So before I get blown up I did search through the stickies and the forum in general.
From what I can see here the original HTC EVO 4g will NOT work on Boost but I can find them all day long flashed to Boost on eBay. I have to believe it's possible or the people selling these phones on eBay would end up with horrible feedback because someone would buy the phone only to realize it's not useable on Boost.
I'm currently with Sprint but my $120 a month bill is getting old. I currently have a HTC EVO 4g and my plan was to file an insurance claim for $100 (my phone has serious issues charging and some days I cannot get it to charge) so I could get a new phone (I know it's a refurb). Once I received the phone I was going to port my number to Boost and get the $50 unlimited plan and buy the cheapest phone they have. At the same time I was going to flash/root my phone to Boost (I'd probably use on of the mail in services for $50-$75). Once I got the phone back I would use the EVO (does Boost allow us to change our phone online??) and I'm thinking I should have a $50 a month unlimited plan with the use of the HotSpot feature on my EVO. With shrinkage after 18 months I would be down to $35 month.
** Sorry for breaking my question in to 2 posts - when I tried to post it as 1 post I was getting an error regarding posting links/pics/videos even though there were none of those in the post. **
I'm not sure if I would need to sign up with Boost for the Android Unlimited Plan (at $55 month) initially for my EVO to work..? If that's the case it sort of ruins my plan as I believe the cheapest phone is the Samsung Galaxy Prevail at $129. Once I factor in the cost of getting my insurance EVO ($100) and having it flashed ($75) I'm just over $300 and I may as well just buy the EVO Design directly from Boost.
If I end up buying the EVO Design does it have the Boost logo on it?
Also if I go this route can the HotSpot feature ($10 month) be added/dropped whenever? It's something I would probably only use sporadically.
The difference in price between your Sprint plan and a Boost plan are so great that you could just do the boring official way for everything and still make out fine. You could get a Design with hotspot and the plan would pay for itself in 8 months. After that, you'd be saving $50 a month.
You could save $10 by not getting the hotspot and you'd break even sooner.
I'm not sure how much Boost insurance is (if they have it).
Assuming you have good coverage for Boost, I'd just buy the Design and know that I'll be ahead of the game by March (rather than pulling all these rabbits out of hats).
Yes. You can change the phone online. It is at the top of the website after you log in. It is marked "update handset".
You do not really need to start up your service with a different phone. You can just start the service with the phone that you have... unless you're thinking of starting service with a phone and using it while your Evo is in transit to and from the place that's going to be flashing it for you.
Once you unlock the hotspot feature on the phone you will not have to get it unlocked from Boost. That applies to the Evo and the Design. If you install a ROM with the hotspot unlocked/useable then why pay Boost to let you use it. On another note, I'm not sure if Boost does it, but on Sprint if you paid for the hotspot feature then they'd throttle you at 5gb. OTOH Boost throttles after 2.5gb but that's a lot of tethering!
If you MEID fake the Evo to get it on Boost then there's no need to get on the Android plan. You can get on the feature plan ($50) and use it that way. Many people are doing just that. Only thing is that IF Boost starts logging usage and banning people using copious amounts of data with a feature phone then you'll fall under the list. Getting on their Android plan will ensure that you do not fall under that bracket.
Your math is spot on. Using the Evo on boost with a Prevail donor is counterproductive. Unless you already own a Prevail or if you can get a Prevail for a seriously low price. Maybe you can try and find one that's busted up but still functional, barely, and get a good deal on that.
As far as the branding on the phone goes. It looks like the HTC logo has been moved to the center of the front face of the phone as opposed to the two carrier and manufacturer logos being on each side of the phone, like on the Evo. The back of the phone has the Boost Mobile branding though. Take this with a grain of salt as I've not actually played with a device. That's what I learned from an image search of the device, mainly from this site. http://www.engadget.com/photos/evo-d...ds-on/#5011076
If you get the Prevail, get a different donor phone and sell the Prevail after you no longer have use for it then you'll recover some of your money.
I'd also like to point out that what JDubTrey posted is also a matter to think about. If you shell out an initial investment on the Design now you'll actually recover your money (as savings) fairly fast. To his post you can also add the point that the HTC Design has slightly better specs than the Evo but it does have a larger internal storage and it comes with a SIM slot that you can use to get on a GSM network if you travel overseas. The SIM slot is locked out of USA networks but can be used on overseas networks.
Yeah, I forgot about the fact that the Design is a better phone than the orig EVO. In addition to those internals, the screen is slightly smaller but it's much nicer than the EVO's 480x800 display.
In addition , I might go ahead with the insurance claim, if that claim is straightforward and won't commit you to anything else. You should be able to get $100-200 for your refurb'd clean esn EVO after you switch.
I know for a fact that the insurance claim doesn't commit you to anything. My wife claimed insurance after her phone got stolen at school and her term of commitment to the plan didn't change.
One word of advice though. Use the phone after you get the device rather than let it sit till your contract expires. The first phone we got had a mark on the touchscreen, it wasn't a scratch it was like a smudge about 1 inch square and couldn't be wiped away. The second one we got wouldn't charge at all. The third phone we got was the charm. By that time we'd spent about a month and change without the phone and Asurion upgraded us to the Evo 3d for free. Still got that phone.
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