Someone please answer the question every wants to know about Vison!

It is my understanding that when you use the phone as a modem, this is NOT the same as Vision, but instead you are using airtime minutes. You do not need Vision in order to use your phone as a modem, you just need the proper software, so you should be using airtime minutes.

 

It was my understanding, that with the connection software from Sprint, it was a part of the Vision service and didn't count as minutes or extra fees if you have unlimited vision service. I did pose this question to 2 different Sprint reps tonight, one visiting at Best Buy and another visiting Circuit City, and got two different answers...of course they didn't know much about their products either (Best Buy rep said 4900 was a tri-mode phone and Circuit City rep said it was a dual-mode)--much less connection types and service fees and these people work directly for Sprint...so they aren't reliable sources of information on this topic.

Can someone please clear this up for us, I am leaving soon for a 4 month trip and bought the cable just to have internet access while gone, if it is going to cost me I will just use a dialup.

 

If you are using your Sprint PCS vision as your modem and accessing the web your are using data which if you have the unlimited vision it is unlimited. Therefore, if you have a Vision phone with an unlimited plan and have the Connection Kit you can access the using your Vision.

 

yes however in the terms and conditions you are not allowed to use a phone as a modem on the $10 unlimited Vision plan and if they monitor it you will be taken off of Vision altogether.

 

It's a puzzlement. This appears to be an ongoing and growing conflict. Many sprint reps are in fact promoting the reality that you can (if you are able to locate the cable which they have ironically sought to make more scarce) use vision for relatively highspeed (not 14.4 but not bband or dsl either) unlimited usage with a laptop. However, it does appear to go against the TOS. It seens we are guinnea pigs The interpretation which I have heard and think most likely is, IF you don't overdue it, and don't use as a server they will PROBABLY leave you alone. BUT... It would be nice to have a definitive answer from spcs.

 

My understanding is you can use it as a modem, and my co-workers were under the same impression. However, this may not be the case. Its the fault of bad training and company communication. So basically i guess it is use at your own risk! Which makes no sense since they sell the data cable connection kit. This issue definitely needs to be address since it is also my understanding that vision enabled phones cant run on 2G speeds. So whats the point of the internet cable kit?

 

I don't believe they actually call it the "internet" connection kit - I think they call it the pcs connection kit. I think your question explains why the kits are seemingly unavailable for the vision phones Perhaps they thought it would be used for laptop connectivity to an ISP?? or merely to synch the phone info or get ringers? LOL Perhaps they vastly underestimated the potential usage?? or, it will be a bait & switch once we are all hooked Another irony, one thread I saw this weekend claims that RS will soon be selling the cables for @ $30 - again, what's the point IF we can't use??

SprintTechRep - YES! You have gotten your point across, and saved me from samsung - Thanks! btw I presume you are pleased with the 5150? I would prefer a flip, and I don't really need vision, especially if it's usage is in doubt, perhaps I should go "best phone to now be technically obsolete" and live with 2g?

 

SprintTechRep - Now that you have made your sanyo point, would you care to share any thoughts about the $4/mo sprint phone protection program??? thanks!

 

Hey wait a minute!!

Whats this $99 for laptop use given above. Never heard of it.

I called 2 tech reps over *2TALK and both said that unlimited pcs vision for $10 will enable one to access internet with pc/laptop and usb cable and pcs connection manager at no extra cost. Nobody mentioned any limit on amount of data transfered or time online.

But one thing for sure Sprint is not advertising it eventhough it is a real HOT selling point - !!!UNLIMITED HIGH SPEED INTERNET ACCESS!!! for $10 extra.

 

You should be able to purchase them online easier or #acc from you PCS handset and order the PCS connection Kit.

 

Thanks ALBUNDY! But now I'm confused as to why so many posts saying do NOT buy the sprint pcs connection kit - get the cable from sanyo (for @ $30 + shpg) and s/w elsewhere (ie future dial - also for @ $30 + shpg) - any advice or thoughts? It would seem to me that getting from sprint directly would be easier and better?

