Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with sprint

Experience with Sprint / Nextel MiFi?

bamassippi — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:04:59 -0800

Experience with Sprint / Nextel MiFi? Moving into an area of Seattle with a cable/Internet provider with a poor reputation and performance. My wife and I are considering the MiFi 2200. We both work from home and I wanted to ask the MeFi-ers first to see if anyone has had any experience with this device/service.

We need something that can handle everything from running reports through VPNs, to watching videos, to downloading large files. What should we need to know (or be concerned) about? How does it compare to a top-of-the-line high-speed broadband service?

more for my money in cell phones - sprint

mdn — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:07:25 -0800

cheapest blackberry-esque phone & plan, either thru Sprint or taking into account the cost of leaving Sprint... I lost my regular cell phone and finished my paper datebook. I haven't got the replacement phone yet, and I'm having trouble finding a replacement datebook that starts in June. I'll be very busy starting next week and need to be well organized, so am considering the electronic option. On the other hand, I'm pretty broke.

My old/ current Sprint plan ended up coming to about $70 per month, even though it was supposed to be more like $39... There seemed to always be a lot of fees or forgotten changes to the bill. I either want to really go cheap, spend like $25 a month and have the bare bones, or get something actually life-improving, that will help me keep track of things, have a useful and usable calendar, etc.

I don't talk all that much on the phone so limited minutes (within reason) is fine, and since one insane bill due to text messages I've kept that to a minimum without trouble. I think I renewed my Sprint plan last August. Any advice? Thanks.

Help me "negotiate" with Sprint.

kristymcj — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:27:46 -0800

My contract is up with Sprint and I've decided that if they'll offer me some goodies, I'll stay with them. I've been with them for 9 years. What do I ask for? Where to start from negotiating-wise? I want the new Pal Pre.
I would like it for free.

I would like a cheap plan.
My current plan is the Fair and Flexible plan: $50 for 750 anytime minutes, nights & Weekends after 9:00 are free. I pay $5 for 300 texts and have free Sprint to Sprint.

I understand that if I have net access with my phone I'll have to pay more for the data. I'd rather not start paying the (quite reasonable, really) $99 per month for the unlimited. Is it realistic to ask for my same rate with the data plan thrown in for free?

Anything else I can ask for that I'm not thinking of?

Gave cell phone to fire victim

Muirwylde — Sun, 24 May 2009 11:26:09 -0800

I gave my cell phone to a badly burned fire victim and she took it with her to the hospital in the ambulance. It was covered in blood. I dont want it back. I have no phone insurance. I'm with Sprint. Any provision for a replacement if the phone is lost in in a life saving circumstance? WARNING: graphic details inside. A woman crashed her truck into a house, hit the propane tank and it exploded in a huge fireball. I found the lady. This happened second house down from us. She had somehow got out of the burning truck. The truck, propane tank and house EXPLODED in a huge, I mean huge fireball. I mean massive it was like one of those movie scenes.She was toasted. Her skin was hanging off her in huge sheets nearly all of her skin was burnt off and her dress was all burnt away. 39, pretty. She kept asking me,"... is my face burnt, is my face burnt?" When I found her she was trapped between the fire and a 10 foot rock wall. She climbed up the fucking wall to me. I dont know how she did that. Her hands were all burnt and bloody. We called 911 and her dad. Some other people stopped to try and help: it was a war zone. Then we almost got hit by falling power lines that were on fire! She has my phone. I'm not sure if she is going to live. I dont want my phone back. I'm going to try to get a new one today.

Any approach or provisions on getting a replacement phone from Sprint at zero or low cost in this sort of circumstance?

Outlook+Blackberry=Unwanted Email Attention?

grabbingsand — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 07:01:58 -0800

Why would my syncing my Outlook appointments cause my Blackberry to send emails automatically? My company has some restrictions as to what apps can be installed on work laptops. For instance, Google Sync is considered a risk, but Blackberry Desktop Manager is listed as allowed. And so, I used said Desktop Manager to sync my Outlook Calendar with the calendar on my Curve. All seems well and good.

I set up no Blackberry Email when I first rec'd my Curve (about a month ago), content as I was to use the Gmail App. But before long, I figured that I might as well, particularly if I wanted to send photos, etc., given that the Gmail App seems to have no access to my local media. So I did.

Within an hour of setting up that Blackberry Email address, my Curve starts buzzing away with news of incoming messages. To those familiar with Outlook, these are the notification messages returned from recipients ("Accepted, Declined, Tentative"). And since the meetings of which I am a part have very long invite lists, I was getting email after email.

