cell phone debacle

January 9, 2007 1:42 PM

Broken cell phone filter: I put my cell phone through the washing machine & it's not coming back to life. Now I'd like to craigslist/freecycle a new (used) phone, but I'm having trouble figuring out what types of phones will work for me.

The broken phone is a very low-quality, bare-bones Sprint LG that isn't sim card based. It seems to be totally dead (I let it dry for three days with the battery removed, cleaned the circuit board with alcohol, and even now when plugged into a charger, it doesn't show any signs of life). I'd like to get a free/cheap phone--used is fine--but I'm not sure what to look for.

Bonus points if there's any ingenious way for me to get my contacts back from my old phone, though realistically that's impossible, right? Or if I can somehow charm Sprint into giving me a new phone for free.

posted by soviet sleepover to technology (4 comments total)

What carrier are you using? If its Verizon, even if you get a deactivated Verizon phone it will cost you $50 to change phones.

As for contacts, they're probably gone forever.
posted by hobgadling at 3:20 PM on January 9, 2007

She's using Sprint and Verizon does not charge $50 to change phones only a $20 ESN change fee if it's not part of a "program".

Usually phone listings will specify what carriers the phones will work on. Typically they are locked specific to a carrier like Sprint, Verizon, Cingular, etc... Just look for one that is on the same service you use.

You should also contact your service provider to see if they can offer any free or low priced replacement options.
posted by Octoparrot at 3:36 PM on January 9, 2007

Meant to add, if the phone is dead and it's not GSM with a SIM Card your contacts are probably gone. I've had luck using a manufacturer's flash machine to get dead phone contacts but you'll have to find someone at your service provider with access to a machine to do this. Even if you find someone it's still a small change.
posted by Octoparrot at 3:38 PM on January 9, 2007

You can pick up a used SCH-3500 on eBay for about $20 or so.

I'd take the phone apart and let it dry for a few days before declaring it dead. Also make sure that you tried powering it up from the wall with the charger and no battery - The battery may have blown it's charging circuitry.
posted by Orb2069 at 6:58 PM on January 9, 2007