Sprint Palm Pre Activation

Since there are quite a few in the wild already, and we're just over a week away from launch, I figured it'd be as good a time as any to give a preview of what activation/first use will look like on the Pre, and field any questions that may come up in the process.

There’s been a new way of activating phones here at Sprint for a month or so now, and while you may occasionally run into a few agents who manually program phones out of habit, there’s simply no need for it anymore. Almost all the phones can now be programmed via Hands-Free or One Touch Activation, and the Palm Pre is no exception. The one exception to the Palm Pre is that it can’t be programmed manually, so Hands-Free activation is required.

Update: Coal has acquired & posted a full Palm Pre User Guide at SprintGurus here

To get started you need the ESN/MEID.

On the Palm Pre, this is found in 3 places:

1. Underneath the battery in the phone on the right side of the barcode sticker. Turn off the phone and remove the battery to view. (not recommended)


2. The Barcode sticker on the end of the original box, labeled MEID.


3. The Activation Error Prompt:

All the steps and screenshots included, after the jump…

Hands Free Activation Steps:

If you’ve just taken your Pre out of the box, leave the phone OFF until advised by the agent (assuming you’re activating with care) until after they have completed activation in system. If you could not resist and have already powered on the device and selected the language, and activation in the billing system has not completed, you should either one of these screens:



Next the agent will complete activation in Ensemble and check the provisioning by querying the Switch Control Tables to make sure it was successful.

[For you agents reading this, from the Profile tab, click Page Options > Switch Activities > Query Switch Tables > click Get. Then review most recent transaction. Ensure Complete success displays. If not, see scenarios below:]

[Agents if you’re having trouble, ask the customer to turn on the phone if it is off, and check the device for EV indicator in the upper right corner by the Signal and Battery power.



[If the customer has already turned phone on, Tap Try Again or use the Gesture Area to swipe back or press the Orange + SYM + R keys and the phone will power cycle., then touch the appropriate language selection, confirm the Language Selection and the language will be set.]



By now, your device will have completed hands free activation, whether initially, or through the extra steps listed above, and you should see the screen below:



At the Terms and Conditions, tap Accept. You can read more by tapping the +(plus) sign and then the –(minus) sign.



Now comes the fun! You must create a Palm Profile.

What Is a Palm Profile? A Palm profile connects the Palm Pre to Palm to get automatic updates, back up data, and more. These features are in addition to the ones offered to you by Sprint. Setting up a Palm profile is different from setting up email on your phone. Tap Create New Profile. If you tap Tell Me More, tap Close then Create New Profile.



Enter your First and Last Name and tap Next.



You must setup a password and re-enter the same password and tap Next. NOTE: The password requirements are between 6 and 20 characters.



Now you must enter an email address to be able to access your validation email and tap Next. Palm will send an email to the email address used to validate their profile and provide access to the Palm Dash Board.



The device will connect and create the Palm Profile and tap Next.



NOTE: The device must have service to create the profile. This error can also occur if the you step out of Sprint Network Coverage before Profile Creation or Account Sign-In is complete.



NOTE: If any issues occur with creating the Palm Profile, tap the back button and try again.



Next you will be prompted for Location Services. Tap Next.



You have the option to allow Google’s location service to collect anonymous location information. You can read more by tapping the +(plus) sign and then the –(minus) sign. Tap Agree.

NOTE: You can remove the check mark from the Check box if you do not want to allow this collection of anonymous data.



You also have the option to Tap Enable Auto or Ask Each Time.



Finally, you will go through a Tutorial on basic gestures of the device. Tap Next and follow the onscreen instructions.



Once the tutorial is completed tap OK.



There is a video that will play and the device will reboot and the then you will be returned to the home screen.

Congrats! You can now use your Pre !

What if Hands-Free Activation fails?

[This is mainly for the agents that read the blog, but may be of interest to others, too, so I’m including it]

1. Reboot the phone. Either Press and hold the Power key while toggling the Ringer Switch back and forth 3xs (three times) or press the Orange + Sym + R keys:



2. This should be done IF the following occurs:

• EV Icon is not displayed during Activation


• Phone powered up to USB screen


• Stuck at Palm logo during boot


• Keys not responding in First Use

3. The Phone will reboot to the Palm Logo and perform hands free activation again.

4. In rare circumstances you may have to use the ##RTN# command only if the above does not work

• a. Unable to activate at first use after validating Provisioning was successful in Ensemble


• b. During First Use you will notice at the bottom a small handset cradle icon; tap on the handset.

5. Slide open the Keyboard, press and hold the Orange Key, type ## and the dial pad will be appear and you can release the Orange Key.

6. On the dial pad, tap 786# to complete RTN.

7. From the bottom, flick upward on the screen (to scroll down to find the very bottom “RESET” button on screen.

8. Tap on RESET and open the slider to input the MSL code using the keypads (no need to NUM LOCK)

9. Tap on OK.  Do not interrupt the Reset.  The device will show a slight pulsing of the Palm brand name.

10. Allow the device to full reset and perform hands free activation again.



Switch Query Tables Shows 'Being Processed or Complete Error' or Update Profile Unsuccessful - Manual Programming Steps

PLEASE REMEMBER: You can not manually program the Palm Pre manually. If there are any outages/slow downs with provisioning, set the correct expectation with the customer on resolution and when to try again.

So, there ya have it – whether you’re a customer or an agent, the above should prove useful, and will hopefully give you a glimpse into the activation of the Pre. Although it seems long, 99.9% of customers will only have to power on their phone and it will be done.

Remember you can always activate your phone online at sprint.com/activate too and avoid any waits for care.