To make matters worse, when I got into work the next morning, I had emails in my Outlook Inbox from co-workers asking why I'd been sending them emails from _____@sprint.blackberry.net.

Not having time to dive too far into how this all could happen, I deleted the Blackberry Email address before anything further happened.

I've found next to nothing about unwanted or automatic emails being generated from Outlook appointments that have been sync'd, but I know I can't be the only one. Also, I'm sure there is a perfectly logical explanation and possibly a way to avoid this should I decided to make a new Blackberry email.

So ... what happened?

i('m a consumer whore)Phone Filter: I've decided I want an iPhone and I've got a ton of questions.

xotis — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:42:33 -0800

iPhone Filter: I've decided I want an iPhone. I've got a ton of questions, my google-fu is failing me, and I haven't recived much help when I call AT&T. Hopefully you can help me in regards to porting my # from Sprint Business to AT&T. Here are my questions. I warned you that there are a lot! I tried to break them up into categories to make easier. Again, I have googled my heart out and found answers to all of my other iPhone questions but these are the ones I still haven't found answers to. Hopefully your google-fu is better than mine, or maybe you've already been down this path before and can help me out.

1.) Transfer of Current Number
- I've had my current # for over 10 years.
- My current # is a Sprint Business #. The bill is sent monthly to my father's business, and is in his business' name, but they do not pay it. I pay the bill online monthly. I am authorized as the "Account Administrator" according to My.Sprint.com
- How do I get the Sprint Business # that is not registered in my name ported over to AT&T?
- My current phone is 3 years old, but I added text messaging to my plan last year. How do I find out if I'm under any contractual obligation to Sprint? (When I call customer service, is there a better phrase to use than "am I under any type of contract?" I want to make sure I'm not confusing the rep on the line.)
- Is it better to make the transaction for the iPhone & service online or in an AT&T store?
- Are there any specific questions/phrases I need to use with a Sprint/AT&T sales rep to make sure this happens smoothly?

2.) Can I switch my number back to Sprint in the future? (Simple answer seems to be "yes" but I have some clarifying questions.)
- I've heard that the AT&T reception in Minneapolis is spotty with iPhones. If the service sucks, and 5 or 6 months later I want to switch my number back to Sprint, am I SOL due to the 2 year contract?
- Is my only option to wait/buy out the 2 year contract, and then switch back to Sprint 2 years down the road, unless I want to pay a bunch of $$$ to buy out the contract?

3.) Monthly Fees & Total Cost
- I'm thinking about the $69.99 plan, but it appears that text messages are not included, so I need to spend $5 for 200 messages/month. Unless I'm missing anything, my monthly fee will be $74.99, as long as I don't go over my minutes, right?
- Are there any other hidden fees besides standard taxes for mobile phones?
- If my math is correct, the total cost, out the door, should be $331.19 ($199 phone + $69.99 Monthly Fee + $5 for 200 SMS/text + $36 setup + 6.5% sales tax). I like having my expectations set before I head out to the stores.

4.) Any last minute advice?
- For those of you that have gone down this path before, is there anything you wish you would have known before you made the leap to an iPhone?

Thanks in advance for all your help!

BlackBerry 8330 vs MOTO Q9c vs Palm Treo 800w

spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:27:54 -0800

Will the BlackBerry 8330 work for me? How useful is wifi connectivity (which the 8330 doesn't have)? Is there a significant difference between this phone and the Motorola Q9c? My Motorola Razr v3c is at the end of it's life and I'm eligible for a 2-year renewal discount with Sprint. Aside from basic phone stuff, I use the Razr for:

Checking twitter (the browser won't allow sending messages to Twitter; I have to do that via txt message)
Checking Gmail (easy to read, very hard to compose a message though)
Listening to music (before I got an mp3 player)
Google Maps (getting directions when I'm lost)
Reading MetaFilter

I'd like my new phone to do all of that, and it looks to me like the BlackBerry 8330's interface would make sending txt and e-mail much easier. . The only drawback I see is that it can't connect to a wifi network (it uses Sprint's EVDO network). How big of a drawback is this? My current phone can't do this and sometimes websites load painfully slow, or time out completely.

The Sprint rep I chatted with online told me that the Palm Treo 800w can connect to wif, but for that I'd pay $250, which is a little more than I'm comfortable with right now. I can get the 8330 for $100, which seems like a good deal for what I'm paying for.

The 8330 and Moto Q9c are both the same price. Has anyone used both of these phones? I understand that the functionality of them differs a little between Sprint and Verizon. Do you know if these phones will work well for what I'm needing, or should I be looking at something else? I imagine they should handle what my Razr does, only much better. Am I wrong?

