Develop Bugs

NO option to buy full price on a no commit plan for a new customer?

Is this a Sprint thing?
I just called two corporate stores and they said that a new customer can't buy the phone for full retail price without a 2 year contract.
In other words, you must sign a two years contract if you are a new customer.
Can anyone here confirm this?

Go here
wirefly.com
Then goto the Samsung Epic 4G Touch order page and you can get it at full price.
I can't post links yet until my post count gets above 8 so sorry for no direct link.
"Get the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch without a plan for only $539.99"

Wizard220 said:
Go here
wirefly.com
Then goto the Samsung Epic 4G Touch order page and you can get it at full price.
I can't post links yet until my post count gets above 8 so sorry for no direct link.
"Get the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch without a plan for only $539.99"
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But will sprint let me activate it without a 2 years contract?
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Nope! Even if you buy at full price, no matter where you buy it, there will be a contract. Sorry guy.
Sent from my PG06100 using xda premium

EDIT: Answered above.

Not sure if that is the correct answer, there is an Sprint employee in the Evo 3d forum that said yes.
His user is: DirtyShroomz

Thanks all for the replies. What is the ETF on this phone ? It might end up costing the same as full retail price.
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I AM a Sprint employee. I deal with it every single day. Even if someone buys a phone off Ebay, some guy off the street, or buys it in the store, there is going to be a two year agreement. The ETF is going to be 350 for the first six months and starts to decrease from there. If you are going to get one, you may as well get the discounted price.
Sent from my PG06100 using xda premium

Im not saying that you are wrong, but this a an example of what customers have to deal with. One rep state one way, then the other rep.....

ayedlin said:
I AM a Sprint employee. I deal with it every single day. Even if someone buys a phone off Ebay, some guy off the street, or buys it in the store, there is going to be a two year agreement. The ETF is going to be 350 for the first six months and starts to decrease from there. If you are going to get one, you may as well get the discounted price.
Sent from my PG06100 using xda premium
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Funny thing is, when the OG EVO came out, i bought from craigslist and was able to activate it on a month to month plan as a new customer while i was not able to get the same if would buy it at the Sprint store. but i think i got lucky that time and that Sprint policy is really to have a 2 year agreement regardless of the amount you buy the phone at.
The questions is what is the ETF. it might come out the same if i buy it for $199 and pay an ETF when i want out. i never keep a phone more than a few months and i have zero carrier loyalty. Sprint is the only carrier that does not allow month to month contracts it seems.

hold on hold on ... lol
you are wanting to buy a phone at full price then activate as a new customer without a contract??? on month to month? dont know about that one... i totally misread your post and thought you were already a customer and thought this guy was really giving you bad advice to be a sprint employee but now that i reread your post his answer sounds about right... sorry dude

Actually...they are both right. There is a new thing called business freedom. Which is where if you open a new business account with a federal tax ID, you can get this new plan that is a no contract commitment deal. If you interested in more information PM me so we can further discuss this.
Just come tome from now on with all your Sprint needs

Yeah, but you have to have a business and it is more expensive every month since there is no contract. Unless you actually have a business with seasonal employees I really wouldn't recommend it. If you get a new Tax ID just for this, you are GOING to have a deposit. You could run a blended credit but that might only knock it down fifty bucks. Sprint may also want proof that it is a real business so they may need bank statements with the business name, so you have to have a few months worth of that. Would you really want to go through all that just to pay more every month anyway? The average consumer would do best just to sign the contract.
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clubtech said:
But will sprint let me activate it without a 2 years contract?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
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You might be able to find a friend who wants out of their contract and are near the end of it. Well, right now they can get out for free...
In all seriousness. I wouldn't mind helping someone out if I ever lost one of my members in my family plan. Charge them something like 30 dollars +10 dollar for smart phones and I wouldn't hold you to a 2 year contract if you brought your own phone to use.

That's actually a very good idea. If you pay full price you don't have to sign a contract if you put the phone on an existing line. Maybe you could find someone who wants to switch to your current provider from Sprint and you could just take over each other's lines.
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Sprint forced me to activate a new line to get the Epic 4G Touch

I walked into my local Sprint store with $600 cash in my pocket anticipating to walk out with a brand new SGS2E4GT at full MSRP without any additional commitment on my contract. (Have you guys noticed the full non contract price for this device is not listed.)
After the sales rep got the device from the stock room, we were ready to set it up with my existing account. After he logs into my account he notifies me that Im not eligable to an upgrade until January. So with a smile, I informed him that Im aware that Im not eligable yet & thats why Im willing to pay the full price for the phone. Then he said, Sorry sir, but effective today, every sprint device is ONLY available at a carrier subsidized price to people willing to activate a new line or those qualified for an upgrade. Which means nobody can purchase a phone at full price & swap it to their current number. (This **** didn't make any sense to me at all.)But any ways long story short, after a few minutes of blah blah blah, I walked out of the store with a brand new GS2, and a 3rd line to my account which I will not use but will be billed monthly $20 plus $10 premium data. Then he had the nerve to remind me that If I swap the new phone to my primary line before 30 days, I will lose my mail in rebate.....
What the hell is hapenning to Sprint????

