yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Ascertion:
You initially save ~$350 upon signing a 2yr agreement, then pay $200 for the device. But, when you pay for it off contract, you pay $550+ and still pay for a phone plan, you're just not locked in.

Now think about it, if you cancel the plan with a contract phone, you pretty much just pay the $350, which in the end adds up to the off contract price (the ETF gets lower, the longer you're in the plan, which in the end is even cheaper). But with an off-contract phone, you can just cancel without an ETF.

So if my logic is correct (please correct me if I'm wrong), why are so many people against signing a 2yr contract with Sprint or another wireless carrier?
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] darklavalizard:
I too wonder the same thing. You end up paying an extra $200-250 over the life of the contract.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] hakcenter:
Cause their stupid ?

Sometimes people just aren't any good with their money, and unwilling to have the patience required to wait it out. They would rather pay a premium for "freedom".

I had the original sero for over 5 years. Just recently imho phones are at the point (sg2) where it is worth the extra $20 to me to own one. Otherwise I kept renewing my contract so they couldn't surprise sex my bill.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] The Root:
Off contract, terms of service can change and you go with them. Under contract you are locked in at least for the life of the deal.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] shiftr182:
I buy all my phones off ebay or craigslist for around $200 - $250 within a month or so after they come out. I have no contract, and paid the same price as someone who signs a contract to get a discount. I get a new phone every 3 - 6 months, which beats having to wait 2 years, and I have a lot of leverage with Sprint because I have been with them for 12 years, and anytime Im not happy, I just tell them to cancel my contract. Its funny how the problem gets resolved when I threaten to leave.

Here is a list of some of the phones I have bought on craigslist: Epic 4g ($175 2 months after released), nexus S 4g ($220 the month it released), Evo 3D ($175 2-3 months after release), Epic Touch ($225 a month after release), 32G iPhone 4S ($225, yes 225 the month it was released)
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Esoteric68:
Before the E4GT I had rarely owned any phone longer than a year and even that was stretching it. I'm a gadget freak, I love new toys and I live my life in a manner that allows me to enjoy them from time to time without putting myself in a financial pinch. I guess the trade off is that I'll keep a car until it's falling apart rather than buy a new one every few years like most people I know. Tech devices, unlike cars, are really sort of over the hill after 2years and I don't like being stuck with old technology.

Also, for me it isn't about not wanting to sign a new contract with Sprint, I've been with them so long and will likely continue with them into the foreseeable future that it isn't an issue. It really is just the wait between upgrades. I dislike having limitations on the ability to stay current therefore I remove them by ensuring I have the money to get what I want, when I want .. within means of course. lol

And for the record, I really wish we could leave off with the comments like "their stupid" (please make note of correct spelling before calling other people stupid, it's they're, not their). That never lends itself to mature discussion and really just reflects poorly on the person using it. Surely you can pull something more agreeable from your vocabulary but if not, there's always an online thesaurus just a click away.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] ubigred:
Epic Touch a month after release, $225? How?

Sent from my EPIC TOUCH!
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] akarol:
I call BS on the iPhone @ $225. Prove it!

Those phones will go for $500+ with good ESNs.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] feyrune:
The best phone that my service provider offers is still the CDMA Hero... Unless you want to go with iPhone (whew no lightening from the sky). So i bought E4GT from ebay for cheaper than they would offer with a contract anyway.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] DirkBelig:
I don't get the premise or math the first two posters are using. Assuming a $550 off-contract price vs. a $200 + $350 ETF combo for doing a 2-yr stint, where does the "stoopid peeple pay $250" come from. Service rates don't change whether you did a contract or not so what gives?

I came to Sprint in June 2009 for the Palm Pre, switching to an OG EVO in June 2010. Fed up with how Gingerbread totally swallowed up memory on the EVO (causing it to refuse to do anything if it dropped below 10% free space) and after banging my head against the wall for 4 months trying to resolve the issue, I threw down the full $500 for an E4GT in October 2011 and never looked back.

