The TL;DR version: activate this phone or I'm out

Dear Sprint,
I have been a longtime loyal customer ever since your acquisition of Nextel. I was on the network with my beloved i90 and it’s follow up, the i730. I was an early adopter and staunch supporter of the Palm Pre and WebOS. When it was announced that newer versions of the Pre (the Pre Plus) were coming to AT&T and Verizon, but not Sprint, I still hung on and supported both the platform and the network until HP pulled the plug. I then moved on to the HTC Evo Shift with its promise of 4G through WiMAX, which would hopefully help the somewhat spotty 3G service in the Washington Metropolitan area. Unfortunately, WiMAX never took off like LTE did, and the plug was pulled on that service as well. Still, I stuck with Sprint. I purchased the Motorola Photon Q with the hopes that Sprint’s promised 4G LTE network would roll out to the DC Metro area as promised on your website. More than 18 months later, I’m still waiting.
I have paid my bills on time, upgraded faithfully every 2 years and patiently waited for the network to get better. Meanwhile, I have watched friends and family move to Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile for better service, more phone variety and faster speeds. For instance, my wife stayed with her Verizon plan and bought a Palm Pre. While she had little problem getting a consistent signal on her phone throughout the house, my Pre on Sprint was hit or miss, working in the kitchen but not necessarily in the living room. Friends and family come over with all manner of iPhone, Moto X and Galaxy everything and can make calls. Me and my Sprint phone, not so much.
Recently, my Photon Q has started to reset itself 3 times a day without any provocation. Since I’m due for an upgrade and my contract is up, I can pretty much chose whatever phone and carrier I want without having the fear of early termination fees. However, I decided to stick with Sprint, hoping that my loyalty and patience would pay off in the form of a lower bill (compared to the likes of Verizon) and improved service (once the long promised network upgrade takes place). Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single phone offered by Sprint that I wanted. I have no interest in the iPhone and moving to iOS, as I’m comfortable with Android. I am not a fan of Touchwiz so I do not want any of the Samsung phones that you offer. I prefer not to have a 5” phone or bigger, so many of the LG or HTC phones are out. The one phone that would work for my needs would be the Nexus 5, which you did carry and does work on both your CDMA network and the GSM networks of AT&T and T-Mobile. Unfortunately, these are no longer in stock with Sprint, since you have moved on to the Nexus 6, which is much too big for my liking. I was able to purchase an unlocked phone (model no. D820) from the Google Play Store, with the hopes of having this activated on your network. This, unfortunately, was not to be.
First, I needed to get a SIM card to access the LTE network and complete the phone activation. Visiting multiple Sprint stores in my area ended in frustration, as they claimed the phone did not need a SIM, they did not have any SIM cards, and they could not activate the phone. After searching for a day, I was able to go to Sprint’s Worldwide Chat Support and have one shipped to me. However, after installing the SIM card I was still unable to have the phone activated. An hour long online chat session proved fruitless as well. Even though I have the MEID and the ICCID from the SIM card, I was told that only Nexus 5 phones that were purchased from Sprint could be activated. The only suggestions the tech had were a possible phone by-back with Sprint (which would not give me nearly the value of the phone and still leaves me in a situation where Sprint does not offer a phone that I want) or to find a way to sell or return my phone and upgrade with Sprint (which takes more time and hassle than should be necessary). I have looked through numerous posts on Sprint’s community page and various forums on the internet, and it seems there is a lot of misinformation coming from Sprint. Depending on what tech you talk to, you are told either (a) Sprint can’t activate the phone if it wasn’t a Sprint Nexus 5 (even though it’s the exact same, carrier unlocked, SIM unlocked phone that you can get from Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile or Google Play); (b) only SOME of the Nexus 5 phones not purchased from Sprint can be activated or (c) Sprint can and will activate a Nexus 5, regardless of where it came from. None of this makes any sense and none of this gets me any closer to having a working phone on my current network.
After close to a decade, I am tired. I am tired of the lack of service. I am tired of the lack of choice. I am tired of the poor customer support for current customers at the retail level (new customers coming over from another carrier are treated like kings, though). I am tired of the lack of knowledge and straight answers from technical support. I am tired of not having a phone I can use at home or at work. I am tired of the runaround. And I am tired of Sprint.
If there is anyone at the company that can assist in getting my Nexus 5 working on your network in a timely manner, please feel free to contact me as soon as possible. If not, I will have to take the phone I bought with my hard earned money and go with a carrier that will have little to no problem activating it on a network where I should be able to get a reliable signal. I should not feel like a battered mate in a relationship, but that’s pretty much what my dealing with Sprint feels like right now. And like any unhealthy relationship, it must end soon.
Sincerely,
Me

ergo Sprint, at least in the US, does not use SIM cards. That's why you can't get it activated. It has nothing to do with anything else. If you're on Sprint in this country, you must use a CDMA phone... and at that, one that was originally on Sprint's network.

