Develop Bugs

Question about Phone Swapping on Account

Repost from the Official Preorder Thread:
I was 2nd at the Shack in the Boca Raton, FL Town Center Mall. To make it the upgrade work I had to upgrade another phone on my plan with the Evo, but I am hoping that once I have the hardware, I should be easily able to switch it to my phone with Sprint Customer Care.
I've been a Sprint customer for 12 years or so, and never had an issue with that before. The guys at Shack said they'd do the upgrade on the phone that's available, but don't count on the switch since the phone is still new. Is this a possible problem??
I already did the order, so the phone is mine....but it would suck to have to use another number, or wait to move my Evo to my phone number at a later date.

Can you ask them to not activate it? I'm in the same boat, but I ordered at Best Buy.

That's something that would be asked on Launch Day, but I'm kinda looking for some Sprint CSRs who troll these forums who may have some information. I think the guys at Shack were just being douches (you don't know douchebags like South Florida douchebags), but I could be screwed over somehow.

I asked the sprint customer support this and best buy. Sprint said no problem I can do it online with the ESN swap tool. Best buy just said bring all the phones and they will do it for me without charging the activation charges. I would ask at your best buy, if they wont you CAN do it online with the esn swap. You just have to make sure you move the other account off the evo onto a third phone before you try to swap to it.

Gracias sir. Explain the whole swap thing for me? I can't visualize what you are explaining.

I did the same thing the day the Moment came out. I bought the Moment at Best Buy. They activated it on a line I don't use (with the valid upgrade). I took it home and switched it (via Sprint's online tool) onto the line that I wanted to use it on. Then I put the old phone back on the upgraded line. No problem doing this at all.

Thanks, I figured they were just trying to **** with me to make sure I didn't give them **** somehow. I will be doing this on the 4th!

Fadakar said:
Can you ask them to not activate it? I'm in the same boat, but I ordered at Best Buy.
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They will have to activate it at the shack for you to get your discount. And they weren't being douches, it is possible to get sprint to switch the devices for you once they are activated, but they don't have to do it if the phone hasn't been on the line for 30 days. So they gave the official CYA answer.

pwabbit hit it almost spot on. You will require 3 phones to do this. You will need to take the old phone, well call it flip (the line you are upgrading in to the store) they will upgrade it to the evo, you then go home and log in to sprint.com. Once logged in as the primary user, go to my account. Scroll down and you will see devices at the bottom (a list of them all). Next to the evo you just activated hover over i want to... and you will see activate a new phone. This will take you to the ESN swap screen, here you will transfer the line from the evo back to the flip. By doing this no line will be active on the evo. Then you will go back to the my accounts screen and next to your current phone (inmy case the hero) you will select i want to... and choose activate a phone. Here you can ESN swap to the evo. This makes the hero have no line activated on it. Finally you can go back to the my accounts screen and next to flip phonje select I want to... and activate a device, you can now ESN swap it to the hero. Now everyone has an adroid phone...enjoy.
Cliff Notes:
Login to sprint.com
under my accounts look for the deives list, in the i want to menu next to the phone (not the sidebar) there is an activate phone option. Use this to move the line on the evo to an extra phone, then move your line to the evo. This will require a minimum of two esn swaps.
any questions ? there will be a test on this

Ok sweet. It looks like I'll only need 2 phones though. My mom is planning on keeping her BlackBerry, and my Hero will be sent to a fellow XDA member who was interested in it. Very excited.

I have done this probobly 6 times already
As long as one line on your account that is eligable for an upgrade, they will take care of it.
Just tell them what number you would like to use, and they will update it, but you have to physically have the phone that has the number that is eligable for an upgrade with you.
So make sure if you are using a family members phone for an upgrade, you bring the phone with you.
As advanced as our technology is, they still have to program the number and then switch it to the your phone. If you are on a family plan you should not need to do this.

