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I could go gangsta on my daughter (Iphone 4S)


jonathanm1978

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Awesome! I hate hearing all the sales people and the csr's saying you should have insurance blah blah blah. I take care of my phones I am not going to pay for insurance and then be forced to pay an outrageous deductible if something were to happen to my phone. What a scam.

 

How is having insurance a scam? I'm sure if you drive/own a car, you pay for insurance, and upon an accident, you pay a deductible, correct? How is this any different? 

 

I'm confused how people do not grasp the simple concept of insurance.

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Awesome! I hate hearing all the sales people and the csr's saying you should have insurance blah blah blah. I take care of my phones I am not going to pay for insurance and then be forced to pay an outrageous deductible if something were to happen to my phone. What a scam.

 

 

How is having insurance a scam? I'm sure if you drive/own a car, you pay for insurance, and upon an accident, you pay a deductible, correct? How is this any different?

 

I'm confused how people do not grasp the simple concept of insurance.

I think it's because of the ever increasing deductible prices for the phones, and some phones stay the same price from day one to a couple years later before they drop in tier level. I do feel that Asurion is price gouging on some phones.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

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I think it's because of the ever increasing deductible prices for the phones, and some phones stay the same price from day one to a couple years later before they drop in tier level. I do feel that Asurion is price gouging on some phones.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

 

Still though, insurance is completely optional, and the alternative is $300+ ebay or such used devices. 

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If the OP is still listening try putting the phone in rice and vacuum seal it for a few days if you have one available

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

 

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I've just read through comments....I'll continue later, I'm currently at the Apple store and they just swapped it for me....but

Everyone who's suggested that a 12 year-old should have a big super-duper case...

 

SHE HAD AN OTTERBOX. 

 

It still happened...whatever it was.

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Still though, insurance is completely optional, and the alternat

 

How is having insurance a scam? I'm sure if you drive/own a car, you pay for insurance, and upon an accident, you pay a deductible, correct? How is this any different? 

 

I'm confused how people do not grasp the simple concept of insurance.

 

As Josh said, its all about the huge deductible. In comparison to the deductible for car insurance it is pretty outrageous. Currently the deductible for my phone is $150 and $11/ or $9/mo. Why pay for insurance when I can buy the phone on Ebay new for the price of the deductible. Heck I could even upgrade to a GS3 or HTC EVO for only a little more. My quarrel is the new policy to not fix warranty issues unless you pay them or have insurance. For instance, my OG Evo back in the day had the infamous stuck in car mode problem. Back then they fixed or replaced for free. Now I would have to pay $35 for them to facilitate the MFR warranty. Horrible policy but this is not the place for rants so i am going to stop there.

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As Josh said, its all about the huge deductible. In comparison to the deductible for car insurance it is pretty outrageous. Currently the deductible for my phone is $150 and $11/ or $9/mo. Why pay for insurance when I can buy the phone on Ebay new for the price of the deductible. Heck I could even upgrade to a GS3 or HTC EVO for only a little more. My quarrel is the new policy to not fix warranty issues unless you pay them or have insurance. For instance, my OG Evo back in the day had the infamous stuck in car mode problem. Back then they fixed or replaced for free. Now I would have to pay $35 for them to facilitate the MFR warranty. Horrible policy but this is not the place for rants so i am going to stop there.

 

Ok, but I will clarify that there is a huge difference between the different support and service models at Sprint. You can purchase insurance only, which is ERP, for a monthly charge, or ESRP, which is equipment warranty service work, for a monthly charge, or bundle the two together, which is called TEP

 

http://shop.sprint.com/mysprint/services_solutions/details.jsp?detId=tep&catId=service_repair_protect&catName=Repair,%20Protect,%20Replace&detName=Total%20Equipment%20Protection&ECID=vanity:tep

 

While I understand that having a $150 deductible is high, it is significantly lower than purchasing a new device outright. 

 

Case in point, my girlfriend's sister had her iPhone 4S stolen from her bag at a club. Since she had no insurance on her line, she was forced to purchase a used iPhone 4 for $250 from Ebay (I think). If she had insurance, she would have paid the $150 or whatever the deductible is, and received a 4S. 

 

At the end of the day, insurance is there for those who need it, or want peace of mind. I personally do not have it on my line, because I baby my devices like I baby my car. Same can't be said for everyone.

