I have a strange situation. I did the "add-a-line" and was sent the
new phone UPS.
I've called several times now to activate it, and I keep being told
that the ESN is invalid. They say it has too many numbers!?!
WTF would I be sent a phone with an invalid ESN?!?
Heres a message I just sent to ecare to try to expedite:
--------------
Hello,
I ordered the "add-a-line" and a new sprint phone on June 13th. When I
placed the order, I was told that the phone would be turned on and
working June 18th at exactly 4pm.
It is now 48 hours past that point and the phone is still not on,
despite more than ten phone calls and several hours of time.
The phone number for the new phone is 330.63X.6XX9
The support ticket number is 24XXX32.
During my last phone call, the rep told me that there is an error
loading the ESN because it is invalid.
Is this really an invalid ESN? Why was I sent a phone with an invalid
ESN? This sounds to me like much craziness.
The last rep I talked to said it will be three days before this is
resolved.
It seems to me that one of the most basic services Sprint provides is
turning on phones, so I am having great difficulty in understanding
exactly what the problem is.
Please assist in looking in to this matter. Any information you can
provide will help in alleviating my confusion and fustration.
waveright@gmail.com (trwww) wrote in
news:1182368348.504675.275890@p77g2000hsh.googlegr oups.com:
> During my last phone call, the rep told me that there is an error
> loading the ESN because it is invalid.
>
> The numbers on the box are:
>
> MEID-DEC: 270XXXX7761XXXX389
> MEID-HEX: A1000000CXXX25
>
> Is this really an invalid ESN? Why was I sent a phone with an
> invalid ESN? This sounds to me like much craziness.
MEIDs are replacing ESNs for equipment identification. Although they
serve the same purpose, they're not the same.
An ESN represents a 32-bit number; an MEID represents a 56-bit
number.
Maybe the person you were speaking to was confused.
On Jun 20, 3:44 pm, Bert Hyman <b...@iphouse.com> wrote:
> waveri...@gmail.com (trwww) wrote innews:1182368348.504675.275890@p77g2000hsh.google groups.com:
>
> > During my last phone call, the rep told me that there is an error
> > loading the ESN because it is invalid.
>
> > The numbers on the box are:
>
> > MEID-DEC: 270XXXX7761XXXX389
> > MEID-HEX: A1000000CXXX25
>
> > Is this really an invalid ESN? Why was I sent a phone with an
> > invalid ESN? This sounds to me like much craziness.
>
> MEIDs are replacing ESNs for equipment identification. Although they
> serve the same purpose, they're not the same.
>
> An ESN represents a 32-bit number; an MEID represents a 56-bit
> number.
>
> Maybe the person you were speaking to was confused.
I've had the unactivated phone three days now and have called the
"Activate Your Sprint Service" phone number once a day for those three
days. Yesterday I called twice.
So I've tried to get the phone activated by four different people.
Every single person I've talked to is confused. Not one single person
knew what an MEID is.
If they are changing the identification format, seems like it would be
prudent to let thier activation reps know?
waveright@gmail.com (trwww) wrote in
news:1182369158.604096.260520@c77g2000hse.googlegr oups.com:
> If they are changing the identification format, seems like it would
> be prudent to let thier activation reps know?
Geez... you'd think so.
Just in case, look under the battery and see if maybe there's an ESN
as well as an MEID included. That's not likely since the reason
they're going to MEIDs is because they're running out of ESNs.
On Jun 20, 3:58 pm, Bert Hyman <b...@iphouse.com> wrote:
> waveri...@gmail.com (trwww) wrote innews:1182369158.604096.260520@c77g2000hse.google groups.com:
>
> > If they are changing the identification format, seems like it would
> > be prudent to let thier activation reps know?
>
> Geez... you'd think so.
>
> Just in case, look under the battery and see if maybe there's an ESN
> as well as an MEID included. That's not likely since the reason
> they're going to MEIDs is because they're running out of ESNs.
The numbers under the phone are the same as on the box.
What sounds like happened was that either the wrong stickers were
placed on the box and phone at the manufacturer..[perhaps they had
just finished a run of phones meant for a company that actually uses
the MEID for activation, and didnt have the sticker portion of the
machine switched over to Sprint spec yet] Or the device was put in a
sprint box, but was actually a device meant for a differnt company
that uses the MEID to activate.
