yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[EVO 4G General] samrozzi:
ok, I know we already have a topic about sprints tep changes, but as I read through it I was so tired of reading all these assumptions and people stating incorrect things, so to clear it up. Also remember this may not be regional, I don't know how sprint is rolling it out, at least in the south east (im in NC) its all rolled out as of oct 23rd.

First off im a service and repair technician at a corporate store. We rolled this out on the 23rd (at least in the southeast, idk of other areas around the US)

pricing is still the same, 7$ a month. But now it covers almost everything except liquid damage, board damage, lost and stolen.

So if someone comes in with a completely shattered evo screen (as I saw 3 today), if they have TEP we replace it with a brand new screen, if we don't have one we exchange in store, if we don't have one, we order a replacement. Basically we now cover physical damage in store. The only time we don't is if its board damage, say the phone got ran over, obviously the board is destroyed. But as far as cracked screens, broken hinges etc... its all covered.

ALSO now for people that do not have TEP, before if they had physical damage we would charge them 120$ in store for repair, now its only 35$ to repair say a broken screen (good news!), except thats for every visit, sprint is now not authorizing the 1 year manufacturers warranty in store, so say your blackberry trackball pops out and you don't have TEP you can either pay sprint 35$ or go to blackberry. But the nice thing is its 35$ for ALL repairs, except the liquid, board damage etc..

I just felt the need to post this because I was tired of reading incorrect posts. Hopefully this makes sense, because I typed this in minor frustration lol. But I think this is great (for the customer, I see alot of phones now lol) But its REALLLLY putting value in sprints TEP now

So if any questions please ask away.
[EVO 4G General] Rem3Dy:
Thanks for clearing that up. I am switching to Sprint next week so this news has been welcomed.
[EVO 4G General] Sporkman:
good post ! tyvm
[EVO 4G General] samrozzi:
no problem. I hope this makes sense, I just went on a quick typing rant and haven't really read over it. But I think this REALLY adds value to TEP and makes it worth it. And to the people who said sprints technicians don't know anything they are worthless. Honestly.. Just because your local store may be bad, or not up to par doesn't mean they all are. At my store we try to be as fair as possible, but when someone comes in every 2 weeks for the same problem for the past 5 months, yeah we may refuse to repair, or notate the account for repeat offenders. But at the store and District I work in, we all do the best (also were the number 1 store for customer service in the District so that may help)
[EVO 4G General] backdown:
If you don't have insruance, does the phone need to be on your phone line? Lets say i have a phone in my cabinet with a broken screen, could i go and get it fixed for 35$?
[EVO 4G General] nukedukem:
For $35 I might just take the case off my EVO and let her run around naked!
[EVO 4G General] casual864:
Thanks for clearing that up! I live in the South east as well. +1
[EVO 4G General] samrozzi:
yes we can repair the phone but it has to be on the account, and active for atleast 30 days.
[EVO 4G General] secondskin:
So I know this is off topic but how do technicians treat Evos with hosed 4g keys cause I want to root and pay $7 for insurance but fear hosing my 4g which I use.
[EVO 4G General] afazel:
Great information, thanks. One question though: what if you do have liquid damage and you pay for TEP? What is the repair cost then? What about lost phones? Also, like already mentioned, what about rooted phones? This is insurance after all and not warranty.

I ask because I have Best Buy Black Tie Protection now' but with these changes to TEP I'm thinking about canceling the Best Buy plan and switching to TEP. Thanks for your info.
[EVO 4G General] auau465121:
what about everyday wear and tear i have scratches from dropping my phone a lot on the bottom of the phone :mad: can that be fixed for free?
[EVO 4G General] xHausx:
Is their insurance still through Asurion? I went ten years with never losing or damaging a phone and the one time I lost my HTC touch I was charged $100 for a piece of crap that had a busted speaker and a glitchy looking screen. And to top it off the girl at sprint who looked at my phone said the busted speaker wasn't too bad and that the speaker phone still worked fine...

