Sprint updated the software in my phone, now it works WORSE.

I have had vague problems with my Sprint Samsung SCH8500 lately. So I
took it into the Sprint store on Friday and asked them to test it.
They did, said it needed a software update which they say they did.
They said it passed the test and gave me a screenshot saying so.

The funny thing is after the "update" they PRL was at 10021. Current
is 10026. Wonder what they did?

Now it works worse. Much worse. 3 bars signal strength and calls are
choppy, no one can understand me, and I have to walk outside if the
phone rings. Signal faded often.

I went back to the Sprint store and talked to the manager and got what
amounts to evasions. They offered to sell me a new phone to replace
the one they broke. Sign me up to a new 2 year contract.
Whoop-te-doo! I think I could get a new phone from any carrier, even
Sprint since I am long out of contract. FREE.

I called the 800 number (*2 doesn't work unless I am out in the open,
I just tried it) and got more evasions. They did update my PRL to
10026 over the air. It didn't change anything.

The question is why would the Sprint store update software and not
PRL? Is that even possible? Or did they just test it? If so why
does it work so much worse now?

So now I am faced with either:

1. Buying a new phone from Sprint and staying on my pretty darned
cheap 4 year old retention deal. I reject this since I don't much
care to line their pockets while they are doing NOTHING for me.

2. Switching to T-mobile and forgetting about Sprint, which would
probably cost me fractionally less but I wouldn't have to pay for any
phone at all.

3. Switching to T-mobile and suing Sprint for my losses, new phone,
contract cost since I am out of Sprint contract. I kind of like this
idea.

I just tried to call *2, the signal faded again. I guess I could go
outside and call. But that is NOT how it is supposed to work.

FWIW my wife's Sprint phone works ok here in the house.

Any opinions on what I should do? I am opposed to letting Sprint
skate on this. It costs $450 to aquire a cellular customer, I have
let them go entirely too long with me paying my bill and costing them
nothing.

---

› See More: Sprint updated the software in my phone, now it works WORSE.

Hey Hoss, Sounds like you need to talk to someone high up in the food chain
at Sprint. Maybe someone on this newsgroup can give you a name and phone
number.

Bubba
(Lifetime NRA Member)
(Bull Riders Association of America)
(Winner, Texas Cow Chip Throwing Contest 2002)

"[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I have had vague problems with my Sprint Samsung SCH8500 lately. So I
> took it into the Sprint store on Friday and asked them to test it.
> They did, said it needed a software update which they say they did.
> They said it passed the test and gave me a screenshot saying so.
>
> The funny thing is after the "update" they PRL was at 10021. Current
> is 10026. Wonder what they did?
>
> Now it works worse. Much worse. 3 bars signal strength and calls are
> choppy, no one can understand me, and I have to walk outside if the
> phone rings. Signal faded often.
>
> I went back to the Sprint store and talked to the manager and got what
> amounts to evasions. They offered to sell me a new phone to replace
> the one they broke. Sign me up to a new 2 year contract.
> Whoop-te-doo! I think I could get a new phone from any carrier, even
> Sprint since I am long out of contract. FREE.
>
> I called the 800 number (*2 doesn't work unless I am out in the open,
> I just tried it) and got more evasions. They did update my PRL to
> 10026 over the air. It didn't change anything.
>
> The question is why would the Sprint store update software and not
> PRL? Is that even possible? Or did they just test it? If so why
> does it work so much worse now?
>
> So now I am faced with either:
>
> 1. Buying a new phone from Sprint and staying on my pretty darned
> cheap 4 year old retention deal. I reject this since I don't much
> care to line their pockets while they are doing NOTHING for me.
>
> 2. Switching to T-mobile and forgetting about Sprint, which would
> probably cost me fractionally less but I wouldn't have to pay for any
> phone at all.
>
> 3. Switching to T-mobile and suing Sprint for my losses, new phone,
> contract cost since I am out of Sprint contract. I kind of like this
> idea.
>
> I just tried to call *2, the signal faded again. I guess I could go
> outside and call. But that is NOT how it is supposed to work.
>
> FWIW my wife's Sprint phone works ok here in the house.
>
> Any opinions on what I should do? I am opposed to letting Sprint
> skate on this. It costs $450 to aquire a cellular customer, I have
> let them go entirely too long with me paying my bill and costing them
> nothing.

On Sun, 24 Apr 2005 16:25:42 -0700, "Bubba DeBub"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Hey Hoss, Sounds like you need to talk to someone high up in the food chain
>at Sprint. Maybe someone on this newsgroup can give you a name and phone
>number.

Dunno how to do that. I have called, customer service and retention
are worthless.

The funny thing is today I went over to a different Sprint store.

There were other Sprint customers there who have the same problem.
They have defective handsets and Sprint has jacked the prices of
replacements up so much even their $150 rebate for signing a new year
contract won't come close to covering it.

