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Cracked screen, no insurance, no upgrade for a year. Options?

Hello,

I bought a Samsung Charge last September, loving it as best I could. Just recently I found out it did not have any type of gorilla glass on it, when after dinner, a family member knocked it off the table and it cracked in the bottom center where the samsung logo is located. I have never been one to break devices easily, so I was surprised a 3-4 foot drop could have caused such major damage. It goes from the logo to the top of the screen with cracks extending throughout.

I am not eligible for an upgrade until next May, and I am not comfortable using it when the circuitry behind the glass is visible. It is in complete working order otherwise. I was wondering if anyone has any experience say if I was to pay the early termination fee of ~250 i have left on the phone, if i could indeed select a new phone with a contract price, and retain my phone number? I do not have insurance on the phone as I never thought it would crack so easily.

If anyone has any insight as to what options I may or may not have available to me, I'd appreciate it.

Comments

demmo86rt

Your best bet would be to research a place that can repair (replace) your screen. This will, AFAIK, leave you without a warranty, but that already happened when you dropped your phone. I have not experienced this myself, so I don't know what kind of warranties places may provide on the new screen. While there are many YouTube videos that walk you through the process of doing it yourself, I wouldn't recommend going that route. One thing to watch out for is, make sure the repair place uses OEM parts instead of generic. They will be more pricey, but at least you know they will work. As an alternative, you could purchase an OEM screen, then take it to a place to repair it.

Unfortunately, if you cancel your contract, your number will be lost (most likely). You could always call customer service and see if they can transfer it for you, but I doubt it. For the future, I would certainly recommend keeping your newest "old" phone for situations like these. I have the insurance, but I hold onto my last phone so that I at least have something to use if I have to wait for a replacement. Good luck, I hope you get this figured out.

commonsense101

find a phone repair place, or buy a phone on ebay really your only two options

notarep

You could also add a line, but be sure to know the costs of doing so. Your bill after adding a line will be high because of pro-rated charges. You could cancel your current line once the contract runs out, but you would lose your number.

Wait for a good deal on craigslist.

AngryMustache

I have done a little research on repair places prior to this post.

Mission repair originally had a repair for 100 for the phone, as of yesterday when I looked again that price sky rocketed to 259 dollars, so I kinda find it pointless to get repaired that way when the termination fee was less.

Thanks for the input so far, much appreciated.

stef7

eBAY for another.

budone

If you pay an ETF to get out of a contract there is a 60 or 90 day waiting period before starting a new account and getting a subsidized phone with VZW.

You could add a new line to get a new subsidized phone, swap the numbers, then swap the bad phone for a basic phone and kill the data and pay only $10 more per month.

AZSALUKI

just my opinion, but i would just pick one up (used) on ebay. they are going from $100-200. just make sure the seller has a high rating (99%+) and that they state in the ad that it has a clean ESN.

http://www.ebay.com/ctg/Samsung-Droid-Charge-4G-LTE-Black-Verizon-Smartphone--/110356198?_refkw=droid+charge+verizon&_pcatid=801&_odkw=droid+charge&_pcategid=9355&LH_ItemCondition=2000%7C2500&_osacat=0&_dmpt=Cell_Phones

this will be your cheapest route. i also like budone's idea. however, you are looking at an activation fee, 12 months at $10/month for a line you don't need, the cost of the new phone, plus taxes and fees. before you know it, you're at about $400 in total, and are locked in to another 2 years. you could likely find a brand new charge for less than that. now....if there's a new phone that really want anyhow, i may prefer this route (like if you REALLY wanted the galaxyS III or the razr maxx or something). but if you were happy with the charge, i would just pick one up on ebay.

all of this is just my own opinion.

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