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Even though I'm posting in the Evo section of a mainly rooting community, I was hoping someone could provide a little insight onto my situation. Perhaps there is a Sprint representative on these forums who can better assist me as well.
So I purchased a new Evo June 20th after coming from 3 years of using the iPhone. I love the phone, but I've had nothing but issues with it. It's less the phone itself and more the companies surrounding it - Radio Shack, Sprint, etc.
So like I stated before, I got my Evo on June 20th. After using it a few days I noticed I had terrible signal at home. Normally if I was using the phone for personal reasons only, I could live with it, but I do work 1-2 days per week from home so not having voice service is a pretty big deal to me. After about 7-9 of fighting with the signal loss while walking around my home looking for a sweet spot (Also while on the phone with Spring customer service) They told me it was probably my home or area and that they couldnt guarantee coverage everywhere. My issue with this is, I've test all the carriers in my home. ATT, Tmobile, and Verizon get a minimum of 3 bars in my house. I dont like out in the middle of nowhere, I live in the suburbs of Houston. All other carriers penetrate into my home just fine, except Sprint. Well after arguing with Sprint reps over and over, I finally decided to take it to the Sprint store.
After waiting in a terribly long line (45 min), I was finally speaking to a Sprint rep. I told them about my issues and asked if there was anything I could do. He stated there was a booster that was $99. I flat out denied this as I thought it was ridiculous I had to pay more money just to get voice signal (something that was shown to be EXCELLENT coverage in their computers). He played with the phone for a second, then stated that an update would be coming out shortly that would improve the Wifi, 4G, and radio of the phone. The rep suggested that I was still within my 30 day cancellation period and that I should wait for the update and see if that improved anything.
So, a few short days later I got the OTA message on my phone. Well, this turned out to be a huge mess because I ended up being one of those unfortunate people who had their phones bricked. So at this point I'm phoneless and very frustrated. I take the phone back to where I purchased it, Radio Shack, and they tell me they've seen other customers who had this problem and will gladly exchange the phone for me. The manager of the store states it should be here on Friday, so I say thank you and leave.
Well, the phone didnt come Friday. It didn't even come the next Friday. Yep, it came THREE Friday's later - almost 3 full weeks later. So after not having a phone for two and a half weeks, I finally get my new phone in. The radio shack rep applied the update for me in the store and I left.
Well the weekend went by and I didn't notice any dropped calls, but I wasn't using my phone heavily. Then yesterday I was working from home and my phone was finally getting put to its full use. Call after call dropped and I couldn't even hold a signal for more than 10 minutes. I eventually had to run next door and borrow a neighbors phone to finish up my convo with a client. Normally I could live with this issue for personal use, but for work it was becoming a serious problem.
So I called Sprint and explained the situation. Eventually after sitting on the phone for an hour and talking to person after person I spoke with a manager who basically said either buy the $100 booster or pay $200 to cancel your contract and leave. At that point I was furious - I didn't understand why I should be forced to pay more for something when I was already paying for signal. I explained that I originally had planned on returning the phone earlier, but that had held off at the advice from a Sprint rep I talked to, and that my phone had been broken for over 2 weeks of my 30 day trial period. She continued to iterate that there was nothing she could do. She instructed me to contact Radio Shack and see if they would accept the phone back after 30 days (I'm on day 34 right now).
I just spoke with Radio Shack but they stated I'll need to call back when the manager is in the store - which will be 3-4 hours from now. I suppose maybe I'll get lucky and I'll be able to return the phone - but I'm worried about what will happen if they refuse. I'm going to be stuck with a phone that is unusable for work, while forced to either pay $100 for a booster, or shell out another $200 for the ETF (screwing me out of $400 total).
Anyways, maybe there is nothing that can be done, maybe I'm just an idiot for not testing the phone more aggressively sooner. I'm just sharing my experience on here with the hopes that someone has come across a similar situation or perhaps someone with a Sprint customer service background.
TLDR - got an evo, noticed bad signal, Sprint said OTA would fix the issues, OTA broke phone, waited 2 weeks for replacement, tested phone, reception still suck, Sprint says im stuck.
Wow, that sucks. Sorry to hear that.
I'm curious...you do get to keep the phone if you pay the ETF, right?
If you do, I would pay the $200 ETF and sell the phone on ebay or craigslist because I really doubt the $100 booster is going to help much and with the EVO in short supply, I'm sure someone is willing to buy it.
PS: If you do, just be sure to do a factory reset so all information is erased from it.
Maybe try the Verizon PRL, I looked briefly but cant seem to find the post. It is here somewhere though. Might work for you.
Yea PRL would work, but I don't want to use up my 450 anytime minutes nor do I want to switch back and forth between PRL's. I get great service at work and other places, it's just a dead zone where I live.
Airave?
Is the signal issue only at home? Airave hooks into your broadband service and then you can make phone calls via airave and it routes the calls like Vonage. And if your service really sucks sprint will give you the device for free if you complain the right way. I have had mine for 2 weeks and have had no dropped calls at home. This won't help you outside of your house though....Just my $.02
Really?
Really for free? Sprint was adamant that I would have to purchase one. They said over and over they would not wave the fee since their computers show I'm in excellent coverage area.
I too have been with Sprint for sometime now and I have the booster and it has worked wonders for me at home my office is in my basement so I spend a great deal down there and dint get service upatairs I got 3 bars but now I can make a call anywhere and it doesn't drop or anything well worth the 100 dollars if you can't get them tk give you one for free
Are those boosters provider specific?