I am not impressed with Sprint's insurance at all.
[EVO 4G General] samrozzi:
ok, well if liquid you go through asurion, 100$. Same for lost or stolen. As far as the 4g queston, not sure what you mean by hosed 4g?

and for the question about cosmetic damage, thats the one thing im not 100% sure about, I will have to get more info on that.

And yeah still through asurion. But now the only time you go through them is if;

liquid damage, lost, stolen, board damage.
[EVO 4G General] uniquenameevo:
Hosed 4G means the RSA keys are damaged and it won't authenticate. Each phone has it's own key, so it's not something that could likely be fixed in store.

Would a phone get replaced under that circumstance?
[EVO 4G General] samrozzi:
hmm maybe since im not familiar with the term, But we have seen phones with 4g not connecting or not able to establish a connection and sometimes we have to exchange it (which thats covered), but lately we've been pretty good at restoring data to the devices but a pain in the ass, so exchanging is usually easier
[EVO 4G General] DonRSD:
i had a small crack on the top right of my phone (next to front camera) for a month now (a drunk drop getting out of the car)

it wasnt a big deal.

well yesterday i was holding my daughter and was taking my evo out of my pocket......it fell on the tile face down.

i picked it up and my screen was shattered but the phone still works.

anyway i went to sprint today and got a new screen put on my phone for free within 40 minutes. i also have the $7/mo insurance plan

best part is i have a CM6 root/rom on my phone and they didnt say a thing.

i have an 003 version and since the new screen was put on, no more light leakage either :D
[EVO 4G General] m4rk0358:
I still don't understand why a customer needs to be charged $35 for warranty work though.

Shattered screen? yes

Defect in phone? no...should be a free repair if it's under the 1 year warranty
[EVO 4G General] SouthernEvo:
Well I know now after reading this Im happy I told Bestbuy to shove their insurance and switched back to Sprints !
[EVO 4G General] DirtyShroomz:
Your not. Call the manufacturers, use their warranty and take a month off without a phone.
[EVO 4G General] samrozzi:
exactly dirtyshroomz. Because yous till have the 1 year through company. But we will do things like software defects, and basic s/w based things at no charge
[EVO 4G General] zikronix:
you also forgot to mention this is for business only customers...not personal customers!

edit:

Attached the actual flyer
[EVO 4G General] samrozzi:
who me? umm this is for EVERYONE, not just business
[EVO 4G General] zikronix:
see flyer attached in post above
[EVO 4G General] samrozzi:
yeah this flyer is for business, but its still effective for ALL other lines, trust me, we have fixed numerous, and I got the confirmation from the District Manager, the Regional Manger for service and repair stores in my area. Its ALL lines.

This is just a flyer for business.
[EVO 4G General] DirtyShroomz:
This is just not for business, it's for everyone.
[EVO 4G General] zikronix:
Not according to sales/cs/regional and district for the west coast.

Its biz only
[EVO 4G General] Last-Chance:
No one has answered my question about 4g... Is that included in the plan or not..
[EVO 4G General] samrozzi:
last chance,what question

and well im assuming you work for sprint if your referencing that.

but in this side east coast its covered, which makes sense, idk why itd be business only, if anything thatd be pointless, because many large businesses dont even have insurance plans because they have to get replaced 90% of the time
[EVO 4G General] Last-Chance:
the question that, does sprint fix 4g keys if you don't have tep? Or do you have to get a new phone through ausirion
[EVO 4G General] DirtyShroomz:
More than likely new phone as that is not a "known issue".

Sent from the island my Evo built
[EVO 4G General] Crotchety:
if you don't have tep then you won't be getting anything through asurion.
[EVO 4G General] pididente:
That's HTC's responsibility, not Sprint.
[EVO 4G General] samrozzi:
think about this, what other retail store carries the 1 year. If you buy an xbox or ps3 or tv etc.. at best buy and it shorts out or something within a year, do you goto best buy to get it fixed? No, you call the company under the 1 year. Its no different.
[EVO 4G General] mbaseball3:
So how can we find out if our store is adhering to new procedures? I suspect you're all gonna say just call! But I think they're closed....like 2ish hours ago lol.