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Ok, but I will clarify that there is a huge difference between the different support and service models at Sprint. You can purchase insurance only, which is ERP, for a monthly charge, or ESRP, which is equipment warranty service work, for a monthly charge, or bundle the two together, which is called TEP

 

http://shop.sprint.com/mysprint/services_solutions/details.jsp?detId=tep&catId=service_repair_protect&catName=Repair,%20Protect,%20Replace&detName=Total%20Equipment%20Protection&ECID=vanity:tep

 

While I understand that having a $150 deductible is high, it is significantly lower than purchasing a new device outright. 

 

Case in point, my girlfriend's sister had her iPhone 4S stolen from her bag at a club. Since she had no insurance on her line, she was forced to purchase a used iPhone 4 for $250 from Ebay (I think). If she had insurance, she would have paid the $150 or whatever the deductible is, and received a 4S. 

 

At the end of the day, insurance is there for those who need it, or want peace of mind. I personally do not have it on my line, because I baby my devices like I baby my car. Same can't be said for everyone.

I baby my devices too but why should I have to pay to fix problem that is not due to my negligence. If a product is defective it should be fixed or replaced for free. I understand that Sprint did not manufacture the product and that they have to eat it but so do all of the other providers who provide this service free of charge during warrant period.

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And to continue from earlier..apparently it wasn't water damage...because the indicators were gleaming white...as they should be.  The screen just went off and never came back on. Even the iGeniuses were at an iLoss as to what happened to it. Apparently it suffered an iFailure of displayoral proportions..but whatever the cause, she has a new one now, and her last lecture on taking care of it. If she didn't do anything and it just broke..well she needed a good lecture anyway. If she did something to cause it, and it happens again...I'll just pay the bill without having a working phone on that line until time is up, then turn it off.

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It probably was water damage, but the otterbox covered the liquid indicators on the dock connector and the headphone jack and prevented them from being tripped. Generally "iGeniuses" as you so cleverly called them (very original) do not investigate for liquid damage on the board unless the liquid indicators are tripped. They were not at an "iLoss," they are not iStupid. They knew the phone got wet, but they didn't want to press the point. They probably had 5 other appointments waiting for the same time slot as yours. If they decided to call you out and open the phone, your goose would have been cooked because I bet the board has rust and mineral deposits all over it. iOops.

 

Otterboxes are not waterproof, and have never been advertised as such.

 

If you don't want to pay the deductible, drop the insurance. You're wasting your money every month if you're going to complain about the deductible when something happens.

 

People who say insurance is worth it are wrong in my opinion. If you drop your iPhone in liquid or completely trash it, Asurion charges you $200 for a used replacement phone. I can find a good used replacement phone on Swappa or eBay for $200, complete with the box and charger (as an example, the HTC EVO 4G LTE is generally less than $200 in very good condition). Plus, if your old phone isn't completely trashed or lost you can do a recycle with Sprint and get a bill credit. Maybe if you have a super expensive, brand new phone (like the GS4 or HTC One) it's worth it to have insurance, but only until used prices on Swappa or eBay drop below the deductible price, or if you can't live with an older model like the EVO LTE.

 

As for the repair fee at Sprint stores, you can just ship the phone to the manufacturer and not pay the fee. You'd probably have to pay shipping fees though, and be without your phone for a while. The manufacturer warranties the phones for free for 1 year. I suppose that since Sprint has started charging repair fees for non-insurance customers, they are no longer a warranty repair facility. Only exception that I'm aware of is Blackberries; all service and support for Blackberries is done by the carrier unless that has changed with the new OS10 models. Blackberry offers no support for their phones directly. Incidentally, that was a great business model while it lasted; sell expensive phones to carriers, make them provide all the support and charge them a monthly fee for the backend servers to keep the phones running! No wonder they're still profitable, even with a decimated install base.

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I appreciate all the attention however, this went from me trying to gather ideas to give me a clue as to what I could do, to being a thread about complaints of insurance.

I am glad you have your own iOpinion on Apple, but here's the thing: I was sent from a Sprint store, an hour away, to the Apple store, which was another 30 minutes from that Sprint store. Why? Because Sprint wanted to give me another iPhone 4S, but had none in. No white ones, no black ones. So either I wait on order and drive back again...or I go to Apple store and get it fixed/replaced. I didn't just run in acting all innocent, I don't know for sure she got it wet, just what the end result was. And there weren't that many people in there today, letting Apple separate then from their money...so no, I wasn't rushed and expedited because there was a line around the building. How would my goose been cooked...I don't understand that. The carrier told me to come in because they couldn't help me, even though I pay for that insurance. I don't agree with the deductible considering the 4S is a last gen phone. (But it was a last gen phone on release day as well). So my day was spent fighting Birmingham traffic which is awful under normal conditions. Worse when they are ripping up the road and you have no clue about that till you get into construction zones.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

 

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Otterboxes are not waterproof, and have never been advertised as such.

