Photon to get ics. Software upgrade to also have lte chipset change. - Motorola Photon 4G

I was told by an undisclosed source from motorola that the reason the mopho isnt getting ics till late this year is because of the "wimax slash lte " change. Also was told that the phone was manufactured with 2 different radio chipsets and those who dont have the wimax lte chipset will be replaced with ones that do or be given the option to upgrade early to one. Like i said this is coming from a undisclosed source. So take it as u will until its released its just a rumor.
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Dude, lay off the 'shrooms. I see unicorns too, but my meds help with that
sent from my Kick Ass MIUI MoPho using XDA premium

I could see them doing that. My mom was offered an early upgrade due to Verizon buying out altell. Also my brother got an early upgrade 4 months after he signed a contract through either at&t or sprint or some major carrier due to technology change or contract revisions. Either way I'm pretty sure if I called sprint after they release their first LTE phone I would most likely be able to get it at least as an early upgrade and I just signed in February. I was paying a forced charge of 10 extra a month for the ability to use 4G that I don't even have in my area lol after a few phone calls to sprint I now get a credit of $10 on each bill. They can't take it off my bill but they have it set up to automatically apply each month. Sprint can be major push overs
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tsdeaton said:
I could see them doing that. My mom was offered an early upgrade due to Verizon buying out altell. Also my brother got an early upgrade 4 months after he signed a contract through either at&t or sprint or some major carrier due to technology change or contract revisions. Either way I'm pretty sure if I called sprint after they release their first LTE phone I would most likely be able to get it at least as an early upgrade and I just signed in February. I was paying a forced charge of 10 extra a month for the ability to use 4G that I don't even have in my area lol after a few phone calls to sprint I now get a credit of $10 on each bill. They can't take it off my bill but they have it set up to automatically apply each month. Sprint can be major push overs
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Howd you manage the $10 credit.. its a "premium data plan" or whatever they call it, it nowhere actually calls out 4g, for mine atleast. I mean it started around time they launched their WiMax so in reality it is essentially a 4g charge but worded without actually it claiming to be that anywhere in writing. And as far as a second Photon with LTE coming im somewhat skeptical.. I guess that *might* explain the EOL announcement to the Photon we have now..? Still don't quite think that there will be a LTE Photon for Sprint though.. And im sure if you raise enough hell with Sprint that'd they'd be semi useful for once and be able to help you out with upgrading early to a LTE device once their network is up.

Well according to a few sprint employees i spoke to, when the mopho gets ics the lte update will come with it..but thats just what they say, i doubt it but i sure hope its true..and the $10 monthly fee is just because its a smart phone and uses more data "premium data" charge..
Sent from my rooted mofo running on sprints 4g network

tsdeaton said:
I could see them doing that. My mom was offered an early upgrade due to Verizon buying out altell. Also my brother got an early upgrade 4 months after he signed a contract through either at&t or sprint or some major carrier due to technology change or contract revisions. Either way I'm pretty sure if I called sprint after they release their first LTE phone I would most likely be able to get it at least as an early upgrade and I just signed in February. I was paying a forced charge of 10 extra a month for the ability to use 4G that I don't even have in my area lol after a few phone calls to sprint I now get a credit of $10 on each bill. They can't take it off my bill but they have it set up to automatically apply each month. Sprint can be major push overs
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That is the ONE thing I've been trying to get, but to no avail. I did get let off contract for 11 lines and several brand new devices though, so I think I'm still coming out ahead. Cheers to you!

motorolatriumph said:
Well according to a few sprint employees i spoke to, when the mopho gets ics the lte update will come with it..but thats just what they say, i doubt it but i sure hope its true..and the $10 monthly fee is just because its a smart phone and uses more data "premium data" charge..
Sent from my rooted mofo running on sprints 4g network
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Lol well our current Photons have no LTE radio hardware.. So ICS (if we actually do end up getting it) won't be able to bring us LTE, UNLESS they release a whole new version of Photon with newer/different radios. We have the Beceem BCSM350-L radio in our Photons.. aka no LTE capability..