I may've been able to finagle an upgrade price due to the TOS shens Sprint was pulling at the time, but that would've required me to recommit until October 2013 to a phone already 6 months old internationally on a carrier that had been charging my a $10 premium for 4G that I've never used with a tech that was being abandoned in favor of a flavor that may take years to arrive. FTS!

I'm now off contract and am free to go where I want NOW. Too bad all the other carriers are so expensive, but at least they have decent speeds and coverage. It's just not worth the extra $300+ per year they'd cost. Sigh.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] darklavalizard:
Cost would be the same if you pay $350 ETF, but how many people do? Why on earth would you sign a contract factoring the $350 termination fee in?
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] quick99si:
Let's not forget that using an upgrade triggers the $36 activation fee as well. Conversely, tax is significantly higher when buying off contract (just about identical to the activation fee, so i guess its a wash lol).
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] tgruendler:
They have always waved that fee for me when I upgrade. Been with Sprint for 11 years.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] kingsway8605:
If you do your timing right as far as early upgrades, etfs, etc, you can easily game the system and save money staying on contract. Even the ceo of TMobile has actually admitted contract subsidies are a loss for the companies, but no carrier wants to be the first to get rid of them.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] hakcenter:
Waive the fee just for asking. For four phones.

Ohhhh noes my phone is out of date and...... STILL WORKS. But i continue to pay premiums and stay out of contract so when fees go up as they inevitably do you pay even more.

Cause 200pts in a benchmark or 30 minutes of theoretical battery life is total worth it /sigh

I got an e4gt cause it simply is the best phone, has been the best phone for years and will survive its many years of life in my hands. Had a rumor2 for 2 years, was it super fresh awesome ? No but it's a phone not a status icon.

Moving phones every 3-6 months just shows lack of knowledge and poor habits. Rates will never lower they will only increase, going month to month is a stupid idea unless you plan on leaving the carrier.

My whole family got 4 e4gts for 0.01 on the Amazon deal and we split a family plan that is reasonable to the sero500 we had.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] quick99si:
When was the last time they did this for you? Sprint has taken a hard line on this matter and has been shown to be completely unwilling to waive activation fees as part of the recent "nickel and dime" movement. It has basically become a $36 surcharge to every discounted phone you buy.

My plan (SERO 500) has automatically waived activation fees as a plan feature. I was hit with it when I bought an iPhone last year, and no arguing, premier status, or escalating helped.

http://community.sprint.com/baw/message/393749

http://community.sprint.com/baw/message/388870
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] hakcenter:
Waived 3 months ago on a family 1500 plan. Respect, responsibility, patience comes to mind. 0.01 for 4 phones then they waived the activation, unimaginable deal.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] DarkAdonis:
This guy gets it. And he beautifully shattered the argument of contract= money saved. Think outside the box a little and you'll see why not everyone prefers to commit to a contract.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] M@ttyD:
My E4GT is on Boost.

New E4GT w/ bad esn from ebay: $250

Flash to Boost: $30 (didn't want to mess it up myself)

Boost 3G Data at $0.35/day: $10.50/month

Calls at $0.10/minute: $10/month, if that (I don't need to talk much on my personal phone)

Google Voice for unlimited texting: $0/month

So I pay roughly $20 a month for a great phone, with 3G data and texting. I can change phones whenever I want, moved from a Evo 4G, same Boost set up to E4GT, a while ago. Sold the Evo to subsidize the E4GT. This method has worked well for me the last few years and I can live with the 3G data. Now that Boost will have 4G, hopefully our resourceful community will figure out a way to get the E4GT on it. I just don't see the need to be locked into a contract and pay $60+ a month for talk plus data fees, but to each their own.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] swear0730:
What he said.

But I don't buy that often and I don't do quite that well. I take good care of my phones so when I sell it its clean and like new meaning I will sell if for only a bit less (or sometimes more) than I paid for it. I get to change phones when I want.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] SkuzFoz:
The thing is that you don't have to pay the full price for the plan. You can pay $60 at Boost and it's the exact same company for less... which is about what Sprint is worth in the first place.

