ESN changes - how easy with Sprint?

[ScottC]

Forgive the noobishness, I'm from the GSM world where I'd just slip my sim in a new phone and be on my way...

If I want a Touch AND a Mogul, how easy is it to tell Sprint to change the ESN in my account to the other phone each time? I understand I can't change it in my online account? I'm not looking for ways to scam them or change stuff in the phone, just an easy way to change phones every couple of days without the nightmare of dealing with Sprint CS...

[keishou]

You'll have to call in to Sprint's customer service or visit a Sprint store everytime you want to swap phones on your account... :( Not as simple as putting your sim into whatever phone you want to use

[wiinex]

You will definitely have to call Sprint and wait for a minutes and if unlucky 30 mins. Then if lucky, a nice CS will help you right away. After the swap is done you will reset both phone and wait about 2 mins or so until the numbers are changed. I did it before, I hated it.

Suggestion, stick with the phone you will use for the rest of your life :D

[Dishe]

at the risk of being banned from yet another forum, you could always CLONE your esn number so that they BOTH work whenever you want. Just don't use 'em both at the same time, and you should be all set.

I started a conversation about this on another message board, but apparently this is considered highly illegal (the feds compare ESN numbers to the VIN number on a car... they made it a crime to mess with it), and I got banned for bringing it up. Sheesh.

Anyway, it works, and there's info on how to do this over at ppcgeeks.com

But, Sprint is also going to be allowing ESN swapping online very soon. Some people have already been able to do it if your account has been transferred over to their new billing system (called Ensemble). They haven't rolled it out to everyone yet, but it should be available by January.

The idea, similar to other CDMA carriers who already have this such as Verizon and Helio, is you type in the new ESN number, and it (instantly?) switches which phone is active. Still not as nice as a GSM Sim card. when I was on T-mobile, I used to swap SIMs to a cheapo phone when going hiking, then swap back when I reached the car. When I wore a suit I'd have a thin flip phone to slide into my jacket pocket, then switch back to the PPC when I finished my meeting. Even with Sprint deploying online ESN swap, I won't be able to do this unless in front of a PC at the moment which makes casual swapping impossible, and taking the spare phones around with you (like I used to) pointless.

That's why I'm still considering the cloned ESN idea...

[ImCoKeMaN]

I don't believe there are any tools to clone a mogul or a touch at this time though. Hopefully the online ESN swaps with the new billing system will work well.