Sent from my Evo
[EVO 4G General] Zori:
Still mad about paying $120 just 2 weeks ago after waiting for a month to find a way out to fix my broken screen FUUUUUUUU
[EVO 4G General] skillzo1:
What about a possible blown speaker?
[EVO 4G General] xavier1022:
yep i guess my EVo is going streaking now.... no case baby!
[EVO 4G General] rugedraw:
So for what about those of us that have the infamous power/volume button crack around the bezel? I have both on my phone, and while it still works well, it does bother me. Will Sprint charge me $35 to replace the bezels, or is that free?

Also, what about the light leak issues by the capacitive buttons? Again, a very minor flaw but you can see it in my phone in certain conditions (my Evo is about as old as it can be, as I got it 1 week after the release date). Would this fall under $35 with the new plan, or is this free?

Thanks!
[EVO 4G General] tgruendler:
So, you cracked the screen and want it fixed for free knowing that with the insurance it has and always was $100.00 to replace. Now, Sprint is offering to fix it for $35.00 and you are complaining??? I am so confused
[EVO 4G General] Noxious Ninja:
Yep, that's my question too. I took my phone in about 2 weeks ago and they said they wouldn't fix it for a bezel crack so long as the phone worked fine and the bezel wasn't actually falling off. But it's annoying as heck, so it would be nice if that is now covered. I do have the TEP.
[EVO 4G General] fastfreddy7:
Well considering that as far as I can tell, from this thread and the other, if you have the insurance they will replace the screen for.free now, that's why I'm upset.
[EVO 4G General] samrozzi:
yeah if you have TEP fix screen for free. if no insurance its 35$. not sure about power button crack, I know my store we'd fix it, were pretty easy going
[EVO 4G General] aero1:
In short is this pretty much it?

Last week (post 4/2009 changes) TEP -- Warrantable problem repair: Free

This week TEP -- Warrantable problem repair: Free

Last week TEP -- Water Damage: $100 Deductible

This week TEP -- Water Damage: $100 Deductible

Last week TEP -- Theft/Loss/complete destruction: $100 Deductible

This week TEP -- Theft/Loss/complete destruction: $100 Deductible

Last week TEP --Accidental Damage in 3 pieces or less*: $100 Deductible

This week TEP -- Accidental Damage in 3 pieces or less*: Free

----------------

Last week NO TEP -- Warrantable problem repair: Free

This week NO TEP -- Warrantable problem repair: $35

Last week NO TEP -- Accidental Damage in 3 pieces or less: no coverage (true?)

This week NO TEP -- Accidental Damage in 3 pieces or less: $35 (true?)

I am only unclear on the last point. Was sprint replacing cracked screens for non TEP? Are they going to do it now as the flyer implies?

Lastly, although I think insurance on phones is generally a mistake, sprint had a heck of a generous non insurance policy from 4/2009. From what I have read broken phones were Sprints highest in-contract churn loss of customers, so I understand why they made the changes in April 09. If your phone broke at 8 months the ETF was less hassle than waiting a month or paying retail for a phone. Perhaps now that they are getting financially and market wise stronger, they are modifying back to reduce the cost of servicing phones for free for warranty defects which they had transferred from the manufacturers to themselves. It is a loss of benefit for non tep holders, and I am not happy about it, but I can't fault them for it.
[EVO 4G General] DirtyShroomz:
How is it a loss of benefit?

Sent from the island my Evo built
[EVO 4G General] aero1:
Did you read my post? I said it is a loss of benefit for non TEP holders, as they now pay $35 for what has been a free service since April 2009 (eg in warranty swap out for warranted problem).

If you work for Sprint please note that I did say I understand why they are doing it.
[EVO 4G General] DirtyShroomz:
Not necessarily you can still go through your manufacturer and wait a month to get the phone back. If you we're getting things fixed free (warranty issues) consider yourself lucky

Sent from the island my Evo built
[EVO 4G General] aero1:
Lucky? Sprint published and advertised a policy guaranteeing they would fix for free any and all warrantable problems within one year of activation. It is a selling point they had.

why would I consider myself lucky for a service advertised by a provider? It is a materiel part of your service agreement.