Because of the rate that Android phones (or any smartphone) becomes irrelevant, many people do upgrade early for the full price anyways, so there's no reason to have the contract for those people. Especially because they'd still be paying off the subsidy on their first device when it isn't even active.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] richard.tufty:
I am originally from the UK and the financial benefits to buying a phone off contract are huge there (surprisingly our phone deals are far better than the US ones, given that most things are cheaper here). For example, my father recently got an HTC Sensation S and paid £280 for it off contract (c. $430), but he then only pays £7 per month for a PAYG SIM only deal, so over 24 months he pays £450. The same phone on a 24 month contract was free, however the cheapest monthly tariff was £25, for a total of £600.

More money up front but no ties to any particular network so he can swap and choose if he finds the signal level or data rates are poor on his current choice.

As an aside, the £7 ($10) he pays each month gives him 500 MB of data, 1000 texts and 300 minutes. See how the US carriers are fleecing us? I pay $140ish for me and my wife to have Sprint and my dad's 3G in the UK is faster than the 4G I can get in Vegas. And he doesn't lose minutes/texts when people call him. I still can't wrap my head round why the US population puts up with that...
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] veritasaequita:
i can't really understand how you came up with this. i must also say i disagree with this statement on so many levels. im a phone-oholic and have at times changed faster than the time frame that you stated. i can assure you there is zero lack of knowledge on my behalf, nor do i have any "poor" habits. I just love technology. Hell i would order prototypes if they would let me.:)
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] bmoreboy02:
i have an upgrade available....but i sold my galaxy s2 last week for 330 so im tempted to just pay the extra 300 out of pocket.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] mrej201:
x2 bro i do pay the 50 cuz the international plan i pay 50 cuz i benn with boost since 2010 u know 5 dollar off every 6 month no contract
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] LordLugard:
I've been with Sprint more than 12 years, and this is the best answer.

It used to be that back in the days, Sprint didn't use to require a specific type of plan tied to a particular phone or phones like they do nowadays. This all started with the Samsung Instinct where they now required a Simple Everything plan starting at $69.99 for that phone and every phone onwards (except Palm OS phones and Windows Mobile phones). You could be on some grandfathered cheap plan (like i had always been) and just buy a phone at full price (or used) and just do an ESN swap/change while keeping your existing plan.

Back in the days, plan promos changed back and forth, from the Free and Clear plans to Fair and Flexible e.t.c. For example i was on the Free and Clear 29.99 plan (200 anytime 2800 n/w) from about the year 2000 to 2004 and during that period, newer plans came and went that cost more than 29.99 but i would just buy phones from craigslist/Radioshack/CompUSA etc and just do ESN swaps because getting a phone at a reduced subsidized price always required a new 2 yr renewal AND a plan change to something current.

Believe it or not, i still have a Treo Pro (windows Mobile) on a Free and Clear plan from 2002 that comes out to $35 (including tax, 750 daytime, n/w @ 8pm, unltd data/sms/mms) that i'm not letting go off. Now what is the phone history on this line...Samsung SCH 2000 - Samsung SCH 800 - Samsung N400 - Samsung i300 - Sanyo 8100 - HTC Mogul - Treos 650/700p/700Wx/800w/850 (Pro), plus a Touch Pro 2 in between the Treos. If i dare try to "upgrade" to anything current or modern, my bill goes up 3 fold.

I could always buy these phones outright for the same price Sprint was charging for 2 year contracts or renewals and i got to keep my cheaper plan.

But now with Sprint requiring minimum $69.99 Everything Data plans on current phones..... it's becoming moot. I know a lot of folks still on Windows Mobile and Palm OS devices on (ancient and archaic) Vision plans that are still holding out because "upgrading" to anything current means they lose their plans and double (even triple) their bills.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] mrej201:
not to metion now 4g on boost for 50 bucks same 4g as sprint
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] br0ken_shad0w:
The ETF used to be $200 which meant if you know how to game the system, you can come out ahead. With the $350 ETF, you'd be lucky to break even.