Either way you pretty much need to have the phone returned, and have a
new order placed to replace this one. Without the ESN information,
Sprint would have no way of activating the device. It is a shame that
the mistake was not caught before this phone was shipped out, but
having been in the shipping industry for a very long time, I can see
how it could happen. I would call telesales and have them send out a
return kit, and replacement order. Their number is 1-877-814-7493.
That is if you ordered the device directly from the Sprint website or
their toll free sales line. If you ordered the phone from a 3rd
party, such as flycell.com etc., you should call them and have the
issue taken care of.
Good luck :-)
On Jun 20, 2:39 pm, trwww <waveri...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I have a strange situation. I did the "add-a-line" and was sent the
> new phone UPS.
>
> I've called several times now to activate it, and I keep being told
> that the ESN is invalid. They say it has too many numbers!?!
>
> WTF would I be sent a phone with an invalid ESN?!?
>
> Heres a message I just sent to ecare to try to expedite:
>
> --------------
>
> Hello,
>
> I ordered the "add-a-line" and a new sprint phone on June 13th. When I
> placed the order, I was told that the phone would be turned on and
> working June 18th at exactly 4pm.
>
> It is now 48 hours past that point and the phone is still not on,
> despite more than ten phone calls and several hours of time.
>
> The phone number for the new phone is 330.63X.6XX9
>
> The support ticket number is 24XXX32.
>
> During my last phone call, the rep told me that there is an error
> loading the ESN because it is invalid.
>
> The numbers on the box are:
>
> MEID-DEC: 270XXXX7761XXXX389
> MEID-HEX: A1000000CXXX25
>
> Is this really an invalid ESN? Why was I sent a phone with an invalid
> ESN? This sounds to me like much craziness.
>
> The last rep I talked to said it will be three days before this is
> resolved.
>
> It seems to me that one of the most basic services Sprint provides is
> turning on phones, so I am having great difficulty in understanding
> exactly what the problem is.
>
> Please assist in looking in to this matter. Any information you can
> provide will help in alleviating my confusion and fustration.
>
> Thank you very much for your time.
>
> Todd W.
dafydd wrote:
> What sounds like happened was that either the wrong stickers were
> placed on the box and phone at the manufacturer..[perhaps they had
> just finished a run of phones meant for a company that actually uses
> the MEID for activation, and didnt have the sticker portion of the
> machine switched over to Sprint spec yet] Or the device was put in a
> sprint box, but was actually a device meant for a differnt company
> that uses the MEID to activate.
>
> Either way you pretty much need to have the phone returned, and have a
> new order placed to replace this one. Without the ESN information,
> Sprint would have no way of activating the device. It is a shame that
> the mistake was not caught before this phone was shipped out, but
> having been in the shipping industry for a very long time, I can see
> how it could happen. I would call telesales and have them send out a
> return kit, and replacement order. Their number is 1-877-814-7493.
Some phones let you see the ESN on the display. This would, presumably,
be the actual ESN. You might want to try poking around, to see if you
can bring up phone info.
Actually, though, I'd think that the Sprint agent could tell you
precisely how to get to that information if you tell them the
manufacturer and model of the phone.
On Jun 20, 2:39 pm, trwww <waveri...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I have a strange situation. I did the "add-a-line" and was sent the
> new phone UPS.
>
> I've called several times now to activate it, and I keep being told
> that the ESN is invalid. They say it has too many numbers!?!
>
> WTF would I be sent a phone with an invalid ESN?!?
>
For anyone following this thread:
There were a couple issues.
1. The number for this phone was being ported. The former carrier had
completed the port, but it seems it took a few more days on Sprint's
end.
2. The activation department couldn't attach a phone with a MEID
instead of an ESN. They had to escalate to tech support to get the
MEID attached to my plan.
* These are really guesses made by my observations. Some CSRs told me
as much, but others told me other things.
So other than taking much longer than I expected, everything is
working fine and as advertised.
sent phone with invalid ESN 
Linear Mode