To be fair my source works for motorola and is in the hardware division so unless u opened the photon and seen it was the 350 which it is not. We will all see. And motorola has no plans im aware of of making a photon 2.
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eavs2009 said:
To be fair my source works for motorola and is in the hardware division so unless u opened the photon and seen it was the 350 which it is not. We will all see. And motorola has no plans im aware of of making a photon 2.
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I haven't personally taken mine apart.. but someone has.. Here Not trying to start an argument just saying that I personally find it pretty unlikely that we will ever end up with LTE on the Photon, as sad as that truth is.. And that I have decent reasoning behind thinking that.
Here it is in Lokifish Marz "All things Mopho" post as well.

w0lf215 said:
I haven't personally taken mine apart.. but someone has.. Here Not trying to start an argument just saying that I personally find it pretty unlikely that we will ever end up with LTE on the Photon, as sad as that truth is.. And that I have decent reasoning behind thinking that.
Here it is in Lokifish Marz "All things Mopho" post as well.
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#1. Thank you for both of your post.
#2. No matter how many times it's posted and proven, the "We have LTE with software radio upgrade" comes up. kennypow3rs even have photos from FCC of stripped down Photon! This dead horse was beat to death during the Nov-Dec timeframe.

dsims7_2000 said:
#1. Thank you for both of your post.
#2. No matter how many times it's posted and proven, the "We have LTE with software radio upgrade" comes up. kennypow3rs even have photos from FCC of stripped down Photon! This dead horse was beat to death during the Nov-Dec timeframe.
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Yes, this has been argued over and over again throughout the past months. lets not start it again, its getting old.

R2DeeTard said:
Yes, this has been argued over and over again throughout the past months. lets not start it again, its getting old.
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That's why most senior members quit responding to these threads ;-) im just bored!
Sent from my Bone Stock MoPho 4G on XDA Preimum

w0lf215 said:
Howd you manage the $10 credit.. its a "premium data plan" or whatever they call it, it nowhere actually calls out 4g, for mine atleast. I mean it started around time they launched their WiMax so in reality it is essentially a 4g charge but worded without actually it claiming to be that anywhere in writing. And as far as a second Photon with LTE coming im somewhat skeptical.. I guess that *might* explain the EOL announcement to the Photon we have now..? Still don't quite think that there will be a LTE Photon for Sprint though.. And im sure if you raise enough hell with Sprint that'd they'd be semi useful for once and be able to help you out with upgrading early to a LTE device once their network is up.
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I just called sprint and talked to them about the photon going on EOL and simply asked sense I just signed on in February and this phone going on the EOL and them dropping wimax support if I could have an early upgrade to an LTE supported device when one is released and they placed me on hold for a few minutes and came back and said that my account was noted and I will be able to upgrade if I wanted but I would lose my 10 credit each month for the premium data if I upgraded to an LTE device
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Related

