did you read the OP? he went to best buy when he bought his phone. that makes all the difference in the world.
if your wife is truly having issues with her hero keep squeaky wheeling sprint, tell them you may cancel service if they don't do right by you and get a different phone in her hands. eventually they'll do the right thing.
with me they allowed me a 9 month early upgrade to an evo, i still paid the upgrade price, but god was it good to get rid of that hero.
also take the phone to the sprint store when you want a replacement, they sent me at least one refurbed hero free of charge. it didn't help, the phone sucks plain and simple, but if you want to give it a try, that's the cheapest way to refurb hell.
now of course you'll get people telling you the hero is awesome, but we know the truth