I was thinking about getting one for the basement, but we have Sprint and Verizon Androids in the house. Don't want to have to buy one for each carrier.
I can confirm that if your a new customer with sprint they will do absolutely nothing for you, except sell you more stuff. I just went through a very similar situation and after offering me the airwave twice for free only to double back and say no sorry its 100 bucks.
BTW if you get the airwave for free they extend your contact back to 2 years, might be worth it for some.
I'm rocking the verizon prl's now and well its decent enough to stick with it, the phone rocks.
I also got an Airave for free when I was having issues. The only problem it would have is not supporting 3G data, but I suppose if you are at home, you can use wi-fi. The best benefit I saw was paying $10/mo and getting unlimited calls while on the device since I don't have unlimited minutes.
Sprint gave me an Airave for free, waived the fee for 2 years, and didn't touch my contract. But I also have 5 towers within 1.9 miles and they compete for signal...
The thing is, while I don't drop calls within range of the Airave, it doesn't hand off to a tower like it is supposed to so it drops when I walk out of range. :/
I'm pretty pissed at Sprint right now... They had a 2 1/2 outage that affected ALL of Colorado (voice and text - data worked fine in most areas) and just gave me a 25 dollar bill credit for it - couldn't even dial 911 and when people called me phone, it was just dead air - not even voicemail. BIG NO NO! Then on top of that, the subpar 3G speeds (900kbps max, 600 average compared to 3Mbps/1.7 on at&t in the same area), I've had two data outages (another two 25 dollar bill credits) and they charged me an activation fee on my corporate liable line through Comcast which was supposed to be free so I'm fighting to get that waived.
I love the phone. Hate the service.
Well i know everybody said to be careful but i didnt actually think i was gonna get Terminated... i had the 00001 Verizon Prl and i used about 6gbs a month haha. They got me, but im jus gonna jump on my freinds plan I still <3 Sprint.
Well at least we know for sure that this is a way to get out of your Sprint contract and without an ETT fee.
LouSkywalker said:
Well at least we know for sure that this is a way to get out of your Sprint contract and without an ETT fee.
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haha yup very true. i jus started my 2 years over too.
Are they asking for you to return your phone?
Or did you buy it at retail price?
Jw
rpnunez said:
Are they asking for you to return your phone?
Or did you buy it at retail price?
Jw
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they didnt say anything about my phone, and no i JUST extended my two year contract for it.
rpnunez said:
Are they asking for you to return your phone?
Or did you buy it at retail price?
Jw
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They can't ask you for your phone back.
Did they ban your ESN?
Sent from my Epic device.
Hi there,
I noticed you'd said you used around 6gb for months...
How many months did you get away with this?
Also, did they NEVER send you a letter/call you telling you that you were roaming a lot?
You'd think they'd give you a heads up.
One other thought... Do you think you could call them and ask them to not terminate you? Basically say something like, oh i only roam while at home, can you send me an airave so that I don't roam at home (at the office i get great service), something like that?
-RR
h20wakebum said:
Hi there,
I noticed you'd said you used around 6gb for months...
How many months did you get away with this?
Also, did they NEVER send you a letter/call you telling you that you were roaming a lot?
You'd think they'd give you a heads up.
One other thought... Do you think you could call them and ask them to not terminate you? Basically say something like, oh i only roam while at home, can you send me an airave so that I don't roam at home (at the office i get great service), something like that?
-RR
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ive been doin it almost a year now, no they never warned me :/ a heads up wud have been nice, and your right i probably could do that but i rly dont care, my friends gonna let me jump on his plan then i can get a phone at a new line price
You should send them a bill for an ETF.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
bahahahahahaha...
Thanks....
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Frohdisiac said:
ive been doin it almost a year now, no they never warned me :/ a heads up wud have been nice, and your right i probably could do that but i rly dont care, my friends gonna let me jump on his plan then i can get a phone at a new line price
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12 months is a good amount of time.
Were you consistantly downloading around 6gb a month (on roam)?
I suspect if you just used this on your phone for normal activites (streaming pandora/web searches/google maps/nav etc...) that you'd probably be good to go.
I only ask because I have HORRIBLE service where I live and found the 01337 prl to be 1000x improvement as far as speed (60681- 10kb/s if lucky, 01337-mod 120 kb/s).
-RR
I'm surprised they don't look into where you're roaming and figure out why it's roaming so much.
if roaming because of PRL(They see great Sprint coverage where you roam) - warn you about it and charge ETF.
If roaming because of no sprint = cut service off as was done to OP.
What if you want to renew with them? Do they add you to some sort of black list?
newalker91 said:
I don't understand why anyone is acting surprised. This is clearly outlined in your contract that if you use over 50% of your voice/data per month roaming that your account will be subject to termination. The fact that they allowed you to get away with it for a year while using far more data roaming than the average Sprint customer does on the native network is nothing short of amazing. The massive bill that you have racked them up in roaming charges from Verizon should be grounds for them to sue you, to be honest. Sprint can see your PRL, and forcibly changing your PRL to roam 100% of the time should be grounds for termination with ETF. This ruins things for the rest of us as the revenue that could have gone to expanding/improving our network is now being used to pay off the massive debt incurred by people abusing roaming privileges.
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I don't think sprint gets a bill each month for X number of kilobytes people roam.
This is why they have signed roaming agreements... They pay a flat fee and users can then roam (no addl. cost to them).
Correct me if I'm wrong...