 

I don't know who is doing what, but this is what the Sprint agreement has to say about it:

 

Same here. Before I switched over to a new plan with Vision, I asked the rep on the phone the same thing. I told him it was my intent to use unlimited Vision to connect my laptop to the "real" Internet as well as asked time and time again during our conversation if there would be any additional fees involved. His answer was no, so I agreed and started a new contract with Vision service (300 Anytime, Unlimited N&W, Unlimited Vision for $40/month).

 

Here's my latest thought on the ongoing question of whether or not Unlimited Vision for $10 includes laptop access...

If you call a Sprint Rep and ask them on the phone they will tell you that this is allowed, as they just want you to sign up for a more expensive plan. Like someone else here had said, they use this to "hook" the fish into changing their plans and renewing annual agreements and then will most likely (at a later time) go back on their Sales Rep's words and begin citing what is mentioned in the TOS agreement about Unlimted Vision not being allowed for laptop usage.

When it comes down to it (and legally-speaking) what is stated "in writing" within the TOS agreement supercedes anything that a Sprint Representative might tell you in person or over the phone. And when you agree to start service you also agree to the terms of the written TOS.

So, I guess only time will tell if Sprint will go against the word of their Sales Representatives and once again limit or alltogether deny Vision access to laptop users who are under the $10 a month plan. Yes, this would be a "sneaky" move, but I have come to expect that from large corporations.

In the meanwhile, $40 bucks a month is worth it to me to use my phone for airtime as well as for a stand-in "real" Internet connection and I'm not going to hesitate to use my laptop for Internet access if I have no other available Internet connection alternative at the given time and place. After all, that's what I am under the impression I am paying for. And if the tables do turn in such a manner as to affect us Vision subscribers in a negative way, I will drop Sprint alltogether in spite.

But like I said, only time will tell.

 

Just got my phone today. Cable should be here tomorrow. The idea that I can use it on the notebook as a modem I understand, but what about Vision? How do you detect the settings for my Vision connection to use it on a notebook? Maybe it will all become apparent once I hook it up but thought I'd ask in advance.

Just one last thought: If you can indeed use your unlimited Vision plan to access the "real net" then it won't be long before the little loophole is closed, so experience it now.

 

Jimbo's reply is scary. They have us by you know what if they want to. It is right there in black and white in the TOS.

 

I think somebody need to report this confusion caused by sprint to the newspapers. I think its a deliberate dirty ploy by Sprint to keep this loophole as if unnoticed to make people buy vision for high speed internet (see its not mentioned in their ads) and finally drop the unlimited internet by using some blocking software modification at sprint to deny pc internet(as perTOS). Nobody will have any proof against Sprint except for what the reps were saying (who will be laid off anyways). I think since Sprint has to follow some good marketing practice and come up with a clear cut answer to this confusion if they respect customer sentiments.

 

Sprint didn't make you buy anything; what they offered was enticing to say the least and you fell for it. If you want clear cut answers read your TOS. If it is not in black and white, it doesn't exist!

 

Why would you expect unlimited wireless, high speed access for your laptop for only $10 anyway? If you use common sense, obviously Sprint is not going to drop their pants that low on 3G service. You are signing a contract when you activate your service don't you read it? If you don't it is not the fault of your sales rep it is yours for signing the agreement first...doesn't everyone learn when they are very young "don't sign anything without reading it first."

Also most of the time (from any wireless carrier) the sales reps have not themselves even read their Terms and Conditions information. So don't expect them to know all the details...read them for yourself. If your old enough to legally bind yourself into an agreement you should know better to sign it without reading it.

 

The following is a section of the Sprint PCS Service Contract as it pertains to Vision usage. This was taken from the Main Sprint PCS Site. Sorry, but unless I missed something, I didn't see any mention of service being cancelled just because you use a laptop or similar computing device is being used along with the Vision service. NOTE THAT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, it tells you that additional information is availalabe at "www.sprintpcs.com" but does not tell you exactly where on the massive Sprint PCS site this additional information might be found. So, I then went over to the main Sprint Vision site to read the "Terms and Conditions" that are posted there but still, no dice...