They are going to Verizon, where they will get three *free* phones.

I agree, if I have to get a new two year contract I might as well make
the carrier pay for the churn in full. They are obviously not our
buddies.

The employees at the store understood the problem and admitted things
have "changed" since two years ago when Sprint tried to satisfy their
customers. Now we can all whistle dixie. Their hands are tied.

This is a good argument to make all bundling illegal. Then the
handset manufacturers would be duking it out in the market, nice
handsets would be $69 - $99, and carriers would be carriers.
Competing.

I would suggest going to www.sprintusers.com and reading the faq in the
discussion forums. There are some elevation phone numbers posted there. Be
careful not to jump from the frying pan into the fire. Verizon and Cingular
are no better!! Been there done that and got burned! They used to be good
companies before they all got too big for their britches. "They all have
problems.

Good Luck,

Bubba


"[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sun, 24 Apr 2005 16:25:42 -0700, "Bubba DeBub"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Hey Hoss, Sounds like you need to talk to someone high up in the food
>>chain
>>at Sprint. Maybe someone on this newsgroup can give you a name and phone
>>number.
>
> Dunno how to do that. I have called, customer service and retention
> are worthless.
>
> The funny thing is today I went over to a different Sprint store.
>
> There were other Sprint customers there who have the same problem.
> They have defective handsets and Sprint has jacked the prices of
> replacements up so much even their $150 rebate for signing a new year
> contract won't come close to covering it.
>
> They are going to Verizon, where they will get three *free* phones.
>
> I agree, if I have to get a new two year contract I might as well make
> the carrier pay for the churn in full. They are obviously not our
> buddies.
>
> The employees at the store understood the problem and admitted things
> have "changed" since two years ago when Sprint tried to satisfy their
> customers. Now we can all whistle dixie. Their hands are tied.
>
> This is a good argument to make all bundling illegal. Then the
> handset manufacturers would be duking it out in the market, nice
> handsets would be $69 - $99, and carriers would be carriers.
> Competing.

"Bubba DeBub" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:6YZae.66008$A31.65408@fed1read03...
> I would suggest going to www.sprintusers.com and reading the faq in
the
> discussion forums. There are some elevation phone numbers posted
there. Be
> careful not to jump from the frying pan into the fire. Verizon and
Cingular
> are no better!! Been there done that and got burned! They used to be
good
> companies before they all got too big for their britches. "They all
have
> problems.
>
> Good Luck,
>
> Bubba

I agree, I'm going through that now with Verizon, Sprint and
Cingular.

Chas.

Champion Buckle Bunny Rider!

"[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have had vague problems with my Sprint Samsung SCH8500 lately. So I
> took it into the Sprint store on Friday and asked them to test it.
> They did, said it needed a software update which they say they did.
> They said it passed the test and gave me a screenshot saying so.

Those vague problems which you didn't list, are more than likely based on
using a 5 yr. old phone. This phone model and the Samsung 3500 have been
known to crap out between 2 to 3 years. You should feel lucky that it lasted
5 years.

>
> The funny thing is after the "update" they PRL was at 10021. Current
> is 10026. Wonder what they did?
>
> Now it works worse. Much worse. 3 bars signal strength and calls are
> choppy, no one can understand me, and I have to walk outside if the
> phone rings. Signal faded often.
>
> I went back to the Sprint store and talked to the manager and got what
> amounts to evasions. They offered to sell me a new phone to replace
> the one they broke. Sign me up to a new 2 year contract.
> Whoop-te-doo! I think I could get a new phone from any carrier, even
> Sprint since I am long out of contract. FREE.
>
> I called the 800 number (*2 doesn't work unless I am out in the open,
> I just tried it) and got more evasions. They did update my PRL to
> 10026 over the air. It didn't change anything.
>
Then it wasn't the PRL which was causing the problems. It's time for you to
get a new phone.

Bob

Updating the phones software or PRL will not change the behavior of the
phone as far as RF performance and making and receiving calls. Having
PRL 10021 or 10026 will not matter except for roaming (and even then
only very minor differences).

On 25 Apr 2005 15:57:28 -0700, [email protected] wrote:

>Updating the phones software or PRL will not change the behavior of the
>phone as far as RF performance and making and receiving calls. Having
>PRL 10021 or 10026 will not matter except for roaming (and even then
>only very minor differences).

That's what I thought, but the funny thing is after the "update" the
PRL was 10021. So they didn't update that. They must have done
something however since things changed.

The other funny thing is years ago I had a Nokia on Sprint, I went
into the very same Sprint store, they updated the software in the
phone, and it stopped working. They couldn't fix it, they had to
replace it then.

I guess I should stay the heck out of that Sprint store, huh?

