Sprint appears to be adjusting its service in preparation for possibly getting the iPhone. After killing a program letting long-term customers update handsets more often, the No. 3 carrier cut its return time in half.
The decision to stop its Sprint Premiere program is to ensure affordable unlimited data plans and new devices, the carrier said last week. Friday, Sprint reduced to 14 days from 30 days the time allowed customers to return devices for a refund. The change “is in line with the return policies of some other competitors,” the company announced.
Earlier, Sprint also tacked on a $10 fee for most smartphones. It’s not all bad, though. Spring has also shortened its early upgrade plan from 22 to 20 months to allow more if its subscribers to squeeze themselves into iPhone 5 eligibility early next month. The carrier reportedly will get the iPhone 5 in October, soon as Apple announces the new handset.
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
21 responses to “Sprint Kills Frequent Upgrades, Cuts Return Times Ahead of iPhone 5”
What is interesting is that all of these changes from Sprint and even the Premiere Customers have not been notified via Sprint Zone or personally. Hhhhhmmmmm
im also a premier customer and i have not seen any of these notices
Why is it that whenever a carrier gets the iPhone, they immediately go into uber-douchebag mode? They start cutting customer benefits and services, increasing prices and just generally screwing customers.
Do they all think that getting the iPhone on their network instantly entitles them to become even greedier dirtbags? What’s with that mentality?!?
Personally, i’m taking these articles with a grain of salt. As a few have pointed out, Premier customers have gotten no notification of these impending changes. Also, previous iPhone releases have bypassed Sprint AND T-Mobile all together for various reasons. When i see an official press statement from Apple and/or Sprint officially announcing it as well as these changes, I’m going to think Sprint again won’t be getting the iPhone.
Until I see*
Umm … Premier customers have gotten word of these changes and we’re all pissed.
http://community.sprint.com/ba…
http://community.sprint.com/ba…
Thanks for the heads up. You mean this is the way they notify us on a board instead of Sprint Zone or email!!! Wow!!!! Looks like Sprint loyalty is spreading thin.
I just logged into my Sprint account. Once I logged on to my account there is a note directly under the “Sprint Premier” logo stating, “The Sprint Premier program is changing. Click here to learn more”. If you read their comment, it does state that they are doing away with the yearly upgrade program.
Here is the exact comment on the Sprint website:
“All of your Sprint Premier benefits will be available until the end of 2011.
Sprint Premier Gold customers – who aren’t immediately eligible under
the New For You Upgrade program – will have until the end of 2012 to
take advantage of their annual upgrade. Once customers take advantage
of their annual upgrade, they will seamlessly transition to the New For
You Upgrade Program. If they don’t take advantage of their annual
upgrade by 12/31/12, they will continue to immediately qualify for an
upgrade under the New For You Upgrade Program.”
As a loyal customer that has been with Sprint for 14 years, I really hate to see this go away…
Jushu I just checked sprint and it does say it ,….it says under “changing”