[RiverOfIce]

Please read what is typed before you call people wrong. I said he probably did not get insurance. With insurance you are ok, with out it, they will only help you if they have nothing better to do. Used phone with insurance, they will try to help. Used phone without insurance, they may or may not try to help. And about them telling if it is used, yes they can. They can tell it has been used, who owned it, how long, where they bought it from, and how much. All cdma phones have an esn, once you activate that esn, they keep a permanent record of that device, required by law.

 

[FreakyLocz14]

This is true but only if you are signing a new contract. I didn't get insurance on my sons phone, yes dumb, and when I bought a new phone on ebay they would not add insurance to it. When it comes time for his upgrade, another year and a half, then I can add insurance to it.

I didn't take out a contract since I paid close to full retail for my EVO, but I was still able to add TEP to my plan.

 

[jen8112]

Please read what is typed before you call people wrong. I said he probably did not get insurance. With insurance you are ok, with out it, they will only help you if they have nothing better to do. Used phone with insurance, they will try to help. Used phone without insurance, they may or may not try to help. And about them telling if it is used, yes they can. They can tell it has been used, who owned it, how long, where they bought it from, and how much. All cdma phones have an esn, once you activate that esn, they keep a permanent record of that device, required by law.

Sorry, didn't get the part you said about insurance. I guess it would help if we knew if they had insurance or not. If they do, they will be fine. If they don't Sprint will not help them. Doesn't matter if it's a phone you bought at Sprint or ebay.

 

[jen8112]

I didn't take out a contract since I paid close to full retail for my EVO, but I was still able to add TEP to my plan.

I've tried a few times and they said no.

 

[FreakyLocz14]

I've tried a few times and they said no.

Mine was purchased at full retail, but it was also new.

 

[K-Rizzle]

Sprint told me I was able to add insurance to a phone I bought on craigslist, without renewing my contract, as long as it was within 30 days of me activating it. I ended up forgetting before the 30 days were up though.

Also, that same (bought on craigslist) phone's screen (without insurance) died on me and since it was within the 30 days since I activated it, Sprint store gave me a new one.

 

[silencer271]

This is completely wrong. No, they can not tell, or don't care. I suggest to everyone to get insurance when you first activate your Sprint account, or when you get an upgrade, because once you do your golden. I got a Moment last year on my annual upgrade. After 2 months I decided I hated it, sold it on ebay and bought a Blackberry on ebay. After a couple of months my BB started acting up, shutting off randomly, and I called Sprint and they sent me a new phone, not through insurance. I have also had many phones replaced through insurance that were bought on ebay. I probably buy 3-4 phones a year, 1 as my upgrade and a few more on ebay. My point, as long as you have insurance you will be fine!

they can tell... I can look in CSM and see where the phone was purchased, when it was orginally activated and such by the ESN or MEID DEC. Not hard to do. Just get insruance on your phone when you first activate and your fine. Now they cant tell its from ebay but can tell what company sold the phone orginally and if its been activated or not . But they really dont care on activation which of course means you can activate a broke phone to get a replacement if you want.

 

[RiverOfIce]

Also, that same (bought on craigslist) phone's screen (without insurance) died on me and since it was within the 30 days since I activated it, Sprint store gave me a new one.

Was the phone use or new, activated before or not?

 

[K-Rizzle]

Was the phone use or new, activated before or not?

It had been activated previously and used by the person who sold it to me, they only got rid of it because they upgraded to the evo.