Here's my situation:
I have two lines on my account: one is my Hero which is not eligible for an upgrade until October. However, my other line is an Airave (courtesy of Sprint) that is eligible as of May first of this year.
Do you think I can use the Airave line's upgrade credit to get the EVO? Biggest thing I'm worried about is losing the free airave service ($5/month) and equipment I'm currently getting courtesy of Sprint.

pwc realtor said:
Here's my situation:
I have two lines on my account: one is my Hero which is not eligible for an upgrade until October. However, my other line is an Airave (courtesy of Sprint) that is eligible as of May first of this year.
Do you think I can use the Airave line's upgrade credit to get the EVO? Biggest thing I'm worried about is losing the free airave service ($5/month) and equipment I'm currently getting courtesy of Sprint.
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I would recommend contacting them to ask. Worst they can say is no. Which in my opinion is probablly how it will go. I too have an airrave but I have not tried to upgrade it, so really im not 100% sure.
Best of luck to you, I prefer online chat so you can have a transcript of the conversation.

vandersmissenc said:
I would recommend contacting them to ask. Worst they can say is no. Which in my opinion is probablly how it will go. I too have an airrave but I have not tried to upgrade it, so really im not 100% sure.
Best of luck to you, I prefer online chat so you can have a transcript of the conversation.
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I may drop by my local Best Buy tomorrow. I already talked to Sprint and they said they could do the upgrade but the mail-in-rebate would fail if the new phone was swapped to another line. since Best Buy doens't do mail in rebates and I've heard tey've been able to finanngle this hey its worth the shot.

pwc realtor said:
I may drop by my local Best Buy tomorrow. I already talked to Sprint and they said they could do the upgrade but the mail-in-rebate would fail if the new phone was swapped to another line. since Best Buy doens't do mail in rebates and I've heard tey've been able to finanngle this hey its worth the shot.
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I completely agree, if you don't try we wont know for future reference. Let us know how it goes.

The story behind it: The Shack will activate it for you, BUT the reason they won't switch the line is that it messes up the automated system that passes on the carrier kick-back to the shack, therefore if you switch the line, the shack does NOT get paid for the $700 phone you just bought. Under the hood, the shack pays right near 'no contract' value for the phone, relying on the carrier kick-back which comes about 90 days after activation to compensate them for the inital sale at a loss. That's why they can do no mail-in rebates, they just absorb the cost initially.

Fird said:
The story behind it: The Shack will activate it for you, BUT the reason they won't switch the line is that it messes up the automated system that passes on the carrier kick-back to the shack, therefore if you switch the line, the shack does NOT get paid for the $700 phone you just bought. Under the hood, the shack pays right near 'no contract' value for the phone, relying on the carrier kick-back which comes about 90 days after activation to compensate them for the inital sale at a loss. That's why they can do no mail-in rebates, they just absorb the cost initially.
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That makes sense. Does that mean if you take it home and do the ESN swap they don't get a kick back ? That would make me feel bad....I would still do it ....any ideas on that ?

I'm not certain on that one, but I think that it might.. I suspect they just look up the ESN numbers from (90 days ago) each business day and match them with tickets sold. no match, no $$.

vandersmissenc said:
That makes sense. Does that mean if you take it home and do the ESN swap they don't get a kick back ? That would make me feel bad....I would still do it ....any ideas on that ?
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Yes it does. While it's convenient for you, it takes money out of our pockets

I went to the local shack today being in the same situation. My Pre is still under contract but my wifes diamond is not. The sales person said no problem, they would put my wifes phone on the new contract and activate the evo to my number. He didn't mention bringing my wifes phone, but after reading these post, I will take it just incase.

Transferring numbers, and getting charged full price

So... my wife has been hating her Samsung Moment.
I have an EVO that I got on day one, but for some reason my account was tagged as eligible for an upgrade. This weekend, after chatting with sprint online who said I could get a new phone for my line, activate it, then switch it to her and switch back to my EVO.
So I bought her an Epic through Radioshack who was selling them cheap. It came in today, and says that they MAY charge me $300 if I switch the phone to another line after activating it, due to sprint reporting it as being deactivated.
Has anyone had any experience with this and Sprint before? I'd really rather not pay another $300, when I thought this wasn't going to be an issue.

never had any troubles like this

CheesyNutz said:
never had any troubles like this
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Does that mean you have done what im trying to do and not had an issue?
Ie, buy a phone using one lines upgrade, activate, then transfer numbers back around?

To get the upgrade price, and/or the rebates, you need to keep it on the line for 30 days I believe. It may be 60 days, I'm not positive. But they do this for exactly this situation, so people cant use their update and immediately give it to another line.

Return the phone to RS so they can reverse your upgrade if you're worried about the fee. Call Sprint and see if they can give you a good price on the phone. You always have to read the fine print on those 3rd party vendors.

