If you do find need for a new phone. Evaluate all of your options. go to all the wireless websites and do comparisons to find the plan that will best suit your needs. review all of the features and pricing options.

Generally speaking, no. The 2-year contract doesn't specify WHICH rate plan you have to be on, only that you're locked into being a SprintNextel customer for another 24 months.

Some phones, however, DO dictate the rate plan. For example, if you want to use an Instinct...even if you buy it from a 3rd party or at full MSRP, when you go to activate it, the rate plan system at Sprint will force you into adopting one of the newer (read: MORE EXPENSIVE) rate plans, and it will eliminate your SERO plan on the spot.

I'm pretty sure some other phones will force you into adopting a newer rate plan as well, despite what Sprint's official blurbs have been. So, what I would do is ask which phones DO require any specific rate plans...or better yet, just ask if the phone you want to upgrade to will force you to change your rate plan. My guess is that any and all BBs are going to be ok with SERO...don't know about any of the newer phones after that though.

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miketech_79 wrote:

Don't forget about if you have a 1xRTT phone with SERO plan you will have to get a 1xRTT phone in order to keep the same plan. Someone on this forum wrote about this a while back.

 

Also I keep getting confilicting information about buying a phone outright from a 3rd party will require a 2 year agreement. A rep I chatted with on Sprint e-care said yes. A rep on this site says no. No doubt again misleading customers with incorrect information, but who is right.

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miketech_79 wrote:

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halcyoncmdr wrote:
3rd parties make their money off of the contracts that they sign for Sprint. Many of them will pressure you into a contract. With a corporate store you can purchase a phone outright at full retail with no new contract. Most 3rd parties will do this as well, but it depends on who you are dealing with. Each 3rd party is their own store with their own policies.

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BTW you are the rep I am talking about that says (from a prior post in another thread) you do not need a contract if you buy the phone outright. Regardless of where you buy it, I put an example of buying a phone from another person on ebay to an ecare rep, they said a contract is needed no matter what. 2 years also.

So what gives, why is it you have different information than the ecare rep? And more importantly, since you both represent Sprint who is correct?

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As has been said, BEFORE you buy (let alone make an online swap), consult with a Sprint rep. If you have SERO and currently use an 1xrtt data speed rated phone, then you'll be stuck using ONLY 1xrtt rated phones. Sprint claims its because the code that would have allowed the switch has been discontinued...lousy excuse if you ask me. It's not like the SERO plan would have been more expensive if you originally had an EVDO phone instead.

This is yet ANOTHER reason why I refuse to upgrade from my iDEN to any CDMA phone. It simply isn't worth it.

With the SERO plan you are correct it is no longer offered. However, if you elected to stay with the same device and your contract expired, you would not be forced out of the plan. However you would then move to a month to month basis, with no agreement, until you elected to upgrade your device and or elect a new 2 year agreement.

If you upgrade your device and are currently on the sprint employee referral program, you could easily be swapped to the everything plus referral plans, which are basically the same but more updated to include evdo/3g. Once you swap the new device in your account will be removed from Sero, and our system should show the updated referral plus plans to choose from, so no need for you to try and set that up all over again. We would then be able to move you onto the plan of your choicewith your new device. So in this situation you should be good to go.

As far as a purchase from 3rd party auction sites, it is never recommended, although we understand a customer wishing to do this to save money. To give you a heads up, we have quite a bit of issues regarding devices sold from 3rd parties auction sites. Issues included, invalid esn/dec/imei/msn numbers, lost or stolen issues, esn flagged for fraudulent usage and so on. Plus you have to consider when you buy a device from a 3rd party auction site you would not be able to carry over your total equipment protection to the device or add it at all. Take all of this into consideration and good luck.

Hope this helps

Greetings,

You are accurate, I merely miscommunicated that andmeant to move in the direction of they are the same, but my choice of words lead to this miscommunication and thank you for your attention to detail. You are also correct, as I sated also, where if you purchase any new device to swap to, yes you will have to elect a new plan, due to SERO being expired. Since they are expired, this would of course lead to not being able to apply the plan. Since the plan codes are different; this is the cause of having to change plans. Now if someone was on an EVDO device and purchases another EVDO device, they have a solid chance of the plan staying the same. It is only when the system states the price plan is not compatible, where it has to be changed. Hence a 1x device with a a 1x compatible loaded sero plan code moving to an EVDO device, which in turn would require an EVDO compatible SERO, leading to our current dilemma of the plan now being expired. The fact that you are disturbed by this is a bit overwhelming, considering that SERO plans were offered to customers who were referred by employees,whom are not employees themselves. Therefore obtaining a plan such as this for 30.00, not even as an employee,was a STEAL, so the mark up to 59.99 you could definitely chock up to be competitive pricing, with added benefit to the company of course. How many people work for Sprint? Would the company not being doing what it is merely entitled to do; raising the price after the increase of SERO candidates every period. Anyone who is anyone could hand out their sprint e-mail address to 100's of people, and outof those 100, how many could obtain a highly discounted price plan just by knowing someone who knows someone who know someone? Quite a few. All it takes is that e-mail address to access the "special" section of Sprint.com referral program. If it was your company, would you not do the same considering our gradually declining economy and all of the other heavily competitive providers?

The base SERO was everything included and 500 minutes for 30.00 solid, a great deal, why was it expired? Who knows, the same reason everyone wonders about when the great power pack line hit the drain. Yes, while the new referral programs were jumped to the 59.99 mark for the 500 minutes,it is always the customers choice to accept or decline. So to answer your question, if a customer is considering joining sprint, or they are currently on a sero, or will be moving to another plan, whatever the scenario is; it is in their right mind to choose the best option for them. If it is not the referral option, then it is not that option.

Happy New Year