 

I have an Otterbox Armor that is waterproof, crush proof, dust proof, and will keep my phone intact if I beat the **** out of someone with it. So yes, Otterbox makes waterproof cases.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

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It probably was water damage, but the otterbox covered the liquid indicators on the dock connector and the headphone jack and prevented them from being tripped. Generally "iGeniuses" as you so cleverly called them (very original) do not investigate for liquid damage on the board unless the liquid indicators are tripped. They were not at an "iLoss," they are not iStupid. They knew the phone got wet, but they didn't want to press the point. They probably had 5 other appointments waiting for the same time slot as yours. If they decided to call you out and open the phone, your goose would have been cooked because I bet the board has rust and mineral deposits all over it. iOops.

 

Otterboxes are not waterproof, and have never been advertised as such.

 

If you don't want to pay the deductible, drop the insurance. You're wasting your money every month if you're going to complain about the deductible when something happens.

 

People who say insurance is worth it are wrong in my opinion. If you drop your iPhone in liquid or completely trash it, Asurion charges you $200 for a used replacement phone. I can find a good used replacement phone on Swappa or eBay for $200, complete with the box and charger (as an example, the HTC EVO 4G LTE is generally less than $200 in very good condition). Plus, if your old phone isn't completely trashed or lost you can do a recycle with Sprint and get a bill credit. Maybe if you have a super expensive, brand new phone (like the GS4 or HTC One) it's worth it to have insurance, but only until used prices on Swappa or eBay drop below the deductible price, or if you can't live with an older model like the EVO LTE.

 

As for the repair fee at Sprint stores, you can just ship the phone to the manufacturer and not pay the fee. You'd probably have to pay shipping fees though, and be without your phone for a while. The manufacturer warranties the phones for free for 1 year. I suppose that since Sprint has started charging repair fees for non-insurance customers, they are no longer a warranty repair facility. Only exception that I'm aware of is Blackberries; all service and support for Blackberries is done by the carrier unless that has changed with the new OS10 models. Blackberry offers no support for their phones directly. Incidentally, that was a great business model while it lasted; sell expensive phones to carriers, make them provide all the support and charge them a monthly fee for the backend servers to keep the phones running! No wonder they're still profitable, even with a decimated install base.

Last post i am going to make, I promise.

 

The thing is AT&T and Verizon provide the service for free...this really the only thing I dislike about Sprint. I can deal with it though, because i rarely have issues with my phones and if I do and need to get it fixed I pay the $35 and then go home and complain to Customer Service and get it credited back to me once i bring up the fact that we have been with them for 10+ years.

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I'm considering dropping the insurance on my phones...I have 2 Gs3s...1 Galaxy victory LTE, 1 iPhone 4S. None of those, in my book are phones that warrant a $200 deductible. I just saw a GS3 on a local Fbook sale/trade/swap page last week for $150, Sprint carrier.

so if I can buy one for $150, versus paying $200 for the deductible..then I'm not saving much money by keeping that $11 per line, per month fee. comes out to...4 phones x $11...

Only problem I've had with Sprint was that I blocked EVERYTHING on my daughters phone that required a purchase. The iTunes stuff had a password..the app store or whatever, plus in-app purchases were blocked. Then, on Sprint.com, I blocked her from being able to buy things that way too...YET, I glanced over my bill this month, because for the 2nd month it was $320.30...

So I thought, "ok...first month after adding a new phone...I knew it would be a little higher...but we're in the 2nd month now..it should've dropped back to $250-$260 range...."

 

I found where she was able to add 3 charges of $9.99 for some crap.. And it's a recurring monthly fee, not a one-time thing....so I had to call Sprint and complain. I put passwords for a reason...and she was STILL able to buy crap...what's the point of blocking purchases on Sprint.com if you can still get around it (turns out, she used some shortcode crap to subscribe to ringtones or whatever it was...THREE times..)

 

/end tangent

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I found where she was able to add 3 charges of $9.99 for some crap.. And it's a recurring monthly fee, not a one-time thing....so I had to call Sprint and complain. I put passwords for a reason...and she was STILL able to buy crap...what's the point of blocking purchases on Sprint.com if you can still get around it (turns out, she used some shortcode crap to subscribe to ringtones or whatever it was...THREE times..)

 

/end tangent

 

You can request that no third party billing be allowed on a line, I have done this for many years, never had a charge.

Do that for every line, they will do it for you. It is separate from the online password permission that you have set.

 

The charge on that line could be a scam item too, not originated from your daughter. Very common.

