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Sprint Changing their Upgrade Policy on 4/1/11
- Thread starter MsRandall
- Start date
My post doesnt say anything about better or best...I pointed out it is beginning to be a trend to change the upgrade policies.
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I'm either missing something, or people are glossing over one major drawback of the "GV for text" plan. I tried switching to Google Voice on Sprint (not to save money, just to try it) and switched back in no time because it was a pain in the ass to have to give everyone my GV number. Are you guys suggesting that you use your regular phone number for calls and have people text you at a different number? I just feel like that would be really annoying, and you'd probably have people texting your regular number if they didn't know any better. In that case, wouldn't their texts either get bounced back or you'd be charged per text?
I'm pretty annoyed that since switching to Sprint, my plan has gone from $70/month + annual upgrades to $80/month + 2-year upgrades, but I tend to agree with those who are saying on an true "apples to apples" comparison, Sprint is still the best bet. That doesn't mean I'm not upset about their changes and hope they don't keep nickel and diming me, but I feel like a lot of these harsh reactions are being driven by anger/frustration... which is understandable, but it doesn't mean Sprint isn't still the best option for unlimited voice/data despite these changes. The annual upgrade was a big perk in my book, though. Hard to quantify even, because without it I don't see myself paying full price every other year to get a new phone...
I'm pretty annoyed that since switching to Sprint, my plan has gone from $70/month + annual upgrades to $80/month + 2-year upgrades, but I tend to agree with those who are saying on an true "apples to apples" comparison, Sprint is still the best bet. That doesn't mean I'm not upset about their changes and hope they don't keep nickel and diming me, but I feel like a lot of these harsh reactions are being driven by anger/frustration... which is understandable, but it doesn't mean Sprint isn't still the best option for unlimited voice/data despite these changes. The annual upgrade was a big perk in my book, though. Hard to quantify even, because without it I don't see myself paying full price every other year to get a new phone...
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Technically now you can port your current Sprint phone number to Gvoice and then get a random new number on Verizon and all texts/calls will go through your old number.
Its not the most ideal method because texts take over 30 mins to get to you. But it all depends on how you use your phone. If you aren't pumping out 14k texts a month then its just a minor inconvenience to save some cash while still having the feature.
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30 mins??? that is norm? or worst case? what is the normal delay?
1-2 min... is workable.
but more is to much for me.
I am not a big texter... normally 500-1000 a month.
but text are about ... now. getting in touch fast. quick.
ex: Text = at the store.. do we need anything else other than milk???
text = hey.. want to go see the last showing of movie xyz?
text = where you at?... puling into the mall now.
text = meet me in 15min at the starbucks.
text = lets go do lunch... headed out in 10min
15-30 min delay.. and i will be to late.
1-2 min... is workable.
but more is to much for me.
I am not a big texter... normally 500-1000 a month.
but text are about ... now. getting in touch fast. quick.
ex: Text = at the store.. do we need anything else other than milk???
text = hey.. want to go see the last showing of movie xyz?
text = where you at?... puling into the mall now.
text = meet me in 15min at the starbucks.
text = lets go do lunch... headed out in 10min
15-30 min delay.. and i will be to late.
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I'm not an annual upgrader. I consider it at the end of a contract. Even then, I haven't always upgraded. I upgrade when something I really want/need becomes available. Speed is hardly ever a reason. Neither is one or a handful of new features.
It's so rare that the carriers make enough network changes and enhancements that match phone capabilities that I tend to view my phones the same way I do my HDTV. There's always something a bit nicer, but if it's not going to significantly enhance my position I won't go for it.
In a contrarian line of thinking though, I hope the universal dropping of annual upgrade plans encourages phone makers to introduce some of their handsets at lower prices and does damage to the subsidy model. Way back when, people used to buy "subsidized" phones from ATT & the Bells. That crumbled when even those subsidized prices were so high that it left room for 3rd party phone makers (who even made some of the phones for the phone companies) to introduce better phones at lower prices. The subsidy model was early among the many closed-system cards that fell for landline providers. It will happen to the mobile industry at some point.
It's so rare that the carriers make enough network changes and enhancements that match phone capabilities that I tend to view my phones the same way I do my HDTV. There's always something a bit nicer, but if it's not going to significantly enhance my position I won't go for it.