That sucks. I had no problem getting mine.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA Premium App

Sounds like you went to an indirect retailer and not a Sprint-owned corporate store because that's not true at all.

dizidi said:
I walked into my local Sprint store with $600 cash in my pocket anticipating to walk out with a brand new SGS2E4GT at full MSRP without any additional commitment on my contract. (Have you guys noticed the full non contract price for this device is not listed.)
After the sales rep got the device from the stock room, we were ready to set it up with my existing account. After he logs into my account he notifies me that Im not eligable to an upgrade until January. So with a smile, I informed him that Im aware that Im not eligable yet & thats why Im willing to pay the full price for the phone. Then he said, Sorry sir, but effective today, every sprint device is ONLY available at a carrier subsidized price to people willing to activate a new line or those qualified for an upgrade. Which means nobody can purchase a phone at full price & swap it to their current number. (This **** didn't make any sense to me at all.)But any ways long story short, after a few minutes of blah blah blah, I walked out of the store with a brand new GS2, and a 3rd line to my account which I will not use but will be billed monthly $20 plus $10 premium data. Then he had the nerve to remind me that If I swap the new phone to my primary line before 30 days, I will lose my mail in rebate.....
What the hell is hapenning to Sprint????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to take it back and go to a Sprint corporate store

dizidi said:
I walked into my local Sprint store with $600 cash in my pocket anticipating to walk out with a brand new SGS2E4GT at full MSRP without any additional commitment on my contract. (Have you guys noticed the full non contract price for this device is not listed.)
After the sales rep got the device from the stock room, we were ready to set it up with my existing account. After he logs into my account he notifies me that Im not eligable to an upgrade until January. So with a smile, I informed him that Im aware that Im not eligable yet & thats why Im willing to pay the full price for the phone. Then he said, Sorry sir, but effective today, every sprint device is ONLY available at a carrier subsidized price to people willing to activate a new line or those qualified for an upgrade. Which means nobody can purchase a phone at full price & swap it to their current number. (This **** didn't make any sense to me at all.)But any ways long story short, after a few minutes of blah blah blah, I walked out of the store with a brand new GS2, and a 3rd line to my account which I will not use but will be billed monthly $20 plus $10 premium data. Then he had the nerve to remind me that If I swap the new phone to my primary line before 30 days, I will lose my mail in rebate.....
What the hell is hapenning to Sprint????
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Click to collapse
While I'm aware of their new "no device without a 2 year contract" policy I didn't think it was impossible to replace a phone without a new contract. Frankly it sounds like you got fncked. I would call Sprint and escalate this up to someone that gives a fnck because frankly this is a gigantic load of bull****.
...there is no way in hell that you can't even replace a device on an existing line/contract. If that is true, well, there is NO REASON AT ALL TO STAY WITH SPRINT. (VERY SLOW) UNLIMITED DATA IS NO REASON TO STAY WITH A COMPANY THAT WONT EVEN LET YOU REPLACE A PHONE WITHOUT A NEW CONTRACT.
Even given their new restrictive policies I highly doubt that what you were subject to was actual official Sprint policy--I don't give a **** what they say, they are likely idiots who interpreted the new policy wrong (either for their own benefit or merely out of their own extreme ignorance).
Escalate this as appropriate. This is bull****...and if you find that this is actual official policy please demand the section of the contract that specifies this and LET US KNOW. We will spread the word and take heed which will result in Sprint losing US and EVERYBODY WE HAVE ALWAYS RECOMMENDED GO TO SPRINT. EVERYBODY. Do you hear that Sprint?
...if (and when) you (most likely) find this to be complete bull**** on your Sprint reps part (and I would be sure to post the store number and location here and many other places, store manager name included) I would also demand a form of compensation for having been lied to and tricked into a contract. Nothing extravagant, but, something you find equivalent in value to your time and expense required to deal with this crap.

Yeah, I had no issues getting mine today either and technically my 22 month upgrade was not until april.

Thanks for the input guys, I really felt like I was suckered into signing an extra line which I dont need in order to get the device I really want, even though I was willing to pay full price for it. I will call corporate tomorrow and bring it to their attention. Thank You.

Good luck, hope you get it solved. Definitely sounds like bs to me.

dizidi said:
Thanks for the input guys, I really felt like I was suckered into signing an extra line which I dont need in order to get the device I really want, even though I was willing to pay full price for it. I will call corporate tomorrow and bring it to their attention. Thank You.
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Go through amazon wireless hit with "no contract phone only" pay then slap that guy for bomboozlein you into a 2 year contract

Question towards this: I get my upgrade the 22nd, what price am I paying?
Sent from my Epic[Fail]4G ;P

dizidi said:
Thanks for the input guys, I really felt like I was suckered into signing an extra line which I dont need in order to get the device I really want, even though I was willing to pay full price for it. I will call corporate tomorrow and bring it to their attention. Thank You.
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Make sure you return the device by Sunday so you don't get charged an activation fee. Given the situation you described, you can probably get any charges reversed by care anyway... but to be on the safe side, return it within 3 days to avoid the fee for sure.

That's BS, u got the short end of the stick. So much to talk about here. First of all Sprint is known to make an exception that close out of a 2 year agreement and provide you with full subsidization. At the very least they will provide you with partial subsidization. The reason why they probably don't sell them at full price is because it probably doesn't ever happen because it makes zero sense even with the recent early termination hike to $350 dollars. If you want it right now, process the order overnight on the line in question with overnight delivery from a retailer like wirefly.com and return and close out the new line u purchased. I'm pretty sure they'll give you options to buy without a new line at wirefly. That would be really bad for business if they didn't. I think the return policy is 14 days now and you may suffer a restocking fee for it all. Good luck.