 

The phones that you have, the less reason for insurance too. If you're paying $40+ per month, that is a the price of a new phone each year that you're paying for.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just thought I would share about the insurance thing. I used to have the Sprint/Assurion insurance for my smartphone which was $11 a month. Assurion has a $150 deductible for the S3 possibly higher or lower for other phones. And you get 3 replacements a year. Then when I got my S4 I bought it at Best buy and got the Geek Squad protection which is $10 a month. The Geek Squad protection has no deductible on replacements, and unlimited replacements. There is no coverage for lost or stolen devices but of course there is gps trackers that can do that anyway. Just a suggestion for future purchases of smartphones etc. for everyone. And as far as the whole teens shouldn't have nice things I know plenty of adults that I can say the same thing for. Human beings are not perfect and accidents happen to everyone, hence insurance. Or phones like the S4 Active are a good option. I hope to see phones be drop, water, and dustproof in the very near future as Eric Schmidt said at All Things D recently.

 

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

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Last post i am going to make, I promise.

 

The thing is AT&T and Verizon provide the service for free...this really the only thing I dislike about Sprint. I can deal with it though, because i rarely have issues with my phones and if I do and need to get it fixed I pay the $35 and then go home and complain to Customer Service and get it credited back to me once i bring up the fact that we have been with them for 10+ years.

AT&T and VZW will replace it for free in the first year only. If you're not paying their protection plan, you're seriously SOL in year two. Sprint, while they may charge to handle warranty problems in year one, keeps the same policy in year two, year three... and for used and refurbished devices.

 

Secondly, it's $50 now for a non-ESRP repair or exchange. Has been for a while now.

 

I'd keep ESRP on ($4/month), as it covers a lot more than you might think. All electrical and mechanical failure from wear and tear, plus some cracks and damage to the housing and screen. It's basically everything but destroyed or liquid damaged phones. With the issues I see every day, ESRP is worth it, in my opinion. Asurion, well, not so much...

 

Lastly, going off an earlier post, it really has nothing to do if it's your "fault" or not. Sprint really doesn't care. And not only that, but many, many problems that one might call a manufacturer defect could more accurately be classified as abuse or misuse. The problem with the EVO being stuck in car mode is almost always due to damage (either shock/drop or liquid) to the charging port. If you sent it in to HTC, they might have sent it right back. Phone manufacturers are known to reject warranty issues for unrelated things, for even just a couple drop nicks on the casing. Sprint covering it for $35/$50? Seems worth it...

 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

FYI guys, Apple will replace an out-of-warranty or damaged phone, without AppleCare+:

 

iPhone 5 $229

iPhone 4S $199

iPhone 4 $150

 

That's a massive discount from the nominal retail price of the phone. AppleCare+ gives you $50 replacements as long as you can bring in (most of) the phone.

 

So the short version is don't buy insurance on iPhones and maybe consider AppleCare+ based on what you think your odds are, and always go to the Apple store first.

 

 

I miss the days of the iPhone 3GS... back then, Apple would replace your first one for free unless it looked like purposeful abuse. My fiance (now wife) dropped hers in the pool and they swapped it for no charge. Frankly, I think Apple should just include the AppleCare+ benefits for all purchasers.

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FYI guys, Apple will replace an out-of-warranty or damaged phone, without AppleCare+:

 

iPhone 5 $229

iPhone 4S $199

iPhone 4 $150

 

That's a massive discount from the nominal retail price of the phone. AppleCare+ gives you $50 replacements as long as you can bring in (most of) the phone.

 

So the short version is don't buy insurance on iPhones and maybe consider AppleCare+ based on what you think your odds are, and always go to the Apple store first.

 

 

I miss the days of the iPhone 3GS... back then, Apple would replace your first one for free unless it looked like purposeful abuse. My fiance (now wife) dropped hers in the pool and they swapped it for no charge. Frankly, I think Apple should just include the AppleCare+ benefits for all purchasers.

When I dropped mine in the bathtub they charged me 199 to replace it with AppleCare. But then again, I couldn't prove it was accidental as I called in, lol.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

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When I dropped mine in the bathtub they charged me 199 to replace it with AppleCare. But then again, I couldn't prove it was accidental as I called in, lol.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

 

Regular AppleCare doesn't cover accidental damage, only AppleCare+.

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Instead of getting insurance you pay for every month on an iPhone, you should get AppleCare + for 99$ which covers accidental physical and liquid damage. Pay 50 bucks to have the phone replaced instead of 200. You can do this twice even. Covers the phone for two years. Even if you resell it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

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