In a contrarian line of thinking though, I hope the universal dropping of annual upgrade plans encourages phone makers to introduce some of their handsets at lower prices and does damage to the subsidy model. Way back when, people used to buy "subsidized" phones from ATT & the Bells. That crumbled when even those subsidized prices were so high that it left room for 3rd party phone makers (who even made some of the phones for the phone companies) to introduce better phones at lower prices. The subsidy model was early among the many closed-system cards that fell for landline providers. It will happen to the mobile industry at some point.
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If I had known they were gonna change this I would've only done a one year contract so that I'd be guaranteed a good price. If I can't get the yearly upgrade with Sprint then I'll start doing that. One year contracts only so that I can always get something new, as I'm a huge gadget nerd.
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Text messages are supposed to be immediate, or very nearly so. People use text messages when they need a fast answer. Most folks are used to emails being delayed, but not texts. 30 minutes is totally unacceptable for everyone.
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No, Text messages ARE NOT supposed to be immediate. They are actually nearly dead last on system priority totem pole. If you only knew how text messaging works (and how insanely complex it really is, especially in between GSM/CDMA carriers) you'd smack yourself in the face.
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Ooooh the complexity:
When a friend sends you an SMS message, the message flows through the SMSC, then to the tower, and the tower sends the message to your phone as a little packet of data on the control channel. In the same way, when you send a message, your phone sends it to the tower on the control channel and it goes from the tower to the SMSC and from there to its destination.
HowStuffWorks "How SMS Works"
When a friend sends you an SMS message, the message flows through the SMSC, then to the tower, and the tower sends the message to your phone as a little packet of data on the control channel. In the same way, when you send a message, your phone sends it to the tower on the control channel and it goes from the tower to the SMSC and from there to its destination.
HowStuffWorks "How SMS Works"
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LMAO. That article is so dumbed down you'd think Apple wrote it. I'm going to cue RiverOfIce on this thread, because I really can't explain it very well right now. Maybe she can help.
EDIT: Have a look at this.
http://communication.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm?parent=sms.htm&url=http://www.dreamfabric.com/sms/
Pretty sure that doesn't even cover GSM to CDMA conversions either.
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For the people in the cheap seats, since sarcasm seems to be the way to go here. Do you realize they are talking about texts through google voice and not through Sprint, will 1st hand anyway? Just throwing it out there.
So it's probably somewhere between Iowa's face smacking and Robo's SMS for Dummies. Either way, I doubt you're going to get a brain bleed from trying to take in the complexity of it all. I do know there is some complexity to it because my poor i500 fell victim to Sprint's SMS upgrade and couldn't even get the sender's phone number to show up. All my texts would be received as "unknown caller". Just wonderful when you're in the prime of dating.
I'm sure it's quicker going direct through Sprint, rather then send it via data from your phone to google's servers to the recipient's phone. I know I wouldn't want to rely on Google for my important business texts, and if you're on Sprint, cost isn't an issue.
So it's probably somewhere between Iowa's face smacking and Robo's SMS for Dummies. Either way, I doubt you're going to get a brain bleed from trying to take in the complexity of it all. I do know there is some complexity to it because my poor i500 fell victim to Sprint's SMS upgrade and couldn't even get the sender's phone number to show up. All my texts would be received as "unknown caller". Just wonderful when you're in the prime of dating.
I'm sure it's quicker going direct through Sprint, rather then send it via data from your phone to google's servers to the recipient's phone. I know I wouldn't want to rely on Google for my important business texts, and if you're on Sprint, cost isn't an issue.
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Lmao...
If I expected a million dollars to be in my bank account magically does that make it feasible too?
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I can't agree with you here, and I agree with you quite a bit. Relative speed of text messages is a bit of a given at this stage of the game. Would think there's a bit of a precedent over the past how many years? A few minutes here and there. Usually if it takes longer, the phone or the service is f'd up somewhere. Your analogy also stinks, and I have a hard time believing you think a half hour is a reasonable amount of time to receive a text message.
Lmao...
If I expected a million dollars to be in my bank account magically does that make it feasible too?
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Even though robomonkey is like microsoft, 100% correct but completely useless, it is alot more complex then that. SMS are save and forward systems. Which means the central sms center, saves the message and then forwards it when it can. It is not suppose to be instant, but it can be.
1.)Every sms system is vastly different. Depending on the age and location of the systems. There are some sms towers that have not been updated since the early-mid 1990's.
2.) There are hundreds of sms systems currently being used. Store and sent, send and forget, and combos of both. If you do not get the message, it will be resent later, which is part of the 100 different systems.
3.) The completion of an sms message depends on tower load and cellphone states. If the tower is loaded with sms messages, it is a byte for byte code, they can over whelm the tower, especially near high schools, causing a delayed effect.
