Best Buy Geek Squad Protection Plans for Mobile Phones They keep giving me refurbished phones that don't work properly. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Geek-Squad-Protection/ Minneapolis, MN

On startup, my phone says "htc quietly brilliant," then "Sprint," then "4G LTE," then "htc quietly brilliant" one more time.  Oh, the irony.... 

On 6/6/2010 I pre-ordered my first smart phone from Best Buy.  It was an HTC EGO 4G.  I bought one for my wife, too.  The salesman convinced me to purchase the Best Buy Geek Squad Black Tie Mobile Protection Plan.  He said that if my phone breaks, i can come to Best Buy and they will give me a new one on the spot.  

My phone did break.  I did bring it to Best Buy.  They did not give me a new one on the spot, however.  Rather, they gave me an inferior used loaner dumb phone.

When I got my phone back, it wasn't long before it started malfunctioning.  This time, they convinced me to keep my malfunctioning phone as my loaner.  When the replacement phone finally arrived, it turned out to be a refurbished phone.  

It didn't take long before THAT phone started malfunctioning.  Again, rather than accept a dumb phone as my loaner, I kept my malfunctioning smart phone until the replacement phone arrived.  And again, when the replacement phone finally arrived, it turned out to be a refurbished phone that started malfunctioning shortly thereafter.  

I've lost track but I think I am on my fifth or sixth phone and it's 11/26/2013.  

My suspicion is that when customers return phones to Best Buy Geek Squad, the phones probably have multiple issues, only a fraction of which the customer actually reports.  And when the repair center receives the broken phone, they address the reported issue while remaining oblivious to the issues that went unreported.

In any event, here are the issues I have had with my replacement phones:

• Won't connect to wi-fi
• Won't charge
• Powers off by itself
• Power-cycles non-stop by itself
• Phone keeps freezing
• Charging port loose
• Headset sounds like speaker is blown
• Phone is freezing up and deleting things randomly
• Phone camera does not work

I just got back from Best Buy due to the wi-fi issue and a replacement phone was dutifully ordered by the Geek Squad on my behalf.  I know that the replacement phone will be defective in it's own special, hidden way, just like all the others.  That's why I am almost stuck keeping the Best Buy Geek Squad Black Tie Mobile Protection Plan.  

I only see one way out of this cycle.  When my contract with Sprint ends, I will not renew it.  And when the phone breaks, i will buy a $99 ATT Radiant smart phone and get on their prepaid plan.  I realize that AT&T has it's critics, but where I live, AT&T actually delivers 4G data service.  

Since 6/6/2010, Sprint has been saying 4G will be coming soon to my town, but I don't believe their promises anymore.