Im glad to hear that it seems most of the people that NEED one, are getting one from sprint....

Just got to be honest, They can tell if your phone is getting **** service.

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I emailed eCare for one, they didnt budge, after I replied to their email of them telling me I had to pay for one, account services contacted me today (by email and phone twice). Ive been with sprint for 9 years and have a 160$ bill a month through them. the guy I talked to today said they do not offer them for free anymore, but he will let me have it for $0.99 and he will waive the monthly fee for 2 years. This is why I still stay with sprint, always doing what they have to do to keep me.

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Told them about my service issues that i have been having in my house for almost 8 years and without any trouble they said that they'll send me a free Airave. This was three weeks btw.

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I first got Sprint about 7 years ago because it was the ONLY carrier that got service at home. Since then I've moved a bunch of times and have always had great service. I'm about to move again, and when I was at the house, I could not get a signal. I ended up calling customer service to see what solutions they could offer. The csr simply said there should be service in the area and she would put me on the prl. I called back and simply got the prl update. I called a third time and that's when things started getting complicated. I was told that they would check the area for coverage and that I should have service there. I am then told about the airave and that it costs $100. This leads to my argument of why should I have to pay for a device to use my phone? I am then transferred a few times. Eventually I get to the cancellation department and I can barely understand the woman because she had a heavy accent. She was helpful, but not helpful enough. I told her I didn't want to cancel my service and never asked to, but mentioned that I was offered an airave at $100. She told me that I should be able to get it for free, verifying that there is NO service in the area, but that I need to move first and then call back, fax over some documents... the procedure she was giving me was getting too complicated and didn't help that i barely understood her. So I politely asked that she email me the information and she obliged. I never got an email. However, she had mentioned that I could pick one up at a Sprint store so I headed to one after work. I went to my favorite store where the employees are typically very helpful. Not so in this situation and I walked away empty handed and frustrated. So I called back to CS and politely stated the reason for this frustration. I got transferred, but thank GOD it was to the right person this time. This CSR knew exactly what I was talking about, verified that the new address does NOT get any service, and that they CAN send a free airave. She then also mentioned that they will waive the monthly fee. And to cap it all off, they are sending it to my work, which makes things much easier while I'm running back and forth from one house to another. So that's my success story in obtaining one. We will have to see if it works.

I'd also like to give my two cents on why loyal Sprint Customers ARE entitled to a free airave. First off, you have to be in an area with no service. I don't think that should be questioned so much by Sprint. Why would I not complain for 7 years, but then all of a sudden decide to call in? Why would you actually want this thing if your service is fine? Second, Kudos to Sprint for creating the device, but it seems to me that this is more of a burden than anything else. It's like a ball and chain for your cell phone. It's a last resort. Would anyone really want to PAY for that? Third, battery life! Yes, I have the pre, but it's been a trend with my phones that if the service is low or nonexistent, the phone sucks away the battery trying to find a signal. With the pre, I wouldn't imagine my phone lasting more than a couple of hours. Lastly, it's either this or you cancel the service. If this device doesn't exist and updating prl does nothing, then there are no more options. Customer retention is top priority and airave was created for that. It bails Sprint out and the experienced CSR's should know that so keep plugging away! I hope it works for me because I'd hate to leave Sprint

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I recently called to complain about dropped calls / crappy reception at my house (I just moved) Talked to tech support first for 30 minutes who eventually told me I'd have to buy an Airave and pay $5 a month. I told him to send me to the cancellation dept. and he did. Within a minute, the rep. advised he would be sending me a free Airave and that I would not have to pay the monthly fee. I got the Airave a few days later.

Now I'm trying to figure out why my battery is draining much faster with the Airave Not supposed to do that I thought.

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"Rise! Rise, my child!"

Steps I took to get Airave at no cost for my new house:
1) Reviewed Sprint website coverage map to check house is in 3G area. Yes!
2) Called and politely (key!) complained that my calls are being dropped or cannot even be placed, despite good coverage per Sprint.
3) Transferred to tech service department (don't remember dept name)
4) Wait for order to be processed!

Total time: less than 30 minutes!

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Do you think one of the things Sprint looks at to see if someone should get an Airave, is the overall voice and data usage of those customers? Because the Airave uses the customers home high-speed data network to handle the voice and data calls. So if you use a lot of Sprint's network, then the Airave would allow for Sprint to have less of their network used by those customers. The customers would still be paying for their Sprint coverage, but at home at least, they wouldn't be using the heck out of Sprint's network. Imagine if every customer had an Airave? Sprint wouldn't have to worry about customers going crazy with voice and data calls. So maybe that is one of the ressons why Sprint is so willing to give these units out to their customers.

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I was reading up on Femtocell's and I came across the web page below. They say that devices like the Airave reduce costs for the carrier, because the voice & data calls are transmitted over the IP network. So these devices do save Sprint money. That is most likely why Sprint is giving them away so easily. If you are a customer that uses a lot of voice and/or data, then by giving you an Airave, Sprint is saving money and network resources. So even customers with pretty good Sprint coverage may be able to get Airave's, if they use a lot of voice & data each month. Just know that if you are given an Airave for free, you don't own it. You get to use it while you are a Sprint customer. If you cancel your service, you have to send it back or pay a (Non Return Fee). I was told the fee I would owe is $140. So people should keep this in mind if they want to get a free Airave.



"It Also Decreases Backhaul Cost Since It Routes Your Mobile Phone Traffic Through The IP Network"
What is a Femtocell?

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