The phone is $499.99 retail on Sprint.com, so you definitely got suckered into a new activation and a nice commission/spiff for the sales person who got to you.
Wow, i remember those days as a cell phone salesguy and the stuff we used to pull, like these (and much worse).

This phone doesn't have a mail in rebate. And remember you can call customer care tell them that they are not allowing you to buy the phone. At least I didn't get a rebate.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

LordLugard said:
The phone is $499.99 retail on Sprint.com, so you definitely got suckered into a new activation and a nice commission/spiff for the sales person who got to you.
Wow, i remember those days as a cell phone salesguy and the stuff we used to pull, like these (and much worse).
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I was just going to say this. If u go on sprint.com u can buy the phone without an upgrade for $499.99 so that just shows that place screwed u. Hope u get this straightened out cuz thats bull**** man.

Yeah use the 14 day satisfaction guarantee to tell that store a big **** you.

Just pay the ETF on your old line. Depending how long you had it the most it can be is $200 but since you said your upgrade was in January, it should be a lot less then that even be less then that. In the end you will save more money then buying the phone outright as long as you do not care about getting a new number.....
Then you go go thank the guy in the Sprint store for saving you a ****load of money!
And I thought there were no mail in rebates? Did you actually get a mail in rebate with the phone?

I bought mine for 499 without a problem.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

What a fool. They feed you a spoon of bull **** and you ate it. All over a phone which in a few weeks could be brought on ebay for $350 and some change.

Yeah...I would call and cancel the line...pay the eft and call it even
dizidi said:
I walked into my local Sprint store with $600 cash in my pocket anticipating to walk out with a brand new SGS2E4GT at full MSRP without any additional commitment on my contract. (Have you guys noticed the full non contract price for this device is not listed.)
After the sales rep got the device from the stock room, we were ready to set it up with my existing account. After he logs into my account he notifies me that Im not eligable to an upgrade until January. So with a smile, I informed him that Im aware that Im not eligable yet & thats why Im willing to pay the full price for the phone. Then he said, Sorry sir, but effective today, every sprint device is ONLY available at a carrier subsidized price to people willing to activate a new line or those qualified for an upgrade. Which means nobody can purchase a phone at full price & swap it to their current number. (This **** didn't make any sense to me at all.)But any ways long story short, after a few minutes of blah blah blah, I walked out of the store with a brand new GS2, and a 3rd line to my account which I will not use but will be billed monthly $20 plus $10 premium data. Then he had the nerve to remind me that If I swap the new phone to my primary line before 30 days, I will lose my mail in rebate.....
What the hell is hapenning to Sprint????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

Sprint launches early upgrade promo

In an industry where customer churn can be likened to the fearsome troll under the bridge, Sprint has launched a program designed to keep its favored subscribers around for another two years. While not everyone is eligible -- those who've upgraded less than eight months ago, corporate outfits and those in collections need not inquire -- the program lets customers buy their way out of their current commitment and become eligible for a new, subsidized handset. The promotion begins February 12th and is set to run through the 14th of April, where the amount you pay correlates to the time since your last upgrade. So if you're currently pining for the Epic 4G Touch or the iPhone 4S, just give your local Sprint store a call this Sunday. They just may be able to hook you up.
Source:http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/09/sprint-launches-early-upgrade-promo/

Nice C/P skills -_-
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It's more like they want to get rid of Wimax phones and other inventory it seems like. It's a ripoff, hardly worth the price. Ebay is cheaper
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Cleaning house getting ready for LTE

My OG Epic (Now NS4G) line is due for an upgrade in 5 months...may be perfect timing for once
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IMO opinion this is more of a contract buyout to get new user pricing than it is an early upgrade promo like the Sprint Premier Gold program was.

It makes 0 sense to pay $55 to buy out for early upgrade if you're like 1-4 months out.

cds0699 said:
It makes 0 sense to pay $55 to buy out for early upgrade if you're like 1-4 months out.
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Keep in mind though, that we live in a world where people will happily spend well in excess of $55 to "upgrade" from something like a IPhone 4 to a 4s. Sometimes, "sense" takes a back seat to a desire to be instantaneously satisfied... lol

CoppertoneSPF15 said:
Keep in mind though, that we live in a world where people will happily spend well in excess of $55 to "upgrade" from something like a IPhone 4 to a 4s. Sometimes, "sense" takes a back seat to a desire to be instantaneously satisfied... lol
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I have to agree, people at my store will pay a lot to get their upgrade now to get the phone they want now. I think a lot of it comes from people who buy cheap phones and just can't take having them anymore and will do anything to get out of that phone.
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newalker91 said:
This actually isn't a promotion. It's just a last resort offering by Retention as of right now. You pay on average $10/month remaining on your contract with an average maximum of 6 months to move your upgrade up. We've been doing it for months for customers in my stores, but it's never really been publicly advertised.
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Are you working for a corporate store or a preferred retailer? I'm a preferred retailer and would love to know how you go about doing it, and compare that to the way we do it at our store. Shoot me a PM, love to compare notes!
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JasonK75 said:
Are you working for a corporate store or a preferred retailer? I'm a preferred retailer and would love to know how you go about doing it, and compare that to the way we do it at our store. Shoot me a PM, love to compare notes!
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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can i be included in this? i only have a way for 2 weeks early... preferred retailer

My wife is only 2 months away from an upgrade; if she waits, she still pays 36 dollars "activation fee", or, if she does it tomorrow, its the same 36 dollars, so, if you are a month or 2 away, it doesn't cost you a dime more to do it now..
yes, i am sure its to clean out the existing inventory before the "new" network is in full swing..
WOOT, 3000 POSTS!!