I am not sure you understand Sprints changes to their prior advertised and promoted non TPE service policy. I know it like the back of my hand. until last week if I bought a 10 month old touch pro on ebay from joe blow and Sprint activated, they promised to service or replace it for free for warranty issues.

I am not saying I don't understand why Sprint is reducing benefits to customers, but rather simply that they are indeed removing an advertised and promoted benefit.

Sprint isn't going to be able to successfully charge informed customers who bought their phones before last week for any warranty charge, they will only be able to successfully do it for new buyers. As simple call to their corporate would get the $35 refunded because of this (the controlling document when I bought my Epics last month):

http://s3.amazonaws.com/wpcms_production/resources/images/000/034/269/original/Slide1_0.PNG

http://s3.amazonaws.com/wpcms_production/resources/images/000/034/270/original/Slide_202.PNG

http://s3.amazonaws.com/wpcms_production/resources/images/000/034/271/original/Slide3.PNG

When I signed my agreement the policy on their website was:

On the 26th the page was changed to:

it is simple, all buyers before yesterday were guaranteed no charge warranty support by Sprint.

The $35 can only be be legally charged to buyers who purchased after the change was made public. I work with this kind of language for a living. Sprint can't even use a 30 day ETF release escape as they are a direct party in the sale of the equipment.

I am sure stores will attempt to charge, but any savvy customer who bought before Oct 25 and is in one year will be able to get it reversed if it is warranty covered due to the fact the it was advertised at the time of sale. Sellers cannot retroactively modify warrant terms.
[EVO 4G General] fastfreddy7:
Not at any of the authorized repair centers around me. 35$ was the best I heard, and I have TEP.
[EVO 4G General] chopper221:
Will scratches on the screen be covered.

Sent from my Evo that can't see the Apple orchard with its big wall.
[EVO 4G General] afliction523:
Honestly...ATT, Verizon and T-Mobile honor it. T-Mobile you can just call customer service and they will exchange it for defects. ATT you can go to a service center and have it repaired or swapped at no charge unless you damaged it yourself. This applies to Verizon as well. I would assume that ATT, Verizon and T-Mobile send the defective phones back the manufacturers themselves in this case. Last time I sent a T-Mobile phone back it went to what they called a repair facility but I dont know if they do the repair there. They may do it themselves. Either way I have sprint with NO TEP. This is just because I have a friend who works there and takes care of things for me when needed. Its good to see that they are taking steps though to make things easier on the customer. I can see I may not need to go to my buddy's store in the future.
[EVO 4G General] aero1:
No, Sprint in writing made it Sprint responsibility for phones bought before Oct 25. You cannot entice people with a specific written claim that you will not charge, and then add a charge. It can only apply to customer who purchased after the language was changed.
[EVO 4G General] afliction523:
Just checked my contract...you are correct. :)
[EVO 4G General] JUST2SUAVE:
I smell class action lawsuit
[EVO 4G General] erack3:
Thats unless u bought your ps3/360 with best buy's warranty. a friend of mine had a fat ps3 with 40GB and no problems. we brought it to best buy and he told them it randomly turns off/resets. they didnt even check it. since he had bought their warranty so they gave him whatever they had in stock, which happened to be a slim ps3 with 120GB.

i wonder if i bring my evo to best buy and tell them that it randomly reboots/shutdowns itself.
[EVO 4G General] JUST2SUAVE:
If you got their black tie protection plan, sure
[EVO 4G General] erack3:
i hope best buy has them in stock. Ill let u guys know what happens.
[EVO 4G General] aero1:
Sprint has lost class actions on changes to phone hardware policies, but as you can see several Sprint works don't even know the actual plan new plan correctly (people told $35 even though they have TEP).

