To second Hashtag's post. Just be really nice, describe your inability to use your phone, and ask for a replacement. They will then transfer you to their tech support department to complete the process. As long as the phone is activated on your account, they will replace it, sending you a new phone and an envelope to mail your bricked phone back for free. I just recently did this. If you have a backup phone you can activate it after you receive their order confirmation e-mail (But not before! Else, they will tell you they cannot submit the order unless the phone is currently activated on your plan). In fact my backup (an Optiimus Slider) has its own problems and I called them up and am also getting a replacement for it, for free, since even only being temporarily activated now it is also covered under their RMA policy. So, in short this week I replaced two phones, no questions asked, just by being nice and carefully describing my problems with the handsets. I wish you luck!