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forcing myself to actually respond to you is like bathing in ebola virus. - Binlahab

Like there is stupid, and then there is you, and then there is dead. - VAsBestBBW

R.I.P. Disco D

One of the few that do, believe it or not

to buy it directly from The Google.

.

Dude.....
Step your cell phone knowledge up.
Sucks that you purchased an outgoing Nexus model....hopefully you can flip it because you'll never get it activated on Sprint.

Re-think your issues with Samsung phones.... Toutchwiz is a non-issue because...Nova Launcher...
or any of the other great replacement launchers that you can simply install for free from the Google Play Store. Don't have to be rooted or anything crazy like that. Just install it and run it. It doesn't take up much space, doesn't slow the phone down, still allows full use of every Samsung proprietary feature.

Here's a link to Nova Launcher: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher&hl=en

I've owned Galaxy series phones (Note 2, S3 for work, and now a Note 4) for the past 3 years and the only time I laid eyes or interacted with Touchwiz was when I first booted the phone up and navigated to the Play Store so that I could download and install Nova Launcher.

Another great(better) option for you than the old model Nexus is the Moto X.

Sprint is shitty in the DMV...always has been. No clue how they even survive here...

Remember, your choices are:
Great Phone,
Great Coverage,
Low Price.

...You can only have 2/3.....

great inexpensive smart phone choice


does it really matter?

for all my fans who keep my name in their mouth: http://i.imgur.com/v2xNOpS.jpg

First, the Samsung thing. They just aren't for me. Can I put another launcher on there? Yes I can, and yes I know how. I could go the rooting route, and have done so with my Shift, Nook Color, Kindle Fire and a few other Android devices, so I'm well aware I'd have options if I went the Galaxy route. But I still don't want one. The S5 is too big (I do not want a 5+" phone; hell, the N5 is barely acceptable sizewise) and I just don't like the design of the phones, period. It's like the Toyota Camry of phones. Perfectly fine vehicles, ones that I'd recommend to my sister, but not something I'd spend my money on because it's not for me. Come on, man, you owned and championed a Zune, I know you have to understand part of that...

The size factor is what kills a number of phones for me, like the M8 or the G3. Yes the Moto X is a great phone, and one I'd consider if I wanted a phone over that 5" mark and moved to another network (which ideally I didn't want to do, but was definitely a viable option). Didn't want the last gen Moto X either - great phone, but my parents and my 13 year old have one (well, he had his until he lost it. Twice..), so I didn't want the same thing.

The Nexus 5 was a conscious decision on my part. Sizewise it just squeezes into what I wanted. I'm assured a pure android experience and first crack (at least until Google gives it an EOL notice) at android updates without having to monkey around with different ROMs. With both CDMA and GSM radios I can take the phone with me to another carrier if I so chose (or still have a decent turn on a flip). Wireless charging is a plus, especially since I have a few Qi pads already. Yes it has a slower processor. Yes the battery and camera could be better. But it's a better option for me than the Nexus 6. Ultimately, the Nexus 5 is a pretty good stopgap for the phone I ultimately want (Z3 Compact), but I don't quite have the funds for that at the moment and my current phone needs to be replaced, as it functions when it wants to

I'm painfully aware of Sprint's service in the DC/MD/VA area. Why am I still here? Part price, part laziness. It was always easier to reup my contract instead of figure out ETFs, new contracts, monthly fees, etc. So I just dealt with the crappy service. I'm done with that now. If they can activate it, great. If not, fine. T-Mobile or AT&T will. No worries.

I posted the rant on their Facebook page. Got a response in 10 minutes and will likely get a call sometime today at work from them.

Cool...I shoulda known that if you were keen enough to source out an N5, you were up on different launchers...sorry for insulting your savvy my dude...

I do think the industry is going the wrong way by upsizing everything. 5"+ isn't for everybody...and honestly...Samsung is the only one that's really innovating in the space and actually putting the large form factor to good use... I was shocked at how they upsized the Nexus 6 like that....it's really a travesty. The first All-Carrier pure Android phone in years and they go and fck it up with a dumb large form factor just for the sake of 1-upping Samsung...

