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[Q] Sprint contract workaround?

Hi all, this is my first post here. I'm relatively tech-savvy but mobile development isn't my forte. Anyway, I've tried many search strings on the site but I haven't found a directly relevant answer.
Essentially the issue is I have a grandfathered service plan from approximately 2004 where I'm getting data for $5/month. I was using a lame HTC Touch Pro until it shattered. Unfortunately, to purchase a new smartphone (figuratively anything that isn't a flip phone), I would need to enter into a new contract on their exponentially more expensive terms. Additionally, I'm going to get nailed with all kinds of new bull**** fees (a 4G fee when it has barely been developed in NYC). Obviously I'm hoping for a more cost-effective approach.
Furthermore, I saw someone briefly mention in another thread that the OP could just buy a phone outright. I'm wondering if purchasing a phone unlocked and then somehow activating it on Sprint's network or some other hack would be possible. Price is a significant constraint; it's not feasible for me to drop $750 on an unlocked smartphone, so it's preferable if I can find some kind of workaround that's subsidized.
Thanks for reading through this, hope you can lend some advice on the optimal solution.

Sprint won't accept unlocked phones. I don't think there is a such thing as a unlocked cdma phone.
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[Q] Possible Sprint ETF Loophole?

So towards the end of June I was planning on leaving Sprint and heading over to At&t with the girlfriend. I had a plan with my brother to swap lines, his being off contract, allowing him to continue using my GSII and having me leave Sprint without any ETF worry. However now it seems that my brother is backing out of the whole idea which is leaving me at a whopping $300 ETF that doesn’t look too pretty.
I figure by selling the SII I am still looking at a big chunk just to get out of Sprint and buying a new phone until I realized something. I noticed that the difference between smartphones and basic phones half the ETF fee, $150 in my case. So what if I were to downgrade my plan with a basic phone, pay the ETF, sell the SII for around $200, and have some left over to put into the new phone. It all just seems too good to be true and I might just be overlooking something just in the thought of a somewhat loophole but what do you guys think? Could it be that easy? Should I read the terms and conditions instead of writing a thread out of shear excitement?
What do you think?

Generally speaking, it is much harder to downgrade than it is to upgrade. When you entered the contract for the smartphone you agreed to pay for service for a full two years in return for a subsidized phone. Legally they can (and odds are they will) tell you to either keep the phone & plan or pay the etf.

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If your rooted get roam control.
They will drop you after a while.
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium

Rezound Owner, Seeking GS3 upgrade advice.

Hi,
My noob search didn't seem to provide the info I was seeking.
I am considering purchasing a Galaxy S III. I am on Verizon and do not have any plans on leaving Verizon anytime soon. My upgrade is in January 2013, so I will only purchase a device outright so that I do not lose unlimited data.
I have the $7/mo. insurance on the line that I have the Rezound on. Considering I would be purchasing a device outright, insuring the new device is top priority. If filing a claim, I would like to ensure that I can flash the device to stock (I guess the future will tell regarding the Verizon bootloader and whether it is unlockable and relockable (HTC's shows "re-locked")).
I don't want to compromise on any frequency bands being unavailable, so I suspect that options 1&2 below would be the only way to ensure compatibility with Verizon's network.
1. Purchase Verizon locked GS3
2. Purchase Verizon unlocked GS3
3. Purchase International GS3 (with Wolfson DAC!) and try to get it to work on Verizon.
Any hints? Please feel free to defer me to search if the answers are out there. Thanks

I have no clue what your asking
But there are high chances international s3 won't work in vzw
Also if you are buying out right get the dev edition from the Samsung site
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

