Sprint’s New $15 per Month Unlimited Offer Hopes to Lure in Switchers

Megalith

Megalith

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Sprint has introduced a new $15-per-month, per-line unlimited plan that many are calling “insane.” AT&T charges $65 a month for a single line, while T-Mobile and Verizon charge $70 and $75, respectively.

This deal doesn't include a mobile hotspot feature for tethering several devices. Free Hulu, HD video streaming and the ability to lease phones on monthly installment plans from Sprint are also not included. For those features, users will need to pay Sprint's full unlimited plan price.
 
I had sprint once back in the day - terrible coverage, not sure if that's changed in the past 8 years or so. Even if you had good coverage, wonder how much you can download before they throttle you to dial up speeds for the remainder of the month.

I like the no frills, no deals, or sketchiness of ProjectFi - I know what I'm getting and it's still cheap as hell.
 
Does anyone know how long you must NOT be a member of Sprint before you can sign up for this?
 
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I’m paying less than $100 for two unlimited lines plus free international with TMO. Why would I switch to this?
 
I got cell phone thru xfinity for basically free. No extra charge
 
Trimlock said:
I’m paying less than $100 for two unlimited lines plus free international with TMO. Why would I switch to this?
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Because from the sounds of it you would be paying $30 for NEARLY the equivalent plan instead of $100?

I would switch if it came with a phone promotion, but since I'm with Verizon my phones won't be compatible with their networks - so I would have to buy a new one.
 
I'm a T-Mobile customer and this does entice me. My question is, will a T-Mobile phone work on a Sprint network?
 
collegeboy69us said:
I had sprint once back in the day - terrible coverage, not sure if that's changed in the past 8 years or so. Even if you had good coverage, wonder how much you can download before they throttle you to dial up speeds for the remainder of the month.
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I've had Sprint for many years. Still have Sprint. Their coverage fucking sucks. There's no other way to put it. Also good luck getting 4G in any supposed 4G areas. I could never rely on mobile data (speeds or availability), so I only used the Internet when I had a WiFi connection on the phone, so yeah I can't really speak on throttling and data caps. The coverage though, good gawd. I heard things have been even worse for my brother on the other side of the country (I'm east coast USA he is west coast).

$15 a month per line for unlimited minutes, data, and texts sounds good. Sounds. I hope it's not one of those things that are too good to be true. Good luck using the unlimited data/texting with the coverage you'll get (actual phone calls tend to be more reliable). I see Sprint didn't say when the sign-up period for this promotion ends. "You get in during this limited time window, you are going to enjoy that rate for a very, very long time." I wonder how long they feel a "very, very long time" is.
 
I myself never go for these offers. I look at how a company treats it's current customers not new customers
 
At least Sprint has the right price for their terrible service. I used them for years, and after the Wimax clusterfuck , you couldn't get a signal on LTE anywhere. I finally ditched them a few years back and surprise! I paid the same price on Verizon (for the amount of data I used), and the coverage was vastly better.

They would have to get to better coverage than Tmobile to go back, and I don't see that happening anytime soon.
 
Skirge01 said:
Does anyone know how long you must NOT be a member of Sprint before you can sign up for this?
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Just threaten to cancel and never come back if they don't give you the deal. You might have to spend a bunch of time on hold and speak to a supervisor, but the general argument here is they should not treat new customers better than existing ones. Usually companies will bend if you push enough.

Edit: final leverage if this doesn't work is to threaten badmouthing them on their facebook page etc. I can tell you my company gets all stupid about negative press on the FB page. customer usually gets exactly what they wants. (speaking as someone who works in customer service)

Edit2 sometimes you actually have to make that post to get results. Just remember its about patience and please be nice to the front line dudes as they have to say no a bunch and eventually you should get to someone who actually has the power to give you what you want.
 
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Cyraxx said:
Because from the sounds of it you would be paying $30 for NEARLY the equivalent plan instead of $100?

I would switch if it came with a phone promotion, but since I'm with Verizon my phones won't be compatible with their networks - so I would have to buy a new one.
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I have had both T-mo and sprint in the last 5 years, in 3 different parts of the country. This is NOT the equivalent. T-mo is far better coverage, speed, and call quality wise. You get what you pay for with this deal, which is fuck all.

DukenukemX said:
I'm a T-Mobile customer and this does entice me. My question is, will a T-Mobile phone work on a Sprint network?
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Don;t fall for it bro! See previous quote.
 
DukenukemX said:
I'm a T-Mobile customer and this does entice me. My question is, will a T-Mobile phone work on a Sprint network?
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Only if you have a phone that would work on the Google Fi plan (which is like what, 8 phones?). So in most cases, no, as they use different bands.
 
I see that they are finally accurately pricing the actual value of their service.
 
Cyraxx said:
Because from the sounds of it you would be paying $30 for NEARLY the equivalent plan instead of $100?

