I have started down this road. Here's my summary so far:
1) Went to Sprint ASC (not corp), they said that the Touch Pro was being swapped out for other phones, because it was a buggy POS. I kinda got my hopes up and told them some of my issues. Those being overheating and failure to charge/phone dying while plugged up when on a call, random lockups, getting voicemails with no alerts of missed calls, texts being sent when it says they aren't, not being able to answer calls sometimes... you know, the usual stuff you expect on a Touch Pro.
The guy was ready to help me, but he pointed to a crack on the chrome bezel of my phone. He said since the chrome was damaged, I'd have to go through Asurion and pay the deductable for physical damage. He said he I could get a TP from them, which would of course have the same issues, then come swap it out for a different phone at his store.
I didn't make the argument that the chrome was of poor quality and that it would eventually crack with normal wear and tear. (I have had this TP for just over a year.) I had my friend in the store with me who also has a TP, and his chrome is cracked in the same place. heh.
Anyway, I asked what phones I could swap it for, if I got another buggy one from Asurion... of course he offered me the Snap and a Treo. He said "just whatever we have in stock." He assured me I wouldn't be downgraded. Then another customer with a TP he was getting serviced started talking about the TP2. So I ask the guy, "what about the TP2?" He said the TP2 was NOT one of the phones he could swap the TP for. Seeing a dead end at this point, I didn't press the issue and left the store.
2) Disgruntled, I called *2, and expressed my frustration that my normal wear and tear was being considered physical damage. The first CSR basically told me "too bad", and wouldn't let me talk to a manager, and hung up on me. But he did give me a number to "returns", which was obviously the wrong department. But I called anyway, and the nice fellow there sent me to tech support.
I told the tech support guy my story, and he said his computer was telling him I had to go to a store, but he was going to override that, and do an Advanced Exchange. I told him I heard there was a list of phones I could swap with, and he said that was wrong and put me on hold to set up the order.
Well, a minute later he came back and said he'd never seen this before, but in fact there WAS a list of other phone to choose from. The same shitty ones: the snap, the treo, etc. Then he said something like "wait, I think the TP2 should be on here" and put me on hold again. Then he came back and said no, the TP2 wasn't eligible for a swap out, and that he'd send me a replacement TP.
Again, not wanting to press my luck, I decided to get the refurb TP for free, which at least will be free of any scratches or cracks on the chrome. It also gives me another avenue to pursue when I am offered ANOTHER replacement TP for the same issues.
Gonna play with this one a few days. I am pretty sure it's going to be as buggy as the last one, and I wouldn't be surprised if the screen or keyboard doesn't go out. The screen already went wonky on me once, but a soft reset fixed it. If that doesn't pan out, I'll hit the store up again, armed with "this is my third TP! I need something else!" argument. Knowing the only comparable replacement is a TP2. The snap is a JOKE!
Anyway, for anyone collecting info, I am in Nashville, and I went to the store on Donelson Pike. Cool guys, but they don't seem to wanna come off a TP2. There are about 4 other ASC's in the area, and I'll go to them all before giving up.
