Making this thread so that all tips and tricks for activating the phone can go here. I suspect there will be more traffic on this topic as more phones make it into customer's hands. Hopefully, the Virgin branded phones will not have as many issues.
What we know.
Activation can be a headache with many calls to customer service. Sometimes the phone will fix itself and work after a battery pull. Many times it won't.
What I suspect.
If you let Radio Shack set up your phone, the phone's profile will appear on your Virgin Mobile account. If you don't complete the activation at that time, it seems like the phone can't connect to your account. I think swapping back to a previous phone and then activating may be a work around but I came in from boost and don't have an old VM phone. Also, the website won't allow me to attempt a swap from the EVO. Perhaps someone can test this.
What we can try.
EPST Menu Reset- Dial ##25327# and from the menu, select "reset"
Some have had success with this.
Battery Pull- Take out battery. Wait a while (have heard anywhere from 20 seconds to 20 minutes) Some have had success with this.
Factory Reset-
Turn the power off.
Hold the Volume Down button
Press and hold the Power button until the device turns on
You then get a menu that has Factory Reset in it
Scroll down with the Volume Down button and choose Factory Reset and press the power button. It then takes you back to how your phone was when you first opened the box. Any personal info or apps will be wiped from the phone. (Do not know if this has worked for anyone. I confirmed that this does reset the phone to factory but I don't have a decent enough signal at work to try the activation)
Manual Programming- From the Keypad dialing ##3282# will activate the EPST programming menu. You need a password to open the menu in edit mode. I do not have the password. Perhaps can be obtained from CS or Tech support) The Sprint version of the EVO 3D has instructions for manual activation. Confirmed that this menu exists in the EVO V 4G. Can choose "View" but as stated above, you need the password for "Edit".
Dialing ##786# gets you the Reverse Logistics Support Menu. This also shows "reset" and cancel as options. Web info suggest this is a Hard Reset code. Confirmed that the code works. Unconfirmed results of using it.
Update 1:
Radio Shack activation seems to be a common denominator for those having activation issues. Just don't let them activate your phone. However, I suspect that having any retailer activate the phone is a bad idea. So even if you get your phone from Best Buy or elsewhere, JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU GET HOME before you activate it. DO NOT even let them open your box and MAKE SURE you tell them up front that you will be doing the activation at home. Otherwise, they may start the activation before you realize they are doing it.
Update 2:
When Activating, do not turn on Wifi. May interfere with 3G data connection. Only activate Wifi after the phone has been successfully activated.
Update 3: (Thanks to twelfth over on Howard Forums)
What we know.
Activation can be a headache with many calls to customer service. Sometimes the phone will fix itself and work after a battery pull. Many times it won't.
What I suspect.
If you let Radio Shack set up your phone, the phone's profile will appear on your Virgin Mobile account. If you don't complete the activation at that time, it seems like the phone can't connect to your account. I think swapping back to a previous phone and then activating may be a work around but I came in from boost and don't have an old VM phone. Also, the website won't allow me to attempt a swap from the EVO. Perhaps someone can test this.
What we can try.
EPST Menu Reset- Dial ##25327# and from the menu, select "reset"
Some have had success with this.
Battery Pull- Take out battery. Wait a while (have heard anywhere from 20 seconds to 20 minutes) Some have had success with this.
Factory Reset-
Turn the power off.
Hold the Volume Down button
Press and hold the Power button until the device turns on
You then get a menu that has Factory Reset in it
Scroll down with the Volume Down button and choose Factory Reset and press the power button. It then takes you back to how your phone was when you first opened the box. Any personal info or apps will be wiped from the phone. (Do not know if this has worked for anyone. I confirmed that this does reset the phone to factory but I don't have a decent enough signal at work to try the activation)
Manual Programming- From the Keypad dialing ##3282# will activate the EPST programming menu. You need a password to open the menu in edit mode. I do not have the password. Perhaps can be obtained from CS or Tech support) The Sprint version of the EVO 3D has instructions for manual activation. Confirmed that this menu exists in the EVO V 4G. Can choose "View" but as stated above, you need the password for "Edit".
Dialing ##786# gets you the Reverse Logistics Support Menu. This also shows "reset" and cancel as options. Web info suggest this is a Hard Reset code. Confirmed that the code works. Unconfirmed results of using it.
Update 1:
Radio Shack activation seems to be a common denominator for those having activation issues. Just don't let them activate your phone. However, I suspect that having any retailer activate the phone is a bad idea. So even if you get your phone from Best Buy or elsewhere, JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU GET HOME before you activate it. DO NOT even let them open your box and MAKE SURE you tell them up front that you will be doing the activation at home. Otherwise, they may start the activation before you realize they are doing it.
Update 2:
When Activating, do not turn on Wifi. May interfere with 3G data connection. Only activate Wifi after the phone has been successfully activated.
Update 3: (Thanks to twelfth over on Howard Forums)
oh and mine is one of the sprint branded ones 
, the phone could then make calls, but when flipping between home screens it would either flicker 3/4 of the way through the animation and revert back to the original page, bring me up to a full screen Google search app complete with terms of service agreement on position tracking, or yank the camera icon out of the lower right-hand corner and leave it in a sort of limbo where I can't touch it but am always asked to remove or edit it.
