Say hello to the Framily (inexpensive but potentially confusing new Sprint group plan pricing)

[WiWavelength]

are we aloud to post our Framily ids so anyone can use them?

 

You can speak them aloud.  But as for being allowed to post them here...

 

 

AJ

[DaQue]

are we aloud to post our Framily ids so anyone can use them? Or is there a thread for that already and I can't find it.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

I thought I read a post from Robert saying that any messages with a Framily id would be deleted but I can't find it now so I may have just dreamed it. 

[xcharles718]

are we aloud to post our Framily ids so anyone can use them? Or is there a thread for that already and I can't find it.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

Not sure if there was any edict made regarding posting IDs here, but I would recommend starting a new thread for them.

 

Most of the users here already have Sprint, so they wouldn't be able to join. However, for the few that don't(myself included) & visitors of the site, it would definitely make the process of finding Framilys to join a lot easier.

 

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

 

[nowerlater]

Not sure if there was any edict made regarding posting IDs here, but I would recommend starting a new thread for them.

 

Most of the users here already have Sprint, so they wouldn't be able to join. However, for the few that don't(myself included) & visitors of the site, it would definitely make the process of finding Framilys to join a lot easier.

 

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

I don't want to post anything until I am sure it's ok. Been yelled at before by AJ so I'm crossing my t's and dotting my I's you know. Lol

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

[WiWavelength]

I don't want to post anything until I am sure it's ok. Been yelled at before by AJ so I'm crossing my t's and dotting my I's you know. Lol

 

It is not my call.  But I think staff consensus is that if you are an established S4GRU member and would like to share your Framily ID, that is currently okay.  However, if you have joined very recently and are here primarily to harvest additional Framily, we will likely hide your post.

 

AJ

[nowerlater]

It is not my call. But I think staff consensus is that if you are an established S4GRU member and would like to share your Framily ID, that is currently okay. However, if you have joined very recently and are here primarily to harvest additional Framily, we will likely hide your post.

 

AJ

We will leave it at that then. I won't put it in the forums. It can be handled via pm. Thanks for the input everyone.

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

[ipatella]

Anyone know what the transfer of liability process is like? Might have to do that to take advantage of the framily. 

 

Also, The rep told me that the 15 dollars a month fee would apply for people who arent under contract currently. Anyone know the reasoning behind this? Doesnt make sense to me. 

[evancg]

I know this was briefly covered a few times before, but it really seems like Sprint is dropping the ball by not allowing existing subs to join the same "family". I get that thanks to the internet, nearly EVERYONE would be in a 7+ person "framily", but if Sprint wants to push the great "savings" with Framily (while moving people away from subsidized plans), they've got to be more flexible with this.

 

Sprint's LTE upgrades in my area have basically been on pause for 6+ months, and I've thought about switching carriers. Upon hearing about Framily and figuring out the savings, I thought about switching my five lines, getting one friend thinking about switching to Sprint to join, then having another couple friends who have Sprint but are considering leaving all to join a Framily together. Even if we aren't thrilled with the current service, the promise of upgrades and savings with Framily are worth it.

 

But wait, my two other friends can't join my Framily, meaning it'd be six people until I find a seventh. And what if the 6th person dislikes the lack of timely LTE upgrades and the fact he's paying $5\month more than intended, and leaves after a few months? It's a $25\$50 swing. Then I leave because I can't maximize my savings, and it seems cruel to sell Sprint to non-Sprint users in an area where their upgrades have slowed significantly.

 

All of a sudden Sprint goes from 7 existing user and one new sub, to no new sub, and losing seven lines. Obviously this is a case by case situation, but I want to like Sprint and I'm frustrated that every time it seems like Sprint does something good, they do something to make it far less good.

[bmoses]

so with the current deals for switching to framily, is the $15/mo fee, for still being under contract and switching, only being waived if you get a new phone on easy pay? if we switch there is at least one person on my account that would be resistant to getting a new phone, just want to know if that fee would be waived still if they didn't get a new one.

