MayDay for CDMA Only Phones

[Isamorph]

Things change.

Happy May - Goodbye CDMA

[st3fx]

More info: https://www.reddit.com/r/Sprint/comments/biv6t1/dug_up_my_first_ever_sprint_phone_and_activated/em4v8xr

@u/felzan

It's not that the servers are being shutdown, it's that the SSL certificate used to authenticate between the handset and the server will expire. That means that if the device attempts to connect with the server for its provisioning information, it won't be allowed to. So definitely don't clear or reset your phone if it's provisioned if you're on a device that's mentioned and you want it to keep working until Sprint eventually sunsets CDMA. That being said, if you swap it off and back onto the line there can be additional credentials for 3G / EVDO service that can change as their generated randomly upon device activation so it's really a crapshoot if it'll work or not down the line.
We still have devices that use HFA / OMA-DM for activation that are being sold and supported today and we even sell phones that aren't VoLTE Capable and only support CDMA / LTE Combinations. To turn that off tomorrow would strand A TON of customers without the ability to make calls and texts. So just because there has been communication saying that we can't activate certain handsets, it doesn't mean that we're halting CDMA Only phone activations.

Edit: Adding the referenced list of handsets.
https://www.sprint.com/en/support/account/oma-slot/devices.html

[KentE]

I tried to activate my first Android phone on 4/30. It was accepted, but was a struggle to get working at all-- it would not complete hands-free activation. I did finally get voice/text working by manual programming, but couldn't get it to update profile and PRL, so no data. I suppose I could use it for backup, but it still keeps cycling through hands-free attempts every time I power it on.
I'm kind of bummed.

[Isamorph]

I guess for some of us a trip to the phone recycling bin is in order.

[Diedrich_Duo]

@Isamorph

I guess for some of us a trip to the phone recycling bin is in order.

I think I see one of my old flip phones in that pile! Guess I'm fortunate that it's with T-Mobile, which hopefully will continue on GSM after the merger happens. Glad I kept it active on a grandfathered plan -- $10 a year for a whopping total of 1000 minutes or texts, no data (that's the whole allotment for the year) -- but it makes a good backup in case my Tello (Sprint) or FreeUP (AT&T) phones are out of network.

[johnsmith]

@KentE

I tried to activate my first Android phone on 4/30. It was accepted, but was a struggle to get working at all-- it would not complete hands-free activation. I did finally get voice/text working by manual programming, but couldn't get it to update profile and PRL, so no data. I suppose I could use it for backup, but it still keeps cycling through hands-free attempts every time I power it on.
I'm kind of bummed.

It might be late (conflicting reports re: Sprint Servers) but try this:
connect to wifi, then try update profile, let it sit for a while, many times it needs to do it's background processes to completion or it will fail
after say 5 minutes, if it hasn't automatically updated the PRL then manually update that.
Even before the CDMA sunsetting the WiFi "force update" was the only way to get some phones activated.

Hope it helps.
Good Luck.