PCS Vision (Third Generation) Wireless Charges.

"For PCS Vision wireless services, you will be charged, on a per kilobyte basis, for data used, whether sent or received by your PCS Phone or other wireless device, rather than for airtime used, even for certain third generation voice services. As long as your PCS Phone or other wireless device is connected to the enhanced (Third Generation) Sprint Nationwide PCS Network, you will be incurring data usage charges. You cannot receive incoming calls while using third generation services. Data packet usage will be measured in kilobytes and will be rounded up to the next whole kilobyte. Kilobyte usage will be rounded up to the next full cent. Rounding up will occur at the end of each separate session or each clock hour (at the top of each hour), if the session spans more than 1 clock hour. When traveling on the Vision network, a session may be ended and new session initiated, although no interruption to the actual data session will occur. The number of data packets used and charged to you will vary widely, depending upon the specific PCS Vision wireless application or other service you use and the amount of data used in the specific application or service. You will be charged for data exchanges initiated by other Internet users as well as those you initiate. Estimates of data usage, for example, the size of downloadable files, will vary from what you actually use. You will be charged for additional data used in transporting and routing on the network. If you use a Premium Service (including services provided by third parties but for which you are billed on your PCS Invoice), you will be charged for data used in transport and routing in addition to the charge for the Premium Service. You will be charged for partial and interrupted data downloads or other use, including re-sent data, and for unsuccessful attempts to reach Web sites and use other applications and services, including those resulting from dropped network connections. Your invoice will not separately identify the number of kilobytes attributable to your use of specific sites, sessions or services used. Specific additional information about PCS Vision wireless services, including pricing, included kilobytes and combining with other PCS Service Plans, is available in our standard sales collateral for PCS Vision wireless Service Plans or at www.sprintpcs.com."

 

Well said! Caveat Emptor, people!!! Here's another excerpt from the Terms and Conditions.

The "referenced documents and attachments" that it refers to includes the Advantage Agreement that I quoted in my earlier post.

I am sure I will get a lot of crap for this, but I don't really see what the fuss is about. It is all there in the agreement. If you want to hook your phone up to a laptop and take your chances, fine. Just don't b1tch and moan when you get charged or have your service disconnected. I mean, do you really expect sprint to provide wireless internet access roughly the same speed as a 56k dialup ISP for half the price?

 

Two thoughts. You can seek to have language added to your contract (or removed) although it's not likely you can tell the manager that since that is what his/her rep promoted and promised, that's what you want and with that language present or without additional language, you are not getting what you were sold. (no, I don't think it's likely to work, but you can try it - nothing to lose - some people are having level 2 csrs note their files that it was promised and without that promise they would not have taken vision - that would be great, IF you could get a copy of the notation in writing. Secondly, the TOS is ridiculous anyway. Read it carefully. They can do whatever they want, whenever they want, and you can't do anything about it. Oh, I'm sorry, except pay a $175 termination fee to leave. You could probably win in court, BUT it would take forever, as they would drag it out and use their considerable legal resources to challange you. Now before we all get too irritated at sprint, I'm pretty sure the other carriers are doing just about the same things. Welcome to the future, ain't it "great"

 

Hi People,

Dont get too excited about reading the agrement, falling for Sprint etc. I was just mentioning the inconsistancy between the customer reps telling us to get on to the Internet (unlimited) and that being not mentioned clearly in the TOS & in the ads of Sprint PCS. Why does Sprint advertise, they could have put everything in the TOS. When they advertise they have carefully left out this unlimited internet whilst their customer reps are asked to promote this. Is this some straightforward thing to do?