Normally I would research the hell out of this on my own but I'll be getting on a plane tomorrow morning, and I need a replacement phone quickly.

Need one last breath for a Treo

dancinglamb — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:30:13 -0800

I need to resurrect a dead Treo 755p for a last ditch effort data backup My six month old Treo crapped out on me this afternoon. The past couple of weeks, it's been doing a soft reset by itself. I chalked it up to it needing the new software update but haven't gotten around to getting the memory card required.

Today, I went to use it and the screen was completely black, but all the keys were lit up and pulsing. The little status light on the upper left corner is/was orange.

I tried doing a soft reset (taking out the battery), then tried doing the reset where you take out the battery and replace it while holding the up key. No dice. I took the battery out for about a half hour to see if that would help, but it didn't make a difference. I even tried it without the battery, using only the AC adapter. The screen was still black, and the keys pulsing.

I called Sprint CS, and they were (surprise!) less than helpful. They told me that since I have the insurance, I have to call the insurance number in the morning and deal with them (rather than just going to a Sprint store and have them replace it). The Sprint CS rep said something about the phone insurance people sending me a temp phone while I sent them the Treo to be evaluated and replaced. Um. I didn't realise I'd be up for musical phones when I took the insurance option.

I was hoping to sync it so that I could at least get my calendar information off the phone. I tried using the actual USB cable instead of a cradle, but the computer didn't even acknowledge the phone.

Any ideas or am I SOL?

Sprinting in high G

IvyMike — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:52:26 -0800

If the earth's gravity was increased by 10%, would sprint runners be slower or faster? Argument that they would be slower: It would be harder to run, duh.

Arguments that they would be faster: Moonmen move as if in slow motion. The runner would spend less time in the air. The runner would be able to "push off" with more force, similar to the reason Indy cars find it advantageous to generate downforce.

Smartphone for Vista 64?

Shoggoth — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:14:38 -0800

I am jonesin' for a smartphone. The catch: Which ones will work with 64-bit Vista? I have a couple of parameters: It has to be a Sprint phone and I'd like a QWERTY keyboard. Cheaper is, of course, better. I've spent hours now looking at Web sites and forums for enlightenment, but it seems that for every person saying a phone works with Vista 64, somebody else is incredibly frustrated. The phone manufacturers themselves are remarkably vague. I even talked to a Sprint agent who had to ask a supervisor what worked (Blackberry and HTC), but I need reassurance. Do any of you have Sprint smartphones that work with Vista 64-bit? If so, which ones?

New phone/carrier recs.

decrescendo — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:06:55 -0800

It's come the time to buy a new cellphone. I have a RAZR V2 and it's falling apart. My Verizon contract is up in November. Should I re-up with Verizon and stay on my family plan or should I break off and/or go to another carrier? And what phone should I look into? All I know is that I do not want a huge fold out QWERTY keyboard like a 16-year-old girl with a Sidekick and probably do not want a Motorola. I'm on a family plan with two other lines and I burn between 450 and 1000 minutes per month. It's cheaper for me to stay on the family plan, share minutes, and pay my parents as opposed to paying Verizon for my own line. I've noticed that most carriers have 450 and 900 minute plans. So I would assume I would have to get the 900 minute plan.

I need to get a new phone and my contract ends in November. I dislike a majority of the Verizon phones so that brings up the issue of moving to another carrier? I would like to somehow sync my contacts from my Address Book on my Macbook Pro and download pictures from my phone through a USB or similar connection. Other than that, there really isn't a huge need for anything else. Email would be a luxury but it's not necessary (I have a Gmail account).

Which carrier do you recommend I move to if I should leave Verizon. I have not had an issue with Verizon but it simply comes down to the phone selection. I'm a single 23-year-old aerospace engineer and I would like to buy a phone I actually like, even if its a tad pricey.

I could afford an iPhone even though I would not totally enjoy paying that much upfront and monthly. However, it would play pretty well with my new Macbook Pro. I'm sure there are other fantastic and cheaper phones out there. The Blackberry Pearl and Samsung Instinct come to mind even though one is on Sprint and the other is on every carrier.

Am I already paying for slow internet access?

piedmont — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:15:35 -0800

Can I tether my LG Rumor to my computer with just Sprint's Vision pack? If not does the Boost trick still work? It's exactly something they advertise. I know speed wouldn't be super awesome, but it's better than no internet connection. What would be the limitations on this? And are there any tricks to make it work?

