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Anyone have one line of data on a Sprint family plan?

ruger

Newbie
May 10, 2010
36
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I'm with ATT&T now, on a 5 line 1400 minute family plan. I am the only one who has a data plan. If I switch to Sprint, I can get the Everything Family plan, but then I am paying for data on lines that won't use it.

If I get the Everything Messaging Family plan, no one gets data.

Is there any way to have a 5 line account, with only 1 line using data, and not pay for 4 other lines who don't need data?

Sprint.com chat did not seem to think so, but I wanted to get the opinion of real users.
 
It actually was the same price - we have 2 lines and my wife did not want data at first... it was $99.99 for the Voice/Text plan and $30 for data add on or $129.99 for both. The difference is if you get lines 3/4/5 added on - without data added lines are only $9.99 but with data they are $19.99.

Sprint can hook it up with data on 1/2 or 1 and 2-5 or 3-5 with only texting for you.
 
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I chatted with a Sprint rep online and they said I could have either no data at all, with a Basic or Everything Messaging plan. Or, everyone gets data with the Everything Data plan. There was no in between.

But on the EVP site, I noticed that they had both data and messaging add-ons. I'm gonna call them today and find out who I should believe.
 
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Please let us know what you find out, I'm in the same boat. I need two lines, but only want data on one of them.

AT&T and Verizon both allow you to add data just for the phones that need it on a family plan. An iPhone and a dumb phone on an AT&T family plan is about the same as having two individual plans on Sprint. Both of those options are significantly cheaper than Sprints family plan.
 
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Just got off the phone with EVP. They say that with EVO a data plan is required, which is obvious, but a single add on like the Data Pack, or Data Premier, or Pro Data Pack, or whatever the hell you want to call it, will not work. The EVO must be on either a Simply Everything plan, or an Everything Data plan.

Sprint will not let you add data to just one phone line. It's everyone or no one.
 
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Just got off the phone with EVP. They say that with EVO a data plan is required, which is obvious, but a single add on like the Data Pack, or Data Premier, or Pro Data Pack, or whatever the hell you want to call it, will not work. The EVO must be on either a Simply Everything plan, or an Everything Data plan.

Sprint will not let you add data to just one phone line. It's everyone or no one.

So does that mean no Everything Data Family plans w/ the EVO? I'm looking at getting at least 2, if not 4, EVO's on a family plan.

Sprint Chat definitely said that you can't have just 1 line w/o data on the Everything Data Family plan.
 
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So does that mean no Everything Data Family plans w/ the EVO? I'm looking at getting at least 2, if not 4, EVO's on a family plan.

Everything Data Family will work. There are basically 4 plans that will work with the EVO. Simply Everything, Simply Everything Family, Everything Data and Everything Data Family. If you do not have one of those plans Sprint will make you upgrade.

However, I'm sure some smart person will figure out a way around this sometime. Whether by unlocking it somehow, or just working the system. Good Luck.
 
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Well, I'm going to try to negotiate with them. There's no sense in paying for data for a phone that doesn't need it. I can get the same discount on both carriers, so discounts don't matter to me.

According to my math, a family plan on AT&T with an iPhone and a dumb phone will run about 119.99 (that's 550 minutes, unlimited text and data for the iPhone). An Evo family plan on Sprint is 139.99.

I don't even need the unlimited text, so I can drop the AT&T plan to 99.99 for 200 messages on each phone.

If I can get two individual plans on Sprint, it gets a lot closer. I can get an Evo and a dumb phone for 119.98 with separate plans. Same as the AT&T family plan with unlimited text.

Sprints pricing for this setup just doesn't make any sense, and if they aren't willing to deal, I'll happily slum it on a 4th gen iPhone.
 
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While looking at plans on wirefly, I noticed you could add a line with a smartphone to the Everything Messaging Family Plan with a $15 Sprint Data Pack (mobile web, web-based email, and basic Sprint TV/Music), or a $25 Sprint Data Premier (all Data Pack features, plus Premiere TV/Music and Navigation).

The additional line cost was also $9.99, not $19.99 like an Everything Data would be.

Would be an awesome deal if only one person wanted a smartphone, and they didn't need to be the primary number.
 
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While looking at plans on wirefly, I noticed you could add a line with a smartphone to the Everything Messaging Family Plan with a $15 Sprint Data Pack (mobile web, web-based email, and basic Sprint TV/Music), or a $25 Sprint Data Premier (all Data Pack features, plus Premiere TV/Music and Navigation).

The additional line cost was also $9.99, not $19.99 like an Everything Data would be.

Would be an awesome deal if only one person wanted a smartphone, and they didn't need to be the primary number.

But not with any of the new Smart Phones, including the Evo. Sprint won't allow the EM + Data Pack with the Evo. I think the newest phones you could still use with that plan are Palm Treos and old WM phones.

Right now I have a 4 line family plan with EM + $15 data pack on 1 line. Costs $135 a month before discounts and fee add ons. The EDF plan will cost $170, plus the $10 fee for 4G that I don't have access to. (That's assuming I only pay the $10 on the one line with an Evo--if it's on all 4 lines that's a total of $210).