I would switch if it came with a phone promotion, but since I'm with Verizon my phones won't be compatible with their networks - so I would have to buy a new one.
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There is nothing equivalent between the two and would require me to get a new phone.

Looking at the sprint one it looks like the old TMO monthly payment where you had “unlimited” but not really and your coverage sucked.

If they were looking to get a lot of switchers this doesn’t look like a deal sealer.
 
Trimlock said:
I’m paying less than $100 for two unlimited lines plus free international with TMO. Why would I switch to this?
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Only $100 for 3 phones on T-Mobile. It's the older plan, Unlimited text and voice, 2GB data, free international text and data (2G).

Works for us, since we usually have WiFi access. Only time I ever came close to using the 2GB was when I decided to stream a couple TV shows while on vacation.
 
So, seriously - if your advertisement campaign is, effectively, "We are /almost/ as good as Verizon, but cheaper!" Things are not good. I pay the Verizon tax, because I demand the most possible coverage with the convenience of conventional cellular service. I don't doubt there are whole swaths of people that never travel beyond the shadow of the mountain upon which side they reside, and maybe for someone like that who happens to be in the right spot for other-network service, this would be a good deal.
 
my Q is, will this price be permanent (via contract) or is it just a promo to get people to switch?

I have a Samsung Amp Prime phone with Cricket service .... $30 a month and it's more than enough. Never had a dead spot in the past year at least here in the City and surrounding countryside
 
Wow. I need to get my folks on this pronto. Pair it with a Moto G6 from Amazon for $235 or $47/mo for five months.

I feel like a real idiot being in a $100/mo, fresh contract for 15 more months. Maybe I should just pay the $800 now, switch plans, and come out ahead in the long run. But then again, I do like being able to switch phones every 12 months for $0 change in monthly payment now that flagships cost close to $1,000.
 
gigaxtreme1 said:
Would be nice if this entices other networks to bring down their prices.
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Yeah breath holding session starts right.... no...pe, not going to do it.

Seriously the "insane" part of this is the fact that other companies are charging $65+ per month PER LINE to use a phone and internet away from home. I mean bravo on them for realizing how fucking addicted people are that they'd jump all over this and think throwing down that much is something they can do, but damn.
 
Damn. Somewhat happy Sprint customer here in Central Florida, on a $30/mo unlimited talk/text 2GB no hotspot plan.
 
If the service/coverage was even half good in my area this might entice me, but Sprint sucks where I live.
 
Yeah this is not an attack on ATT or Verizon, but the MVNOs, that's who they're targeting, and who will have to try to respond. All I do is surf the web and stream some occasional youtube and cricket which uses the ATT network works just fine at $35/mo for 5gb.
 
Eligible devices (domestic versions) (must be unlocked and compatible with Sprint SIM card and network):
  • Alcatel IDOL5
  • Apple iPhone 5c (Verizon only)
  • Apple iPhone 5s (Verizon only)
  • Apple iPhone 6
  • Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  • Apple iPhone 6s
  • Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  • Apple iPhone 7 (Verizon only)
  • Apple iPhone 7 Plus (Verizon only)
  • Apple iPhone 8 (Verizon only)
  • Apple iPhone 8 Plus (Verizon only)
  • Apple iPhone SE
  • Apple iPad
  • Apple iPad Air 2
  • Apple iPad Air
  • Apple iPad Mini 4
  • Apple iPad Mini 3
  • Apple iPad Mini 2
  • Apple iPad Pro
  • BLU VIVO S
  • Essential Phone
  • Google Nexus 5 (16 & 32 GB – black/white/red) (Verizon only)
  • Google Nexus 5X (all versions)
  • Google Nexus 6 (32 & 64 GB – black/white)
  • Google Nexus 6P (all versions)
  • Google Pixel
  • Google Pixel XL
  • Google Pixel 2
  • Google Pixel XL 2
  • HTC One A9 (Sprint Version only)
  • moto e4
  • moto e4 plus
  • moto g4
  • moto g4 play
  • moto g4 plus
  • moto g5 plus
  • moto g5s plus
  • moto x pure edition
  • moto z2 play
  • Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Special Edition
  • Samsung Galaxy S7 Special Edition
  • Samsung Galaxy S8 Special Edition
  • Samsung Galaxy S8+ Special Edition
 
I'd switch...if they had a good network. I mean, it's good, but when you're in a bad spot, there is no connectivity (even 2g). It'd be better than my 2gb $79 semi-annual (6mo) plan anyway, but only because the plan I have isn't unlimited in any way.
 
The device eligibility list is confusing to me. It says Verizon only for a number of the iPhone's, but assuming you've bought the SIM free model from Apple I don't see why it wouldn't work. I'm tempted to do this as $30 for only two lines is a great deal, but I don't know if my factory unlocked iPhones will actually work.
 