Sprint to Convert CDMA to LTE and Screw Current 4G users in the Process

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/07/sprint-converts-its-cdma-network-to-lte/#disqus_thread
This means our Photon will be 4G WORTHLESS come Mid 2012, since we all just got the Phone and are connected to a 2 year contract, we are Screwed. This also gives Sprint the OUT it wants as far as Unlimited. Those who get these NEW LTE Phones will be surprised when they DON'T HAVE Unlimited Data. Very Sneaky Sprint. Assholes.
Sneaky? This news has been out for months, before the Photon, GS2 and 3D even came out. People could have waited. They have to make a change over sometime.
Zooomg no wayz new 4geeees?!?!?!
WTH. People ARE Supposed to wait on Sprint to make up heir minds. We Photon owners just Grabbed our Ankles. Bottom Line.
Well I am still under my 30 days on my photon so I'm just gonna take it back and the 200 dollars worth of accessories I bought for it....then lock into the simply everything plan and get grandfathered in
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Nah, if you have WiMax coverage now, you will for a good long while. Probably until the hardware at the cell site takes a crap and they decide not to replace it.
If you don't currently have WiMax coverage, then you are waiting on LTE coverage.
By the time you actually get it you'll be close to an upgrade, and if not you could force the issue with CS and have them move your upgrade date so you can get an LTE device.
And if you are in one of the large markets that doesn't have WiMax yet, but will be getting LTE way before an upgrade date - like 8/2012 - (Do those exist?) I am really sure that Sprint would move your upgrade to get an LTE device since you bought a useless WiMax device in your area. Sprint has really good Customer Support and will do you right on it.
Now if your like me and live in the sticks, and barely get 3G, and can only get 4G with an hour drive....I'm some one who is a little upset by the fact that there is no 3G upgrades in the works.
#1, From what I read, Photon will still work.
#2, I had my Evo for a year and Photon like August 2nd, I have used 4G exactly THREE times. I know, I know, YouTube, Videos, Movies, Netflix...........I have a 55" and 40" LCD TV's, Laptop, Gaming Desktop, and 160Gb PS3. I really have no need to kill my battery.............(I just bought a Truck. GPS on 4G I might need, but I just purchased Car Dock so Battery is not an issue.!
Doesn't the photon support the 1900mhz frequency? Why would it not be compatible with Lte?
jeriel05 said:
Doesn't the photon support the 1900mhz frequency? Why would it not be compatible with Lte?
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Because Sprint would prefer you buy a new phone then pay to write a new radio for it.
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Just because Sprint is moving from WiMax doesn't mean you'll stop getting the service. They are just going to stop selling new devices at the end of 2012, and stop funding Clearwire for new markets. Current devices will continue to use the WiMax they do now.
This really doesn't worry me because I am not under contract on my photon. I am greatful for sprint actually doing something to make their network better but at this point I think it's too late for some people. If I had to guess 3g is not going to get better anytime soon. The focus is LTE and will continue to be.
Wifi calling would be a much better choice for myself to hold me over. I have a airave but that things is huge and drains a lot of electricity. I don't have the little airave because I wanted more than just the option to make calls. I wanted to be able to pull in data, which it does pretty well. I shouldn't have to have that thing running just to get cell reception in my house. I'll take the wifi calling for now and have the hope that LTE will come quicker than expected.
I think the biggest problem this will bring is the support for sprints current lineup. Why would motorola continue to dump money into developing for it's current Photon and same goes with the other manufacturers. If the phones cease to work on the new network, why would motorola keep making "older phone" current and up to date.
Y'all need to just chill. WiMAX isn't going anywhere for quite awhile. If you bothered to listen to the announcement you'd know that.
WiMAX = Clear
LTE = Sprint
If you want to know if your WiMAX phone is going to work you should probably look at what Clear is doing and stop dogging Sprint for building a BETTER 4G network in ADDITION to Clear's.
Not worried, by then I'll be on another device, sorry but I switch pretty often. Although this photon is just impressive so I might just keep it until I am convinced that I need to replace it, and the SGS2 is not it. Neither is another phone on sprint, nope not the iPhone either.
I probably won't be changing until a Quad Core phone comes out. At which point I may go ahead and do that. But for now. I'm square on the phone I have.
ghodzilla5150 said:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/07/sprint-converts-its-cdma-network-to-lte/#disqus_thread
This means our Photon will be 4G WORTHLESS come Mid 2012, since we all just got the Phone and are connected to a 2 year contract, we are Screwed. This also gives Sprint the OUT it wants as far as Unlimited. Those who get these NEW LTE Phones will be surprised when they DON'T HAVE Unlimited Data. Very Sneaky Sprint. Assholes.
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Not I, I bought mine outright from a person off craigslist
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ghodzilla5150 said:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/07/sprint-converts-its-cdma-network-to-lte/#disqus_thread
This means our Photon will be 4G WORTHLESS come Mid 2012, since we all just got the Phone and are connected to a 2 year contract, we are Screwed. This also gives Sprint the OUT it wants as far as Unlimited. Those who get these NEW LTE Phones will be surprised when they DON'T HAVE Unlimited Data. Very Sneaky Sprint. Assholes.
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Obviously you haven't been reading the news about Sprint and LTE. It was no secret that Sprint was going LTE especially when Wimax was not expanding to new markets anymore. If you watched the Oct 7th conference, they said that Wimax will still be around and in fact they will continue to sell Wimax devices throughout 2012 and there will be support for Wimax for another couple years (my guess is 2015). In 2013, we will all be eligible for an upgrade and at that point I will grab a LTE phone since by Aug 2013, LTE on sprint should have a ton of markets.
Right now there is no news on which markets will get LTE starting mid 2012. I expect Sprint will announce those initial deployed markets sometime in April-May next year. Hopefully the initial deployment includes the big markets who do not current have Wimax support such as San Diego, Phoenix, New Orleans, Detroit, Oklahoma City, etc.
Yeah. San Diego would be great. But. I am not gonna hold my breathe.
Sent from my Photon via XDA
Nextelian said:
If you bothered to listen to the announcement you'd know that.
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No, easier to pick the points I want to complain about and ignore the facts so I can harp about getting screwed. If you want a screw job, try to get Verizon to set a price anywhere near what many Sprint owners pay.
FACTS:
- WiMax will be available for years, possibly beyond Sprint's involvement
- LTE is 'scheduled for completion' in mid-2013, around the time most Photon owners will be out-of-contract anyway, if it mattered in the first place
- The majority of users don't get a 4G signal to start with
RESULT:
-Sprint is taking my not-4G-service away? Darn.
I think what everyone is missing is the effect this will have on your phones value. I personally keep my phones looking brand new so I can make a profit when it's time to upgrade. I personally haven't paid for a phone in a long time because I sell the old to get the new.
With this upcoming change this will hurt value and will make all phones running 4g look like old news. Sure there are people out there that have no clue about 4g 3g and just want a phone but that doesn't mean there aren't a lot that do know about it.
For instance, if you were on a carrier and they got bought out and your phone was working just fine on your original carrier and then all of a sudden the new carrier says your phone will be obsolete once we swich over to another band...What would you say?? Would this be a simple oh well i'll be good for a little while longer and then I'll just buy another phone. I think there would be more people complaining then. Sprint did the old bait and switch and I can't believe the amount of people who sit back supporting it. They increased the cancel fee, the upgrade fee, took away upgrades yearly, cancelled discounts for premium customers at stores, taking away 4g next year and providing crappy 3g service. What will it take for some people to realize that your being bent over. I just don't get why some people just take it laying down. So we paid the $10.00 fee to build the 4g service (which I know it's not a 4g fee)..which we all know it was and a bunch of bull was pushed to make it look otherwise. Now they want you to build their LTE service because the F'd up.
I know someone will say, well why are you with sprint then? Well that might be changing soon. Also I have to pay a cancellation fee and that is not fun and that's why there is a delay up to this point. I posted earlier in this thread and after really thinking about all the crap sprint is doing, I think I just woke up. I had my eyes open before but now they are wide open.
The photon is a good phone but I really think at this point the manufacturers will be focused on building LTE phones and will dump support on these now aging phones. Motorola is going to be the leader in LTE and is working on building the first LTE for sprint. Why are they going to keep throwing all these updates at the photon?
For everyone's sake, I hope LTE doesn't end up killing the 100k download speeds we get on our unlimited plans from sprint now. Someone's going to have to pay for the big switch going on.
That's true. But I personally keep my old phones so that I can have spares/backups. Etc. That's just me though.
Sent from my Photon via XDA