If you're willing to shell out the cash, I would recommend getting the unlocked bootloader dev edition from Samsung for VZW whenever that is released. It isn't worth spending the same amount of money to get the non-dev version with a locked bootloader

gtuansdiamm said:
I have no clue what your asking
But there are high chances international s3 won't work in vzw
Also if you are buying out right get the dev edition from the Samsung site
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for not being too clear.
1. Is it possible to insure a device with Asurion that I purchase outright? I suspect I could if I bought it from Verizon (possibly Amazonwireless.com, Best Buy, or Samsung as well).
2. If I did purchase a device outright, is the International version no-go? I would need Verizon voice/3G/4G compatibility, so I suspect it would not be an option. That would be a shame since the International version has a Wolfson DAC.
3. Developer vs Normal version: will there be software development segregation and will Developer-version users be left behind since so few people will own it compared to the normal version? Also, doesn't that alert Verizon that you are a "power-user" where they suspect you may be rooted or tethering (call me paranoid). Additionally, would insurance claims be complicated with a Developer version device?
Elysium1215 said:
If you're willing to shell out the cash, I would recommend getting the unlocked bootloader dev edition from Samsung for VZW whenever that is released. It isn't worth spending the same amount of money to get the non-dev version with a locked bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figure that the sheer interest in this phone will eventually yield an unlocked bootloader. If so, what advantages would the Developer version have?
Thanks guys.

the dev edition would be less of a pain when using custom software and rooting and such
Also I dont think asution will let u insur it with them if bought form else where
I prefer best buy insurance
More coverage less annoyance
You can just bring in a phone that is less than 30 days Old and they'll insur it and there are no deductible
Int gs3 can't use 4g
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

You can add insurance at anytime from Verizon by calling 611 no matter where you purchased the phone- it just gets added to your plan. Now, would I trust that insurance would send me back a Dev phone? no way. Unless the dev phone (SCH-I535MBC and D) carries a different model number in the Verizon system (I haven't seen any - my phone is just listed as Samsung Galaxy SIII 16GB in blue not SCH-I535MBB), you'll just get a refurb with whatever internal memory and color your original phone had. I am imagining that Best Buy's insurance would do the same, but it is a lot better than Verizon's. It doesn't cover loss or theft though.

josephpalozzi said:
. I am imagining that Best Buy's insurance would do the same, but it is a lot better than Verizon's. It doesn't cover loss or theft though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course, BestBuy is on the verge of bankruptcy.............

I would personally just buy the phone outright from Verizon if you want insurance (I have the Asurion insurance as well- they're definitely great).
I'm not sure how much support the Developer Edition will garner anyways- the vast majority of Verizon Galaxy S3 owners are not going to own one. Plus, with the current auto-kexec method of booting custom kernels, you don't gain much from owning one.
The biggest issue with custom ROMs on the Galaxy S3 at the moment is the risk of losing your IMEI, which has affected pretty much every S3 model regardless of carrier.
I wouldn't want to be stuck with no warranty from Samsung if this happens and we find no way to fix it.

The IMEI and associated data are able to be backed up now. As a matter of course, I have done this myself, just keeping a copy on my laptop in case anything goes horribly horribly wrong.
As for insurance, you can insure any phone you add to your account within 30 days of activating.
Asurion will replace it with the closest thing they have on-hand, so you would have to be very careful about replacement if you bought the dev edition, as it would be very unlikely that they would know/care about the differences between them.
The international version is a non-starter with CDMA carriers due to ESN locking. Besides, even if you had one with the appropriate LTE frequencies, none of the international models are CDMA, so if it activates, you would lose data any time you lost LTE.
If you're paying retail, just buy the dev edition and put $7 (or more) away every month toward replacement if anything bad were to happen to your phone. Over time, the decrease in value that comes with time will reduce the cost for replacement outright to make it worth it. Even with Asurion, you have a $100 deductible for smartphones (plus the possibility that you wouldn't get a dev edition back). If your damaged one isn't utterly destroyed and you managed to keep it for say a full year, you could probably take your $84 + whatever you can get for your busted phone + $100 (deductible), and be pretty close to the $600 retail, if it's even still that high after a year.

AlexDeGruven said:
The IMEI and associated data are able to be backed up now. As a matter of course, I have done this myself, just keeping a copy on my laptop in case anything goes horribly horribly wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree- not a single person has successfully restored their IMEI after losing it to a "0", people are just assuming this works, yet we haven't even seen a proof-of-concept.

Cell phone unlocking illegal?

Yup, it's true.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/make-unlocking-cell-phones-legal/1g9KhZG7
Sent from Spaceball One.

