commorancy's dashboard

Unfortunately, Rachel has pointed out that Sprint is now selling their unlimited plan. It's not unfortunate that you get unlimited usage, it's unfortunate that Sprint appears to have not increased their server capacity to handle the additional load. Rachel's argument is that they've seen an increase in usage as a result of these unlimited plans. That's only half of the issue. As a service based company, if popularity and usage increases, you add new equipment to compensate for that usage. The unfortunate portion is that Sprint appears to have not added additional server processing capacity to an overburdened system to improve the situation.

In 7 months since my original request, Sprint has had plenty of time to both purchase and deploy additional servers to manage the extra capacity needed to support the unlimited plans. At this point, Rachel's argument is pointless and it just means that Sprint is unwilling to do their due diligence to ensure high quality service.

In answer to your question, the problem is that Sprint is unwilling to increase their server and processing capacity to keep text messages flowing 100% of the time. Lags like this indicate this fundamental issue, not enough servers and poor server management. As an IT professional, I pride myself on providing high quality service to the companies where I work. Not all IT professionals uphold that decree. Of course, some of this issue is dependent on budgets, some of it is dependent on the individuals they hire. Sprint may have problems on both fronts. However, whatever the primary issue, it's definitely an internal fundamental problem that needs to be resolved by management before the problem will ever be resolved for the subscribers. Without high quality IT professionals in place to drive this problem out for good, this issue will never be resolved fully. So, the answer is that Sprint needs to hire a person who can finally resolve this issue once and for all and be willing to spend money to add the necessary servers to handle the extra load. – commorancy, on November 18, 2009 14:02

Seems like this problem is now resolved.

Ok, so now it's working again. Not sure what happened.

Rachel,

As of today at about 5PM, all of the delayed messages came flowing in. I got about 40-50 messages over 24 hours old all at once. When this happens, I get constant pages for about 5-10 minutes. In these cases, I wish there was a way to check the backlog online through the web site and delete them before they reach the phone.

So, yes, it does appear to be resolved as of today.

Thanks.

While I can't definitively answer your questions, I will say this. Most carriers segregate their post-paid plan phone numbers from their pre-paid plan numbers. This likely means you will not be able to port your present number to Boost's prepaid plans. To further support this point, most of the prepaid Boost phones come pre-packaged. This means you will be required to pick a number during the activation process. It's been a while since I activated my Boost phone, but I don't remember any method to port a phone number in.

As far as your Katana II, likely not. You will most likely have to pick from one of the Boost phones in order to get service with Boost. For definitive answers to these questions, I'd recommend you call Boost support or stop by a Boost retailer.

When you buy a pre-packaged Boost phone (at Target, Wal-Mart, etc), there will be instructions in the package on the exact setup process. It's very easy. Note that depending on the time of day that you begin this process, your phone may not be available for immediate use for up to 24 hours once you complete the activation process. Apparently, there is some part of the setup process that still relies on Boost personnel to complete the process and actually activate the phone. So, you'll probably want to activate the phone during Boost's business hours if you want the phone active that same day.

Rachel, thanks for your comment. We appreciate you explaining the situation. However, even though it is great to know that someone is working on the issue, it really doesn't help us that much when we receive SMS messages 2-4 days after they were originally sent. I really would have preferred to hear that the situation is resolved. To be honest, we'll know when the situation is resolved because the floodgates will open old SMS messages will begin to arrive.

Thanks. – commorancy, on April 16, 2009 22:55

Oh, and it's just so wonderful when they make you jump through their handset reset procedures that do nothing... Hello, it's not that handset that's broken! – commorancy, on April 16, 2009 00:43

Yes, this issue is back again. It happens about once a month now, since the downturn. You should probably use someone else if you really need timely SMS. – commorancy, on April 16, 2009 00:36

Yes, it looks like this issue is back again. As of 4/15/09, it's been at least 24 hours since I've received an SMS from Boost again. They really have no clue what they are doing over there with SMS and since the downturn, the service has gotten even worse. Unfortunately. there's not enough people around there who even care to get this fixed when you report it. If they were properly monitoring their systems, this would never happen. What that says is that their IT staff are not properly running their systems..

I would recommend that if you want to use Boost, use it for calling and NOT for SMS. If you need SMS, go somewhere else.

Thanks for the update.

Today, someone at Boost/Sprint noticed the problem and did something to resolve the issue. I'm just not sure why it takes this level of complaining to get someone to check out servers they should be checking anyway.

Even though Comcast or Roadrunner might not be much of an alternative in terms of reputable cable providers (especially when it comes to keeping appointments and installations), you will find that Cable Internet service is much better than DSL overall. Skip fighting with the DSL and go Cable. Once you can get the cable service into your home (which can sometimes be a chore, so be warned), you'll thank yourself. Compared to Cable, DSL seems like an old slow modem.