About a year ago I was using Boost Mobile's WIDEN access for this, and was getting around 60k both ways reliably. Will this still work if my Rumor won't?

Best mobile internet service for telecommuting in U.S. and Canada?

beccyjoe — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 16:11:30 -0800

I'm telecommuting from the U.S. and Canada and am wondering what my options are for mobile broadband/internet. I've done some research... and so far have found:
* Sprint: cheap and unlimited plans but want me to commit to two years and don't provide service while in Canada
* Telus (Canadian company): per GB plans, provide option to allow you to use within U.S. without paying high roaming fees but still more expensive than U.S. companies
* Rogers (Canadian company): provides portable internet service. Cheap but I'm pretty sure you can't use it in U.S.

Any experiences or ideas would be great! thanks!

How can I send pictures to my Blogger blog using my Sprint phone?

grrlaction — Sat, 24 May 2008 10:35:48 -0800

How can I send pictures to my Blogger blog using my Sprint phone? I've set it up so that I can send text messages and they will post, but I'm having a bear of a time setting up picture mail to do the same. Any suggestions?

What's a good EVDO card to clone?

frijole — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 08:19:21 -0800

I'm looking at a situation where I may want/need to buy a replacement Sprint EVDO card, and want to just clone over the old card's ID (ESN?) to the new one. What cards work the best for this? The basic gist of it is that I don't want to have to deal with activation and all the other assorted nonsense, I want to just get the new card, clone the relevant details from the old card, and start using the new one. Of course, only after taking a hammer to the old one to make sure I don't get blacklisted.

Why can't my Nextel phone receive Sprint text messages?

lilac girl — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:13:08 -0800

My Nextel phones can't receive text messages from people on the Sprint network. I can send them messages, and I can receive messages from other networks, it's just getting messages from Sprint. The Nextel people have been unable to give me an answer. What could the problem be? Recently my company switched to Nextel for the Push-to-talk option. The first phone I got was a Blackberry 700i, but the speaker was broken and had the chance to switch to a phone that Nextel assured me would be able to receive text messages -- I wouldn't be able to send SMS messages, they said, but I'd be able to receive them. I got my Motorola i930 today, and I still can't receive messages from Sprint.

Nextel customer support has been completely unhelpful. I've gotten everything from "Huh. That's weird" to "There's a national text messaging outage for Nextel blackberries," but no solid answer.

Any sort of information would be helpful. Is there a real reason why this is happening? Is there another Nextel phone that can receive sprint messages? If I'm on Nextel, and my friend's on Sprint, am I just out of luck with getting their text messages?

Sprint smartphone with WiFi, Skype?

rouftop — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:07:48 -0800

GadgetFilter: Searching for a smartphone that does WiFi and can run Skype Mobile, preferably for Sprint. Anybody tried this? I've read some reviews of the Mogul, but it sounds kinda so-so. Maybe the Treo 700 wx?

If you have done this on a different carrier I'd be interested in your experiences/recommendations as well.

Help Me Train for a 300 Meter and 1.5 Mile Run

metawabbit — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 14:51:03 -0800

What is the best training plan to improve my performance in a 300 meter and 1.5 mile run in 6 weeks? I am applying for a job that requires me to take a physical fitness test in about 6 weeks, which includes a 300 meter and 1.5 mile run. I am a 32 year-old male, 6 feet tall, 185 lbs. and I am fairly muscular, but mostly in my upper body. I don't have any formal background in running, but I usually jog about 4 miles once a week. I tried the 300 meter run this past weekend and was very discouraged with my time of about 50 seconds. I need to shave about 4 seconds off that time. I think my form is a large part of the problem. My wife was watching me and said that I looked too stiff and upright while running. Also, my forearms, around my elbows, were really sore right afterwards. Anyway, bottom line, is it realistic to expect that I can decrease my time by 4 seconds in 6 weeks? What is the best training plan for this? Should I do squats, lunges? Will a 10 lb. drop in my weight make much of a difference (this should be doable if I stop lifting upper body)? Should I be eating anything in particular? I've look at instructional videos online, but is there a better way to improve my form?

Switching to Sprint - should I?

pretzel — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 07:34:12 -0800

My cell phone contract with Verizon is up and I'm thinking of switching to Sprint. Should I? My contract with Verizon is up and I want to get a smartphone, Palm OS or Windows Mobile, but the thing that's always held me back is the price. I didnt want to spend $80-100 a month for a voice+data plan on Verizon.

I've been looking around at carriers and for the most part the deal is the same - pay a few hundred for the phone and then a $60+ monthly for the service. Then I find out about a)the Sprint SERO plan for $30/mo, which sounds great, and b)the Palm Centro is released. $100 (after rebate of course) and $30/monthly would work for me!