But I will say that it's unacceptable to run a speed test on Sprint, get only 10kb/s if lucky, flash a verizon prl and hit over 120kb/s and not feel like you're getting ripped off.
Every time I call sprint Data techs (they open a ticket and eventually tell me all towers are working correctly and there is no problem with the network)... Very disappointing.
-
h20wakebum said:
I don't think sprint gets a bill each month for X number of kilobytes people roam.
This is why they have signed roaming agreements... They pay a flat fee and users can then roam (no addl. cost to them).
Correct me if I'm wrong...
But I will say that it's unacceptable to run a speed test on Sprint, get only 10kb/s if lucky, flash a verizon prl and hit over 120kb/s and not feel like you're getting ripped off.
Every time I call sprint Data techs (they open a ticket and eventually tell me all towers are working correctly and there is no problem with the network)... Very disappointing.
-
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Exactly my same thoughts especialy since they are charging you that extra 10 bucks a month and for what ****ty service.
I am half tempted on doing this since verizon is full speed here where I live. Sprint better WTFU and get on the ball.
Wizard220 said:
Exactly my same thoughts especialy since they are charging you that extra 10 bucks a month and for what ****ty service.
I am half tempted on doing this since verizon is full speed here where I live. Sprint better WTFU and get on the ball.
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Well if you want Verizon speeds, then you can go on Verizon IMO. While I love the fact that Sprint has low prices and I'd LOVE if they actually made them into decent speeds, jumping on a different PRL and getting terminated will just be worse int he long run since I don't want to pay for verizon service.
Wow, I honesty don't remember ever seeing anyone confirm that they were booted for excessive roaming. I never change PRLs and hardly ever roam but thanks for letting people know.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
newalker91 said:
I don't understand why anyone is acting surprised. This is clearly outlined in your contract that if you use over 50% of your voice/data per month roaming that your account will be subject to termination. The fact that they allowed you to get away with it for a year while using far more data roaming than the average Sprint customer does on the native network is nothing short of amazing. The massive bill that you have racked them up in roaming charges from Verizon should be grounds for them to sue you, to be honest. Sprint can see your PRL, and forcibly changing your PRL to roam 100% of the time should be grounds for termination with ETF. This ruins things for the rest of us as the revenue that could have gone to expanding/improving our network is now being used to pay off the massive debt incurred by people abusing roaming privileges.
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thank you for your presence here on XDA
i'd like to take a minute to mention 2 things.
1. in a contract that takes longer than ONE (1) minute to read, there is no such thing as "clearly stated" and I can't vouch for your colleagues encouraging people to read them. the contract gets highlighted in a couple places and it's a "sign here, here 'n here sur!"
2. there's a clause in federal law where if party B agrees to not do something under contract with party A, and party A does not enforce their contract within X time frame (never knew how long but would love to know), party A has then waived their right to file suit.
h20wakebum said:
I don't think sprint gets a bill each month for X number of kilobytes people roam.
This is why they have signed roaming agreements... They pay a flat fee and users can then roam (no addl. cost to them).
Correct me if I'm wrong...
But I will say that it's unacceptable to run a speed test on Sprint, get only 10kb/s if lucky, flash a verizon prl and hit over 120kb/s and not feel like you're getting ripped off.
Every time I call sprint Data techs (they open a ticket and eventually tell me all towers are working correctly and there is no problem with the network)... Very disappointing.
-
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Your 3G speeds are only 10kbps? You must live in a lead box.
12MaNy said:
Your 3G speeds are only 10kbps? You must live in a lead box.
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You're telling me.
Just ran a speed test and got 205kbps!!! WOW so fast!!!
Somtimes It's as bad as 10-70 kbps... It's horrible...
Anywho... Gotta hope Sprint will eventually fix their network, I see 6 towers being updated over the next 6 months.
-RR
OK I have to ask.
I have HORRIBLE 3G speeds where I live. I'm lucky to see 20~30kbps on a speed test, inside or out. I try it all over the city, it's the same everywhere. I've tried different modems, Roms, kernels, nothing helps.
Other Sprint users tell me the same thing.
We have 4G here but I'm about a mile too far away from the towers to use it on a daily basis and it seems like everything I do is in the opposite direction as the 4G so I maybe get to use 4G like once or twice a month. 4G rocks, I get 20~25mbit, again 3G sucks. Most of the time it simply does not even work. I get errors about no network connection etc.
So anyway my buddy just got an AT&T Skyrocket (same phone basically) as our Epic Touch and he showed me a speed test on 3G as it was almost 3mbit.
He said he got out of his Sprint by using this thread, flashing the 00001 PRL file, installing ROAM Control and slamming torrents. He said after about 15 days of letting it run non stock, Sprint contacted him saying he had 30 days to find a new carrier, they were canceling his contract.
He claims he was just out, he had to pay his final bill, NO ETF, and his ESN is clean so he was going to sell his Galaxy on eBay.
Is this true or is he BS'ing me?
I'm REALLY sick of Sprint. What is the point of unlimited date if it NEVER [email protected]#[email protected]#
On a side note, I get eh, 700~800kbps when I ROAM to Verizon.
kdoggy said:
OK I have to ask.
I have HORRIBLE 3G speeds where I live. I'm lucky to see 20~30kbps on a speed test, inside or out. I try it all over the city, it's the same everywhere. I've tried different modems, Roms, kernels, nothing helps.
Other Sprint users tell me the same thing.
