Sprint EVDO- good, bad and ugly

OK, so I bought my SZ791N for the performance & disk size. It just happened to come with a wireless broadband feature that has intrigued me. So based upon the information at this Sprint propoganda site, I signed up to evaluate it. The following is the tale of my experience...

Background
I work for a high tech firm and deal with a very large software company near Seattle. I have been thinking about buying a smart phone to use for email and as a wireless modem (tethering). This solution offered me another alternative.

The good
This was a very convenient feature that allowed me to get in another 90 minutes or so each day during my commute. Since I need to communicate with teams in WA, CA, UK and Singapore this is a great thing. BTW, for me, most of my " connectedness" is being used for email. It is nice (but not essential) that I can read the online news during my morning commute. In fact if I didn't I would get more code written. That's my own problem with time management- the basic idea of wireless broadband is very nice.

The Bad
When I first tried to use the WWAN, I couldn't get SmartWi to turn it on. With some fantastic help from a third tier support guy at Sony, I got it reinstalled and working perfectly. Without having to reinstall Vista- which was one of the brilliant ideas of the 2nd tier goofballs.

While the connected thing was very good in general, it did have its share of quirks. For instance, about 75% of the time cell handoffs would not complete and I would be left in a connected but not transferring state. Since this happens while my commute ferry is crossing Puget Sound each morning, I consider it a PITA. After all, isn't this supposed to be a third generation network? Also the transfer speeds are only about 1/4th of my DSL link at home, which underwhelms me. Then there was the problem when coming out of sleep mode- WLAN would automatically reconnect, but not the WWAN.

The UGLY
So 8 days into my free trial, I get a bill from Sprint for $107.92, and it is due 4 days before my free trial is due to end. The bogousity of this is sooo great... and I call Sprint's 888 number on the bill and ask them to turn off the service and remove the charges. After 90+ minutes and three seemingly random disconnections, I have come to the conclusion that Sprint intentionally has their reps hang up on you when you ask to cancel the service. I called back 4 times, and talked to so many different "customer service" representatives... Most had an Indian accent ("Hello, my name is... Bob") and just couldn't understand that I wanted to cancel my service before the first month was up. For me it was pretty simple- if they can't get the first months bill right (free) then how can they get the next 23 months right?

Finally the last one told me that if I had any "real proof" that Sprint made this free evaluation offer, then I should fax it to her. Since it was on my computer screen, and I would not try to jam my SZ791 into the fax machine- well it just looked like I was screwed. No wonder Sprint is dying faster than iPod batteries...

Enter Sony again. I called thm back- at the number I used for activation, and was told that they would take care of this billing snafu. So I will wait and see what happens with my "free" bill. All I know is that I will never again use Sprint for any reason, and I will go out and buy me a Tilt or maybe an Xperia X1.

 

More updates-
A month has gone by and Sony has still not managed to pay for my "free" month of service. In fact, Sprint has now tacked on an additional $5.34 in late fees.

I've been on hold with Sony for more than an hour now, transferred 5 times and I'm so sick of old George Benson recordings... Still no joy.

 

sorry about your bad experience with sprint, raincaster.

Just wanted to chime in with an alternative for anyone out there who likes the idea of Sprint broadband but not the Sprint customer service. Do yourself a favor and google 'millenicom'. Basically, you get the same Sprint broadband (same towers) at the same or cheaper price, with no need for a year long contract and with better customer service.

I've been using it since getting my SZ780 a couple months ago and the service has been great.

 

wow, this millenicom company has absolutely no information about their pricing or areas of services on their website, and says at the bottom of the page "We apologize for any inconvenience however we are currently on backorder for new devices."

i don't think this company will be around for much longer.

 

After 2 hours and 15 minutes on the line yesterday, I am amazed at the level of support I received from Sony. After being bumped up the support structure 5 times, I finally got someone who understood the problem, and he was tenacious about solving it for me.

We ended upon a conference call with Sony's inside support person at Sprint. (private dedicated phone line for Sony) It turns out Sprint knows nothing about any sort of arrangement with Sony. After all the trouble they went through to get their special EVDO hardware designed into my laptop, that seems rather absurd. So we left the call with the following:
1. Sprint dropped my bill from $107.92 to $23.24 (still not "free")
2. Sony will continue to get to the bottom of this. a "my VP will call your VP" sort of thing.

In the mean time, I will enjoy unlimited wireless broadband from AT&T, whose equipment works not only in the US, but everywhere I go in Asia and Europe. Their billing isn't so amateur either.

 

Just got a call back from my pal at Sony- it seems that the "free trial" arrangement with Sprint is very different than the one they had previously with another phone vendor. Sprint's "free trial month" means that if you commit to a 24 month contract, they will give you a month free. What a deal- I'm underwhelmed.

Moral of the story- don't waste your time or money signing up for this free trial deal- it's not free and it's not a trial.

 

Mr. RainCaster, my experience with the free WWAN offer mirrors yours!
Bell and Sony were supposed to have some kind of trial offer
collaboration and to my surprise, no one at bell knew anything
about their hardware being installed in sony sz series laptops.

It took me a week to get the WWAN going after a BELL rep locked the modem
"accidentally" and Sony "support" (in india) could not figure out who what where when etc...

After getting the WWAN working, it worked beautifully, very fast too!
A while goes by and the statement comes in $239.32 I laughed!
I called Bell who told me that this charge was for data usage from day one.
I ask about the 30 day trial offer and the rep tells me the offer is to
"try the modem, but the data you pay for..." I tell her there is a large
sticker which states: FREE 30 DAY TRIAL OFFER

How can you try the trial without using data if the EVDO modem works
by sending/recieving data packets???? She tells "one moment, let me
check with my supervisor..."

She comes back, Okay, sir we've adjusted your bill yada yada yada...

Long story short, the free trial is a ploy and a marketing strategy to
catch and throw off the gullible and naive.

Be warned, the wwan is very addictive...

 

Luckily, I had no free-trial mixups when I purchased my SZ670N last September and started using EVDO. Yes, wwan is addictive; I use it every day on the train.