 

Well said. Because of my concerns regarding this, I had sent an email last night to Sprint PCS Customer Service stating what had been promised to me by more than one Sprint Representative [that I would be able to use my laptop in conjunction with the Unlimited Vision service as much as I needed to] and asking them to "verify" that what had been said by the other representatives had been true. I also made sure to mention in my email that what had been said was my grounds for having decided to change my plan and begin a new contract term.

Here is a small segment of the reply that I received from the Sprint representative who responded to my email:

This is in response to your question about PCS Vision service.

Upon reviewing your account, I noticed that you have Unlimited Vision for $10.00 Monthly Recurring Charge.

You can use your Sprint PCS Phone as a modem and connect to a laptop and access HTML(Hypertext Markup Language) web sites. As you have Unlimited Vision, your account will not be charged for accessing these web sites.

In the email body of my message to them, I had included the date that it was sent to them (yes, this and other info is already given in the header information of the email, but I wanted to make sure that the date my message had been sent was plainly visible right along with my service question in case they decided to challenge it at a later date.

In short... unlike if I had continued to rely on what had been "spoken" to me over the phone by the reps, I now have a "written" copy of what was promised to me by Sprint PCS... along with mention within it that what was promised to me was my grounds for beginning a new service contract.

Is this fool-proof? No... but a written record of what was promised to me is much more likely to be acknowledged and taken into consideration than what was simply spoken to me over the phone.

 

While I agree that all of the sprint reps telling folks to use their phone as a modem is shady, and a poor business tactic, I don't think that the TOS and the AA are misleading. Scary yes, but they are pretty much the same as every other wireless carrier. Sprint does need to get their act together, and pick one story and stick to it.

As far as having that email...maybe it will help you, maybe it won't. After all, the TOS says, "This Agreement (including any referenced documents and attachments) makes up the entire agreement between you and us..." It could be argued that since no reference is made to the email you received, it is technically not part of the agreement (splitting hairs, I know).

My whole point is that maybe you can get away with using your phone as a modem for your laptop, but when/if sprint wants to put a stop to it, they have covered their a$$ pretty good. And again, maybe you could win in court, but is it really worth it? I am sure that sprint would tie it up in the legal process for years, and in the meantime...force you to spend a lot of money on legal fees. So, enjoy it while you can, and don't be surprised if they put a stop to it eventually.

Bottom line...sales reps are just trying to add a user...and just like in so many other situations--if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Always look for the fine print.

 

To quote yet again; its almost banality now here on this site))


Unlimited PCS Vision offer for PCS Free & Clear Plans with Vision is: (a) only available with a Vision capable PCS Phone or PCS smart phone device; and (b) not available with Connection Cards, Aircards, or any other device used in connection with a computer or PDA - including phones, smart phones or other devices used with connection kits or similar phone-to-computer/PDA accessories.

"Any other DEVICE" are the key words (particularly DEVICE)..........a device is NOT a USB cable nor is it the Sprint Connection Software.......they are obvoisuly talking about something else.......

jef

 

Sorry boo99, but you need to re-read it. It forbids the use of "any other device used in connection with a computer or PDA" and goes on to define "any other device" as "phones, smart phones or other devices used with connection kits or similar phone-to-computer/PDA accessories."

 

mrmister
Junior Member

Why spend all your time responding to Sprint about something that may or may not happen (SPCS turning off your Vision access)...use it while you can and If I were you I would probably quite calling attention to yourself by sending their customer service department emails about wanting Unlimited Data on your laptop for your $10 per month charge...that method will most likely ensure you are the first to be cut off.

Be thankful for the Unlimited data while you have it...and remember just a month and a half ago your vision data was limited to 2MB....

 

No I dont have to re-read it.......I understand it very well.......again a "DEVICE" is not a USB cable.......

When we connect we use...

1. Vision phone......(the phone, not a DEVICE they are referring to)
2. USB cable
3. Software (connection manager)

thats it......

there are no other devices at all........)

Anyways its documented in e mail and the Sprint reps can document it on your notes about your laptop use and mine says "no extra charges".....I made them document it in my notes so if theres an error, which I dont see there will be, then they will have to credit me........

JEF)