DukenukemX said:
I'm a T-Mobile customer and this does entice me. My question is, will a T-Mobile phone work on a Sprint network?
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I carry around a Sprint workphone and a TMO personal phone. Both iPhones. They are about a wash for coverage in DFW. I would say the Sprint phone gives me slightly better coverage as I can usually switch over to it and get a shitty signal when the TMO phone gives me no signal.

With the 2 phones right now sitting next to each, both have full bars & "LTE" icon.

TMO
DN: 68.9mb
UP: 5.8mb

Sprint
DN: 22.7mb
UP: 2.8mb

TMO clearly is the winner here, but for cell phone usage that is surfing and watching YouTube, both numbers are adequate. I will switch to my work phone if I want to stream a YouTube documentary while driving since it's unlimited data, and it works fine (I don't look at the screen, so can't say if it's pixelated or not, but it streams fine).
 
Mchart said:
The device eligibility list is confusing to me. It says Verizon only for a number of the iPhone's, but assuming you've bought the SIM free model from Apple I don't see why it wouldn't work. I'm tempted to do this as $30 for only two lines is a great deal, but I don't know if my factory unlocked iPhones will actually work.
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can not be a Iphone 7 Model A1778 or A1784, it has to support CDMA. Basically your phone needs to support CDMA channels 1900 (F), 2000 (A).
 
What Sprint's offering is apparently more similar to what most of the 1st world and even 2nd world countries enjoy.
 
Teenyman45 said:
What Sprint's offering is apparently more similar to what most of the 1st world and even 2nd world countries enjoy.
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Yeah, no. I lived in both England and Germany for a decade combined up until very recently. Service was more expensive over there, and even harder to switch carriers as you'd have to give 3 month notice to cancel/switch.

$15 a month is a great deal if you don't stream video very often and just use the data for emails/web browsing.
 
Mchart said:
Yeah, no. I lived in both England and Germany for a decade combined up until very recently. Service was more expensive over there, and even harder to switch carriers as you'd have to give 3 month notice to cancel/switch.

$15 a month is a great deal if you don't stream video very often and just use the data for emails/web browsing.
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I just did a quick google search for UK phone plans. For SIM only, which is essentially what this is, there are plenty of options in the 10-20 pound range ($13.50-$27.00) offering between 3-15GB of data, unlimited text, and either 1K+ or unlimited minutes. Compare that to how many U.S. plans that are $60-70+ monthly (not including taxes, fees, surcharges, and fees / taxes on the fees, taxes, and surcharges) for limited bandwidth, speed throttling, and a rather small monthly data allowances that often have very large penalties for going over.
 
Teenyman45 said:
I just did a quick google search for UK phone plans. For SIM only, which is essentially what this is, there are plenty of options in the 10-20 pound range ($13.50-$27.00) offering between 3-15GB of data, unlimited text, and either 1K+ or unlimited minutes. Compare that to how many U.S. plans that are $60-70+ monthly (not including taxes, fees, surcharges, and fees / taxes on the fees, taxes, and surcharges) for limited bandwidth, speed throttling, and a rather small monthly data allowances that often have very large penalties for going over.
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They aren't unlimited, most charge by the minute when you go out of country anywhere else in continental Europe (or you pay double for a plan that includes it), and they don't have other features such as free international like tmobile, etc.

I currently pay $79 for two unlimited Tmobile lines and that also includes free Netflix, free international, etc.

Trust me, you need to look beyond the simple price quoted on the front page and actually look at all the extra services/costs you'll have to stack on.

So unless you're a chav who only calls his mate down at the pub most plans are only cheaper on the surface.

Also FYI phones are way more expensive across the pond and most aren't running SIM free yet, not to mention your average person doesn't have as much disposable cash due to the cost of living.. Entirely different discussion, but unless you've actually lived over there things aren't as simple as they seem.
 
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I must be privileged as a Sprint customer in Baltimore, because my service has been great since the last LTE tower upgrades after the WiMax fiasco. It wasn't THAT bad then. I haven't had a call drop in years, like 5+. To be fair, i think we're one of their "Beta" markets. We get their changes/upgrades in the 2nd or 3rd wave max.
 
As long as you're in a city/town or on the interstate, you're probably good. But if you're not...good luck.
Screenshot_Chrome_20180611-111508.png
https://coverage.sprint.com/mycoverage.jsp?id=BO543STC

That's 4g, 3g, and voice, no roaming. White is no coverage.
Edit: apparently free data/voice roaming on 2g, but they may terminate service if you use too much, and they don't show 2g on their map, just roaming (which has pretty good coverage, but the data cap is a bit concerning.
https://www.whistleout.com/CellPhones/Carriers/Sprint/Personal/Sprint-Unlimited-Kickstart-Plan said:
No Roaming Charges in USA (Sprint may terminate service if roaming usage in a month exceeds 800 min. or a majority of min.; or 100MB or a majority of KB)
Click to expand...
 
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