How to Get Sprint to Replace Phone without Insurance?

[theevilmonkee]

I accidentally jumped in pool w/ my cell-phone the other day.  It's hopelessly broken, and I don't have insurance on it.  What can I do to get a representative to replace/repair my phone without this insurance?

The reason that I'm determined to keep my current phone is to avoid the new $10 monthly charge which enacts after I activate a new smartphone.

[rbcp]

Order insurance on your phone and, what a coincidence, your phone suddenly breaks right after you order it!

[Acidpez]

theres usually a 30-45 day blackout period when you add insurance. and usually the insurance company will make a test call to make sure the phone works. if you want to go with out a phone for nearly 2 months to commit fraud then have fun waiting. itd be cheaper to find a replacement on craigslist

[rbcp]

Are you sure it's hopelessly broken?  It's just water.  If it's only been a few days, important things may have not rusted yet.  Drop it in a bowl of rice or kitty litter for a few days and see what happens.  Better yet, take it apart and dry it all out. I saved a friend's cell phone from water damage by taking it apart and using a hair dryer on it, but hers had only been wet for a few hours.

[ApprenticePhreak]

Are you sure it's hopelessly broken?  It's just water.  If it's only been a few days, important things may have not rusted yet.  Drop it in a bowl of rice or kitty litter for a few days and see what happens.  Better yet, take it apart and dry it all out. I saved a friend's cell phone from water damage by taking it apart and using a hair dryer on it, but hers had only been wet for a few hours.

It also depends if he tried to fire it up right away or kept trying to turn it on while it was still wet. May of fried out the circuits in a panic attack of trying to make it work for him. Other than that, yeah. Just take the thing apart and let it air out for another day or so, after that, plug it in.

[theevilmonkee]

Thanks for the advice, all.  I managed to dry my phone to the point where it was power-cycling, which convinced the Sprint people to think it was a software issue.  Even though I lacked insurance, they still replaced phone for $35.

I really got lucky on this one...