legal question?

why is Sprint still advertising and selling WiMAX phones? especially for my zip code that not only dose not have it and never will! why on earth should someone pay $99.00 for evo3d, marry sprint for 2 years knowing darn well they will be forced to break contract! where is the FCC or there consumer groups?
seriously, there has to be a law. now if they gave them away, no contract, and no $10 data monthly, that would ale sense.
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They still sell them cuz their wimax is still in use and they don't have any lte phones yet. So no it isn't illegal.
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They're juuuust beginning to roll out LTE, and Wimax is in far more places right now.
Besides, sprint can't just throw all their existing phone inventory in the trash, especially when there are so few (if any?) LTE phones available yet.
No LTE phones, WiMax is still up. LTE won't even be large for another two years.
aamirani said:
No LTE phones, WiMax is still up. LTE won't even be large for another two years.
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what happens when I sign 2 year marriage and you shut down in 1.5 years? sucks cause that are what they are doing!
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They are keeping WiMax up until 2015. They've already nixed any new WiMax phones this year. Everyone will be out of contract by the time they bring WiMax down.
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Draiko said:
They are keeping WiMax up until 2015. They've already nixed any new WiMax phones this year. Everyone will be out of contract by the time they bring WiMax down.
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This is exactly right. WiMax will be up until everyone's contract is up. I believe they stopped bringing more WiMax phones also.
So by 2015 WIMAX will be completely down?
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No idea. All we know is that they signed agreements with clearwire to keep it running until 2015.
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so the question remains, what happens to my Photon (or any WiMAX device) in 2015? What if I want to keep Photon? I used to work with a guy that had a 10 year old Sprint phone with SIM card (I know cause I lost 10 bucks to him!), maybe I want to keep photon for 10 years.
my point is, your double screwed by Sprint!!! You get screwed by Sprint by paying for a phone that everyone knows will be worthless in 2015. Then in 2015 your forced to pay them (or another carrier) again because what you have is junk?
im fairly sure what its gunna turn into (look at iden for proof) is that all the towers with wimax will have it until either they need that slot for something else, or the wimax card dies...
dsims7_2000 said:
so the question remains, what happens to my Photon (or any WiMAX device) in 2015? What if I want to keep Photon? I used to work with a guy that had a 10 year old Sprint phone with SIM card (I know cause I lost 10 bucks to him!), maybe I want to keep photon for 10 years.
my point is, your double screwed by Sprint!!! You get screwed by Sprint by paying for a phone that everyone knows will be worthless in 2015. Then in 2015 your forced to pay them (or another carrier) again because what you have is junk?
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Why would the Photon be junk/worthless just because of no Wimax? If what you are saying is true then my Photon (along with many others) is worthless right now because my area never has had nor will ever get Wimax. I still find it very useful and a great phone without it.
Sprint cannot continue to support older products forever. If they did then there wouldn't be enough money to put into newer technologies and therefore could not stay competitive. This is why everyone offers upgrade credits/new devices to customers after a few years. Sprint is no different than say, for example, Samsung, which released new model TVs every 4 months and drop support for older models around 6 months - 1 year. It sucks for the consumer but to keep up with competition they must pursue new technology and provide it to the public in a timely fashion. Old products don't make the money, newer products do.
CCallahan said:
Old products don't make the money, newer products do.
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That theroy is wack and I can prove it!! I'm 50 years old and went to Vegas and my "Old Product" worked just fine with and without the blue pill upgrade!!!!
It would be nice if we were offered the option to upgrade Photon, even if it cost $$$If you notice, you rarely see me in the Development Section here. I dont change ROMS every other day like some. Once I get my phone how "I" like it and it works, I leave it alone!
Well, maybe I'm missing the point here...but...I'm in the Midwest in a city (of almost 1M people) that was promised Wimax 4G 14 months ago. Sprint 4G has never come here. We even were shown on their coverage maps as 'Coming Soon'. My Photon works just fine on 3G & Wifi...I turned my 4G radio on once just to see if 4G was here, nada.
After 2015, when Wimax is turned off, my Photon will work just as it does today.
(BTW...I'm happy to continue to pay $10/mo so Sprint can build out 2 4g networks for all of you, while ignoring us entirely. Sarcasm intended.)
So...you might feel screwed in 2015...every bill I pay today...I pay to build out 2 4G networks that I might see by 2015 when you've started to feel pissed off. At least you'll have options for 4G phones that will work, and likely Free Phone options by then...I don't even have that option.