Before anyone panics, this is only if the phone is still under contract. It's not illegal if the person is out of contract and calls the phone company to ask for the unlock code. At least, that's the way I've understood this. Most people can still unlock their phones, it just makes things more complicated. The funny and sad part is that they're doing this to prevent "fraud" (people making contracts and bailing on them but keeping the phones and reselling them) but all this really does is throw us at the mercy of the carriers. T-mobile is a lot more chill about this but AT&T users will find it more complicated to unlock.
Anyways, it's best to be careful how one treads with this. On one hand, they can't tell how your phone was unlocked, most carriers can't even identify a competitor's phone on their network BUT it may be more risky now to buy unlock codes and I assume the same thing that happened to megaupload will happen to those that provide unlocking services.

It hardly changes anything when you really look at it. Carriers are still selling unlocked phones. Makers are still selling unlocked phones. Once subsidiaries go away, the unlocked phones will cost the same as the carrier ones.
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How would anyone find out and who reports that type of stuff?
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So simplemobile is out of luck....
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Only thing this makes me worry about is how hard it will make it to get unlock codes for us who aren't within the US. And what happens when someone needs to travel out of the country and needs to use a different carrier service while there?

It's irrelevant for this device. You have your unlock code, it's already on the phone you just have to look it up.

its irrelevant for any device purchased before jan, xx 2013 (forget exact date) and if tmobile or whoever wants to freely give you the code they can. or just always buy factory unlocked phones! personally hate paying extra money through a carrier to get a cheap phone when i save far more in the long run buying elsewhere and having a cheaper plan

Unlocking phones is illegal now, what about the second hand market?

I was just reading an Engadget post about how unlocking a carrier locked phone is illegal now, in the US anyway. It was long, but really didn't answer the question I had. I am on T-mobile with no contract and like to switch phones every few months. My most frequent stop for phones is eBay, although recently I've gotten unlocked phones from Amazon and Newegg as well. On eBay, I usually buy a locked carrier version (usually At&t) because they are usually cheaper than straight unlocked ones (carrier branded) and much cheaper than international unlocked ones. Then I buy an unlock code from eBay for a few bucks and voila. For some phones that are carrier exclusive or have no international variant yet, this is the only way to get them.
Does this new rule apply to me? I'm thinking no since it is second hand after all and I'm not the one who signed the contract, but they are vague about second-hand unlocking. I also sell my phone on eBay once I'm done using it.

I think of you as you are to unlock the phone which actually was first locked.
This is my opinion, now expect others to comment on

I think as long as the original contract has been satisfied it doesn't matter.

ruangle you
This is so Verizon,Contact phones and other junk. I have a unlocked phone from ebay on simple mobile which is gsm can use it anywhere in the world and no contract, I just rooted my sisters new S3 on the same phone carrier its under contract,lets see what happens I dont expect anything its my phone in so many words as long as I pay the bill Right ?

xtnelson said:
This is so Verizon,Contact phones and other junk. I have a unlocked phone from ebay on simple mobile which is gsm can use it anywhere in the world and no contract, I just rooted my sisters new S3 on the same phone carrier its under contract,lets see what happens I dont expect anything its my phone in so many words as long as I pay the bill Right ?
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As i know in europe and maybe also in US it is not illegal to unlock your phone - if you have no contract anymore with any provider !
Because it's "YOUR PHONE" and if you make the choice to cut it in small slices - why not - it is yours (when paid) !
But one decision - you have to unlock yourself - as i know it is not allowed by companies in US !

I read the actual text of the decision and it's pretty clearly spelled out (and not even that long). Sorry to be that guy. :silly:

Yeah I have no idea what some of you people are talking about. Or understand the Engrish. The phone is sold to an end user and the software is also licensed to them. This is the relationship between the carrier and the user entering a contract. However, I don't buy direct from the carrier or sign any contracts. Thus, I am not a license holder at all. Furthermore, the ruling allows for "legacy" devices to be unlocked and sold. Legacy device would be loosely understood as second hand, basically what I am buying and unlocking.

delete

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/make-unlocking-cell-phones-legal/1g9KhZG7
They'll have to respond to this issue now so hopefully it gets changed and you won't have to worry.

how to other country?

If you have the carrier unlock it, it is not illegal.
If you use your upgrade to get a cheaper phone with a contract and then use a 3rd party SIM unlocker to use on another carrier then it IS illegal.
Start with asking the carrier it is locked by for an unlock code