gahleon

Distinguished
Jan 7, 2006
4
0
18,510
My sister is running an old 8100 phone which is still clicking along just fine however recently some really weird stuff happened. She, being stupid, left a 4 dollar balance on the phone bill and they cut off her service. After she paid right away they went to turn it back on and now the phone always says looking for signal. I figured they get the ESN number wrong or something but apparently they say (over the phone with sprint) that everything is correct and all levels of tech support don't know what is going on. Could it be that it needs a firmware upgrade now since sprint and nextel merged? Did they change the network config a lil or something? I'm just lost looking for answers.
 

Nexxuvas

Distinguished
Feb 5, 2006
13
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18,560
Network configs have not changed, however, it could be that at, or around the same time as the phones was hotlined, it finally bit the dust as far as being able to pick up a signal.

You can go to your local store and have them either try and update the sftwr, or repush the current software to the phone, but that may not fix the issue, as usually once a phone gets stuck not being able to pick up a signal, something else has usually gone wrong.

There is hope at least, if the sftwr update or repush does not fix the issue, then you've probably had the phone long enough to be eligible for a phone upgrade where they can give you $75-$150 off the price of a new phone, or if you carry the ESRP package (whether ESRP by itself or TEP), they can order you an exchange 8100 (if they don't already have them in stock.) and transfer your numbers over...that is if you wish to continue using that older model of phone.

Just bring it into a regular store location and they'll be able to get you set up.

If you do not choose to do the upgrade, or are not eligible, or you do not ahve ESRP you can still pay for a repair, at $55 to get the 8100 fixed or replaced (if they can find why it is no longer picking up a signal).

That's 3 options into getting yourself back online.