4.) If you are currently sending a sms, or in some phones, have the sms editor open, you will not receive any sms.
5.) If the current spectrum allocation for Voice and data is 100% saturated, sms spectrum is then disabled and system protocols are used on the sms system.
6.) If local police, FBI, medical, and emergency services are allowed to go first on sms, shutting down all sms.
7.) Some sms are processed quicker then other sms. Depending on location, time, message size, and account of the sms receiver/sender. Messages like "hi" or "where?" are smaller and therefor more error proof then messages like "I cant believed you went to rob's for the weekend, the beach must of been soo much fun!"
So to answer the question. Robo is 100% correct. If you are working on an older tower, which just sends and forgets. And if the tower is has 0% load. And if the sender and receiver phone status allows it. And if the tower status allows it. And if you send the sms, it goes to the tower, the tower knows 100% for sure where the sender is, then it works just like robo said. 7 if's.
It probably happens about 1% of the time. Most times, the tower is full, the phones are not ready to send or receive. The tower has no clue where anyone is. The Central Service Center is slammed. It was not made to be here and now system. It is called a save and forward system for a reason.
The number one reason that a sms is delayed is the sender phone will ping the tower, find it was not able to receive sms, and the phone will store the message for later. It will try until it sends the message, with out error. The message will be stored and forward to the cell phone. If the location of the cell phone can not be found. The central sms center will store the message until the phone can be found. Then the sms message will be sent, if anything happens during the sending the phone will read the bad message and ask for it to be resent, until it is received.
Which means if it took 30mins to get an sms. Your friend probably had problems sending it. The tower could not find you. And you had problems receiving it. This is very common if you are going from tower different towers using two different hardware for sms.
The system is not made to be instant. It was made to be more like small text email.
1.)Every sms system is vastly different. Depending on the age and location of the systems. There are some sms towers that have not been updated since the early-mid 1990's.
2.) There are hundreds of sms systems currently being used. Store and sent, send and forget, and combos of both. If you do not get the message, it will be resent later, which is part of the 100 different systems.
3.) The completion of an sms message depends on tower load and cellphone states. If the tower is loaded with sms messages, it is a byte for byte code, they can over whelm the tower, especially near high schools, causing a delayed effect.
4.) If you are currently sending a sms, or in some phones, have the sms editor open, you will not receive any sms.
5.) If the current spectrum allocation for Voice and data is 100% saturated, sms spectrum is then disabled and system protocols are used on the sms system.
6.) If local police, FBI, medical, and emergency services are allowed to go first on sms, shutting down all sms.
7.) Some sms are processed quicker then other sms. Depending on location, time, message size, and account of the sms receiver/sender. Messages like "hi" or "where?" are smaller and therefor more error proof then messages like "I cant believed you went to rob's for the weekend, the beach must of been soo much fun!"
So to answer the question. Robo is 100% correct. If you are working on an older tower, which just sends and forgets. And if the tower is has 0% load. And if the sender and receiver phone status allows it. And if the tower status allows it. And if you send the sms, it goes to the tower, the tower knows 100% for sure where the sender is, then it works just like robo said. 7 if's.
It probably happens about 1% of the time. Most times, the tower is full, the phones are not ready to send or receive. The tower has no clue where anyone is. The Central Service Center is slammed. It was not made to be here and now system. It is called a save and forward system for a reason.
The number one reason that a sms is delayed is the sender phone will ping the tower, find it was not able to receive sms, and the phone will store the message for later. It will try until it sends the message, with out error. The message will be stored and forward to the cell phone. If the location of the cell phone can not be found. The central sms center will store the message until the phone can be found. Then the sms message will be sent, if anything happens during the sending the phone will read the bad message and ask for it to be resent, until it is received.
Which means if it took 30mins to get an sms. Your friend probably had problems sending it. The tower could not find you. And you had problems receiving it. This is very common if you are going from tower different towers using two different hardware for sms.
The system is not made to be instant. It was made to be more like small text email.
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Lmao...
If I expected a million dollars to be in my bank account magically does that make it feasible too?
Normally ..we see eye to eye ...
This example of yours is ....totally in a different hemisphere .
I can't even explain how off it is .
Every now and then ..a few mins off is acceptable .
An average of 15 to 30 mins ...to me is not acceptable.
If it cost me $10 more a month to get text on average 1 to 3 mins ...I will pay that .
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That is some good info to know .