Sounds great, huh? The unknown for me is Sprint in general. I've only had Verizon (over 10 years) and have no problems with their service - where I live and work (southern Connecticut, New Haven area) I always have a great signal and no drops. I don't travel much, mostly between NYC and Boston or Cape Cod, but mainly I'm around the New Haven area.

Would I be ok with Sprint, in terms of voice (and data) coverage? Is there some sort of "catch" with SERO being so cheap and all? I've also heard about issues with Sprint's customer service. Is it really any differnent than Verizon's? I have had relatively few problems with Vzw's billing or customer service and rarely have to call them.

Put it this way, I'm happy with Verizon and I would stay with them if their smartphone/data plans were cheaper. but am I going to be unhappy with Sprint?

Name that tune (Sprint on-hold music).

OlderThanTOS — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 11:59:36 -0800

What's the on-hold music when on the Sprint cellphone activation call center? To cut a very long story short, I've been trying to port an existing number to Sprint for more nearly a month--I spend at least an hour on hold each day. I've developed some sort of Stockholm Syndrome and find myself humming their catchy, jazzy hold music at odd moments. I know I've heard it before. I have a vague recollection of it being used as "______'s Theme"
in a movie(?) Help me before I go completely mad!

(And yes, I have gone to the top, emailed the CEO and Board Chair, been referred to the VIP customer service, given a personal agent and am still without Sprint service. The story of my sordid experience will be submitted to Consumerist when the saga ends).

How to get out of your Sprint contract without paying the early termination fee?

Raichle — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 00:18:57 -0800

Can anyone suggest a good way to get out of my contract with Sprint while avoiding the early termination fees? I am miserable with Sprint. In the past month alone they have shut my phone off 4 times although I am up to date on my bill. Every time I have called, someone with a very thick accent has assured me the problem would not occur again and turned my service back on. My 2 year contract should have ended in August but apparently they have this sneaky way of renewing it behind your back when you make changes to your plan. It's very very underhanded and I want to get out before getting fleeced any more. I have seen older forum posts that indicate that you can claim to be moving to a region that is not in their coverage area and they have to release you, is this still the case?

Going nowhere with my Sanyo 7050?

@homer — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:51:50 -0800

Help me use the GPS that's in my Sanyo 7050 with Streets & Trips 2007! The Location option in the phone settings is on as well as NMEA output via USB. I tried whatever USB drivers I could find including the drivers that came with the Sprint connection program with no luck. Streets & Trips 2007 doesn't detect anything at all. I've checked Sprint user boards and I haven't been able to find much beyond cries for help like mine. I'm hoping for better luck here since all you guys and gals wear the smarty pants!

What can I do with SMS?

niles — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 18:18:25 -0800

Now that I have unlimited SMS (text messages) on my cell phone, what cool things can I do? I know that I can use it as email, and I know about Google SMS, but I can't help but think there's a whole bunch of cool Web 2.0? things out there that utilize text messaging - something like 4INFO, where you can set up alerts, daily trivia, and other things, though free would be nice. I'm not really sure what sort of things I'm looking for, as I'm just not really sure what's available.

So what (web sites or otherwise) is out there that uses SMS?

(I use Sprint, if it matters.)

Help Reseting LG PM-225 Phone!

l33tpolicywonk — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:10:18 -0800

My LG PM-225 phone now loops the Sprint logo (the one you usually see when turning the phone on) after a Bitpim sync apparently went wrong. Is there anyway to reset the phone / reinstall the software (is that what went wrong?) without informing Sprint or buying a new phone? Thanks much.

Can't hear you no more

zadermatermorts — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 08:22:39 -0800

What causes a cell phone call in which only one party can hear the other? Phone issue or carrier issue? I recently switched to Sprint with a Samsung A900M. The service has been fine, with one exception: in about 1 out of 10 calls I make or receive, the person placing the call can hear perfectly, but the call answerer can hear nothing. It has happened both when I call someone and when someone (various people) calls me, so I don't think it's a microphone issue. It also doesn't seem to be related to my location; it's happened in places where I frequently make calls and where signal strength seems to be high at the time, including outdoors.

Also noteworthy is that if one party immediately calls the other back after this happens, the new call is fine. Other calls that go through properly are clear and I haven't yet had one dropped.

So what causes this? Would it be likely to stop if I had a different phone, or is it a Sprint issue? Or might it be specific to the connection of Sprint with another carrier? I'm interested in the how-it-works.