Never had issues like that. I have used my girls upgrade and activated the phone directly on to whatever line I wanted without ever having it on the eligable upgrade line. Done this several times, never a problem. Also, sometimes Sprint will do your mail in rebate for you instantly if you call in, as long as ur a premier member. Its nice not waiting for that check.
Hey... I think this thing makes phone calls too!

JTNiggle said:
Never had issues like that. I have used my girls upgrade and activated the phone directly on to whatever line I wanted without ever having it on the eligable upgrade line. Done this several times, never a problem.
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Through which vendor though, sprint directly? Or a reseller like Best Buy/Radioshack?

massivebasset said:
Through which vendor though, sprint directly? Or a reseller like Best Buy/Radioshack?
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The first time, I ordered the phone from Sprint online with an upgrade from my fathers line, which I provide to him, and activated it on my line. That's the only way I was able to afford getting the Evo on launch.
Second time, I ordered an Evo from Wirefly using my upgrade and activated it on my girls line.
Third time, I ordered from Sprint online again for my friend who's on my family plan, and activated on his girls line. I have a maxed out family plan to save cash, communism rocks and so does unlimited mobile to mobile!
On all three of these, Sprint gave me zero trouble. On the two ordered directly from Sprint, they did my rebate instantly and applied the credit to my account. Also, on all three occasions I called Sprint directly to activate. I know you can do it online, but I find that you can get more out of it if you call in or go to the store. Case in point, instant rebate goodness.

Well, I did this same thing when I got the evo on launch day......used my wifes upgrade,from radioshack and within ten minutes of that purchase I switched the phone to my line and put wife blackberry back on her line,all while inside radioshack.....
hope this help.
sent from a terminal in the nightlands...........

I just did this, back when the evo came out, I used my wife's upgrade and transferred it to my line (done at the sprint store). In December, my line was eligible for an upgrade, so I used that upgrade to get my wife an evo (done at radio shack). They did all the switching right at the store. No problems and no extra charges.

javamaddie said:
I just did this, back when the evo came out, I used my wife's upgrade and transferred it to my line (done at the sprint store). In December, my line was eligible for an upgrade, so I used that upgrade to get my wife an evo (done at radio shack). They did all the switching right at the store. No problems and no extra charges.
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I did the exact same thing as above but did it all at Wal-Mart as it was the only place around that had the phone in stock. I used my wifes upgrade to get the evo, and they switched the numbers around within 5 minutes.

Thanks for all the responses. I ended up getting scared of Radioshack online (Wirefly) and did it in store at a best buy, who did it all no problem.

Adding a line to Plan

this may be a little of topic but i have question. i just recently purchased a Nexus s 4g for my sister (fifth teens coming up) i have my main line with my ET4G a second one with a EVO and now i want a third one for the nexus . for some reason sprint is making me sign ANOTHER 2 year contract even though im providing the handset myself. iv googled it and it seems like its a hit or miss sort of thing. anybody ever been in this situation? is there a way to get around having to sign a 2 year contract since i am not going to get another handset at a discounted price? any help much appreciated.

if you provide the equipment you do NOT have to sign a 2 yr.
If they try to make you then tell them they are incorrect. The 2 year contract is to gain the discount to purchase the phone.

frostrunner said:
if you provide the equipment you do NOT have to sign a 2 yr.
If they try to make you then tell them they are incorrect. The 2 year contract is to gain the discount to purchase the phone.
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Not if you're adding a new line. Getting another phone on an existing line wont affect your contract if you pay full price for it, or you already owned it. But if you're adding a line, you have to sign a contract for that new line.
Sent from my rooted GameBoy Color

hduenas1989 said:
Not if you're adding a new line. Getting another phone on an existing line wont affect your contract if you pay full price for it, or you already owned it. But if you're adding a line, you have to sign a contract for that new line.
Sent from my rooted GameBoy Color
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That's right. Might aswell get her a new phone or another phone e4gt and sell it.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

AFAIK, the only carrier in the US (besides the little guys like MetroPCS, maybe,) that allows you to bring a phone and avoid a contract altogether is T-Mobile.