Blah blah blah
>
> So now I am faced with either:
>
> 1. Buying a new phone from Sprint and staying on my pretty darned
> cheap 4 year old retention deal. I reject this since I don't much
> care to line their pockets while they are doing NOTHING for me.
>
> 2. Switching to T-mobile and forgetting about Sprint, which would
> probably cost me fractionally less but I wouldn't have to pay for any
> phone at all.
>
> 3. Switching to T-mobile and suing Sprint for my losses, new phone,
> contract cost since I am out of Sprint contract. I kind of like this
> idea.
>
> I just tried to call *2, the signal faded again. I guess I could go
> outside and call. But that is NOT how it is supposed to work.
>
> FWIW my wife's Sprint phone works ok here in the house.
>
> Any opinions on what I should do? I am opposed to letting Sprint
> skate on this. It costs $450 to aquire a cellular customer, I have
> let them go entirely too long with me paying my bill and costing them
> nothing.

None of your 'options' involve staying with Sprint - So what are you still
posting here for ?
Good luck with your law suit bub.
Don't like losing money, so what do you do - Launch a piss poor court action
against a humungous company.
Reeeeaaalllll smart.

It sounds like you have an old phone that is starting to wear out. One
of the problems might be that flashing new software might degrade
components further. The latest prl might be 10026, but might not be the
current prl for that model phone. They suggested that you buy a new
phone, at a subsidized price, to replace the one that was about to break
soon anyway. Yea, you could get a new phone free from a different
carrier, but then you would not be with Sprint PCS and could no longer
get on a family plan with your Wife. And you would be in a 1/2 year
contract with the other carrier.

Sorry, that was meant to read as a one or two year contract, not a half
year contract. hihi

On Tue, 26 Apr 2005 13:44:54 GMT, Jerome Zelinske
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Sorry, that was meant to read as a one or two year contract, not a half
>year contract. hihi

Yeah, but if you get a $150 rebate on the "new for you" program from
Sprint you get a shiny new 2 year contract to go with it. So that's
not particularly a good deal since I can get a free phone from any
carrier, even Sprint with a one or 2 year contract. Tmobile is free
with one year. Verizon is free with two year. Cingular is free with
two year.

I found out what they did. Sprint raised the prices of all the phones
by about $150 when they got the "new for you" program. So there is
really no deal at all since they will give you two Sanyo 8200s for
$79.99. But if you are a current customer you have to pay more than
that for one. Not what I would call a good deal.

On Tue, 26 Apr 2005 12:59:17 GMT, Jesse <[email protected]> wrote:

>None of your 'options' involve staying with Sprint - So what are you still
>posting here for ?
Yeah, option one does.

>Good luck with your law suit bub.
Thanks!

>Don't like losing money, so what do you do - Launch a piss poor court action
>against a humungous company.
I've done it before, sued the phone company in small claims for $600.
I can assure you all you gotta do is lay papers on them and they
become much more cooperative.

>Reeeeaaalllll smart.
Yep. I love it. You should try it some time. Sue the biggest company
for small amounts. They settle right away. Heh.

> 3. Switching to T-mobile and suing Sprint for my losses, new phone,
> contract cost since I am out of Sprint contract. I kind of like this
> idea.

A four year old phone is worth very little, especially one without
Vision capability. It's like if someone totaled your old car,
the insurance would only pay the Blue Book value, not what it
was worth to you. So suing Sprint doesn't make any fiscal sense.

--
John Richards

"[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 26 Apr 2005 13:44:54 GMT, Jerome Zelinske
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Sorry, that was meant to read as a one or two year contract, not a half
> >year contract. hihi
>
> Yeah, but if you get a $150 rebate on the "new for you" program from
> Sprint you get a shiny new 2 year contract to go with it. So that's
> not particularly a good deal since I can get a free phone from any
> carrier, even Sprint with a one or 2 year contract. Tmobile is free
> with one year. Verizon is free with two year. Cingular is free with
> two year.
>
> I found out what they did. Sprint raised the prices of all the phones
> by about $150 when they got the "new for you" program. So there is
> really no deal at all since they will give you two Sanyo 8200s for
> $79.99. But if you are a current customer you have to pay more than
> that for one. Not what I would call a good deal.

I haven't seen any pricing increases on the phones they release. What proof
do you have that they bumped the pricing up by $150?

As for the cost of phones, even at retail, SPCS is subsidizing the cost of
these phones. In the old days, it was a couple of hundred bucks. I don't
have a clue what it is now, as phone prices have dropped, electronic parts
have gotten cheaper, better deals are made with the manufacturers, but I'm
betting they are still subsidizing the cost, before even offering the $150
credit to upgrade to a new phone.

As for the 2 yr. commitment, it's the only way SPCS, and other wireless
providers, can recap the cost of subsidizing of phones and phone rebates.

Bob