<p>Well we have solved the wet cell phone dilemma now on to the broken cell phone. D emailed today that she had her phone on the floor and someone stepped on it breaking it.
Of course husband didn’t get the insurance. The phone and plan are just months old so no upgrade available from cingular.
Any suggestions on how to replace it for a reasonable amount?</p>
<p>Was it a $500/phone or a $60/phone? You can get phones lots of places including purchasing online.</p>
<p>it was not the cheapest but not the most expensive. I think it was 69.00 but that was with the 2 yr contract. its a motorola camera phone.
I have read stories of people having a problem with unlocked gsm phones and cingular charging them roaming charges?</p>
<p>You can buy a phone from a Cingular store or online…or any phone set up for Cingular and then register it. I haven’t ever had a problem switching phones…which I have done. If you have a problem with the SimCard any retail outlet can solve the problem. Is you daughter at a remote campus? Are you worried about her handling this? You can go to your retailer and handle it and send her the phone…any option works. Your contract can also be put on hold until she comes home and then started again. Is that what you are wanting to know?</p>
<p>Ask around at work, for anyone that has recently upgraded their phone, to give you their old cell phone. It’s better if it is also a Cingular phone. You can then go online and switch service from the old destroyed phone to this one. You would need the ESN numbers of both phones (found inside the phone, when you remove the battery)
This happened to us, and even though it was a $150.00 phone, that got run over by a truck, we were out $0. Of course the replacement is not as nifty, but it’s a phone.</p>
<p>And yes, you can put your contract on hold until this is sorted out, so that you are not getting billed for that line.</p>
<p>If replacing a broken phone - we have had alot of practice with that LOL - a couple of tips tho - if the student is in a somewhat remote area - replace the phone at home - and do any updates from the home area - then charge it up - remove the battery - and ship it all by Priority Mail - sometimes you may have trouble setting up a phone in a remote area - works great for us - takes all of 3 days. (Our kiddo is out of area and has troublt activating the phone from where she is - this way - she opens the box and it is set to work - by putting in battery and turning the thing on.)</p>
<p>Even with the insurance - which we wound NOT go without at this point - there is a deductable that has to be paid - depending on which service you have - for us it is $50 - but hey - they replace the thing like for like and we don’t have to worry about it. Also with the insurance - you have to return a piece of the phone that is broken - if lost!!! you have to file a police report now uuggh - but still not such a bad thing to have insurance - cheap enough when yu consider the cost of a nice cell phone - but if no insurance - replace it with a lesser model if you are soooo inclined.</p>
<p>As far as the service - we don’t put the service on hold or anything - if the phone is broken and in our possession (if lost - ya you may want to consider doing that - tho I found my kiddos phone from 800 miles away LOL - long story but…) - so the voice mail still works and the kiddo can access it from any phone - otherwise when the phone is called - it is considered out of service.</p>
<p>Even with insurance, they will not replace your phone after 2 losses, right?</p>
<p>Right - for the length of that contract - but if you upgrade - and restart a contract - they restart the insurance contact as well - but check that out first.</p>
<p>S broke his new phone (also Cingular) a few months ago. He bought the same model, which I think retails for $150 or so, off of Ebay for about $80 (probably could have found a cheaper one if he’d waited a bit but he was in a hurry). People upgrade all the time and put slightly used phones on Ebay.</p>
<p>An unusual replacement story: Last year, S broke my phone (actually, it was run over on a busy street several times after he dropped it!) and I went to the Cingular store to buy a new one with his money but they couldn’t upgrade because my plan was from AT&T (from before Cingular acquired ATT) and it required an AT&T phone or for me to change my whole family to a more expensive plan and buy all new phones! I was so mad. But the Cingular guy said I could go on Ebay to find an ATT phone. Then he said, wait, I’m actually selling my dad’s ATT phone on Ebay right now. It’s brand new. So I went back the next day with $80 cash and we went out to the parking lot to his truck and made the exchange. It sooo felt like I was buying drugs or something illegal! Made me feel like a covert operative for a minute. But it was great because I just switched the chip from the old phone to the new one and all my numbers popped right up.</p>
<p>mom60 - I recently upgraded my cingular phone (I had kept mine forever, and it was a dinosaur). By extending my contract, I had choices of a couple of free phones, and others at varying discounted prices. I chose the free. Didn’t matter why I was upgrading - loss, broken… They don’t want the old phone back; I just donated mine to one of those recycled phones for battered women places. So call them and I think you will have a new one quite quickly. They can do overnight shipping. If her sim card is still intact, she can just move it to the new phone as someone said above, and all her numbers and preferences just pop right up.</p>
<p>We have Verizon - and when we upgraded - we also got Verizon Mobile Office - it lets us get on-line when traveling with laptop - great for the college kid who drives long distance and needs mapquest LOL or to check email or whatever LOL - using phone minutes only - we can also transfer our phone book back and forth from the computer to phone - to save the numbers - it is a great set-up. Verizon also now has a service where you can have your phonebook saved automatically - and it is checked-updated daily by wireless - tho ya - there is a small fee for it.</p>
<p>Damn Verizon has a “small fee” for everything! Thank God for Ebay and the Internet, to find ends around these “small fees!”</p>
<p>Momof2inca-you were so wise to stay with ATT. We switched the last time I lost my cheap $100 phone-Cingular is sooooooooo bad compared to ATT. Insurance isn’t worth it to us-the phones are $100. Ins is 3/month/phone + $50 deductible. Of course I(yes, just me) have lost/damaged 3 phones in the last 11 months ;(.-and I am still ahead money wise.</p>
<p>lamom - altho I labeled myself as a cingular person in above post, I am also a “former ATT, merged into cingular” person. I surely don’t get it, but I do seem to have a better plan as one of these strange limbo people than if I made the full transition to a Cingular plan. <em>What’s up with that?</em></p>
<p>but I can’t get the rollover minutes. Luckily, we haven’t needed them. But it kinda frosts me.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone. I can’t believe how these cellular phone companies have such a racket going. The prices of the phones alone without any service are so high.
We went to the cingular store here yesterday and the woman working was nice enough to suggest ebay or to ask around amongst our friends for a old cingular phone. We haven’t had any luck yet. Ebay looks promising but with Thanksgiving coming soon I want to get her a phone before she begins traveling.
I think the best bet and quickest is for her to go to the cingular store today and buy the cheapest phone they have and move her sim card. Umfortunately the cingular store is quite a distance away and not walkable. She would need to take a few buses. If she doesn’t get there I will go to the store here tomorrow and buy one and charge the battery(great suggestion) and ship it overnight on Monday. She isn’t complaining about paying to replace it but it is a hassle.
I wonder what the real cost of these phones are? My husband can’t understand the kids breaking their phones. He has his last cell phone for about 4 yrs.</p>