Mu5ic92 said:
this may be a little of topic but i have question. i just recently purchased a Nexus s 4g for my sister (fifth teens coming up) i have my main line with my ET4G a second one with a EVO and now i want a third one for the nexus . for some reason sprint is making me sign ANOTHER 2 year contract even though im providing the handset myself. iv googled it and it seems like its a hit or miss sort of thing. anybody ever been in this situation? is there a way to get around having to sign a 2 year contract since i am not going to get another handset at a discounted price? any help much appreciated.
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I did this last year by adding a line for my wife in my plan. I had a extra evo available at the time so I used that phone. I signed a two year agreement but kept my rebate for later use.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

frostrunner said:
if you provide the equipment you do NOT have to sign a 2 yr.
If they try to make you then tell them they are incorrect. The 2 year contract is to gain the discount to purchase the phone.
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only in California. but everywhere else, yes, you have to sign the 2 year service agreement. but, you still have eligibility from that day forward, so you can get a phone at a discounted rate. think of it like this: when you add a new discount to your account (employer/organization discount), you sign a new contract without affect eligibility. same goes for $50-100 service credits offered to customers who are 2-4 months from contract end but are not interested in a new phone. eligibility and contract terms are actually 2 separate time-lines. the only reason you sign the contract for a new phone is to guarantee sprint you're going to stay with them, in turn subsidizing the heavy discounting they gave you. (i work in a sprint store )

Even if you sign a contract will there be a ETF if you quit? I thought your etf decreases over time as sprint makes their money back from the subsidy. If they don't have to subsidize you're phone what does that mean? Anyone here know the answer?
On my Epic mobile phone.

kc_exactly said:
Even if you sign a contract will there be a ETF if you quit? I thought your etf decreases over time as sprint makes their money back from the subsidy. If they don't have to subsidize you're phone what does that mean? Anyone here know the answer?
On my Epic mobile phone.
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Etf still applies. That's just part of the terms, sprint wants you to stay with em. It is prorated though. For feature phones, it goes down by $10/month after 5 months til a minimum of $50. Smartphones prorate by $20/month after 5 months until thy reach $100
This message will self-destruct in 30 seconds.

The etf should be only 200 even though it is an advanced device, since you aren't receiving a discount on an advanced device. If you have a discount on your line the etf starts at 200 anyway.
There have been reports of people activating the evo view tablet month to month with a few callbacks to customer care. Just a matter of getting the right person on the phone. In the store I don't think the software allows us to bypass it.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Sprint Question: Does it cost money to switch between phones?

Just wondering, I'm trying to decide between three smartphones and I want to try to use each one for a week, but would it cost money (iirc $36) each time I want to switch? Gah, I wish I could just swap SIM cards.

Yes and no... if you had the phones with you and you want to change them, just go online and you can change it for free, but if you buy a phone, and then you return it and change it for another new one, they charge you the activation fee
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Thanks, their original reply was hard to understand.
Thank you for contacting Sprint about the phone upgrade activation fee.
I understand that you are concerned with the upgrade activation fee.
Sprint charges an upgrade fee any time you upgrade to a new or pre-owned
device regardless of where you purchase and whether or not discounts or
rebates are applied. They help offset the cost of device fees we pay
manufacturers and helps keep monthly service charges low. So, this is a
valid charge.
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It seems odd that it costs them money to activate a phone. Guess they gotta pay the rollout bills somehow.

If its a brand new phone yes
If it has already been activated even once no
But then there are some weird parts
I got a second GS brand new out of the box as a replacement for my 1st s3 cause it had a problem (I can't remember what) ( this 2nd s3 is my current and cracked phone) and there was no fee
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Emperor using psycommu

The only time i have paid an activation fee is when I get a phone by extending my contract. Never for switching between phones or for phones I have paid full price for.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

I don't know if this answers your question, but when I went in for my second GSIII, they didn't charge me at all. The old one was bricked, but apparently they didn't even know how to boot into recovery so I got off scot-free.

They only charge when you buy from a Sprint store and/or renew your contract with an upgrade. I switch back and forth between my S3/S2/EvoShift... Currently on S2 for the 4G, will go back to S3 when LTE rolls out

Trading Upgrade within plan?

I am currently not eligible for an upgrade, but another person in my plan is eligible, so can I take the person in my family plan's upgrade and transfer it to mine? I remember my brother doing this for his iphone 4s :crying: ......
Also I want to order the LG Optimus G through amazon wireless, if that matters.

samsungepicgeek said:
I am currently not eligible for an upgrade, but another person in my plan is eligible, so can I take the person in my family plan's upgrade and transfer it to mine? I remember my brother doing this for his iphone 4s :crying: ......
Also I want to order the LG Optimus G through amazon wireless, if that matters.
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Yes you can.