Of course, if I was a Photon or EVO 3D owner, I'd be willing to eat the cost too and get another phone.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] bos0407:
Getting on and getting off

I can understand the argument for an off contract purchase if you're grandfathered into an old plan that's less than what you would pay for service now. What really scares me though is not having insurance for the device. I understand the additional monthly fee for insurance costs approximately $100 a yr on top of the regular fees but the ability to replace my phone for free or a $100 deductible if its my fault, is why I choose to purchase the phone on contract. In my case I upgraded to an evo 4g two years ago for $200 and choose to pay the insurance fee of approximately $8 a month. So if you add up the numbers after 2 yrs the total cost of that phone to me is around $400. So even with insurance I'm still paying far less than $500+ amount that someone off contract would pay. I'm not factoring in the trade in amount since it applies either way. In my case after 3 months the USB port on my evo 4g went bad and I had it replaced for free since it was a hardware issue. About a year later I dropped my newer evo4g and had to pay $100 for a new one because that time it was my fault. I complained and eventually they offered me an evo3d to replace my evo4g since I was close to my upgrade and said I would rather pay $200 for a new phone than $100 for a phone that came out a year and a half earlier. I took the evo3d and about a month later I noticed the screen acting up so I returned that for an e4gt free of charge. So that's 4 phones for the original price of $200 plus $100 for the dropped phone. Granted only 2 phones worked properly but, there's no guarantee that the off contract phone won't have these same issues and good luck getting the guy or girl on Craigslist to fix or replace it for you. The way I see it I upgraded six months early from an evo 4g to an E4GT for $100. If I was off contract I would have had to come up with another $500 to get the E4GT.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] fryingpan0613:
What you are failing to notice is its only $350 if you cancel right after you get the phone. It goes down $20 a month. I have 12 months left in my contact, and my ETF is $150. Therefore, 150 ETF + $200 sg3= 350 total, so I save $200.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] shook187:
Good luck having those special circumstances happen again going forward.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Nightebreed:
I see people saying they can get phones off of Ebay for only $200 for any phone, but honestly I just looked at the Galaxy Nexus and I don't see any for around that price range.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] kc_exactly:
I do the craigslist route. I have two upgrades right now and don't see myself using them any time soon.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] skyward01:
They used to wave it for me as well, but that stopped with my wife's latest upgrade.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] animal7296:
I have a couple of upgrades as well. What I do is buy the phones on craigslist for around $200 with cracked screens. Then when my buddy at my local sprint store "salvages" a screen he replaces it for me for free. My last craigslist venture landed me 2ET4Gs for my EVO3d. Both with cracked screens and clean esn numbers. The guy had used his 2 insurance claims and wanted a phone with a good screen.

As far as getting the phones within 2 months of release for $200, especially the iPhone lineup, I call TOTAL BS. I have not even seen one with a bad esn for that cheap.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] bronxct1:
If you have 12 months left on your plan your ETF is $240. It doesn't start dropping until after the first 6 months.

I can't link to Sprint's ETF page since I'm new but if you go there they give you a month by month breakdown. Basically its Months left x $20. So 12 x 20 = $240 not $150.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] nellycruzz:
Were stupid cuz we buy off contract? Hell I was with T-Mobile and saw that boost had great coverage in my area with true unlimited 3g. So I bought the phone for $125 and I flashed it to boost on my own. Paid $50 for service. All gravy baby. :). Ppl don't pay full retail price (know y'all don't look around on Craigslist or eBay much :smh:)!
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Esoteric68:
It doesn't start going down immediately, there's an 8 month period where it doesn't drop at all and then it starts going down $20 per month.

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=27580635&postcount=4

---------- Post added at 11:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:11 AM ----------

Used to be 6 months, now it's 8 months as shown in the chart found in the link above.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] tgruendler:
Wrong chart, that is for the early upgrade.

Here is the correct one that shows that if you signed your contract before Sept 2011, it starts at $200.00 and goes down after the 5th month by $10.00, after Sept 2011, starts at $350.00 and goes down $10.00 after the 6th month and $20.00 every month after that.

http://support.sprint.com/support/a...termination_fee/case-sp061027-20110823-171256
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Czarnickoli:
What a wonderful thread.. As a result, my next phone will be flashed to boost. I hadn't really thought about doing it the way you guys have to buy phones off contract but I really like this idea!