[GoBigRed79]

so with the current deals for switching to framily, is the $15/mo fee, for still being under contract and switching, only being waived if you get a new phone on easy pay? if we switch there is at least one person on my account that would be resistant to getting a new phone, just want to know if that fee would be waived still if they didn't get a new one.

 

My wife and I just signed new contracts in November and got new phones.  Just switched to Framily and the $15 fee was waived on each line and we did not get new phones.  The way I understand it is for now if you were under contract prior to 1/10 they are letting you switch to Framily with no fee.  It appears to be a limited time offer and could go away at some point.

[bmoses]

My wife and I just signed new contracts in November and got new phones.  Just switched to Framily and the $15 fee was waived on each line and we did not get new phones.  The way I understand it is for now if you were under contract prior to 1/10 they are letting you switch to Framily with no fee.  It appears to be a limited time offer and could go away at some point.

 

thanks! we will hopefully be switching next week after i talk to everyone this weekend. there has been so much info in this thread that its hard to keep it straight. just wasn't sure if the fee waive was tied to getting a new phone on easy pay or not

[centermedic]

I know this was briefly covered a few times before, but it really seems like Sprint is dropping the ball by not allowing existing subs to join the same "family". I get that thanks to the internet, nearly EVERYONE would be in a 7+ person "framily", but if Sprint wants to push the great "savings" with Framily (while moving people away from subsidized plans), they've got to be more flexible with this.

 

Sprint's LTE upgrades in my area have basically been on pause for 6+ months, and I've thought about switching carriers. Upon hearing about Framily and figuring out the savings, I thought about switching my five lines, getting one friend thinking about switching to Sprint to join, then having another couple friends who have Sprint but are considering leaving all to join a Framily together. Even if we aren't thrilled with the current service, the promise of upgrades and savings with Framily are worth it.

 

But wait, my two other friends can't join my Framily, meaning it'd be six people until I find a seventh. And what if the 6th person dislikes the lack of timely LTE upgrades and the fact he's paying $5\month more than intended, and leaves after a few months? It's a $25\$50 swing. Then I leave because I can't maximize my savings, and it seems cruel to sell Sprint to non-Sprint users in an area where their upgrades have slowed significantly.

 

All of a sudden Sprint goes from 7 existing user and one new sub, to no new sub, and losing seven lines. Obviously this is a case by case situation, but I want to like Sprint and I'm frustrated that every time it seems like Sprint does something good, they do something to make it far less good.

The biggest issue I have with the Framily plan is it seems like a return to the old ways were NEW customers were valued over loyal customers. This was a big complaint about Sprint around 2001-2006 ish. Sprint finally set up loyalty rewards with the tiered upgrade based on tears with Sprint which they got rid of. I understand not allowing everybody to combine their accounts but they should at least allow an existing customer to combine with one other existing customers account. Maybe they will change their mind on this.

[GoBigRed79]

thanks! we will hopefully be switching next week after i talk to everyone this weekend. there has been so much info in this thread that its hard to keep it straight. just wasn't sure if the fee waive was tied to getting a new phone on easy pay or not

 

No problem.  It was really a no brainer for us.  Just switching my wife and I is saving $50 a month off our bill as we both don't use more then 1Gig of data a month.  Throw in the fact we just got an iPhone 5c for her and a Nexus 5 for me for a total of $50 out of pocket (plus activation) in November and I am pretty happy with this. 

[ipatella]

The biggest issue I have with the Framily plan is it seems like a return to the old ways were NEW customers were valued over loyal customers. This was a big complaint about Sprint around 2001-2006 ish. Sprint finally set up loyalty rewards with the tiered upgrade based on tears with Sprint which they got rid of. I understand not allowing everybody to combine their accounts but they should at least allow an existing customer to combine with one other existing customers account. Maybe they will change their mind on this.

Either that or continue to bleed.

