Please explain supported - Sprint to Boost CDMA phones

[Bryan Hall]

OK, having searched a bit - and read the various (seeming dated) FAQ's - I'm still trying to understand what, besides billing, is really different between Sprint's CDMA service and Boosts.

I have taken a paycut, and want to see about moving our current family Sprint phones (6) over to Boost to save money. Some of the phones (such as my Sanyo Katana "original") are not on many of the lists I have seen.

Could someone please explain why a phone like this cannot be moved? Searching Google, I found my Katana phone on ebay, as a Boost phone. It uses CDMA.

For my phone, I only want voice - I don't care about texting, photos, web, etc. I just use it for about 60 minutes a month, for voice calls for work. I don't want a clunky smartphone - although a phone with better voice quality would be good.

Anyhow - put in the new ESN online (or via a representative) and - at least voice should work - right?

So here is what we currently have:

Sanyo Katana (AEZSCP-66H)
Sanyo SCP-3810
Samsung Reclaim - Listed!
Samsung Epic 4G
Samsung Tender
Samsung Restore

The only one I'm iffy on is my wife's Epic 4G, not clear on if Boost supports Sprints "4G" phones or not. That one may just stay on Sprint for now.

Sorry if I missed some search term, etc. Just trying to wrap my head around why I couldn't add a compatible phone, even if it is not "supported".

EDIT/UPDATE - I tried my DEC number on the boost activation page and it recognized it as "MEID/ESN provided is already in use by another customer. Please call Boost Care to activate this. ". <- I would like to do that!

Thanks in advance,

Bryan

[mbellot]

There are some (older) handsets that can be used directly with Boost, but (AFAIK) the TouchPro2 was the last and even those were hit or miss.

To get anything newer (such as your wife's Epic) you need to use the serial number from a "donor" phone that is a genuine Boost phone (such as the Incognito).

You will NOT get 4G with a donor serial number.

You will need to cancel Sprint in order for the serial numbers to not be "in use", or you could try to call Boost and port the phones and numbers directly. I did that while I was still on iDen with Nextel, took less than 5 minutes to make the switch.

If all you want is voice I would seriously look at just picking up a real Boost handset locally.

[Dr.Ama]

Was curious if boost allowed newer phones so I tried my nieces Nexus. No luck as the ESN isnt allowed.
Would be nice if Boost was able to use all Sprint ESN's on their system. The Nexus is a terrible Sprint phone
but would be a nice Boost phone.

[Meeeeeeeee]

I had a Kaytana that I moved into Boost twice (once for me and later for a friend) with no trouble at all. You'll need to get it off Sprint first so that the ESN is clear. As to other phones, I'll leave that for more experienced people to handle.

[birdhouse1575]

Boost will usually allow Sprint phones that have been on Boost as well, from what I see.

Even then, as long as the ESN is clear, call Boost customer service until you get a representative that tells you something along the lines of, "You understand that this is a Sprint phone and some features may not work as a result?" etc.

I have a Sprint-branded LG Rumor on Boost. They are correct when they say that some features will not work. I cannot use picture mail and Outlook Web Access doesn't work in Sprint's email app. Everything else works though.

Good luck!

[LargePrime]

Also note that you Can get 4g, just not from boost, on the epic

[JDubTrey]

It might be constructive to post what you're paying for your service now. There may be a way to save enough money that you can get new phones and break even in 6-12 months. I'm not saying you'd definitely do this, but I think it's good to be aware of all your options.

On the other hand, if you do try to free up an ESN for use on Boost, remember to either port your number or do a phone swap if you want to keep your phone number. If you just cancel service and it is not a part of a number porting, the number will essentially be gone. You might not care about your phone number, of course.

[daye_chris]

The easiest sprint phones to get on boost are the ones that the esn Dec # starts with 268, because every single boost phone to date starts with these numbers. So when you call cc to give them a number like 270 ect they can catch it pretty quick.
Fyi

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