Secondhand Epic 4G

[boocephus]

I am due for an upgrade, but I am not too thrilled about getting roped into another couple years' contract if I do. The main reason I was thinking about it is because my son really wants to ditch the Echo and inherit my Epic 4g. I could live with this phone for another year - no problem. I like this phone. I looked on Ebay and there are alot of used Epic 4gs out there that I could get for my son. Does anyone know sprint's policy on having sprint service switched to a phone I bought off ebay? If I am going to flash it back to stock anyway does the "Bad ESN" matter? Will the billing change because the Epic 4g is 4g and the Echo isn't?

The Echo does pretty much suck.

 

[ratsttam]

Two things:
1: A BAD ESN will prevent you from using it on Sprint. It's possible to flash it to a carrier like MetroPCS. Avoid a BAD ESN at all costs. The ESN is hardware, is will not matter if it's stock, or a custom rom, the ESN never changes.
2: Your billing won't change, but you will get the 10$ premium data charge for it, the same you have on your line.

 

[smashclash]

Is there really anyway to test an esn before buying?

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2

 

[tirith]

Call customer service... But other than that, no

Sent using my MoPho-King photon

 

[ratsttam]

Is there really anyway to test an esn before buying?

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2

As Tirith said, calling CS and asking them to verify it, that's all you can do. Now if you're buying from e-bay, if it says "working on sprint" and it turns out the ESN is bad, your recourse is to contact the seller to get your money back, don't leave feedback until it's verified with sprint too. If it's bad and the seller isn't responsive, Paypal is very sympathetic to your cause, and will refund your money if the seller won't do it themselves.

If you decide to go the "local seller" webpage route, using the sprint store as the meeting point works wonders. The associate acts as an escro. Seller doesn't get the money until the phone is verified clean, and can be requested to not hand over the phone to you until seller has money in hand. And being in a neutral controlled location is always a plus.