[evancg]

The biggest issue I have with the Framily plan is it seems like a return to the old ways were NEW customers were valued over loyal customers. This was a big complaint about Sprint around 2001-2006 ish. Sprint finally set up loyalty rewards with the tiered upgrade based on tears with Sprint which they got rid of. I understand not allowing everybody to combine their accounts but they should at least allow an existing customer to combine with one other existing customers account. Maybe they will change their mind on this.

 

I know this is not a direct comparison, but it reminds me of Solavei. In order to maximize my savings, I have to sell the product to other people. This doesn't create brand loyalty - it creates a lot of average joe's talking up Sprint to their friends to save themselves $5 a month. Some of these folks may switch, but they may also wind up hating Sprint and leave. Now all Sprint has done is given itself one more person who thinks "Ugh, I had Sprint for three months and hated it".

 

If Sprint really wants to add subscribers, make your existing users so happy they encourage their friends to join Sprint because they love the product, not because it's the only way to save on our monthly bills.

 

I'm unhappy with my Sprint service at the moment because the LTE roll out in town has slowed to a crawl (or stopped), but overall I appreciate Sprint because it usually seems like they care about customer service, the product is generally good, and even though I've had some small bouts with customer service, they generally do the right thing...but moves like this just leave a bad taste in my mouth.

[centermedic]

Either that or continue to bleed.

 

I know this is not a direct comparison, but it reminds me of Solavei. In order to maximize my savings, I have to sell the product to other people. This doesn't create brand loyalty - it creates a lot of average joe's talking up Sprint to their friends to save themselves $5 a month. Some of these folks may switch, but they may also wind up hating Sprint and leave. Now all Sprint has done is given itself one more person who thinks "Ugh, I had Sprint for three months and hated it".

 

If Sprint really wants to add subscribers, make your existing users so happy they encourage their friends to join Sprint because they love the product, not because it's the only way to save on our monthly bills.

 

I'm unhappy with my Sprint service at the moment because the LTE roll out in town has slowed to a crawl (or stopped), but overall I appreciate Sprint because it usually seems like they care about customer service, the product is generally good, and even though I've had some small bouts with customer service, they generally do the right thing...but moves like this just leave a bad taste in my mouth.

I think the concept is sound. However, one could make the argument that the execution is flawed. This is similar to Sprint TV ads. They seem to miss the mark because they don't understand their present or potential customers. Just my .02 cents.

[kluecke1]

Nope, extra non-Phone lines have their own pricing plans, and have nothing to do with Framily, and do not count against the 10 phone limit. As Framily can span across multiple accounts (for multiple liability), each account has its own line limit dependent on credit.

 

So if I currently have a no-charge Airave due to poor home service, that could be retained under the Framily plan?

 

Also, being two weeks shy of my upgrade, I'm pretty disappointed in the timing of this for purely selfish reasons!

 

Kevin

[koiulpoi]

So if I currently have a no-charge Airave due to poor home service, that could be retained under the Framily plan?

 

Also, being two weeks shy of my upgrade, I'm pretty disappointed in the timing of this for purely selfish reasons!

 

Kevin

Your Airave will stay on its current $0 plan. Phones can go on Framily if you wish.

 

By the way, people can now switch to Framily + Easy Pay and get a new phone if you've had a phone for at least 6 months, no giveback required.

[kluecke1]

Your Airave will stay on its current $0 plan. Phones can go on Framily if you wish.

 

By the way, people can now switch to Framily + Easy Pay and get a new phone if you've had a phone for at least 6 months, no giveback required.

Thanks for the Airave update.

 

I am aware of the Easy Pay and will think about it, but it isn't as sweet a deal of if I had been able to get my upgrade last week and then switch to Framily with the $15 fee waved!

[uh60james]

Apparently chat can change people to the Framily Plan.  I asked her to compare the cost of the Framily Plan to my current plan (ED 450) and she informed me that I was on the best plan for having only 1 line on my account right now.  Her reasoning was the $15 fee that she insisted I was not eligible to have waived.  She also felt the need to place a note on my account explaining this.  Needless to say I did not let her change my plan.

