SERO: Switching from Vision phone to PowerVision Phone - Watchouts?

[gof]

I'm planning on switching from my current Vision phone to a Power Vision phone on my SERO account. Has anyone done this and are there any watchouts?

I'm assuming when I call to activate I'll need to point out that my SERO already allows for PV and they don't need to charge me more. What form of PV service is it? Any of the TV channels or other fun features? Any guidance welcome, especially if it avoids them FUBARing my account :irked:

[DjDynasty]

Call Tier 2 Vision Support, request they do the ESN change in P2K to leave your current vision plan intact. DO NOT BUDGE on that issue. You can get the phone number from pcsintel.com as I'm on a slow machine right now and don't have it memorized, otherwise I'd post it for ya

[swtmdmboo]

I lost the ability for picture mail when I upgraded from my scp7200 to the new 8400. I wasn't able to take pics, but I could view them. Now that I have a camera phone, I no longer have that capability - the new phone won't work with my old plan.

[JamieinMN]

I lost the ability for picture mail when I upgraded from my scp7200 to the new 8400. I wasn't able to take pics, but I could view them. Now that I have a camera phone, I no longer have that capability - the new phone won't work with my old plan.


Assuming you have a SERO plan, I would definatly call tech support and tell them the situation and make them fix it.

[housej55]

Here is my .02 on this. I just went through some aggravating stuff last night with Sprint.

I signed my wife up on the SERO plan with a Katana at the beginning of Sept. I go to activate the phone and the guy tells me that they have me on a Power Vision plan but need to change it to a Vision plan for the Katana. I made sure ALL of the options were still included and he said no problem. We had some problems with the Katana and I purchased a new 8400.

Last night I go to call and switch out the phone. The guy tells me that this is a power vision phone and they need to switch the plans. I told him ok, just make sure it's the same SERO 500 plan. He comes back to me and says"The only thing I have close to this is the F&F 450 plan for 39.99/mth" .. I told him there was no reason why he can't swap me with another SERO plan that has Power Vision and why should I have to pay a extra 9.99/mth and have less minutes. We went a few rounds before he put me on his fourth hold for a little longer then came back and said he was able to switch it out for the 500min Sero with PV. He must have talked to his manager. Now can you see why I just purchased another phone? I just don't have the patience to deal with the stores any more , and what little I have left is diminishing with Customer Service. Sprint will really drag you through the mud sometimes to just do a normal simple task.

Hope this helps

[DjDynasty]

Never call customer care for ESN swaps, Call technical support... They do it, without arguement in P2K. That way the little pop up on the screen doesn't happen that says "This is a power vision phone, please change rate plan!" and won't let you progress until you have switched everything and then click save changes. in P2K you can get whatever you want, however you want. Just look at my plan in the signature. I still havn't paid a bill cause of them.

[asf4588]

DJ is Right. Do the ESN change with Technical Support. I had the same problem before and they were able to help me .

:)

[housej55]

I will have to give this a try. I am not sure what P2K is, but I'll figure it out.

[asf4588]

Let to us know !!!! :) Told them that you want to have your number ported to this phone and bla.. bla.... and that CS transfer the call to them.....

[DjDynasty]

866-588-9907 is the Tier 2 Direct Number. Usally very little hold time. Ask them to do an ESN swap for you. explain that CS keeps screwing up your vision plan when they switch phones but that you know both are compatible with your Vision plan. They know as well as you that they'll both work, and they leave you alone when you say the only thing your concerned about is your grandfathered calling plan not being messed with, you don't really use data, it's just the calling plan that matters. They'll then bend the rules and it won't matter.

It works wonders.

[seaduced]

Doesn't the sero plan include power vision or regular vision ?
Why would he have to change plans ?

[housej55]

It depends on the phone you are using. Some phones only use Vision so they create a Vision plan. Unfortunately they don't just assign vision or power vision to a plan. I don't know if this is because of the SERO setup or just Sprint wanting to make a extra buck if you make this change 3 months in to your contract.

[ericpd]

Interesting,... I just got onto SERO. I came from Nextel retention (massive problems with being switched from Nextel proper to the hybrid stuff). N retention made a deal for me on the phones, but the SERO site didn't list the phone. I was instructed to selection one of the freebie phones (two Sanya 2400s) and swap them out for the phones and discounts retention promised once the 2400s arrived. I did this at a local Corporate Sprint Store.

Now I'm reading this and I'm wondering if this isn't why I'm not able to get any of the TV stuff on any of the two new Treo 700wx phones. Thought it was something I was doing, and planned to get into the manuals this weekend. The 2400's were Vision phones and the Treo's are Power Vision phones. Could I be caught up in this as well? Could the Treo's be driven by "V" instead of "PV"? Now I'm getting "EV" on my status bar,... But after reading this thread, I'm not sure if that's telling the whole story! Now I'm wondering if I lost my 6:pm and text freebies as well.