I work at a preferred dealer as well, just tell your customers to call customer care and see if they can do an early upgrade. If that doesn't work have them be transferred to retentions and say someone they know was able to buy out their remaining contract and get an early upgrade. That easy. I have my upgrade still, saving it for the GSIII because I'm not stupid like some people.
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ccline84 said:
I work at a preferred dealer as well, just tell your customers to call customer care and see if they can do an early upgrade. If that doesn't work have them be transferred to retentions and say someone they know was able to buy out their remaining contract and get an early upgrade. That easy. I have my upgrade still, saving it for the GSIII because I'm not stupid like some people.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have an airave for that

Ok I called Sprint customer care today inquiring about the upgrade. My girl's line is due for upgrade in October and I am tired of her complaining about her Evo3d restarting all the time. So I called to see if I can get that upgrade for an Iphone for her. I was told that the new promo is only for people who's upgrade is in April or earlier and are also having phone issues. I think I'm going to call a corporate store tomorrow. Any advice or am I wasting my time? The Engadget article said if you upgraded within the last 8 months your or not eligible. I didn't upgrade this line within the last 8 months.

To upgrade or not to upgrade....
I saw this on Friday and wandered into a Sprint store on Sunday. The fella at the desk told me this was all legit and that I would need to call customer service because he could not do anything from the store (he said to ask for the "retentions" department).
I've been suffering with a Hero for the last 18 months. Loved the phone when I first got it, but it didn't take long to realize that it was not powerful enough to keep me happy. My wife is on her third Moment because everything about that phone just doesn't seem to work. I was hoping to hold out for an LTE phone but it appears those won't be dropping until late summer, and I'm not sure if we can hold out that long.
On the Sprint website, I get a message that I am eligible for $150 off a new phone on April 1 (remnants of the Premiere Program). From what I read, I'll have to pay $36 to upgrade in April or I can pay $55 now.
So my question(s) to all you Sprint people out there, am I reading all this correctly? Will I still qualify for the $150 off the new phone? Am I absolutely crazy for not waiting for LTE? Should I take the SGS2E4GT (Galaxy S 2) or hold out for the Nexus?
Thanks for the input.

dabigoh said:
I saw this on Friday and wandered into a Sprint store on Sunday. The fella at the desk told me this was all legit and that I would need to call customer service because he could not do anything from the store (he said to ask for the "retentions" department).
I've been suffering with a Hero for the last 18 months. Loved the phone when I first got it, but it didn't take long to realize that it was not powerful enough to keep me happy. My wife is on her third Moment because everything about that phone just doesn't seem to work. I was hoping to hold out for an LTE phone but it appears those won't be dropping until late summer, and I'm not sure if we can hold out that long.
On the Sprint website, I get a message that I am eligible for $150 off a new phone on April 1 (remnants of the Premiere Program). From what I read, I'll have to pay $36 to upgrade in April or I can pay $55 now.
So my question(s) to all you Sprint people out there, am I reading all this correctly? Will I still qualify for the $150 off the new phone? Am I absolutely crazy for not waiting for LTE? Should I take the SGS2E4GT (Galaxy S 2) or hold out for the Nexus?
Thanks for the input.
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Click to collapse
I would buy a used phone off Craig's list or something now and hold onto you upgrade for an LTE device. You can get an E4GT for around $300 and EVO 3D for much less or an Nexus 4G for even less then that.
That is what I would do because once the GN drops you know you will want it or whatever cool LTE phone comes out soon after that...

The way I read this is that they are just pro-rating your ETF (the way they all should do anyway).
In theory, it works like this:
A high end handset costs ~$600 but in exchange for signing a 2-year contract, the cell phone carrier will subsidize $400 of the cost and roll the cost of that "loan" into the cost of your monthly service. You get a new phone without as large an initial outlay of cash and they gain a steady source of income for at least the next 2 years.
In theory you should be able to bring your own phone and get service at a lower cost off-contract because you aren't paying off a subsidy but since the top 3 providers don't offer this, there is not really any benefit to not taking the subsidy. You are already paying the same monthly rate so other than not being locked into a service contract, you gain nothing financially from not taking the $400 subsidy.
Along with this, in theory, your ETF should drop by 1/24th every month as you are basically paying off the subsidy one month at a time over two years. Once again, it doesn't quite work that way. At least this is an attempt to let people pay off the remaining subsidy before signing a new contract and taking a new one.
I would prefer to just pay $600 for my phone and then pay $17 less per month (approx 1/24 of $400) with no contract but since the US market seems accustomed to cheaper subsidized handsets on contract I don't know it would ever take off much. The contracts, handset exclusives, and lack of porting options have made it so the carriers have little incentive to compete on price or plan options..but that's another topic for another day.

Well I got mine it was 40 bucks but.my Gf needs a new phone had so, iPhone 4s and she can have my day 2week old epic touch 4g
Update: I got my upgrade and the fee was added to my bill and my upgrade is now waiting. Pretty cool. I have another upgrade in August so I will se what they have then.
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I have a upgrade in October, but I'm debating to hold off for the s3 which could be a long way off or get the epic touch. I have a 3d right now but the white epic touch looks sexy.
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Paying off my note 2?

