Mobile Phones & Broadband

[i_am_RGB]

Same old story here.

I need a new phone, but I am only 1 year into my current 2-year contract.

I have no issue resigning/extending my 2-year contract with Sprint.

I look on Best Buy's site (it is my understanding it is a different company that runs that?)...

The mobile checker says my phone is eligible for an upgrade.

I pick out what I want, and the plan, but it says the phone is free "after instant discount with 2-YR extension"

Is this discount only applicable for people OUT of their 2-year contract, or does it apply to those still in the 2-years, willing to resign/extend as well?  I just found it odd that the phone would be free, as the mobile check refers to something called "early upgrade pricing" and "full upgrade".

What are the differences, when do they apply, and how am I supposed to know what price i'm actually paying?

I'd hate to order the phone online, only for Sprint to turn around and tell me something like "Sorry, you weren't technically eligible for such and such price on the phone, so we can't activate it blah blah"....been with Sprint for almost 10 years so I've heard it all.

My concern it from the fact that on Sprint's site, there are 2 upgrade prices as well, or discounts. $75 and $150.  At one year, I only qualify for $75 but can still upgrade.  From reading other posts on here, it came across that some people could not do an upgrade at 1 year? Is this true or did I miss something?

Also, are some upgrade only able to be done in-store versus online?

Sorry to cram so much into here, but again, I could not get a clear-cut, straight answer from people at the Best Buy near my house, nor did they seem too interested in taking the time to help me understand.  It almost makes me want to pay the massive difference in price for the convenience. hm..

[i_am_RGB]

oh yeah & slight problem as well.  Sprint requires a home phone number to process the order online.  We do not have a home phone number. We never used it, so we cancelled it years ago. 

[derrick_ · Accepted solution]

rgb,

if you are eligible for an early or regular upgrade with sprint, you receive the two year upgrade price listed on the tag in store. we do not worry about the discount dollar values, as they are a little wonky in the first place. $150 off a $600 phone isn't really $199, etc. ;]

hope this helps

[i_am_RGB]

awesome! good to hear.

as my phone is in a steady decline of:

deleting contacts at random...same with texts that aren't locked. not holding battery power...shutting off when it wants even though its charged. lol.  obviously it must be put out of its misery.

oddly enough, i know 5 other people with the same model phone, and they've all experience similar issues (currently have LG Rumor)

let's just say the past decade of cell phones i've gone through have been duds.

and i'm one of those people that is crazy protective of my cells/small electronics...

so i'm not sure why i've gotten the lemons all these years.  oh well. so it goes.

thanks again! i'll be going by BB there tomorrow hopefully to replace this darn thing without spending 275 bucks at sprint XD

[derrick_]

that sucks, heh.

just so you know, issues like that are covered in the black tie protection for mobile phones :]

[i_am_RGB]

interesting.  what exactly is that?

haven't heard that particular "term" before so i'm intrigued.

here's another odd stroke of luck.

every time i purchase insurance or extended warranties, i never have to make use of them. its all good.

when i don't, bam, problem.  knowing my luck with phones, i just hated the idea of adding 5 bucks a month to my bill. as how they work, they give you the same phone, or if its not available, the next version of it at some cost. but man, if i had so many problems with a particular model, why in the world would i want the same one, especially if others are experiencing the same issues.

name a brand of phone, i've probably had one at some point.  short of blackberries and palms (which i have no real use for)

i don't buy things with features i know i won't use, seems a bit of a waste.  email/web...i pay TWC for that business. lol. music, i have too many devices for that as well.

as a side note, apparently the Katana II and LG Rumors are unable to send or receive picture mail with Sprint.  When inquiring about this issue, they said they have a technician "working on the service tower"....for a year...*cough* yeah right.  It's a part of my cell package and i can't even use it. boo on Sprint.  but like I said, i've looked around, and i'm not really happy with other providers, so i'm taking the bad with the good and sticking with what i know.  Plus, where I work, Sprint gives me a 20% discount, all other carriers are only 10% so why change

[derrick_]

the black tie protection covers accidental damage (drops, spills, etc.), the battery, normal wear, defects, power surges, etc. as well as a no lemon policy similar to the other GSBTP's available (laptops, tvs, consoles, etc.) where if the product is found defective 4 times, you get to pick out a similar one (feature wise) off the floor.

also, there is no deductible, nor a limit on how many times we will repair the phone.

[i_am_RGB]

hmm...

i'm familiar with all that sort of thing.  what kind of cost is involved off-hand..?  not looking for specific numbers, and i won't quote ya on it (hah), just curious as to what i'm looking at here.

thanks again for all the info too, i really appreciate it.

[derrick_]

7 or 10 dollars a month, depending on the retail price of the phone.

[Nokia]

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derrick_ wrote:

rgb,

if you are eligible for an early or regular upgrade with sprint, you receive the two year upgrade price listed on the tag in store. we do not worry about the discount dollar values, as they are a little wonky in the first place. $150 off a $600 phone isn't really $199, etc. ;]

hope this helps

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Unfortunately, this is incorrect. If you are only eligible for the $75 rebate, which would be the early upgrade, then you will pay a much higher price for the phone. Off the top of my head, I believe the cheapest phone is $200.