[housej55]

The treo700wx should be a power vision phone. I believe they would have let you know when you called in to activate it if it wasn't?
ANyone else care to comment?
I thought too that since my wife had the powervision that I would be able to watch tv, but I was only able to watch samples. You have to upgrade to the next level of power vision in order to watch the TV or pay a one time fee for the month. Sprint always (not just sprint) has you chasing that carrot of new features !!!

[ericpd]

Oh I know the 700wx is a Power Vision phone, but the Sprint counter guys had no conversation with me concerning the subject. They just switched the phone for me, handed me back my phones and boxes and asked the person behind me if they needed any assistance. My fault, I never thought to ask either. I tried getting the TV up and running but couldn't even find an option or a link leading to a TV option. So now I'm wondering if the 700wx's are being driven by Vision or Power Vision. Think I'll call tomorrow using the advice above.

[mobleaudio]

Oh I know the 700wx is a Power Vision phone, but the Sprint counter guys had no conversation with me concerning the subject. They just switched the phone for me, handed me back my phones and boxes and asked the person behind me if they needed any assistance. My fault, I never thought to ask either. I tried getting the TV up and running but couldn't even find an option or a link leading to a TV option. So now I'm wondering if the 700wx's are being driven by Vision or Power Vision. Think I'll call tomorrow using the advice above.


power vision phones work just fine on older vision plans. this was discussed extensively when pv first came out and many people kept their old plans with the new pv phones with no problems, and all the pv services and speed

[CaseyGirl]

Well, just got off the phone with Tier 2 and they were not able to help me. *sigh* My new 700p is turning out to be such a nightmare.

I feel like just returning it and going back to my 600 and leave it at that. :(

[Dzalumni]

Interesting,... I just got onto SERO. I came from Nextel retention (massive problems with being switched from Nextel proper to the hybrid stuff). N retention made a deal for me on the phones, but the SERO site didn't list the phone. I was instructed to selection one of the freebie phones (two Sanya 2400s) and swap them out for the phones and discounts retention promised once the 2400s arrived. I did this at a local Corporate Sprint Store.

Now I'm reading this and I'm wondering if this isn't why I'm not able to get any of the TV stuff on any of the two new Treo 700wx phones. Thought it was something I was doing, and planned to get into the manuals this weekend. The 2400's were Vision phones and the Treo's are Power Vision phones. Could I be caught up in this as well? Could the Treo's be driven by "V" instead of "PV"? Now I'm getting "EV" on my status bar,... But after reading this thread, I'm not sure if that's telling the whole story! Now I'm wondering if I lost my 6:pm and text freebies as well.

Treo 700WX is not sprint tv compatatible, according to retentions and tech support. :indiff:

[ericpd]

Treo 700WX is not sprint tv compatatible, according to retentions and tech support. :indiff:

Your are absolutely correct Dzalumni. I just got clarification on that yesterday evening. It seems that the 700p's are compatible,... just not the 700wx. Since then I've been scrounging around in other threads and forums to nail down the differences between the two. Surprisingly, there is very little on the topic, especially head to head comparisons.

So far I've been able to determine that the PalmOS is more intuitive but less robust. The 700p has a better screen resolution (I always thought they were the same). The wx has more internal memory and does e-mail better. A real surprise is that the development community for the p is more active and there are tons of 3rd party apps for the Palm flavor. I've also heard that 700p has a higher 'fun' factor than the wx.

I really wished that this limitation was explained to me at the time of purchase. They weren't at all. But after reading CaseyGirl's posts, I'm wondering if I should just live without PV's TV and Music features and stay with the wx. Those features weren't a major factor in my decision to be honest, but I just got this sour taste in my mouth as to how this all happened and I feel as if I'm paying for a Sprint service their hardware won't deliver. VZW is not having this problem with their V-Cast offering when it comes to their 700p and 700w phones! Sprint is saying it is Microsoft's fault,... Palm is saying it is Sprint's fault,... I didn't bother calling Microsoft because I've read in one of these threads that Palm has tweaked and moded WM5 to a level where it is different than WM5 driving other devices.

Hey Casey, I'd appreciate hearing more of your PalmOS experiences. If you lay them down in another thread, give me a tap on the shoulder. Thanx!

[ericpd]

Oh,... just talked with Sprint. I have 30 days to make up my mind to stay with WM5 or switch to PalmOS. So I guess I'll spend the rest of this day doing as much research as I can to help clarify things and get a handle on the pros & cons of the two OS's. They were very nice about it I thought and even told me that they would reset the clock allowing me some additional time with the PalmOS,... just in case I decide to go back to WM5. I'm liking how they're allowing me to make up my mind.