We have 4G here but I'm about a mile too far away from the towers to use it on a daily basis and it seems like everything I do is in the opposite direction as the 4G so I maybe get to use 4G like once or twice a month. 4G rocks, I get 20~25mbit, again 3G sucks. Most of the time it simply does not even work. I get errors about no network connection etc.
So anyway my buddy just got an AT&T Skyrocket (same phone basically) as our Epic Touch and he showed me a speed test on 3G as it was almost 3mbit.
He said he got out of his Sprint by using this thread, flashing the 00001 PRL file, installing ROAM Control and slamming torrents. He said after about 15 days of letting it run non stock, Sprint contacted him saying he had 30 days to find a new carrier, they were canceling his contract.
He claims he was just out, he had to pay his final bill, NO ETF, and his ESN is clean so he was going to sell his Galaxy on eBay.
Is this true or is he BS'ing me?
I'm REALLY sick of Sprint. What is the point of unlimited date if it NEVER [email protected]#[email protected]#
On a side note, I get eh, 700~800kbps when I ROAM to Verizon.
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Yes you can do that. The will normally let you out ETF free but they are not obligated to.
On a side note, people who do this are driving up prices for the rest of us.
Well, let me start off by respectfully saying that I'm not sure I care about the prices being driven up and let me explain why.
I'm not just some new Sprint customer who showed up and now something else it out I want on another network. I've been a Sprint customer for over 10 years, actually it will be 11 years in June and frankly Sprints service as gone to hell. My biggest complaint is the data.
My Samsung Instinct and my Palm Pre actually worked GREAT! About the time I got my EVO, things started to go down hill.
I complained about my EVO and it's crappy battery life and speed and they actually upgraded me to the Epic Touch when it first came out and it's not any better from a speed stand point. Sprint advertises this "Unlimited" network but I barely get 15~30 Kbps anywhere in a 50 mile area and it's not just me. First off, I work in the technologies department for my local school district. Our work issued phones are Sprint iPhones. We also have some Android stuff and ALL of them suck. Pretty much everyone but myself also has a AT&T iPhone too and the speed difference is unbelievable. What I mean by that is that a few of my co-workers actually have TWO iPhones, Sprint (work phones) and AT&T (personal phones) and EVERY one of them says the same thing, there is no comparison between the two for 3G data, AT&T blows Sprint out of the water.
One of the guys just gt the Skyrocket and I can't get over how much faster the 3G is then Sprint. The LTE is amazing too.
I look this stuff and I wonder what the hell happened to Sprint?
I can see why they are able to keep the unlimited data, its so freaking slow no ones using much! Just annoys me. I feel like its time to move on and like I said, I've been a loyal customer for over 10 years, I almost hate to start over.
If the problem is your whole city/town and not just your house, why not look up the thread about getting a free airrave, and instead of asking for an airrave, ask to be released from your contract, as your phone is just going to roam all the time costing them money anyways. The number in that thread (in e4gt general I think) is account services or whatever their euphemism is for retentions. They may just let you out if you've been such a good customer... you can always come back if the Network Vision pans out in your area... its worth a shot... if that fails, you have no choice but to roam like hell.
I live in a pretty big city and we do have 4G here but unfortunately, that is only downtown which really does me no good.
The 3G is almost non-working as I said. Now I work about 30 miles from where I live which is another decent city, not a big one but a well known one and the 3G issues are the same there too.
As I said, pretty much everyone who works in our technology department has the same opinion of Sprint's 3G, it simply doesn't work as it should. They all prefer their AT&T phones so it's not just me having issues.
I'll have to call them tonight. I get GREAT signal. Almost full bars but the data just won't perform. We were out a couple weeks ago for example, I wanted to look up a phone number and some movie times, we had to fine a Panra Breads and use there Wi-Fi to get anything to load. Dolphin and my stock browser just basically did nothing. I was watching the pages load like I was on 14.4 dial up.
As I said, the phone aspect is fine, should I tell them I'm force roaming to make a point? I really want to tell them how much of an issue this data crap is and WHY I'm forcing my phone to roam and that I intend to keep it on Verizon unless they let me go or fix it, which I know they can't fix it but I don't want that to cause more issues with them.
Thoughts?
Can anyone who works for Sprint weigh in here? This is ridiculous. Again, it's not just me or my phone, it's everyone in my area who I know uses Sprint and we are just some random phone morons who wandered into Best Buy and bought a cool looking phone. We are all technology professionals who use and test mobile devices etc, CCNP's, Apple techs, database engineers etc.
I know my way around a phone, so do the people I work with. We can't all be wrong here.
My friend did this and was not charged the etf. His brother decided to try it as well and was not able to get them to waive the etf. So in my opinion you have a 50/50 chance of having to pay the etf.
JsVerbal said:
My friend did this and was not charged the etf. His brother decided to try it as well and was not able to get them to waive the etf. So in my opinion you have a 50/50 chance of having to pay the etf.
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Sorry to revive an old thread but I'm also attempting to do this for my two lines with Sprint.
So you're saying that they can cancel your service and STILL charge you ETF???
sTr3utr said:
Sorry to revive an old thread but I'm also attempting to do this for my two lines with Sprint.
So you're saying that they can cancel your service and STILL charge you ETF???
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Yes in the newer contracts there is a clause that excessive roaming is in breach of the contract. IIRC, don't quote me on that though, you should check it over yourself to be safe first.
