Repair Possible?

[Lord_MiL]

Well, I appear to be in a pickle.

My wife and I both got E4GTs on launch day and declined the TEP figuring that we are careful with our phones and when you consider that the TEP would be $200 / year for the two of us, if anything did happen, we'd probably break even or come out ahead just paying for a repair out of pocket (typical extended warranty thinking).

So, this morning while celebrating Christmas with extended family there was an accident and the screen on my wife's E4GT is badly cracked and will no longer turn on. The phone still rings when receiving calls, but without a screen, it isn't much use.

I contacted Sprint and they told me that they cannot repair E4GTs - the only thing they can do is replace them and since we don't have TEP, we'd have to pay the full $500 retail. I also contacted Samsung and am waiting for a response.

1) I've never had a non-GSM phone before - how do I go about getting and activating a "burner" for my wife to use until we get her phone sorted out?

2) Does anyone know if Samsung does repairs? I can't imagine they don't, but then again I thought Sprint did repairs, too. Assuming Samsung does repairs, any idea on what this might cost? I've seen guides on DIY phone repair, but I think I'd prefer to have someone official do it if I can.

Does anybody have any advice or suggestions on the best course of action in this situation? Thanks.

 

[AZwldcats]

You can switch phones online anytime at by following the instructions at https://www.sprint.com/en/support/solutions/device/activate-your-new-phone.html
Just make sure the phone you get has a clean ESN if you are buying it off of eBay/Craigslist etc.

 

[srkmagnus]

As AZ said you can take any phone, with a clean/clear ESN, and activate it on the account until you get the Epic 4g Touch replaced or repaired.

FYI, you can search the web for a replacement screen. I did a quick search and came up with a few sites that offer services or parts. As always, use good practice when purchasing a product online and do your homework on the retailer.

Hopefully you can get things sorted out soon

 

[Mikey47]

That sucks! But I will tell you that TEP is worth it while you can't replace your phone for less than about $200.

Just like cars, sometimes accidents happen and your phone gets "totaled". It's a hard lesson to learn. Good luck with getting it fixed!

 

[Lord_MiL]

Thanks all for the replies, lots of good info! I also appreciate the well wishes. Fortunately, the shock has worn off now

I had searched around a bit but didn't find anywhere to get replacement parts or repairs for the E4GT, all my searches just turned up info on the E4G (original Galaxy S), so I was getting a little concerned. However, Samsung did get back to me this morning and said they can do repairs, so I think we'll likely go that route. While I love tinkering with electronics and would prefer to just buy parts and do the repair myself, my wife doesn't appear to have the same level of confidence - I suppose I can understand that given that this is a nearly new $500 phone

I'm looking around on ebay / craigslist for a super cheap phone to activate for her in the meantime. Does anyone know of any better places than these two? I've found a few for a decent price, but since this is just a stop-gap, I'm looking for rock bottom but from a place I can trust.

Based on the outcome of getting this phone repaired, I'll definitely reconsider the TEP when we get our next phones (in 2 years!) I'm sure if we had gone with it, nothing would have ever happened to our phones!

 

[IAmSixNine]

Lord_Mil contact me off list i may be able to help.

 

[srkmagnus]

Based on the outcome of getting this phone repaired, I'll definitely reconsider the TEP when we get our next phones (in 2 years!) I'm sure if we had gone with it, nothing would have ever happened to our phones!

Can't you get insurance for the device now? I thought it could be added at anytime, but can't be used until a period after the insurance has been added to the accounts.

 

[IAmSixNine]

You have a 30 day window after getting a device added to an account to add insurance. After that you can not.
ONLY if you replace a device, like doing an ESN swap or any change to the rate plan on the account can you add insurance.

This was put into place a while back to prevent people from adding it after they broke a device.

 

[srkmagnus]

Ah, ok. That makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[dj2big]

The best thing to do put your insurance money into your bank account every month and insure the phones yourself

 

[IAmSixNine]

FYI, Lord_Mil in the same forum, theres a guy who has an Epic Touch that has a restricted ESN.
maybe the two of you can work out an agreement to buy his phone for parts.
just a thought..
If you need a 3rd party intermediary or repair center let me know. with your phone and his phone i should be able to fix yours..
oops hope the mods dont consider that advertising. LOL
ITS NOT just trying to help a fellow Epic Touch user out.

 

[tndank]

If you bought a working bad-esn unit, you could just swap the board between the two. Popping off the back and disconnecting a few cables isn't hard at all. The board is fairly small. You pull the cables, remove the board, place it in bad-esn unit and connect the cables. Start with the bad-esn phone/board first since it's already bad in case something happens.

The hardest part you'll have is removing the back. After removing the screws, you have to pry the back off. To be honest, the first few times you do this on most Samsung phones, you'll think you're going to break it.

 

[oversteer325]

You could also try a 3rd party store that is an authorized Sprint repair center. A lot of times they are willing to do repairs that Sprint doesn't "officially" want to do. To find one use the Sprint store locator tool on their website and search for repair center and find one that has a name like Sprint Store by XXXXX instead of just Sprint Store.

 

[Mikey47]

The best thing to do put your insurance money into your bank account every month and insure the phones yourself

So, they would have a grand total of $42 in that bank account now -- how will that offset the price of a $500 phone?