Honestly, I think you should really entertain leaving at this stage. All the carriers are assholes.....just depends on which asshole you're willing to shell out your hard earned doe to every month. Verizon is the accepted best of the majors in the DMV....but their phone selection is excruciatingly always months behind the competitors...and the phone selection will always be limited because they're non-GSM....

But if you DID switch to VZW....def. check out the Droid Turbo. My wife had the same requirements as you with respects to not wanting to go huge. The Turbo is larger than her OG Moto X was...but still a manageable size with a nice strong feeling construction. Plus it's as close to stock Android as you can get on any carrier without getting a Nexus device or a Moto X.

A buddy of mine was going to sell me his Verizon phone a few years back thinking that Sprint would activate it because they're a CDMA carrier as well. Sprint even sold the phone themselves under a different name (it was the XV6800, which Sprint sold as the PPC6800), but when I called Sprint to check on this they balked at me. I was told that Sprint will not activate a phone that was not originally on their network and I would have to get this one on through Verizon.

As for their shitty service... When I had Sprint I went to Vegas and was pretty surprised that Sprint didn't have 4G coverage there except at the airport and this was just back in March. Bad enough they didn't have it back home but at least stand it up all over Las Vegas. When 3G was hot, Sprint couldn't be touched in terms of coverage area and speed, now they're second rate at best.

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forcing myself to actually respond to you is like bathing in ebola virus. - Binlahab

Like there is stupid, and then there is you, and then there is dead. - VAsBestBBW

R.I.P. Disco D

and the screen is damn near unbreakable. *don't ask how I know this*

Since 1976

i did last year and couldn't be happier

Paid my last bill last night. Will decide on T-Mo or AT&T and make the switch by Friday (or today depending on work)

Selling the Nexus 5 on ebay. Goodbye Sprint. Has been an interesting decade. Thank you for the Pre

Not that the Xperia is a bad phone, but just curious? Unless you're getting more money for it than you paid.

I'm not sure if the phone was a bit confused switching back from CDMA to GSM (the Nexus 5 is one of the few phones with both radios) when I swapped Sprint's SIM for T-Mobiles, but the phone simply did not see any networks with the T-Mo SIM installed, even after multiple resets. Strangely enough, my sister's AT&T SIM worked with no problem. I suppose if I went to the AT&T store first I may not have gone with getting a new phone. But by that point I was starting to come around to just accepting a big phone after all (which really started this mess in the first place). Plan works out to about what I was paying at Sprint, the service actually works (I have 4G everywhere in my house, plus wi-fi calling locked in) and I've got a current generation phone.

But by that point I was starting to come around to just
>accepting a big phone after all (which really started this
>mess in the first place).

I just moved up to a big phone. Droid Turbo to be exact. Coming from a RAZR M it's a big jump. In the past 3 weeks though, I've gotten used to the size, and looking at the smaller phone makes me wonder why I didn't make the jump earlier.

I'm coming from a Photon Q (4.3" screen) and desperately wanted to avoid going over a 5" phone. The whole story is discussed in detail over in High Tech (http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=11&topic_id=292553&mesg_id=292553&page=). It still feels like the phone is too big, but it's only been a day with the phone. I'll get used to it, I suppose, and hopefully won't have to wonder if I'd like the 4.7" version better

when my contract is finally up. I still love my HTC One (M7) and wish I could take it with me, but the Z3/Z3 Compact seems to be the best thing out right now.

I'm 95% sure I'm going to go prepaid with Cricket

>when my contract is finally up. I still love my HTC One (M7)
>and wish I could take it with me, but the Z3/Z3 Compact seems
>to be the best thing out right now.
>
>I'm 95% sure I'm going to go prepaid with Cricket


If you're in Sprint, look into Ting. Very, very cheap and it uses the Sprint backbone. The main caveat is that you have to use wifi to cut down on data usage to save on costs with Ting.

But there's no carrier that has it, and I couldn't swing buying it up front. If I could, I would have months ago. So far, I'm digging the Z3, extra size and all. Don't really need many of Sony's apps or setup, but using the Google Now launcher does the trick for me.

The phone itself is one sexy slab. It feels great and has a nice weight to it. The glass panels are a gift and a curse, as they make the phone look and feel great, but it does make it a bit slippery, smudges are the norm and there's the extra fear of dropping it and shattering everything (then again, that goes for any glass backed phone). Charging is interesting. You can use the USB, but you have to pop the cover every time. There is a magnetic charging setup, but the cable or adapter isn't provided (at least not with the T-Mo version). But they are easy enough to find on Amazon.

The phone only has GSM radios, so it will either be AT&T or T-Mobile (or a prepaid that does GSM). Not many people seem to have a Sony phone, so feel free to ask me anything about it.