How is Sprint PCS?

[DarkManX]

I live in Philly PA and lookin for a cellphone. Sprint seems to have the best rates, but they use samsung phones! Everything I ever had from samsung broke so are there phones any good? is it possible to use a Nokia Or Motorola? I need a cheap plan with unlimited nights and weekends. Can be a family plan with 2 phones.

 

[bigd480]

Sprint is the devil incarnate... I just bought a new phone so I could switch providers....

They usually have the best rate plans but you get a lot more minutes with a one-year contract... So after they have you locked in for a year you get crappyass service (both from your phone and from them)...

I live in a densely populated area and always get dropped calls, go out of area, etc. And I have the Dualband Touchpoint which was their top of line phone for 2 years...

The only thing that made me stay with them this long is that I love that phone... Luckily I've complained enough that they will let me out of my contract without penalty...

My plan was 180 anytime + 380 nights/weekends for $29.99 (minus 15% off cuz of company discount)... However you can't tell when you run over because their damn "*4 feature" which is supposed to give you the amount of remaining minutes, doesn't work right...

I would complain about their CSRs but all companies have terrible CSRs...

 

[DarkManX]

where are u from? maybe ur in a crappy area... can there service be bad coast-to-coast? lol

 

[oblivion2888]

COVERAGE SUCKS!!

 

[Spoooon]

I just bought an SCH-8500 and haven't had any problems with Sprint or the phone yet. I got the 1500 minutes promotional. Atleast in my area, I haven't had any dropped calls or anything like that. And all the reviews I've read of the 8500 are positive.

 

[bigd480]

I attend the most populated campus in america, UT-Austin

 

[beer]

I am a few hundred miles north of BigD in Dallas. Everything he says holds true here too.

Verizon Wireless is a bit better...

 

[Rich]

I had then for a year and a half, they sucked bigtime. Dropped calls all the time. Twice a had to drive 70 miles round trip to get a new phone. I finally went with AT&T. Cool phone, few dropped calls, 250 anytime, 500 off-peak for $29.99. AT&T

Rich

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Counterpoint:

I have Sprint PCS with a Startac 7867 in the Norman/Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area. I have used my phone with no trouble in Oklahoma, San Francisco and the North Bay, New York City, eastern Long Island, Nashville, and Denver without any problems, ever. I have the 500 anytime/500 off-peak plan with free long distance and 6 mo free Wireless Web for $50/mo. I do not even have a land line anymore.

 

[StealthX32]

damn Sprint. whole thing is a buncha gimmicks put together. I set myself down after using a couple to the AT&T service...good coverage, good phone (Nokia 6160 and 8260 for my dad), and no "daytime/nighttime" stupid calling plans...

 

[Linh]

works well in NYC

 

[Valhalla1]

well, I have no problems with it, san angelo, tx. and I travel around texas, never have probs with it. I also have the dualband touchpoint, great phone.

calls are clear as hell, I had a local cellular phone (OMG! talk about sh!tty quality), this is leaps and bounds above cellular.

what kind of service do you people use, the sprint-bashers? is it analog cellular? what other digital options are there

 

[dabuddha]

sprint's not too bad
i have a startac and i get good service
only thing i hate is the dropped calls but they happen once in awhile for me

 

[8ball]

Sprint PCS has the Motorola Startac for $150. Yes their service sucks, but so does everyone else's. Sprint has the cheapest rates. You can get 1000 minutes (yes one thousand) for $30/month. If you have problems with dropped calls, all you have to do is call and bitch and they will give you reduced rates. Also, get names and locations of the customer service people (not really Sprint employees-they are contracted out in Missouri, Illinois, California, and Texas) and speak to supervisors.

 

[SUOrangeman]

I've had good luck for over a year now with Sprint PCS just outside of DC. It is my *ONLY* phone service. In fact, I signed up for a one-year agreement (have being without one for a year) just to get more minutes ... which I won't use anyway). I think my phone is the original TouchPoint and is still going strong.

-SUO

 

[Crystal Bay]

I also have a touchpoint(Qualcom) phone.... 300 anytime + free long distance 29.99 a month .

8ball hit the nail on the head. All of the services suck at one time or another...

 

[ZoSo]

DarkManX, I live in Philly PA also, and I'm using Sprint and Samsung phones (got 2 SCH3500 and SCH8500) both work great, and the service is great. The phones are used from here(Philly) down to South Jersey and I haven't had any problems.

 

[DarkManX]

ok last question, can i use a Nokia phone? like the 8260?

 

[shopbruin]

sprint no longer carries nokias... the punkers... i want a new nokia... i have the 6185 right now.

 

[Thegonagle]

I live in Minneapolis and have just a couple complaints. A call is occasoinally dropped, with or without a strong signal, odd. And if you go outside a Sprint Digital area, you're paying 39 cents per minute. I've heard of network capacity problems in very densely populated areas, such as Chicago. I was going to switch to a new service with free roaming, but that would mean replacing my Touchpoint phone. Actually, only the digital chip that all Sprint phones use is made by Qualcom. The phone is made by Denso, who also make the electronics for Honda, Lexus, Toyota, etc. Damn, that Touchpoint is a nice phone! It works great, it's tough enough to hammer a StarTac into a hundred pieces, and it's down to $120. I paid $200 one year ago.

Through December you can get 250 weekday minutes plus 1250 Night & weekend minutes (practically unlimited, as far as I'm concerned) with free long distance and 6 months free web usage (free except for minutes, that is) for 34.99 per month. I don't know about "family plans" though (uh, family planning, anyone? ) I'd ask people in your area what they think of Sprint, since it seems to depend on where you use it.

I don't think the Samsung phones are bad, but they also carry some nice ones by Sanyo and the old and new style (no flip, slightly smaller) Touchpoints.

EDIT: Current Sprint users can switch but it's $150 if you cancel before a year is up. OUCH! That's the highest I've seen. I'd say this is not a good plan for a new Sprint customer. You might try it and think it sucks skulls and want to cancel!

 

[Thegonagle]

Oops! My first double post. Thought my connection had died!

 

[Digobick]

<< However you can't tell when you run over because their damn &quot;*4 feature&quot; which is supposed to give you the amount of remaining minutes, doesn't work right... >>

Works perfectly for me. I don't think it's ever been more than a minute off my actual usage. Phone and service have been great, too!

 

[Thegonagle]

Yep, *4 works great for me, too. Website's usually right on, when it loads :frown: .

 

[bigd480]

*4 example:

*4: &quot;you have 180 minutes remaining&quot;
Me: <use phone for a week>
*4 (one week later): &quot;you have 180 minutes remaining&quot;
Idiot CSR: &quot;You have whatever *4 says you have&quot;
Me: But i used my phone all this week and it keeps saying the same thing
Idiot CSR: &quot;You have whatever *4 says you have&quot;
Me: But if I use 180 more minutes I'll definitely go over you'll charge me 35 cents/min for overages
Idiot CSR: &quot;Yes&quot;
Me: <click>

I got charged $15 in over charge this past month because each time I called *4 it was &quot;down&quot;, no amount given at all.
Luckily I got a free month after all that complaining, but it's still a hassle.

Also, last week, I was outdoors and tried to call someone and had to redial 4 consecutive times due to dropped calls. It's not my phone either because all Sprint customers I talk to have the same experience here in Austin.

This summer, I was outdoors, in the middle of downtown Houston, and couldn't get any signal whatsoever.

Sprint sucks.

 

[The Wildcard]

Yeah, my main complaint with sprint is their signal connection. My friend has a sprint cell phone and he can hardly get a signal anywhere, even sometimes in the city, lol.