Hmm, interesting. I signed up on December 2011, I don't know if that counts as new. I will check out my contract and report back, might help others
Thanks! :good:
My phone is basically unusable and I am either always roaming or without service (I drop calls constantly and call quality makes the calls indecipherable). I am jumping on to a ATT prepaid service. The question is:
To leave sprint do I:
A) Call, cancel and pay the ETF ($320)
B) Switch PRLs and get kicked off for high data/voice roaming (all while using my GNex)
C) Call, explain I will start purposely data/voice roaming in excess and see if they let me out of my contract?
Normally I am stickler for agreements and upholding my end, but Sprint service has been so bad my E4GT GS2 is basically unusable.
Loki047 said:
My phone is basically unusable and I am either always roaming or without service (I drop calls constantly and call quality makes the calls indecipherable). I am jumping on to a ATT prepaid service. The question is:
To leave sprint do I:
A) Call, cancel and pay the ETF ($320)
B) Switch PRLs and get kicked off for high data/voice roaming (all while using my GNex)
C) Call, explain I will start purposely data/voice roaming in excess and see if they let me out of my contract?
Normally I am stickler for agreements and upholding my end, but Sprint service has been so bad my E4GT GS2 is basically unusable.
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If you decide to pay the ETF, before you do, invest in a cheap non-smart phone and switch to it. This way the ETF you will pay will be decreased.
I know a few people who have been kicked for extensive roaming. 50% still had to pay the ETF because under your contract, sprint is not obligated to waive it.
Surprised to read this as your location shows not even 10 miles away from me - and I have occasional issues but I've found it's usually a tower-specific issue. (At least by being with Sprint you can call and address those - I had to go through my MVNO which took a lot longer.)
I know people are going to possibly disagree but I've found the coverage map to be fairly accurate with the exception of being in a building. All bets are off there, I can't seem to get a decent signal in most buildings, even if I get a full signal + 4G by walking outside! But the signal in Lake County doesn't seem that bad - about the same I get in Northern Cook & DuPage.
First off, have you tried a profile/PRL update to make sure that it's updated? Possibly updating your device? (Maybe there is a hw issue with your E4GT?)
If you're dead set on leaving, consider one thing please. Being aggressive or threatening to a front line employee is probably not going to get you far in my experience. If you know someone that can help you out, that may be another way. I've found that in 90% of the time being upfront and honest with the other party will get the most amicable results.
Doing #2 will at least take 1 month to probably flag so you're out that much. Maybe start there to propose a reduced ETF and negotiate if you find someone willing to do so?
garwynn said:
Surprised to read this as your location shows not even 10 miles away from me - and I have occasional issues but I've found it's usually a tower-specific issue. (At least by being with Sprint you can call and address those - I had to go through my MVNO which took a lot longer.)
I know people are going to possibly disagree but I've found the coverage map to be fairly accurate with the exception of being in a building. All bets are off there, I can't seem to get a decent signal in most buildings, even if I get a full signal + 4G by walking outside! But the signal in Lake County doesn't seem that bad - about the same I get in Northern Cook & DuPage.
First off, have you tried a profile/PRL update to make sure that it's updated? Possibly updating your device? (Maybe there is a hw issue with your E4GT?)
If you're dead set on leaving, consider one thing please. Being aggressive or threatening to a front line employee is probably not going to get you far in my experience. If you know someone that can help you out, that may be another way. I've found that in 90% of the time being upfront and honest with the other party will get the most amicable results.
Doing #2 will at least take 1 month to probably flag so you're out that much. Maybe start there to propose a reduced ETF and negotiate if you find someone willing to do so?
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Well I travel all over chicagoland on a daily basis (my office is in Elmhurst, i have customers downtown, out west and south). I have issues everywhere. I assumed that it was my phone and swapped it out, I am having the same issues. I have updated the PRLs/Profiles routinely. I have called sprint customer service multiple times, been elevated and even have a direct line for a singe person to deal with. Sprint has not been able to correct the issue, they have office discounted rates and credits, which is great, but what I need is working voice and data service. I have no problem paying a premium $150+/month for premium service, right now I am receiving no service. I offered to swap to a different type of phone and pay whatever difference. The only phone available was the photon or an echo. I asked about the nexus and was told I would have to pay full retail. I tried, Sprint didn't.
No reason for me to pay.suffer for Sprint's growing pains.
JSverbal said:
If you decide to pay the ETF, before you do, invest in a cheap non-smart phone and switch to it. This way the ETF you will pay will be decreased.
I know a few people who have been kicked for extensive roaming. 50% still had to pay the ETF because under your contract, sprint is not obligated to waive it.
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Click to collapse
I tried this, it didn't work. Maybe if you've had the phone on that line, and only that line, for long enough it'll work for you but here's what happened to me.
I bought my E4GT on a secondary line but wanted it for my main line. So once I had the phone I swapped it for my main and put some cheap Sanyo flip phone on the number the E4GT was originally bought on.
When I called Sprint to cancel that line I was told they would do it without the ETF but that I had to send the E4GT phone back, which I didn't want to do and I mentioned that the line I wanted to cancel had a flip phone on it but, of course, she has all my records right in front of her and called my bluff.
Garwynn made a good suggestion, and one I ended up using myself. Tell them what's going on (again) and ask them very humbly "what can you do for me?" that's what I did and ended up with an acceptable resolution to my issue.
Just pay your ETF and get out the honest way. Sell your phone (I bought one for $315 recently that will probably cover your ETF depending on when your contract started) and then move on to whomever you choose to go with, just remember all carriers have their issues.