So in nov I signed up with tmobile and got the note and a gs3 for my wife. I plan on selling the note and getting the s4 in march. I call tmobile to pay it off and they tell me I have to pay both phones off? This isn't what the agent told me when I signed up. He knew I swap phones about every 6 months. So my question is why can't I pay the note off separate? My wife never upgrades her phone plus it would lower my bill per month down. Tmobile is ending the subsidiaries anyways so I don't see what the issue is? The reason I went gsm is to be able to put any phone on the carrier as I like, such as international versions.

Talk to a different rep. Cause that rep is an asshole
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Nope just spoke to customer relations and was told it cannot be done until tmobile ends the subsidiaries in a few months. No way in hell I'm paying $700+ for both phones. Basically the rep I signed up with flat out lied to me. If I would of known this I would of just bought my note full retail. Really ticked off right now.
$720 for both phones + $600 or so for the s4 is just too much for me.
3rd damn carrier that seems to lure their customers in with lies. Who would refuse me paying off a phone today? Basically I was told their systems cannot allow only one device to be payed off until may when they change their policies. This is really going to screw over a lot of people. I just don't get it.
Can anyone explain tmobiles logic in this? I'm baffled.

I've heard that since it was Even More Plus. The credit line is for everything combined, you can't separate them out. No idea if that's the truth, but they have been consistent in telling me that. If you were lied to, that really sucks and, IMO, they should try to do something for you. No idea what, but they could offer something.
Not much help, but at least confirming what they are telling you now anyway.

ttabbal said:
I've heard that since it was Even More Plus. The credit line is for everything combined, you can't separate them out. No idea if that's the truth, but they have been consistent in telling me that. If you were lied to, that really sucks and, IMO, they should try to do something for you. No idea what, but they could offer something.
Not much help, but at least confirming what they are telling you now anyway.
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Yeah I have it in writing too from the original kiosk rep. I'm really ticked as I talk to this guy all the time when I'm at the mall. Tmobile is investigating what he told me and I've notified his manger. This really screws anyone who wants to get another phone anytime before may. I just don't understand the logic. Why would they care if I decide to pay the device off? Now I'm screwed if I wanted to get the s4 in a few weeks unless I add a 3rd line.
Now I can see why so many go prepaid. To avoid all of the carrier BS. This is worse then what I dealt with on both sprint and Verizon.
There has to be a loophole for this. Any ideas guys?

It does make sense that the credit extended is put into one loan. I'm sure it makes it easier on the accounting for them....... BUT...... If that guy told you something different, I would go straight to him and have him help you get this sorted out immediately. He's the one that gave you misinformation, I would make him spend time working to correct it also.
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yeah, this really makes no sense to me why they would require this just because the phone accounts are linked? Just to be sure though, I'm going to make sure I buy my phone and my wife's phone separately.

Im told its becuase both phones were purchased together but that was becuase thats the day i switched from verizon to tmobile. The rep knew i switch devices often and told me it wouldnt be an issue. I got an email from the manager that they are investigating. If any of you bought the phones together id check on this. Im glad they are ending the pay per month on the phones BS. From now on ill pay full price.

This happened to me too. Opened a tmo business account and bought an S3 and a cheap text phone for the wife. Financed $500 between the two, and was told I could pay them off seperately. The note 2 comes out, so I go to pay the balance of the S3. I was told the same, you have to pay both off because they where contracted at ths same time. But I still had enough available credit to finance the note 2, swap the sim from the S3 in to the note 2, put the S3 on Craigslist, it sold the next day for the $400 balance I had on the note 2. Walked in to tmo the very next day and paid the note 2 off.

This is just an idea, I don't know for sure if it will work, but when I bought
my Note and my wife's phone, they told me that is no penalty if I pay
the phone(s) in advance OR if I pay more per month to shorten the pay
period of 20 months.
So, I guess you can go into the store and tell them you want to pay, let's say
$300 in the account for the phones. That will lower your montly payment, just
like you payed yours out and not "mess" with they're account number.
It's worth a try anyway....

Wait. So I have a $2000 credit on my account for devices. There's like $700 available. Your saying they won't let me pay a partial payment towards that?
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I think you can make a partial payment, but your monthly bill stays the same until its all paid off

mikeyinid said:
Wait. So I have a $2000 credit on my account for devices. There's like $700 available. Your saying they won't let me pay a partial payment towards that?
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i was told flat out i cannot pay off just one device, it has to be all of them or none until they end the subsidies and change their systems in may. im waiting to hear back from the store manager.

stevessvt said:
I think you can make a partial payment, but your monthly bill stays the same until its all paid off
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the way tmobile does business is BS. never had this issue on sprint or verizon, i could swap phones when ever i wanted without penalties. knowing me the s4 will be announced and ill get impatient and just pay the $720 off and get the new phone lol. from now on ill always just buy my devices outright.