 

 

By the way, people can now switch to Framily + Easy Pay and get a new phone if you've had a phone for at least 6 months, no giveback required.

 

This is just for people that were on One Up right?

[koiulpoi]

Apparently chat can change people to the Framily Plan.  I asked her to compare the cost of the Framily Plan to my current plan (ED 450) and she informed me that I was on the best plan for having only 1 line on my account right now.  Her reasoning was the $15 fee that she insisted I was not eligible to have waived.  She also felt the need to place a note on my account explaining this.  Needless to say I did not let her change my plan.

I have a feeling that whomever you talked to was, ah, not trained properly.

 

One line on Framily with Unlimited Data and no phone financing would be $75, vs the $79.99 of Everything Data 450. If you only want 3 GB, it's $65, and 1 GB, it's $55. The only way it's more expensive is to add a phone financing option on top.

 

The $15/month fee is only for customers who switch to Framily and have received a subsidized upgrade on or after 1/10/2014. If your last upgrade was before that, feel free to switch and not get charged the fee.

 

This is just for people that were on One Up right?

No, the opposite in fact. Anyone who has used a subsidized upgrade more than 6 months ago is immediately eligible for Easy Pay to start a new phone subsidy.

[uh60james]

I have a feeling that whomever you talked to was, ah, not trained properly.

 

One line on Framily with Unlimited Data and no phone financing would be $75, vs the $79.99 of Everything Data 450. If you only want 3 GB, it's $65, and 1 GB, it's $55. The only way it's more expensive is to add a phone financing option on top.

 

The $15/month fee is only for customers who switch to Framily and have received a subsidized upgrade on or after 1/10/2014. If your last upgrade was before that, feel free to switch and not get charged the fee.

 

No, the opposite in fact. Anyone who has used a subsidized upgrade more than 6 months ago is immediately eligible for Easy Pay to start a new phone subsidy.

 

Thanks Koi, good info.  I may try chat again tomorrow and see if I get somebody a little better trained.  I really do not like going to my nearest store so I'm trying to avoid that.

[dedub]

One line on Framily with Unlimited Data and no phone financing would be $75, vs the $79.99 of Everything Data 450. If you only want 3 GB, it's $65, and 1 GB, it's $55. The only way it's more expensive is to add a phone financing option on top.

 

 

So essentially, for 1 line on the framily unlimited, we save $4.99 savings but are losing subsidization.

 

definitely no thanks.

 

this goes back to my point long ago, moving to a non-subsidized model is still a lose/lose proposition for the customer.

 

Until we see the equivalent plan of an ED450 *minus* the real embedded actual subsidization costs removed, all other non-subsidized plans are a net increase in costs to the customer.

[koiulpoi]

So essentially, for 1 line on the framily unlimited, we save $4.99 savings but are losing subsidization.

 

definitely no thanks.

Correct. Nobody is going to really argue that the friends and family plan, that's basically the turbo version of the referral program, is a good deal for a single line.

 

Edit: The Unlimited Data package also comes with Annual Upgrades similar to the old One Up program.

 

As well, your average smartphone user uses just over 1 GB of data a month, and with things like the Nexus 5, phone subsidization may not be something you need at all.

[dedub]

Edit: The Unlimited Data package also comes with Annual Upgrades similar to the old One Up program.

 

- True, however utilizing the annual upgrade still pushes your monthly bill higher than a subsidized ED450, unless you buy a phone that finances out at $4.99 a month. Granted you may (or may not) be getting a new phone every year instead of 2 years, but even if you wait the 2 years you are not saving anything.

As well, your average smartphone user uses just over 1 GB of data a month, and with things like the Nexus 5, phone subsidization may not be something you need at all.

 

I don't believe the average smartphone user metrics for one second.

 

They are entirely biased based on the plan that user is already on.

 

If a user is on a 1 gig plan, of course they are not going to use more than a gig.

 

Show me honest and accurate average for only unlimited data plan users (across all carriers with grandfathered unlimited data users), and I guarantee it would be more than just over 1 gig.