(How?)

samsungepicgeek said:
(How?)
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Not sure with amazon. You might have to order the phone then switch the numbers when you have he phone in hand. I have done this numerous times at best buy. But talk to sprint and amazon to be sure.

Let me help you out since I just did this yesterday.
Go to store and upgrade users phone.
Go home
Call Sprint if thats your carrier, and tell them you want to do an ESN switch between the two lines.
Just have both dec esn's written down in advance.
Call on a phone that is NOT being switched
They will walk through the process with you. 6 minutes later
PROFIT

IF you get the phone from Amazon, then be careful. I have heard if you switch the device to a different line they will charge you for it. Just what I have heard.
Just google'd it and got this from Amazon's website.
"I need a new phone, but my line isn't eligible for an upgrade. Another line in my family account is eligible. Can I get a new phone for my line by using the upgrade of the other line in my family account?
While carriers may offer the option to swap upgrades between different lines on the same family account, this option isn't available through AmazonWireless. Phones purchased from AmazonWireless must remain on the line upgraded for 181 days. If you move the device to an alternate line within the first 181 days, you'd be subject to additional charges by AmazonWireless of up to $250 (per phone), plus applicable taxes."

_Epic said:
IF you get the phone from Amazon, then be careful. I have heard if you switch the device to a different line they will charge you for it. Just what I have heard.
Just google'd it and got this from Amazon's website.
"I need a new phone, but my line isn't eligible for an upgrade. Another line in my family account is eligible. Can I get a new phone for my line by using the upgrade of the other line in my family account?
While carriers may offer the option to swap upgrades between different lines on the same family account, this option isn't available through AmazonWireless. Phones purchased from AmazonWireless must remain on the line upgraded for 181 days. If you move the device to an alternate line within the first 181 days, you'd be subject to additional charges by AmazonWireless of up to $250 (per phone), plus applicable taxes."
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I figured something like that because I believe wirefly does this too. Now the OP knows

I'm still confused on what to do ? I really don't want to pay $200 on a phone!
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda app-developers app

samsungepicgeek said:
I'm still confused on what to do ? I really don't want to pay $200 on a phone!
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda app-developers app
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Don't use Amazon or Wirefly if you don't wanna get charged a ridiculous amount.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium

_Epic said:
Don't use Amazon or Wirefly if you don't wanna get charged a ridiculous amount.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
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If that's the case, then is there anyway I can do what i originally wanted to do but with Best Buy( and then by showing them the amazon price to price match)???

samsungepicgeek said:
If that's the case, then is there anyway I can do what i originally wanted to do but with Best Buy( and then by showing them the amazon price to price match)???
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I've seen people do that. Good way to get around the system. Give it a try.

Its hard to argue with that quote from Amazon's website. However, I had also wanted to do something similar by using the upgrade of a family member then activate the phone on my account. When I spoke with the Amazon Wireless rep (who seemed extremely knowledgeable), he stated without hesitation that if that was done on a Verizon or ATT account, I would in fact incur significant extra charges for the phone once the switch was made. He stated that for Sprint, however, because Amazon is paid its cut immediately by Sprint when the phone is sold and the contract renewed (and not several months down the road like on ATT and Verizon), it was no problem to use the upgrade of a family member and then activate on a different line (and not incur and additional charges). I ultimately did not end up going that route but if you really want to do it, I would just call up Amazon and ask.
---------- Post added at 09:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:36 PM ----------
samsungepicgeek said:
If that's the case, then is there anyway I can do what i originally wanted to do but with Best Buy( and then by showing them the amazon price to price match)???
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I looked into doing this with Best Buy about a year ago and they told me the phone would have to remain activated on the upgraded line for 24 hours and then the swap could be made. Their policy may have changed since then though so you will definitely want to ask them first before proceeding.
As far as price matching goes, I got Best Buy to price match Amazon at $99. I simply told them Amazon's price, they looked up the price on Amazon's website, asked the supervisor for permission, and price matched it. I think part of my success was that the browser they used to look up the price (which is running on the same machine as the register) is basically a text only browser (very limited capabilities) so when they pulled up the webpage, it failed to display the Amazon "out of stock" graphic/notice. If they had seen that the phone was out of stock at Amazon, I'm pretty sure they would not have price matched. I say if the first Best Buy you visit declines to price match, go to a different one until you find one that will be more accommodating to you.

