Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Can you reprogram your cell phone with a different service provider?

Question:

I have a dual-band Motorola StarTAC phone I got from Sprint PCS. I canceled my service with them because of NO service whatsoever. Is the phone dead now, or can it be reprogrammed to be used with another digital provider?

Sponsored
Sponsored

-- Jade, the net

Matthew:

What can you do with an old cell phone? Is it just one more piece of junk to add to my growing pile of junk?

-- Jimmy J, San Diego

Yeah, Jimmy, unfortunately, "old" cell phones are the newest layer of sediment in life's junk drawer. If it's not reprogrammable by your new service provider, or it was made more than two weeks ago and is therefore embarrassingly out of date, to you it's now just an expensive paperweight. You can't even turn it into a planter or give it to the kids to take apart to see how it works.

But I'll bet you're a civic-minded Alicelander, since you asked such a question in the first place, and your phone does have some value to others. Call the County of San Diego (800-600-8223) and find out where you can donate your old cell phone. The county gives them to victims of domestic violence so they are never without a quick way to call 911. Even if your phone isn't supported by a provider contract, by law it has to be capable of dialing emergency services. Other charities or service organizations might find them useful, so contact your favorite and ask before you dump the phone in the landfill (probably not legal anyway). A local dance troupe recently turned old technology into art for a theater piece; maybe if you use your creativity, you can come up with some phone art too. Any other good ideas for recycling digital dinosaurs? Let us know.

And hey, Jade, you too might own a digital dinosaur, depending on which new provider you select. Some support Motorola, some don't. That's your homework. Find a pay phone and give them a call. But it's a crummy way to pick a service provider. Yeah, I know, the phone was pricey, and you've probably paid a few large pieces of cash to dump the contract. But if you spend more time researching providers and less time worrying about hardware, you'll be better off. In cell-phone land, the hardware capabilities and the sheer numbers of subscribers have far outstripped providers' ability to support them reliably. Odds are your new provider will start looking a lot like the old one after a while. But they'll give you a trade-in on the Motorola when you sign the contract.

A handy website for teed-off cell-phone users and anybody else curious about the industry, especially related legislation, is the Wireless Consumers Alliance in Del Mar. Mouse your way over to www.wirelessconsumers.com. And check the cell-phone service and hardware analysis in this month's Consumer Reports. Personally, I think we were better off with two tin cans and a piece of string. Our expectations were very low, and they were met every time.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Making Love to Goats, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar

Next Article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell

Question:

I have a dual-band Motorola StarTAC phone I got from Sprint PCS. I canceled my service with them because of NO service whatsoever. Is the phone dead now, or can it be reprogrammed to be used with another digital provider?

Sponsored
Sponsored

-- Jade, the net

Matthew:

What can you do with an old cell phone? Is it just one more piece of junk to add to my growing pile of junk?

-- Jimmy J, San Diego

Yeah, Jimmy, unfortunately, "old" cell phones are the newest layer of sediment in life's junk drawer. If it's not reprogrammable by your new service provider, or it was made more than two weeks ago and is therefore embarrassingly out of date, to you it's now just an expensive paperweight. You can't even turn it into a planter or give it to the kids to take apart to see how it works.

But I'll bet you're a civic-minded Alicelander, since you asked such a question in the first place, and your phone does have some value to others. Call the County of San Diego (800-600-8223) and find out where you can donate your old cell phone. The county gives them to victims of domestic violence so they are never without a quick way to call 911. Even if your phone isn't supported by a provider contract, by law it has to be capable of dialing emergency services. Other charities or service organizations might find them useful, so contact your favorite and ask before you dump the phone in the landfill (probably not legal anyway). A local dance troupe recently turned old technology into art for a theater piece; maybe if you use your creativity, you can come up with some phone art too. Any other good ideas for recycling digital dinosaurs? Let us know.

And hey, Jade, you too might own a digital dinosaur, depending on which new provider you select. Some support Motorola, some don't. That's your homework. Find a pay phone and give them a call. But it's a crummy way to pick a service provider. Yeah, I know, the phone was pricey, and you've probably paid a few large pieces of cash to dump the contract. But if you spend more time researching providers and less time worrying about hardware, you'll be better off. In cell-phone land, the hardware capabilities and the sheer numbers of subscribers have far outstripped providers' ability to support them reliably. Odds are your new provider will start looking a lot like the old one after a while. But they'll give you a trade-in on the Motorola when you sign the contract.

A handy website for teed-off cell-phone users and anybody else curious about the industry, especially related legislation, is the Wireless Consumers Alliance in Del Mar. Mouse your way over to www.wirelessconsumers.com. And check the cell-phone service and hardware analysis in this month's Consumer Reports. Personally, I think we were better off with two tin cans and a piece of string. Our expectations were very low, and they were met every time.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Seals hook up with Beaver

Salty’s Escape is a Mexican-Style cerveza brewed with corn and puffed Jasmine rice
Next Article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.