Sprint exchange/warranty work on phone purchased from 3rd party?

[Stearmandriver]

Hi,

I currently have an Epic 4g, and I'm thinking about the Epic Touch. I love the look of it, the features, the specs, now it's rootable, and it looks like it's getting *mostly* positive reviews on here. I'm seeing reports of a few bugs though, notably the signal strength issue.

So here's the question: I've never bought a phone anywhere but a Sprint store. If I do this, I'll be grabbing one from Wirefly or Anything4Wireless because I'm not even close to being eligible for my one year upgrade yet. Phones seem to be NOT easy to return to these places. Soo... what kind of manufacturer/Sprint support can I expect for issues with the phone? If I have issues, can I walk into a Sprint store and get it fixed? I know I'll still have manufacturer warranty (right?), but will Sprint do an in-store replacement or will it be a mail-it-back-to-Samsung-and-wait kind of thing? I'll definitely still carry TEP and I assume that will be unchanged, regardless of where I buy the phone?

Thanks for any insight...
Joe

 

[sndplace]

Re: Sprint exchange/warranty work on phone purchased from 3rd par

I believe with the TEP they would help and replace it for you. If you need to return your phone for a refund then no. When i have had problems with phones in the past i don't recall them asking me if i bought the phone somewhere else. Question, why wouldn't you buy it from the Sprint store since your buying it out right? They have it cheaper at full price no?

 

[Acestout]

Re: Sprint exchange/warranty work on phone purchased from 3rd par

Apparently not in the first 30 days or whatever the 3rd party return period is. My Epic touch had a camera issue that made a loud high pitched noise when active, Even with my TEP they could do nothing for me till after the 30 day period, and even then he warned me that it would most likely be a refurbished model.

I wish I had just bit the bullet and bought it at a Sprint store...I would have a phone RIGHT NOW but instead im phoneless till sometime next week when I get my exchange, they claim by friday. Learn from my mistake, buy it at the sprint store or somewhere that you can physically get to and deal with if the need should arise.

 

[JayWill]

Re: Sprint exchange/warranty work on phone purchased from 3rd par

So here's the question: I've never bought a phone anywhere but a Sprint store. If I do this, I'll be grabbing one from Wirefly or Anything4Wireless because I'm not even close to being eligible for my one year upgrade yet.

I'm not sure I understand what you're planning to do. Are you going to cancel your existing line, pay the ETF and sign up for a new line through one of these online retailers?

 

[Stearmandriver]

Re: Sprint exchange/warranty work on phone purchased from 3rd par

Well no.. I'd be buying the phone outright to put on an existing line. Pretty pricey so I'm looking to save what I can by buying 3rd party. Not sure if it's worth it though, if it affects my ability to get issues resolved in a store.

 

[JayWill]

Re: Sprint exchange/warranty work on phone purchased from 3rd par

I think you'd be hard pressed to find an off-contract retail price cheaper than Sprint's $499 price anyways.

 

[Stearmandriver]

Re: Sprint exchange/warranty work on phone purchased from 3rd par

Looks like you are correct, my apologies. I was just glancing around and was seeing the Sprint price at $529 (including the activation fee), and I found the phone at Anything4Wireless (or something) for like $479, WITHOUT activation fee.

I still didn't think that $50 would be worth giving up easy walk-into-a-store warranty support, but considering, in reality, by the time you factor in the $29.99 activation fee, and the shipping, going 3rd party doesn't save you much at all... yeah, think I'll just stick with Sprint lol. Thanks for putting me back on track.

 

[NxTech3]

Re: Sprint exchange/warranty work on phone purchased from 3rd par

if youre buying it outright there isnt an activation fee

 

[tkemack]

if youre buying it outright there isnt an activation fee

That is untrue. Also, the activation fee is $36 bumped up from $18 recently

Sent from a pocket-sized computer that also makes calls

 

[Boggs3010]

Re: Sprint exchange/warranty work on phone purchased from 3rd par

Sprint store sell the phone for 499.99 If you buy it brand new unopened never activated. You WILL pay 36.00 to activate regardless where you purchased the phone. SPRINT !! will charge you this regardless of where you purchased it. Better off at a Sprint store.

 

[mrmexican87]

Re: Sprint exchange/warranty work on phone purchased from 3rd par

Not sure if this is an option for you (or how it will work with TEP) but I managed to find a brand new E4GT on Craigslist for $375. Brand new, sealed phone. Activated with no fees.

I liked not having the contract extension. Trying to sell my evo for a good price with a bunch of accessories too to offset cost.