Try seeing if Sprint will match amazons price a friend got a gs3's price matched from Sam's club
Sent from my PC36100 using xda app-developers app

sharkboy0901 said:
Try seeing if Sprint will match amazons price a friend got a gs3's price matched from Sam's club
Sent from my PC36100 using xda app-developers app
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This is really hit and miss, depending on the store's current numbers, goals, management, etc. I've known corporate stores and indirect stores to honor competitor pricing; however, I've also known some of each to laugh at the thought. Check with your local store if that is the route you want to take.
Let me go ahead and bust the myth about best buy and any other store that claims you have to keep it on the line for so many hours or days. This is false information and will not screw up your account, charge you extra, or anything else. Depending on the dealer and their contract with Sprint, they are given a list of sales either weekly or monthly. When you purchase a device at a discounted price by starting or renewing a two year contract, that dealer gets paid for the price of the phone (of course, they have to purchase it from their dealer like Brightpoint first, but it is almost always volume pricing and not retail price) plus they get paid for the contract, PLUS they receive monthly residuals from Sprint as long as that contract is still in effect. So in essence, part of that $69.99 per month you're paying goes back to the dealer where you bought it. Sprint will send a list of activations to the dealer for the devices that are no longer on the lines of which they were sold. This is why dealers want you to keep them on your line for x amount of time (a full day, a full week, a month, etc) so they can get paid for the contract without having to research where the device went after it was sold and submit an appeal.
There is no penalty for using an upgrade on a different line on the account. More often than not, you will need the account holder with you, unless you do it online and have the security information. You WILL want to write down the previous ESN/MEID, as the device will HAVE to be placed on the account on the line that was eligible to upgrade in order to get the discounted price. Once the transaction is finished, the device can be removed and the old device can be reactivated by doing an ESN swap. Best Buy CAN do this, but sometimes they just won't. Nevertheless, go to a Sprint store, call Customer Care, or use Sprint.com to do the service swap to put the old equipment back on. Once it is back on, the new device will be free to activate on any line using the same method, the service swap. If the device was activated on the old line already, it will need to be reprogrammed which is very simple to do and the rep/webpage will tell you how to do it. Done, and done. Enjoy your new device.

Go with Amazonwireless or Newegg
I did it with a Motorola Photon this January. I did the following:
1) Ordered phone on Amazon
2) To activate, don't do it on Amazon's site. Go to Sprint.com
3) Go through the options to activate on there.
Never once got charged extra for it.
I just did the same thing to get the Optimus G. Wife's line was eligible....ordered phone (this time from Newegg....Amazon severely backordered). Just activated it on Sprint.com tonight
Boy do I have to say that this is one GORGEOUS device!

I thought I would add my recent experience from 11/24.
Background:
My brother is notorious at losing his phones (or jumping in pools with one), so I was nice enough to give him my upgrade last year. He went to a sprint store and they were able to accomplish the upgrade of his phone without my line incurring the premium data charge.
Recent:
My Optimus S was getting old, and with the release of the Optimus G, I really wanted it. I was waffling on doing this exact same thing and was worried about getting the premium data charge on both my wife's line AND mine, even though we were using her upgrade for my phone.
To ensure I didn't have any problems, I got online and started a chat session with a sprint rep from India or something and asked him my slew of questions, effectively having him say, directly in the chat window, that we would only be charged the premium data charge on one line, not on both. I never mentioned anything about Best Buy, only about the process and premium data on both lines. So I copied the chat and emailed it to myself, and then got a nicely formatted email from the chat system detailing everything that was said.
I must say, that was key. I went in person to Best Buy and had them do the entire process: they enabled the new phone on my wife's account, switched the new phone to my account, then switched my wife's old phone back to my account.
A few days later, I checked my Sprint bill online, and what do you know? $10 premium data on both accounts. I called in and the woman I spoke with said "No, that's not allowed. You can't do that and there's no way I can give you a credit back." That's when I flashed the emailed chat I received stating that I wouldn't be charged on both accounts.
In the end, they had to go through some back-end management interface, taking 24 hrs to do the process somewhere, and finally was able to remove the upgrade fee from the account.
So, that's what I had to go through with this. My brother went directly to the Sprint store last year and had no problem doing this. I got confirmation via chat first and then had to call in to have them fix the problem.
If you'll notice, this is my first post. I just registered to be able to help you out a bit. Hopefully it'll save you some headaches and a bunch of $$.
Good luck!