You could do what I did. Pay the deposit on the new phone and finance the rest, sell the old phone, then pay off the new phone.

premiatul said:
This is just an idea, I don't know for sure if it will work, but when I bought
my Note and my wife's phone, they told me that is no penalty if I pay
the phone(s) in advance OR if I pay more per month to shorten the pay
period of 20 months.
So, I guess you can go into the store and tell them you want to pay, let's say
$300 in the account for the phones. That will lower your montly payment, just
like you payed yours out and not "mess" with they're account number.
It's worth a try anyway....
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i get what your saying but until these phones are payed off i wouldn't be able to activate the s4 or whatever phone on the current lines without penalty. id have to open a 3rd line. if i cannot get this resolved i guess ill just have to wait until they change their systems in late april or may.

stevessvt said:
You could do what I did. Pay the deposit on the new phone and finance the rest, sell the old phone, then pay off the new phone.
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that's when tmobile gets the s4, i was planning on buying the international version as it will ship much sooner than the US carriers will get it. plus from now on i won't finance phones from tmobile, ill buy them outright. if that's what you meant buy putting a deposit down.
it's my fault for believing the rep and not reading all of the fine print. the dude must be like a car salesman. says anything for a sale.

fix-this! said:
i was told flat out i cannot pay off just one device, it has to be all of them or none until they end the subsidies and change their systems in may. im waiting to hear back from the store manager.
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If that is the case, which I will call tomorrow and find out, me and tmobile are gonna have a huge problem. I upgrade very often. If I can't pay a portion of that off to free up space for a new device there's no point.
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mikeyinid said:
If that is the case, which I will call tomorrow and find out, me and tmobile are gonna have a huge problem. I upgrade very often. If I can't pay a portion of that off to free up space for a new device there's no point.
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same here man, i upgrade very often. go ahead and call and i bet you get the same response i was given. once they end the subsidies and change the policies you will be able to pay just one device off. "take that with a grain of salt". to me this just doesn't make much business sense. if i finance two cars at the same time for lets say 2 years and decide to pay one of them off early i doubt anyone would be complaining getting their money early.

fix-this! said:
Nope just spoke to customer relations and was told it cannot be done until tmobile ends the subsidiaries in a few months. No way in hell I'm paying $700+ for both phones. Basically the rep I signed up with flat out lied to me. If I would of known this I would of just bought my note full retail. Really ticked off right now.
$720 for both phones + $600 or so for the s4 is just too much for me.
3rd damn carrier that seems to lure their customers in with lies. Who would refuse me paying off a phone today? Basically I was told their systems cannot allow only one device to be payed off until may when they change their policies. This is really going to screw over a lot of people. I just don't get it.
Can anyone explain tmobiles logic in this? I'm baffled.
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Business 101.... get it in writing otherwise it's hearsay
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
---------- Post added at 05:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:17 AM ----------
fix-this! said:
same here man, i upgrade very often. go ahead and call and i bet you get the same response i was given. once they end the subsidies and change the policies you will be able to pay just one device off. "take that with a grain of salt". to me this just doesn't make much business sense. if i finance two cars at the same time for lets say 2 years and decide to pay one of them off early i doubt anyone would be complaining getting their money early.
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Ummmm a car and a cellphone are two different anomalies... .
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Contract Buy-out. How does it work?

I am probably moving from sprint to T-mobile on saturday, and thus from the m7 to the m8. Sprint's been a jerk to my mom (her phone, LG optimus G hasn't worked since 4g rolled out, something about it being incompatible with the network or some such non-sense) so we're switching and having them buy out our contract. Does anyone have experience with this program? Is it pretty straight forward?

TriBeard said:
I am probably moving from sprint to T-mobile on saturday, and thus from the m7 to the m8. Sprint's been a jerk to my mom (her phone, LG optimus G hasn't worked since 4g rolled out, something about it being incompatible with the network or some such non-sense) so we're switching and having them buy out our contract. Does anyone have experience with this program? Is it pretty straight forward?
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You might wanna post this at the Sprint forum.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

I just figured that since the people here were t-mobile, some might have gone through the process already and would know about it first hand.

Well I was actually a sprint customer I went through the process. It wasn't call a contract buyout. what I actually pay was for months remaining at $10 a month... And that was your termination fee.. Also another way to approach it I'm not sure if T Mobile still offer that but they're paying the termination fee if you switch from different carrier.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

shook187 said:
Well I was actually a sprint customer I went through the process. It wasn't call a contract buyout. what I actually pay was for months remaining at $10 a month... And that was your termination fee.. Also another way to approach it I'm not sure if T Mobile still offer that but they're paying the termination fee if you switch from different carrier.
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That's what I meant by "contract buyout". Sorry if that was confusing. I talked to someone from t-mobile through the chat, and we would get a credit for our phones, and up to 350 per line for ETF fees, which would cover everything. From my understanding, you just give t-mobile your last bill that shows all the fees and whatnot, and they mail you a visa gift card thing with the money on it to pay the fees. That's the part of the process that I was curious about.

