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Phone broken
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__BANNED USERS regular
__BANNED USERS regular
Hey, I have a Sanyo S1 on a Sprint plan and it doesn't work. I had assumed that the battery was dead, but replacing it didn't fix the problem so I'm in the market to replace it. I had thought about purchasing a phone on ebay to replace it, but I am unsure as to how to add that phone onto my plan as I'd really like to keep it and my number. Any help would be appreciated.
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check if Sprint has that option (I'd be surprised if it didn't).
GSM networks (like AT&T, T-Mobile, etc)keep track of phones by using SIM cards. You can just pull your SIM out of one AT&T phone and put it into another, and you're good to go.
CDMA networks (Sprint and Verizon are the only CDMA networks in the US, prepaid carriers like Cricket or i-Wireless pull from their towers) keep track of their phones by using an ESN, or Electronic Serial Number. This is an individual number that all cell phones have.
Verizon lets you do what is called an "ESN Swap" over the phone, all you have to do is dial *228 and select option 3, then enter your phone number and either the billing password or the last four of your SSN.
Sprint requires that you call either their 800 number, or a store (or you can stop in).
Whenever you buy a used Sprint or Verizon phone, before you give the person money, call a store and ask them to do an ESN check. This will make sure that the phone's ESN is not on the lost/stolen list (if your phone is lost or stolen, you can have the ESN added to the list and it will never be usable again, until you remove it). Do not give anyone money who tries to get you to not do an ESN check.
Changing phones of the same model will have no impact on your plan, contract date, phone number, or anything like that. THe only time a portion of your plan might change is if the new phone was a smartphone and you wanted a data feature, or some phone-specific stuff (like Sprint TV).
The Sanyo S1 is a terrible phone, so maybe this is a good thing for you if you end up getting a nicer one. That said, I may have a spare S1 from when I was with Sprint. If I can find it, you can have it for the cost of shipping.