Loki047 said:
Well I travel all over chicagoland on a daily basis (my office is in Elmhurst, i have customers downtown, out west and south). I have issues everywhere. I assumed that it was my phone and swapped it out, I am having the same issues. I have updated the PRLs/Profiles routinely. I have called sprint customer service multiple times, been elevated and even have a direct line for a singe person to deal with. Sprint has not been able to correct the issue, they have office discounted rates and credits, which is great, but what I need is working voice and data service. I have no problem paying a premium $150+/month for premium service, right now I am receiving no service. I offered to swap to a different type of phone and pay whatever difference. The only phone available was the photon or an echo. I asked about the nexus and was told I would have to pay full retail. I tried, Sprint didn't.
No reason for me to pay.suffer for Sprint's growing pains.
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Click to collapse
Since I use the wi-fi at work and home I just recently started playing with the 4G and realized it can't lock while I'm driving. I'm wondering if this is part of what you might be noticing. I know there was also a tower problem in Wood Dale because that's the one I reported and it's been corrected now. I could try my device over in some of those trouble spots if near O'Hare and give you something to compare against if it would help.
And out of curiosity, are you going to one of the local offices to talk to someone? There's a corp store on Lake St. in Addison (next to Giordano's) where they've been usually quite happy to talk about things even though I'm on an MVNO. I've found that either that one or at another across from Meijer in Arlington Heights (in the old Arby's) the staff were much easier to work with than other locations.
About your last comment - unfortunately they're going to say that you signed the contract and they're under no obligation to let you out of it. Getting aggressive with them - as I did one time before - actually got every possible charge that they could hit me with done. Just explain it as you have here and a reasonable manager would probably try to help work out a solution to avoid burning the bridge. (Doesn't do their business good either to end on bad terms.)
Wish you the best of luck in getting this resolved.
Esoteric68 said:
I tried this, it didn't work. Maybe if you've had the phone on that line, and only that line, for long enough it'll work for you but here's what happened to me.
I bought my E4GT on a secondary line but wanted it for my main line. So once I had the phone I swapped it for my main and put some cheap Sanyo flip phone on the number the E4GT was originally bought on.
When I called Sprint to cancel that line I was told they would do it without the ETF but that I had to send the E4GT phone back, which I didn't want to do and I mentioned that the line I wanted to cancel had a flip phone on it but, of course, she has all my records right in front of her and called my bluff.
Garwynn made a good suggestion, and one I ended up using myself. Tell them what's going on (again) and ask them very humbly "what can you do for me?" that's what I did and ended up with an acceptable resolution to my issue.
Just pay your ETF and get out the honest way. Sell your phone (I bought one for $315 recently that will probably cover your ETF depending on when your contract started) and then move on to whomever you choose to go with, just remember all carriers have their issues.
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Click to collapse
Worked for me. I had an Evo and ran into financial issues so I sold my Evo, activated a flip phone to reduce my monthly bill. A couple weeks later I canceled service and paid reduced(not smart phone) ETF. I agree that the honest road is always best taken.
garwynn said:
Since I use the wi-fi at work and home I just recently started playing with the 4G and realized it can't lock while I'm driving. I'm wondering if this is part of what you might be noticing. I know there was also a tower problem in Wood Dale because that's the one I reported and it's been corrected now. I could try my device over in some of those trouble spots if near O'Hare and give you something to compare against if it would help.
And out of curiosity, are you going to one of the local offices to talk to someone? There's a corp store on Lake St. in Addison (next to Giordano's) where they've been usually quite happy to talk about things even though I'm on an MVNO. I've found that either that one or at another across from Meijer in Arlington Heights (in the old Arby's) the staff were much easier to work with than other locations.
About your last comment - unfortunately they're going to say that you signed the contract and they're under no obligation to let you out of it. Getting aggressive with them - as I did one time before - actually got every possible charge that they could hit me with done. Just explain it as you have here and a reasonable manager would probably try to help work out a solution to avoid burning the bridge. (Doesn't do their business good either to end on bad terms.)
Wish you the best of luck in getting this resolved.
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Click to collapse
Im not.mad or aggressive. Just frustrated. haha i dont even bother turning on 4g its just a joke.
I have trouble spots in multiple locations ohare is definitly one of them, i can barely keep a call going on 294
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
PRLs to the rescue. I really have no interest in holding up my end of the contract when sprint never held up theirs.
Option b for sure
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
JsVerbal said:
If you decide to pay the ETF, before you do, invest in a cheap non-smart phone and switch to it. This way the ETF you will pay will be decreased.
I know a few people who have been kicked for extensive roaming. 50% still had to pay the ETF because under your contract, sprint is not obligated to waive it.
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Click to collapse
lol you do not have to pay an etf if they boot you, your friends got ripped off.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
I would try the Motorola Photon and see if there is a noticeable difference in service. That phone has the best radios (imo) and you should see your signal increase.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
kawaski47 said:
I would try the Motorola Photon and see if there is a noticeable difference in service. That phone has the best radios (imo) and you should see your signal increase.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
I would, but I need my phone basically everyday I already have my GSM Nexus and the T-mobile prepaid service is significantly better than Sprint (my 3g speeds - in my house with basically 0 to 1 bars are 4-5 times faster than sprint), but the great thing is I can make phone calls again and receive them!
Between a refurbished photon and a new GSM Nexus, ill take the nexus. The investment ($450 for the phone, $320 ETF) will pay for its self in 8 months, then the extra money can go towards buying the next Nexus.
I have the S3 on the $89.99 Plan.
