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Sprint's "Wireless Web Connect"

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Hugo of San Francisco writes (1/7/03):
Sprint did not even bother to reply to the following well articulated letter:

May 2, 2002

Sprint PCS Store #527
3960 Howard Hughes Pkwy, Suite 100
Las Vegas, NV

Dear Sir or Madam,

To say that I had a disappointing and frustrating experience last Monday would be a dramatic understatement. My parents recently purchased an RV and asked me as a personal favor to fly out to Las Vegas and set them up with some sort of wireless internet solution so that they could access their stocks and email while traveling. I would not go through that experience again, even for my parents. I evaluated a number of different vendors and was pleased with Sprint’s offering, so I asked them to purchase a Sprint phone that was data capable as well as the relevant data cables and software.

Let’s start with the cables. Newer laptops, like the one purchased by my parents, don’t have serial ports, those having been replaced by USB ports. Unfortunately, the non-universal serial port cable was what was sold to my parents. So we took the kit back, meeting some resistance in the store, since your software is non-returnable, non-refundable. Let’s actually pause on that particular point right there. Your software is non-returnable, with the threat of not even being exchangeable.

Joe P. in store #528 explained that there is a big risk of individuals purchasing your software, making dozens of illegal copies, then returning the software. All without having paid a dime. Yet, those dozens of people still need your Sprint cables in order to make use of the software. And in fact, they need a Sprint phone with a Sprint service to make use of the software. Which really brings up another point about the software itself, of which all sorts of villains want to make illegal copies. You might think that it would have been fairly simple to take the software CD from the Wireless Web Connect box and to install the software on my parents laptop. Alas, the software seems to install itself quite readily. But it didn’t work.

Several hours later, a CSR patiently explained that Sprint only sells software in those Wireless Web Connection kits that is at least 4 years old in the box (supporting Windows 95 and 98 only). Let’s stop for a minute before I continue. To advertise easy data connectivity, but to support operating systems that are only 4 or 7 years old is not just anachronistic, it’s downright misleading. Do you realize that it is not possible to purchase Windows 98 anywhere? The stuff that you sell in your stores doesn’t fit with Windows 2000 Professional, Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows 200 Server, or Windows Millenium. That’s okay. Sprint has it figured out. The CSR explained that I could simply get the latest version, version 3.0 to support the newer operating system on my parents’ new laptop. I could download it. (Oddly, on the box that I am returning, the back advertises that it is compatible with Windows 2000, Windows ME, and Windows NT. Which it isn’t since it includes the version 2.01 CD, (while it is) version 3.0 which is compatible with those operating systems).

Wait a minute. I just purchased an internet connectivity kit, called “Wireless Web Connection Kit”, but I have to download the new software. Let’s imagine that the only way for people to set up AOL would be for them to download the drivers from the internet. Does this make any sense to you? It was approximately 3 hours of not making sense to me while I tooled around Las Vegas looking for a place to dial up. So why didn’t the new software work? The OLD software installed a bad driver onto the NEW computer, which I couldn’t figure out how to uninstall. Nor could your support rep. Not only does the software that you sell in your Wireless Web Connectivity Kit not work with newer operating systems, but it screws it up so that the new software won’t work either.

By the way, does this sound frustrating to you? By this point, I had spent nearly 6 or 7 hours straight in attempting to get this connection working. Of the very few vacation days that I have – truly exceptionally few – I took an entire day off to get my parents’ mobile internet connection working. I had not slept since the previous Saturday night since I was trying to finish the work that I otherwise would have done on Monday. And it seemed to be all in vain. What would you do? I did what the CSR recommended, which was to go out and get the serial cable version of the Wireless Web Connectivity Kit and purchase a serial to USB adapter that, I was told, is readily available at any Radio Shack, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. This would allegedly allow the phone to connect not through the corrupted PCMCIA driver, but through the serial port.

I purchased ANOTHER Wireless Web Connection Kit from Sprint (the one you find enclosed), this one having the serial connector. Then I spent the next few hours looking for the mysterious serial to USB adapter. It doesn’t exist. I called every place imaginable in Las Vegas. Some stores said they had it, provoking a drive to the bitter edge of Las Vegas, but the answer was always the same. The adapters were always for a parallel to USB or a USB to serial, but never a serial to USB. All those stores said the same thing – a serial to USB adapter doesn’t exist.

Fortunately, in the same mall where I got my final answer, there was a Sprint Store. I patiently stood in line and explained my situation to Joe P. in store #528. Joe wouldn’t refund the software. I was livid. The software was worthless. Sprint was worthless. In the end, after several additional hours of maddening uninstallations and reinstallations of operating systems, drivers, and Sprint software, I was able to set up their internet connection. My parents asked me if I would like them to cancel their Sprint service. I told them to hold off and wait the results of this letter.

Thus, I am asking that you refund my credit card for the purchase of this Wireless Web Connection Kit (enclosed) because it is an outright prevarication to advertise its compatibility with the newer Windows operating systems, and because your CSR erroneously told me to purchase this.

Larry of Tampa (10/31/02):
In August they added $300 of Wireless Web Brower to my bill. I don't even know how to access the service. If I wanted to surf I fire up one of my 6 computers and DSL. I dropped the service immediately and had some more charges for September. Forced to go to AT&T that has poor rates and poor sound quality.