TriBeard said:
That's what I meant by "contract buyout". Sorry if that was confusing. I talked to someone from t-mobile through the chat, and we would get a credit for our phones, and up to 350 per line for ETF fees, which would cover everything. From my understanding, you just give t-mobile your last bill that shows all the fees and whatnot, and they mail you a visa gift card thing with the money on it to pay the fees. That's the part of the process that I was curious about.
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I just switched 4 lines over to tmobile from sprint and couldnt be happier. Just did it this past weekend so i havent had the etfs show up on my bill yet but i will let you know when it goes through. From what i was told you are spot on. trade in your sprint phone and they pay your etf and get you trade in value of your phone off a new one from tmobile. i was told its best to pay the etfs when they show up so it doesnt become past due while you are waiting for the tmobile gift card to come through so it doesnt effect your credit.

boxdgm said:
I just switched 4 lines over to tmobile from sprint and couldnt be happier. Just did it this past weekend so i havent had the etfs show up on my bill yet but i will let you know when it goes through. From what i was told you are spot on. trade in your sprint phone and they pay your etf and get you trade in value of your phone off a new one from tmobile. i was told its best to pay the etfs when they show up so it doesnt become past due while you are waiting for the tmobile gift card to come through so it doesnt effect your credit.
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I don't really have 1300 dollars or so that I can spare, so I guess I'll just have to hope it comes quick and they don't ding me too bad. I'm just excited for a new phone and (hopefully) more reliable service. T-mobile claims to have LTE around me, and pretty decent HSPA where that is lacking, so hopefully it's better than sprint, where we just recently got spotty LTE

I switched from Sprint to T-Mobile last week. As I understand it, you just get your new service with T-Mobile and they handle porting over your number and ending your service with Sprint. Once that's done, you just have to wait for the bill that has your early termination fee, then take it to the T-Mobile store and they'll reimburse you that amount in the form of a Visa gift card and it's supposed to take 4-6 weeks to receive it. I'm hoping I can time it well enough where I can get the reimbursement before paying the bill to Sprint. If not, I'll just eat the cost until I get the money back from T-Mobile.
Note that they'll only reimburse you up to $650. This should cover anyone on a single plan, but can't speak for those on large family plans.
I can definitely say it's worth the money and time to switch. The service I've gotten with T-Mobile is excellent, and where it isn't (note, I haven't personally encountered poor signal on T-Mobile yet), WiFi calling on the M8 works great.

In order for them to pay off your ETF (Up to $350) you have to port over your phone number and give them your old device. The $650 you hear about is the maximum you can get for switching ($350 for ETF and $300 for device) They also do a credit check and that will determine if you need to pay a deposit for your new phone. If you have good enough credit then all you pay is the taxes on your new device. The cost of the device is then split up across 24 months on your bill.
The $10 a month thing someone mentioned earlier is the JUMP program and isn't a requirement to be switched over to them. It's basically a protection and upgrade program rolled into one which isn't very bad. More info on it here: http://www.t-mobile.com/phone-upgrade.html

nsuviolin2005 said:
I switched from Sprint to T-Mobile last week. As I understand it, you just get your new service with T-Mobile and they handle porting over your number and ending your service with Sprint. Once that's done, you just have to wait for the bill that has your early termination fee, then take it to the T-Mobile store and they'll reimburse you that amount in the form of a Visa gift card and it's supposed to take 4-6 weeks to receive it. I'm hoping I can time it well enough where I can get the reimbursement before paying the bill to Sprint. If not, I'll just eat the cost until I get the money back from T-Mobile.
Note that they'll only reimburse you up to $650. This should cover anyone on a single plan, but can't speak for those on large family plans.
I can definitely say it's worth the money and time to switch. The service I've gotten with T-Mobile is excellent, and where it isn't (note, I haven't personally encountered poor signal on T-Mobile yet), WiFi calling on the M8 works great.
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tkoreaper said:
In order for them to pay off your ETF (Up to $350) you have to port over your phone number and give them your old device. The $650 you hear about is the maximum you can get for switching ($350 for ETF and $300 for device) They also do a credit check and that will determine if you need to pay a deposit for your new phone. If you have good enough credit then all you pay is the taxes on your new device. The cost of the device is then split up across 24 months on your bill.
The $10 a month thing someone mentioned earlier is the JUMP program and isn't a requirement to be switched over to them. It's basically a protection and upgrade program rolled into one which isn't very bad. More info on it here: http://www.t-mobile.com/phone-upgrade.html
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My understanding was that it was up to 650 per line. I know I'll get 85 for each of my phones (One m7's), so it'll be more like 430 or so per line. But my ETF with sprint is 1300ish, which would fall under the 350/line that they offer. Or at least that's what they led me to believe over chat.
Also, I have 4 lines on my sprint account and have been in good standing with them so I don't imagine that the credit check would be a problem, and it's a family plan so if I can't do it we can try my mom, or my grampa until someone can.

TriBeard said:
My understanding was that it was up to 650 per line. I know I'll get 85 for each of my phones (One m7's), so it'll be more like 430 or so per line. But my ETF with sprint is 1300ish, which would fall under the 350/line that they offer. Or at least that's what they led me to believe over chat.
Also, I have 4 lines on my sprint account and have been in good standing with them so I don't imagine that the credit check would be a problem, and it's a family plan so if I can't do it we can try my mom, or my grampa until someone can.
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The max they'll cover for an ETF is $350, it says so on their website. the $650 total is for the ETF and the amount they can give you for a device. In your case it would be $435 per line ($350 ETF and $85 for your device) You ETF with Sprint is pretty outrageous, is that just for your single line or is a total for all lines on your account?

