I guess it depends on who he talked to. I wouldn't take an answer from first line support as a definitive answer. I'd ask why it won't work. If I get anything less than a very precise answer I'd escalate it until someone can give me a technical reason for why it won't work. If they tell me, "You won't be able to work with SPI on the new part" and I'm not using SPI then I could care less and I'd go ahead and swap out the part. If they say "Because you're going to cause a fire" then I'd think twice about doing it.

It's been my personal experience that a provider will not try to sell me something they know I don't need. Your mileage may vary of course. And if I ever found a company that sold me something they knew I didn't need then that would be the last time I did business with that company. I'm honest with my customers and I will not do business with a company I find is not honest with theirs--especially when I am the customer in question.

Regards,
Craig Steiner