I think it will be more like refunds of the $35 for any person calling to assert their legal right to grandfather. After all this wil be a shrinking number of people eligible without TEP for no $35 charge. It is those who bought in the past 12 months (the maximum warranty period) . IN three months it will only be those who bought in the prior 9 months, etc.
[EVO 4G General] sprink0281:
So YOU screwed up your phone by flashing non official software and basically voided your warrantee and you think everybody else should have to pay for your uneducated mistake! FRAUD causes everyone to pay higher prices for products and services. Why should we be responsible for your mistake? You should man up and tell the truth and deal with it! You knew the dangers of rooting your phone and you took the chance anyway and screwed up.Well hopefully when HTC receives your phone and tests it they will have sprint and bestbuy flag your account for FRAUD and never give you the benefit of doubt in the future. Becareful KARMA is motherfu**er it will come and get ya when you least expect it!
[EVO 4G General] pastert33:
I noticed a few days ago my speaker in the back started to go bad. I started looking up what to do. Today, I went into sprint and THANKS to this post, I'm getting my phone worked on right now free of charge. This TEP change has gone into effect in Atlanta and so I just told them that the papers I signed stated that the manufactuers warranty would be sprints problem for up to a year. So thanks for this post!
[EVO 4G General] marctronixx:
Paster,

im in atl also. what branch did you go into?
[EVO 4G General] olemarc:
Just for everyones info... I just took my Evo into the Sprint store to get the screen replaced for a drop on a concrete floor. $35 was all that was required. I was actually dumbfounded, I can't imagine why anyone would get the TEP now... I can drop alot of phones for one year of TEP... 2.5 or so to be exact... In a year I get a new phone anyway as I am a premier customer. Really in my opinion this is very good customer service for retention. As charging the full cost of the repair would make people jump ship, might as well pay an ETF and get a new phone somewhere else.... But this is real, and is for everyone.
[EVO 4G General] Pierceye:
It would be nice if HTC fixed it for free. I have sent two Evos in for warranty work because of random reboot issues now. We are responsible for shipping costs inbound, and then they have a "$39.00 or less technical triage fee."

On the upside, they did have the first one I sent repaired and back in my hand 7 days after I sent it.

I don't think these policies have been rolled out in Florida either. Was just in the corporate store yesterday and it was the same as always. If a hard reset won't fix it, make an insurance claim. I do like the sound of these improvements though and hope we get them down here quick!
[EVO 4G General] :
I walked into a Sprint corporate store today because my camera lens cover mysteriously cracked. They told me they couldn't fix it but offered to give me a replacement. I had CM6.1 RC1 and my scraped paint mod and they didn't say anything. The guy was asking me all sorts of questions.

In short I walked out of there with a new lens made out of clear tape since I didn't want to give up my phone and start all over. The funny thing is that the pictures look better with the clear tape than they did with the lens cover.

Sent while sitting on the toilet.
[EVO 4G General] aero1:
They were ripping you off. That has not been nor is it currently Sprints policy. In fact it is the opposite of sprints written policy.

Sprint's policy when you bought your phone, and its policy for the year after it, is no $35 fee and Sprint assumes the role of warrantor. Legally it is impossible to simply announce a new plan and retroactively apply it to sales made when the advertised plan promised you sprint would warrant the phone for free.

If it is none user created damage, your store tech was completely mistaken, since Sprint in writing has promised to handled the warranty work for free.

The announced reduced benefits, when they roll out will not apply to sales made before the announcements
[EVO 4G General] pastert33:
Just went to a regular store. Mall of Georgia area.
[EVO 4G General] Bigjim1488:
I wonder if they would make my screen stop wobbling for me on my epic :confused: (sorry for crashing evo land) or will the be considered how the phone is supposed to be.....
[EVO 4G General] skantman69:
Dude we all mod our phones on here. Grow up, if your part of the 1 percenters that don't take your moral patrol to a more suitable site.

Sent from your Moms EVO using 4G speed
[EVO 4G General] Pierceye:
As it turns out, you are right. I called Sprint customer service today just to see what they had to say on the matter. The first thing I asked was if the changes were being rolled out regionally or if it was a nation wide launch. It is definitely a national change. The second thing I asked was why the Asst Store Mgr did not then offer to replace the phone in store. The CSR was as confused about that as I was. She indicated that especially with TEP he should have offered an in-store replacement, not simply to file an insurance claim. Oh well, live and learn, right? As an aside, going back to my old Treo Pro has been truly horrifying! MinMo 6.1 seems designed to piss off the user. I can't wait for my Evo to get back!