I mean, 3 years from now, who knows what technologies will be on our phones by then? Phones will likely be completely different, making our Photons dinosaurs, just like the Pre in my desk drawer...
The photon would become a 3g only worldphone until Sprint converts all of its spectrum to LTE.
You are paying the extra $10 for unlimited data. Sprint is the best bang for buck national carrier. Once you put it in those terms, you'll feel better about it.
All of the carriers are migrating to LTE-only. You're not going to have a mobile phone last you 10 years anymore regardless of carrier.
The good news is that your wireless experience is going to improve more often.
Stop crying about it.
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@dorelse, exactly my point! I buy a new car with navigation system, when car arrives it dose not have it and im promised they will get it. then you tell me that option is not available?
the above would not be bad BUT, by selling WiMAX sprint knows for a fact people in areas like ours don't have it and never will! take out the 4G promise. cool but now they are false advertising!
JMO!
Sent from Photon 4G code name "Neo" using XDA Premium!
You still get WiMax wherever it's available. It's not false advertising. You have a choice. Would you rather pay $300 for a Verizon phone that has bloatware, overpriced plans, unstable 4G network that goes down every month, data caps, and crappy battery life? How about an AT&T phone with data caps and crappy service? Maybe a t-mobile phone with throttled data speeds from a carrier that might not exist in 2 years?
You bought a phone that can be used anywhere in the world. You got a WORLDPHONE for the same price as any other top-shelf device Sprint offers even though it has the capability of having superfast data speeds in certain areas. You are paying a relatively low price for unlimited phone data which no other US carrier offers anymore. You can even use this phone as a netbook, nettop, and media center without paying extra plan charges.
Seriously, get a grip.
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I will tell you this and that's that I agree with you 110%. As someone who lives in an area that was promised 4G service by the end of 2010 and still does not have it and never will, I think Sprint sucks balls and has a lot of guts charging "premium data" charges. I pay the same amount as someone in L.A. who has 4G but they get much faster service. Is it fair? No. is there anything that the FCC or anyone else will do about it? Probably not but I do have a suggestion and I am willing to bet would work at some point. Someone needs to find a lawyer that is willing to take on a Class Action case and then the print customers who dont truly receive any "premium data" can join in and get compensated. If anyone wants to do it I'm in for sure.
---------- Post added at 11:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:51 AM ----------
Draiko said:
You still get WiMax wherever it's available. It's not false advertising. You have a choice. Would you rather pay $300 for a Verizon phone that has bloatware, overpriced plans, unstable 4G network that goes down every month, data caps, and crappy battery life? How about an AT&T phone with data caps and crappy service? Maybe a t-mobile phone with throttled data speeds from a carrier that might not exist in 2 years?
You bought a phone that can be used anywhere in the world. You got a WORLDPHONE for the same price as any other top-shelf device Sprint offers even though it has the capability of having superfast data speeds in certain areas. You are paying a relatively low price for unlimited phone data which no other US carrier offers anymore. You can even use this phone as a netbook, nettop, and media center without paying extra plan charges.
Seriously, get a grip.
Sent from my MB855 using XDA App
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He's got a valid point especially about the premium data charges we all pay and dont all receive service for. Sprint claims they are because of the phones capabilities but they have phones that do not incur the charges and have some of the same data results on 3G. Premium data should only apply to 4G areas. Bottom line.
MikeyLee said:
He's got a valid point especially about the premium data charges we all pay and dont all receive service for. Sprint claims they are because of the phones capabilities but they have phones that do not incur the charges and have some of the same data results on 3G. Premium data should only apply to 4G areas. Bottom line.
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Makes a point but the $10/month extra is not for WiMax but unlimited data whether it be 3g/4g. At least, that is what Sprint tells us even though the WiMax data is what really costs them the most.
As far as I know there is only one Android phone in Sprint's lineup that doesn't incur the extra charge which is the Samsung Replenish and that was set to change anytime if it hasn't already.
But put all that aside for a moment, even with the extra 10/month it is still a cheaper plan than anyone else. If they weren't already charging the extra 10 I would bet their rates would have been raised already to cover it so the point is basically moot.
The stock part of my phones says 3g .. But the custom rom says 1x ... Sucks when it says you're covered but really not.. And please let's not start on 4g..
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The He** with Sprint!!!

