AppleInsider Staff
In what appears to be a response to T-Mobile's recently announced iPhone 'test drive,' Sprint on Monday said it will begin a risk-free program in which new customers can try out the carrier's network and services for 30 days.
Under the program's terms, customers who open new lines of service will have 30 days to try out Sprint's network and, if unsatisfied, the carrier will refund the cost of their handset and waive any accrued usage fees, including minutes, data and activation costs.
"We believe customers will be delighted with the Sprint retail experience, our customer service, and the performance of America's newest network," Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said in a prepared statement. "So we're guaranteeing it."
Both new and existing customers are eligible for the plan, though users already on Sprint's network will have to open a new line to take advantage of the initiative. The initiative looks to push users toward the carrier's new LTE network, which today officially added another 28 markets to the coverage list.
Sprint's announcement comes less than a week after competing U.S. carrier T-Mobile unveiled "7 night stand," a program that lets new users test drive an iPhone 5s for one week, including unlimited data.
Unlike Sprint's satisfaction guarantee, T-Mobile teamed up with Apple to provide customers with the latest iPhone hardware. According to T-Mobile CEO John Legere, the Cupertino company is supplying "tens of thousands" of iPhone 5s units to the carrier specifically for the "7 night stand" and will presumably do the same when a new version comes out later this year.
Sprint's satisfaction guarantee initiative kicks off on June 27. Those interested are instructed to visit a Sprint store or the company's website to sign up.
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16 Comments
Boy, it sure would have been nice and saved a lot of trouble if AT&T had such a program, a couple years ago when I wanted to switch to their service. Turned out my home is in a dead zone for AT&T, and within a few days I had to switch back to Verizon, which was a bother. At least AT&T agreed, and Best Buy took the phone back. But that was a pretty hairy week.
Very glad to see T-Mobile making a huge comeback in the cellular market with everything they've been putting out recently. Just wish their cellular service worked...
I'm a Sprint user and I'll be the first to tell you the service is subpar. From East Los Angeles to Pasadena to the Inland Empire its horrible and unreliable. You have spots of LTE, but prepare yourself to be on 1x/3G for most if not all the time. If you dont beleive me check out their forums and @SprintCare on twitter.
Very glad to see T-Mobile making a huge comeback in the cellular market with everything they've been putting out recently.
Just wish their cellular service worked...
Actually, we've had an overseas visitor to our work site for the past month, and as soon as he arrived we got him set up with a T-mobile SIM in his iPhone, and he's had great service ever since. Much nicer than having to put up with a disposo-phone for the month, and really not very expensive. So I, too, am glad to see the smaller carriers apparently doing well now. :)
I'm a Sprint user and I'll be the first to tell you the service is subpar. From East Los Angeles to Pasadena to the Inland Empire its horrible and unreliable. You have spots of LTE, but prepare yourself to be on 1x/3G for most if not all the time. If you dont beleive me check out their forums and @SprintCare on twitter.
Exactly, it sucks in the San Gabriel Valley. Yet I keep getting emails saying they've upgraded the service over here and keep getting the 1x and 3G.