I want change the plan to the lowest priced plan available.
I see the only option I have with the S3 is the $79.99 plan, which is not much of a price difference.
Can I:
- Activate a Basic device I have (Motorola or Sanyo Katana,) which would then deactivate the S3.
- Change my plan from the $89.99 plan to the $29.99 Plan?
- Use the Basic device on the lower priced plan until I decide what Carrier to Port to.
Until I figure out what to do regarding changing Carriers, I want to give sprint as little money as possible, until I port.
I'll probably have to pay the $350 ETF, unless the BBB and/or the FCC decides otherwise.
Thanks.
What a Shister!
I'd bet against you but good luck.
daryllh said:
What a Shister!
I'd bet against you but good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Without going into too much detail, I've not been able to complete 90% of my calls for the past 2 months without them Fading, and where the other party cannot hear me clearly.
I'm on my 3rd S3 and the issues remain.
I've contacted Sprint multiple times, and have multiple tickets on record.
Sprint has been giving me the run around for 2 months since the issue began when I renewed my contract, continuing my almost 14 year affiliation with Sprint.
I cannot continue service any longer due to not being able to complete calls without issues.
Sprint has been unable to resolve these issues, and refuses to waive the ETF.
So I've written to the BBB and FCC, and hopefully they can intervene.
This is the reason for my inquiry in this thread.
Perhaps you may get a better understanding for why I'm asking, and maybe go throw your names around to someone else,
Sorry man. I effed up. I read it as you trying to get S3 to work with $30 plan. My apoliogies.
That being said, you should be able to do that if you didn't go through wirefly where they can charge you for cancelling smartphone data.
Biker1 said:
Without going into too much detail, I've not been able to complete 90% of my calls for the past 2 months without them Fading, and where the other party cannot hear me clearly.
I'm on my 3rd S3 and the issues remain.
I've contacted Sprint multiple times, and have multiple tickets on record.
Sprint has been giving me the run around for 2 months since the issue began when I renewed my contract, continuing my almost 14 year affiliation with Sprint.
I cannot continue service any longer due to not being able to complete calls without issues.
Sprint has been unable to resolve these issues, and refuses to waive the ETF.
So I've written to the BBB and FCC, and hopefully they can intervene.
This is the reason for my inquiry in this thread.
Perhaps you may get a better understanding for why I'm asking, and maybe go throw your names around to someone else,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
daryllh said:
Sorry man. I effed up. I read it as you trying to get S3 to work with $30 plan. My apoliogies.
That being said, you should be able to do that if you didn't go through wirefly where they can charge you for cancelling smartphone data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No sweat
I edited the op for clarification.
I hope you realize that the BBB can't do anything at all. They're a non-profit business rating firm, not an enforcer.
Can't hurt.
Going to send one off to the FTC, in addition to the PUC. Enough is enough already.
What ever it takes, that's what it will be.
Tired of paying my hard earned money and not receiving services.
I'm not even talking about Data, I'm talking about making a call.
Almost 14 years as a Sprint customer, and now I need to call 3-4 times on average to complete a conversation that should only take 1 phone call.
Over 2 months and counting.
Whatever it takes.
If Sprint had to face their customers face to face they wouldn't be pulling this crap like they do over the phone.
My calls have faded calling Sprint attempting to resolve these issues.
All I get is the Sprint Endless Circle of Non Resolution.
Sorry to hear about your issues.
We'll send out an engineer to check the Towers.
We'll call you within 48 hours.
The Towers are fine.
Must be your device.
Go to the store to have it checked out.
Your device is fine.
Oh, your device is fine.
We'll open up another trouble ticket.
We'll send out the engineers........
And on and on and on.......
Hours and Hours and Hours of Wasted Time.....
One moron in account services asked if I live near a body of water.
She said that can cause the issues I'm having, although Sprint doesn't know why the body of water causes these issues, but they do.
Are you crapping me??
You can't make this crap up boys & girls........
You can do this and once you switch to the other phone, your plan should automatically change. I have done this not to long ago. I had a sg3, bought a basic flip phone and had sprint activate the basic flip phone through the online chat. Took about 5 minutes. Once I had the phone activated, my extra $10 for premium data went away. It is possible and easy to do.
P.s. good luck with your case with sprint, I hope you can get out without paying that insane etf !!! Keep us updated if you can
Thanks.
Appreciate the support.
I'll definitely keep you updated.
I was posting in another thread started by someone else, about customers who are fed up with Sprint, but I started this thread great to avoid clutter.
I actually posted more updates in that thread about Sprint account services, and their attempt to run circles around me, which is what prompted me to contact the BBB and FCC.
I'll also submit to FTC, PUC.
Maybe even have an attorney write a letter on my behalf.
The sad part is that Sprint pays its employees to dish out the crap, so they get paid to bs us.
Guys like me, and girls, have to spend many hours and days trying to resolve these issues, Without being compensated for the much time it takes to attempt to do so.
That is why paying the ETF is usually the cheaper way to go.
Less wasted time and less aggravation.
It's just that you hate to let Sprint get away with getting paid for services that you aren't receiving.
It's Horrendous.
Not being able to complete a call without issue is extremely frustrating, especially here in NYC, one of the Largest, if not the largest market in the country.
Customers thinking of renewing or porting over to sprint should Not be Fooled by the Unlimited Data Ploy. Not only will you have extremely slow data in many cases, you may have Calling issues which is of more importance to most customers.