So an extra $35 a month, minimum, and the other three phones have no use for data at all. That's pure bonus profit for Sprint for a service my family doesn't need and won't use. Plus $10 a month for 4G service that doesn't exist.

I've been a Sprint customer for more than 12 years. If they won't cut me some kind of break, I'll be looking at other carriers.
 
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Hmm, no one else seems to have had any luck getting Sprint to budge on the new plan requirement. I strongly suspect that, if you actually try to add a 4G to an existing family plan, with a data pack, Sprint's going to come back and say "Sorry, Charlie."

It's not Wirefly's computer system that activates your phone and sends you bills, it's Sprint's. And Sprint's web site clearly states that only the Everything Data plans are valid with the EVO. If someone has successfully added an EVO to an existing plan with a data pack, I'd like to hear about it. Right now, my bet would be that Wireflly just added the 4G to their existing database, and hasn't yet caught on to the fact they're offering invalid plans.
 
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Well, I may just have to eat my words. :(

One caveat, I have a business account, with an Everything Messaging Share Plan and a $15 data pack on one line. What I'm about to report may only be true for business accounts. Or maybe the announcement of the iPhone 4G has loosened up Sprints purse strings. My business account has only 4 lines, so it's not like I'm a company like IBM with enough clout to get whatever I want.

Anyway, I called the Sprint business customer service line. Explained what I had today, said I'm the only person on the plan who uses data, then said I was interested in an EVO 4G, but had been told I needed to upgrade to a plan that would put data on all 4 lines which would cost me an additional $45 per month.

The rep said "That's absolutely not true. I can substitute the EVO for what you have now, you'll just have to pay the additional $10 premium data fee for the Evo."

I now have the EVO on order, and a confirmation number. So it appears it IS possible to get an EVO on a messaging plan with data pack. What I'm giving up is free mobile to mobile, which isn't a big deal, as I never go over my minutes anyway; Sprint Navigation, but I can still use the HTC/Android Nav and I have a GPS unit for car use anyway; Sprint TV, which I don't care about at all, and Sprint Radio, but Pandora's better anyway.

Go for it, people. Report back on what you're told.
 
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It seems to me that while Sprint doesn't let you choose "a la carte" options for data on individual lines, they're so much cheaper than Verizon and AT&T that they don't really need to.

Some people may complain about "paying for data on lines that won't use it." But Verizon costs so much more that you're basically paying them extra to have the privilege of not having to pay extra. Sprint is only a bad deal if you have something like 5 lines on a family plan and only need data on one of them.

It's sort of like how people complain about the $10/mo EVO surcharge. Yes, it's annoying, and maybe you don't even have 4G coverage in your area. But it's still cheaper than the competition. In principle, you may disagree with it, but in practice, it's the same thing.
 
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Well, I may just have to eat my words. :(

One caveat, I have a business account, with an Everything Messaging Share Plan and a $15 data pack on one line. What I'm about to report may only be true for business accounts. Or maybe the announcement of the iPhone 4G has loosened up Sprints purse strings. My business account has only 4 lines, so it's not like I'm a company like IBM with enough clout to get whatever I want.

Anyway, I called the Sprint business customer service line. Explained what I had today, said I'm the only person on the plan who uses data, then said I was interested in an EVO 4G, but had been told I needed to upgrade to a plan that would put data on all 4 lines which would cost me an additional $45 per month.

The rep said "That's absolutely not true. I can substitute the EVO for what you have now, you'll just have to pay the additional $10 premium data fee for the Evo."

I now have the EVO on order, and a confirmation number. So it appears it IS possible to get an EVO on a messaging plan with data pack. What I'm giving up is free mobile to mobile, which isn't a big deal, as I never go over my minutes anyway; Sprint Navigation, but I can still use the HTC/Android Nav and I have a GPS unit for car use anyway; Sprint TV, which I don't care about at all, and Sprint Radio, but Pandora's better anyway.

Go for it, people. Report back on what you're told.

Grats! Glad I wasn't misinforming everyone, it had crossed my mind that Wirefly was out of date.

Edit: Nm, just read your other thread >.<
I do hope Sprint changes this soon, I think they should make an exception considering how many 5 line family plans they could pick up from other carriers.
 
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Everything Data is everything data. You can have lines on account that never use the data even though they're on the account. Sprint will not block you from getting, say, 2 Evos and 2 feature-phones or 2 dumbphones. How you use the data doesn't matter. Sprint just wants to keep it's plans simple with everyone included in family plans.
 
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those that say they don't need data on all lines... why not? get the freebie phones that do data on the other lines.. those that say they don't need unlimited texting..you don't have teenagers do you? the best perk of the everything data family plan is the any mobile any time.. I no longer worry about my kids eating away at minutes because they called a friend 1 minute before the nights and weekends started.. that leaves me with PLENTY of minutes for me to use for work related calls. and even some of those are free if I call another cell phone.. or if it's after 7pm..

I was on Vzw.. to add just 2 smart phones along with 2 other lines was still more expensive that 4 on everything data family.. now I have 2 smart phones and 2 Instintcs ..all use data.. and it's a LOT cheaper than if I had the same (or close to same) plan on ANY other network
 
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