One thing though, how do you guys verify clean esn before buying the phone from people off of craigslist or just go off of good faith?
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] animal7296:
You can call sprint to ask but that takes forever. You can have them meet you at a sprint store and they can check (best option IMO) or you can go to this website http://www.checkesnfree.com/ I am pretty sure that it is pretty accurate but without it actually being sprint I would take it with a grain of salt.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] nellycruzz:
Meet at a sprint store. And just a fyi, if your flashing to boost, metro or any other carrier it doesn't really matter if its clean or not. $110 for a epic white. Cant beat that buddy
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Czarnickoli:
Sweet so when I'm in the market for my next phone I don't even have to worry about esn if I'm going to flash to boost.

Why don't more people just use boost? What are the downsides? Or have I just been niave this whole time and everyone here already does use it?
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] c5satellite2:
What about straight talk? I'm thinking about breaking up with att and taking my HOX over there.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] mrej201:
50 dollars unlimited 3g is good as sprint or even better for me here where i live in nj

u can copy ur friend 4g mac and u got 4g wallot

no contract pay as u like
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] draconx:
hey how'd / where did you pay only 30$ to get your phone flashed to boost?.. i have an evo 4g that i'd like to flash over but I cant get it (the incognito is acting up for me)..
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] fryingpan0613:
Sprint told me $150, so I'm not going to argue with them...
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Unknown Zone:
If you can do without "Roaming" then go for it, I switched cause I was tired of paying about 100 for service when I can get the same for 50 with shrinkage without roaming and also get 4g on my EpicTouch. When I was with Sprint I never did roam in my 12 yrs. So since roaming does not play a big part in my cell life I made the jump. As you know just recently we now have the hand me downs of 4g from our big brother since he is moving up to LTE...lol. :laugh:

Most people don't switch cause of the phone selection and some people just don't want to go through the trouble of programing a phone..etc.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] bos0407:
The way I see it
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] M@ttyD:
A Boost store in the Los Angeles area. You should be able to find several stores offering flash services in metropolitan areas on craigslist. Just negotiate the price down by threatening to go to a competitor. They won't turn down easy cash for 20 minutes of work.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] ghanafirst:
Can you confirm 4g to work on Boost if the Mac is copied? and how do you do that??
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Unknown Zone:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1447615

No need to confirm cause it does I also have 4g on boost

Just do what the links says to do
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] ghanafirst:
Thanks for the link will look it up when i get home.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] emalave32:
I stay on contract because of the insurance service. You never know when your phone will fall into a toilet.
[Galaxy S III General] narsor:
I wonder if there's the possibility to have black background for gmail?

GT-I9300 cihazımdan Tapatalk 2 ile gönderildi
[Galaxy S III General] dLo GSR:
http://rootzwiki.com/topic/15092-invertedtotally-inverted-apps-4-12-google-plus-updated/
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sergio60052:
Hi, I'm having massive battery drain and i'm using neats's lite rom+ neak 2.0.6 with UV/UC.

Can anyone help me ?

I'll post screen shots in a while, but I'm getting to 30%bat with 7 hours off usage and 1h30min os screen on.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] atulalvenkar:
Go to Settings > Battery and take a screenshot. Next click on the graph that is displayed and take another screenshot.

Post both screenshots here. Also download and install BetterBatteryStats, search it on this forum you'll find it.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sergio60052:
it's a paid app man xDD
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kilometers4:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=15869886
[HTC One X] ToddeSwe:
Hi

What's up with One X and DLNA?

Since i bought my One X i've got a ton of problems on my hand and have not had the time to check everything up until now i noticed that i can't use DLNA on my TV no more... my WD Live is working as before but not my TV Sony Bravia KLD-46HX800.

Can someone shed some light on this please?

Bought a new router Netgear WNDR3700 because i can't get the One X to work on my old Netgear WNR2000. Have looked for something in the settings but can't find anything.