Even though you have 14 days to try the service and terminated the contract if you decide to, it's really 13 days, and usually if you're having issues, it'll be a few days until you realize the issues aren't an anomaly, but the norm.
You'll end up notifying Sprint, and then the BS will begin to ensure they keep you past the 14 days.
They will tell you that it's the Towers, and that they'll check it out for you quickly, and call you back.
Then a couple of more days will pass.
Then they'll tell you that you can get a replacement device, as that is likely the issue.
You'll go to the store, and order a replacement.
More days will pass.
You'll get your replacement device, and maybe for a day or so you'll think the issues have resolved, only to realize they have Not, and that you're past you're 14 day trial period, and that You're Crap Outta Luck.
If you leave, you'll have to pay $350 to do so.
Buyer Beware never rang so true.
Customer Service has reverted back to the bad old days of yesteryear.
I know all too well being with Sprint for so many years almost 14.
Too long........
I had a Better Idea...............
I just Ported over to VERIZON!
Had Best Buy Mobile handle the Port.
Saved $50 on my Blue S3 32GB
Seamless.
Sprint got some racket go'in on, and I'm Happy Not to be part of it Anymore......
....After 14 years...........
What a pleasure it is to be able to Complete a Call After over 2 Months!!
Btw, LTE, Yes, LTE is 11 Mbps DL, 17 Mbps UL
That's only 1 SpeedTest, and that's good enough for me.
No more 250 Kbps crap.
But the Important thing is that I can Complete a Call, and that's worth Dumping sprint...................GOLD!!
Biker1 said:
I had a Better Idea...............
I just Ported over to VERIZON!
Had Best Buy Mobile handle the Port.
Saved $50 on my Blue S3 32GB
Seamless.
Sprint got some racket go'in on, and I'm Happy Not to be part of it Anymore......
....After 14 years...........
What a pleasure it is to be able to Complete a Call After over 2 Months!!
Btw, LTE, Yes, LTE is 11 Mbps DL, 17 Mbps UL
That's only 1 SpeedTest, and that's good enough for me.
No more 250 Kbps crap.
But the Important thing is that I can Complete a Call, and that's worth Dumping sprint...................GOLD!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So u got out of contract? Im on my 2nd gs3 cannot send SMS half the time or call I want out asap!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Frustratez said:
So u got out of contract? Im on my 2nd gs3 cannot send SMS half the time or call I want out asap!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No.
I didn't get a final bill yet, but I'll be paying the ETF once I get the bill.
Account No Services wouldn't waive the ETF or reduce it.
I'll await a response from the BBB, FCC, etc.
I couldn't take 1 more day of non services from Sprint.
Not being able to complete a call without issue for over 2 months was Horrendous.
Sprint is Atrocious.
I hope many others decide to pay their ETF's and/or fight them, rather than stay with non services from sprint.
Sprint just Lost out on $2200 from me is how I see it.
I don't know why the FCC, FTC, Congress hasn't gone after Hesse and his Merry Thieves....
Can I sell my S3 now, or do I have to wait until I receive my final bill?
I already Ported.
Pretty sure you can sell it now..just call sprint and check the esn if you're concerned.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
cheaper plan.....
Biker1 said:
I have the S3 on the $89.99 Plan.
I want change the plan to the lowest priced plan available.
I see the only option I have with the S3 is the $79.99 plan, which is not much of a price difference.
Can I:
- Activate a Basic device I have (Motorola or Sanyo Katana,) which would then deactivate the S3.
- Change my plan from the $89.99 plan to the $29.99 Plan?
- Use the Basic device on the lower priced plan until I decide what Carrier to Port to.
Until I figure out what to do regarding changing Carriers, I want to give sprint as little money as possible, until I port.
I'll probably have to pay the $350 ETF, unless the BBB and/or the FCC decides otherwise.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like its time for a flash update...instead of flashing for the baddest Rom, flash for another carrier and enjoy ur freedom witout contracts..................
cslough said:
Sounds like its time for a flash update...instead of flashing for the baddest Rom, flash for another carrier and enjoy ur freedom witout contracts..................
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm still within the 14 day of my new contract with Verizon.
Which Carrier would you suggest to Flash to, with Everything working?
And I don't want anything affiliated with Sprint.
T-Mobile affiliates appear to be hit and miss, with a lot of miss.
At this point in time, Verizon appears to have the best coverage.
If you aren't getting phone service, you MUST send them a letter, and request a written response.
Stop using the phone to try and get this fixed.
Make SURE you always put "I am not receiving the service I am paying for" in every correspondence.
After you have a few letters from Sprint saying they do see your calls dropping, demand to be let go without ETF. If they don't, port out, and don't pay the ETF.
When they send you to collections, tell them you are sending your letters to the 3 collection agencies showing that they admitted to not providing service.
It's a tiny bill, and most credit agencies don't even look at small cellphone bills as a negative due to such poor service from all carriers.
I hear you about the emails.. I haven't written any correspondence since the issues began.. I have a few trouble tickets.. Usually I do email companies so I have written confirmation of issues, but in this case, I didn't, which is an oversight.
I was already told by account services they won't waive the etf, which is why I Ported a few days ago..
I will write an email also, as it's never too late to do so.
I have the issues logged into the Notes on my account. Sprint also said that even though my calls are Fading out, of which the reps experiences while I was speaking with them on multiple occasions, the calls don't show as dropping..
As for not paying the etf, I will exhaust all avenues of complaints to sprint, etc. Before I pay them.
Thanks for your advice.