tkoreaper said:
The max they'll cover for an ETF is $350, it says so on their website. the $650 total is for the ETF and the amount they can give you for a device. In your case it would be $435 per line ($350 ETF and $85 for your device) You ETF with Sprint is pretty outrageous, is that just for your single line or is a total for all lines on your account?
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There are 4 lines on the account, and the oldest one in terms of an upgrade is from last july. When we were in the sprint store, we were working with a lady and the supervisor and when we brought up leaving for t-mobile or something since they weren't willing to do a whole lot of anything other than tell us to wait for a software patch, she said that we had "about 1300" in ETF fees. Did we really want to pay that instead of just deal with it for a while? I brought up the t-mobile buyout stuff, and that got her real quiet real fast. The way she said it really bothered me though. Just the smug implied "we've got you by the wallet for another year and half. deal with it"

yeah, the MAX that Sprint charges for a cancellation fee is 350 PER LINE. I know, as I just went through all of this recently.
Tmobile pays up to 350 per line for your cancellation fee. You have to give them ANY Sprint Network phone to qualify for this program, but it does NOT have to be the current Sprint phone you have.
What I did was go on ebay and bought a 20 dollar cheapo phone that was on Tmobiles list of "Acceptable" trade in phones, and used that one to get them to pay my Cancellation Fee. they gave me 10 bucks for the phone.
Then, I sold my Sprint HTC One Max for $385.00 to someone, so I made out big time on that deal; remember, once you cancel your Sprint account, you then OWN the Sprint Phone, so if you can sell it on Ebay or somewhere and make MORE than what Tmobile will give you for it, you can make a nice chunk of change.
Also, when you get your FINAL bill from sprint, its much faster to scan it/take a picture of it, and upload it on the T-mobile site directly to them; if you take it to the store, and they send it in, it might add a few days/weeks to your approval and reciept of the MasterCard Gift card.
Mine took 4 weeks and one day to come to me after I scanned it in and uploaded it to them.
If you bring it to the store, and go that route, it takes 6-8 weeks.

wase4711 said:
yeah, the MAX that Sprint charges for a cancellation fee is 350 PER LINE. I know, as I just went through all of this recently.
Tmobile pays up to 350 per line for your cancellation fee. You have to give them ANY Sprint Network phone to qualify for this program, but it does NOT have to be the current Sprint phone you have.
What I did was go on ebay and bought a 20 dollar cheapo phone that was on Tmobiles list of "Acceptable" trade in phones, and used that one to get them to pay my Cancellation Fee. they gave me 10 bucks for the phone.
Then, I sold my Sprint HTC One Max for $385.00 to someone, so I made out big time on that deal; remember, once you cancel your Sprint account, you then OWN the Sprint Phone, so if you can sell it on Ebay or somewhere and make MORE than what Tmobile will give you for it, you can make a nice chunk of change.
Also, when you get your FINAL bill from sprint, its much faster to scan it/take a picture of it, and upload it on the T-mobile site directly to them; if you take it to the store, and they send it in, it might add a few days/weeks to your approval and reciept of the MasterCard Gift card.
Mine took 4 weeks and one day to come to me after I scanned it in and uploaded it to them.
If you bring it to the store, and go that route, it takes 6-8 weeks.
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That's the kind of information that I was looking for. Thanks a lot for that. My sister has an old galaxy s2 that I could take in, keep my htc one, and then try and sell that on craigslist/ebay. Cool.

TriBeard said:
That's the kind of information that I was looking for. Thanks a lot for that. My sister has an old galaxy s2 that I could take in, keep my htc one, and then try and sell that on craigslist/ebay. Cool.
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you can call the tmobile store and ask them how much any phone might be worth, or, I think their website gives an approximate amount you would get on a trade in.
Obviously, you always get more selling a phone on ebay/Craiglist than you ever would on a trade in, but some folks dont want to bother selling them, and just trade it in and are done with it..
BTW, my wife and son traded their M7's in, and got 100 bucks each for them; when we bought them from Sprint, we only paid 49, so even trading them in we made a little $$ :good:

TriBeard said:
There are 4 lines on the account, and the oldest one in terms of an upgrade is from last july. When we were in the sprint store, we were working with a lady and the supervisor and when we brought up leaving for t-mobile or something since they weren't willing to do a whole lot of anything other than tell us to wait for a software patch, she said that we had "about 1300" in ETF fees. Did we really want to pay that instead of just deal with it for a while? I brought up the t-mobile buyout stuff, and that got her real quiet real fast. The way she said it really bothered me though. Just the smug implied "we've got you by the wallet for another year and half. deal with it"
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So if you were to cancel your whole account you'd get $1400 (350 x 4) alone just for the ETFs. It's $350 per line, not account.
I just traded my Nexus 5 in for the M8 today and they gave me $135. I cold have sold it to a company that buys them for $200, but oh well. I probably could have gotten a little more even if I cut out the middle man, but Nexus devices are already cheap enough as it is.

Well if they wanted to give me 120 or so I'd be tempted to just go ahead and trade them in. Just when I spoke with whoever it was on the online chat for t-mobile, they only were offering 85, which is significantly low that I would take the time and effort to sell one myself if I could.

Lol. Has anyone traded in a rooted device to t mobile? Just wondering if they check before I go through the hassle of unrooting 2 devices. I know somebody has. Lol.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app

if its for a "jump" then dont bother, as long as it starts, thats all they care about.
as a matter of fact, I have also returned/replaced under warranty with them phones that were rooted, and once again, they didnt care one bit; I didnt tell them they were rooted, and they didnt ask, but there was no problem getting a replacement..

I work for tmobile. When you want your contract paid for you can pretty much trade in any phone in. It doesn't have to even turn on. Obviously if it doesn't then you won't get and trade in value but tmobile will still pay your efts as long as you do trade in a phone, buy a new phone and port in your number. They pay up to 5 lines per account.