Total Equipment Protection- Do I Want It?

[Lillieperl]

I downloaded the free app and installed it, but I was kind of creeped out by the fact that it checks your GPS location frequently. The longest interval between checks is 60 minutes. I'm thinking this would be great if you were kidnapped.

I don't think I'm talking about equipment REPLACEMENT ("Equipment Replacement Plan"), although, who knows... maybe I am. I'm talking about the plan where you can find your phone if it's lost. Although the app did want to back up my contacts in the cloud somewhere.

Okay. I don't have any idea what Total Equipment Protection is. IS it, in fact, free? Do I want it?



P.S. I've never lost a phone (or a pair of glasses) in my life, and I'm 62. Very careful person.

[computertekguy]

TEP is your insurance plan for your phone. They used to have ESRP and ERP insurance which you paid separate for, Now everything is TEP and covers repair and replacement.

And i'm really confused by what your saying and asking. I think you need to set the bottle down, heh.

[freakout311style]

Here is the link for Sprint TEP

I'm not a fan of Sprint's replacement plan. My mother had an issue with one of her phones, shipped it off to them, and they sent her back a refurbished phone that still had issues. It also states that if you ship them a phone and they don't have/make it anymore, they'll send you a model comparable to it.

When I upgraded my phone, I did it at Best Buy instead of directly through Sprint. They offer a similar TEP type plan for around $10/month. The difference between BB and Sprint's plans (from what they told me at the store) is that if your phone needs to be fixed/replaced, you can walk right into the store and they'll swap it for a brand new device right out of the box. If they don't have that particular model, they'll give you the next model up.

Whether that is true or not, I do not know. I haven't had any issues with my phone.

If you're concerned about losing your phone and security that goes along with that, you can download "blackberry protect" from the BB AppWorld - here's the link

[Lillieperl]

Let me try again.

At Blackberry App world, Total Equipment Protection (by Sprint) is described thus:

Item Description

Have you ever lost or broken your wireless phone? Losing, repairing or replacing your phone is never fun, so Sprint introduces an all-in-one solution to make it easier---with the new Total Equipment Protection! In addition to its comprehensive coverage against loss, theft, damage and malfunction, Total Equipment Protection comes with the Protection App ready to download at no additional cost, allowing you to locate your lost or misplaced phone via the web.

Who’s Eligible?
To take advantage of the Protection App, be sure to enroll in Sprint Total Equipment Protection within 30 days of device activation or upgrade. Not enrolled in Total Equipment Protection? Visit your local Sprint store for further details.
The Protection App allows you to remotely:
• Locate your lost phone
• Sound an alarm on a missing device
• Sync, manage and restore contacts
• ! Lock device and erase contacts

At Blackberry App World, Blackberry Protection is described thus:

Item Description

BlackBerry® Protect is a free application designed to keep your information secure if your BlackBerry® smartphone goes missing. If you’re on an applicable consumer data plan (enterprise plans are not supported at this time), you can download BlackBerry Protect and then log into the website where you can lock, locate or wipe your smartphone from wherever you are. You can also choose to have your crucial data backed up wirelessly and automatically, as often as you choose (daily, weekly, or monthly).

Can’t find your BlackBerry? Go to BlackBerry Protect to
-Locate it on a map
-Set a password and lock it to protect your information
-Wipe all the contents
-Make your BlackBerry ring loudly to help find it
-Display a message on the homescreen instructing whoever finds it on how to return it

Wireless Backup and Restore
-Wirelessly back up contacts, calendar, memos, tasks, browser bookmarks, and text messages
-Automatically back up daily, weekly, or monthly
-Wirelessly restore your backed up data when switching to a new BlackBerry
-Save on data usage by:
-Only backing up information that has changed from the previous backup (incremental backups)
-Only backing up over WiFi
-Preventing backup while roaming

So, in summary, it looks like the Sprint Total Equipment Protection, in addition to replacing your phone (which some have said isn't all it's crack(berry)ed up to be), also CONTAINS a so-called "Protection App," which I guess, on a Blackberry turns out to be, in fact, "Blackberry Protect."

And basically what Blackberry Protect does is back up your data in the cloud AND always know where your phone is. That's the part in red. Like I said, that could come in handy if you're kidnapped. When I installed Sprint Total Equipment protection it told me it would send my GPS location to me every 60 minutes! Do I want Sprint checking my location every 60 minutes? Unless I'm being kidnapped, no.

I don't see how Blackberry Protect enhances security, except the part about being able to locate or lock or wipe my phone if it falls into the wrong hands. Other than that it seems to invite security breaches.

Still ambivalent.

[jonsigler]

You can have the insurance without the app. I'm not a fan of the GPS big brother part of the app, call me a tad paranoid I'm okay with that. I do have insurance on my phone. They cost to darn much to replace or fix to not have it. It has paid for itself so many times over.

[BergerKing]

Advice from someone who has had a less-than-enthusiastic experience with this app- if you're depending on it for backup, you'd have an easier time with a notebook. For emergency location, it may give you a mild sense of accomplishment to download it. But the only backup of data it covers is your contacts, and it only does a halfway job. Do NOT depend on this app for anything more than a possible way to locate a lost or stolen phone.

When I used it to restore my contacts after Sprint wiped my phone trying to correct a hardware issue by reloading software, I restored my contacts using the app. I lost titles, birthdays, notes, and two out of every 3 email addresses for every contact.

Use BlackBerry Protect, you are better off, and far safer with it. The Asurion App gets my 2 thumbs down, and any I can borrow, as well.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Matty-Mo]

i love my TEP phone got stolen, and they gave me a new one, not a refurb but new, and Best buy will issue you a loner phone and then ship yours off to try to fix it which can take up to 6 weeks, then if they cant, theyll give you a new one.