What we are talkin about is adding Google voice into the mix ...adding more ..if..on top of more ifs ...
Thus will add in more delays...and making the text be ..around 15 to 30 mins ...in normal delivery .
I am saying ..if this is true ...I would not want it ...
I want text to be as fast as possible .
1 to 3 mins in delivery ...is what I expect .
I normally get it under 1 min .
Instant is not needed or expected .
30 mins is a fail in service ... to me .
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But GV is dependent solely on data, not voice. so all these run on explanations are meaningless (albeit intersting, well a couple of them. some are pointless) for the topic at hand. Or am I wrong in assuming this whole time thing came about by mentioning porting your number over to google and using it for texts? And that's moot anyway since porting has been stopped, last I checked.
And I think < 3min is a safe and reasonable expectation for carrier sms. Have no clue what google will deem reasonable.
And I think < 3min is a safe and reasonable expectation for carrier sms. Have no clue what google will deem reasonable.
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Never heard of an SMS taking 5+ mins to go thru the actual receiver, if it does then something is wrong with the transaction. I work in the higher ladder of a certain GSM carrier where I primarily troubleshoot data but my department does it all. I use a tool that helps us track sms transactions intercarrier.
It's very rare that I see an actual sms take 5+ mins to go thru, you may see some of that on an MMS but not SMS. In these rare cases its most likely provisioning (routing is not correct, profile not correct or a setting on the device itself is causing the issue). If a text is taking that long to successfully come thru then something is plainly incorrect. And trust me... a customer isn't going to go with 30 mins being normal
It's very rare that I see an actual sms take 5+ mins to go thru, you may see some of that on an MMS but not SMS. In these rare cases its most likely provisioning (routing is not correct, profile not correct or a setting on the device itself is causing the issue). If a text is taking that long to successfully come thru then something is plainly incorrect. And trust me... a customer isn't going to go with 30 mins being normal
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From BGR:
Way back on the 20th, we told you that Sprint would be tweaking its customer loyalty rewards program – lovingly known as Premier. Recently, Sprint contacted BGR to clarify a few details about exactly what has to happen for customers to qualify for the program’s restructured incentives.
Gold Level
A gold level member will receive 25% off the purchase of 2 or more accessories, customer news letters, “just because” perks, first to buy offers, and the ability to upgrade one device after 12 months of service. To qualify for a Premier Gold membership, users must have an individual monthly plan costing $89.99 or more or a family plan costing $169.99 (before any applicable discounts).
Silver Level
A silver level member will receive the same benefits as gold members — 25% off the purchase of 2 or more accessories, customer news letters, “just because” perks, and first to buy offers — but will not have the ability to upgrade a device after 12 months of service. To qualify for a Premier Silver membership, users must have an individual monthly plan costing between $69.99 and $89.98 or a family plan costing between $99.99 and $169.98 (before any applicable discounts).
Any customer, regardless of rate-plan price, that has been with Sprint over ten years will automatically qualify for Premier Gold. There you have it. Straight from the horses mouth.
Way back on the 20th, we told you that Sprint would be tweaking its customer loyalty rewards program – lovingly known as Premier. Recently, Sprint contacted BGR to clarify a few details about exactly what has to happen for customers to qualify for the program’s restructured incentives.
Gold Level
A gold level member will receive 25% off the purchase of 2 or more accessories, customer news letters, “just because” perks, first to buy offers, and the ability to upgrade one device after 12 months of service. To qualify for a Premier Gold membership, users must have an individual monthly plan costing $89.99 or more or a family plan costing $169.99 (before any applicable discounts).
Silver Level
A silver level member will receive the same benefits as gold members — 25% off the purchase of 2 or more accessories, customer news letters, “just because” perks, and first to buy offers — but will not have the ability to upgrade a device after 12 months of service. To qualify for a Premier Silver membership, users must have an individual monthly plan costing between $69.99 and $89.98 or a family plan costing between $99.99 and $169.98 (before any applicable discounts).
Any customer, regardless of rate-plan price, that has been with Sprint over ten years will automatically qualify for Premier Gold. There you have it. Straight from the horses mouth.
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I can now confirm certain levels of business accounts will not have to pay the $10 fee on non-premium smartphones as I was esn swapping my Palm Pre tonight, or attempting to. Ended up not having to do it thankfully. But my Evo Shift is in my buddy's car so I'm back to my Epic for a bit, possibly for good. Don't think the Shift was doing it for me as a daily user though there were some things I liked about it over the Epic.
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