OK, #1, yes I know the forum rules (Not to bash, keep it clean, no religious stuff............) and I have not in my years here, broke them! BUT, I feel every now and then, I should be entiled to a free one? Today is that day!!
I say f**k Sprint! I was over at SprintFeed.com and Sprint has announced the EOL (End of Life) for Photon next month! I will tell you exactly why this pisses me off!!
#1 (Yea I know #1 is above, im starting over!). I went out and got the damm Evo for $500.00 summer of 2010. Last summer, Sprint blasted the TV with the Evo 3D but only one or 2 commercials for Photon. Photon, IMO, was and is, 100 times better than3D in every way, But Sprint blasted the damm Evo. I dont need a toy, I need a bussiness phone that will assist me in getting the job done. So I pay $638.00, no contract for Photon with 4G August 2, 2011.
#2. I work in IT, I have million $$$ ideas all the time, but it takes me 6 months to a year before anything actually gets done (plan, summary, approval, check, delivery) Therefore, with the November announcement of LTE, they knew damm right well when get got our phones, many of us, me included, did not have 4G and never would have it!! So the sales was entierly a lie!!!! (And to be honest, I cannot recall a TV commercial after August but I still see crap for the toy 3D!)
#3. If end of life is next month, then Q3 ICS is more smoke getting blown up our a**es!!
#4. With this announcement, my $638.00 Photon just became a worthless paperweight! Why? How much are you willing to pay me for my Photon, knowing that if it breaks or f**k's up one week later, your SOL? Seriously? This goes for anything in life! Would you pay top dollar for a I.B.M Thinkpad you know I.B.M no longer supports? NO!!!!
#5. Why is the original Evo still supported, but we did not even get a year? How come everyone got unlocked bootloader and ROM's out the a**? What did we get? Not a damm thing!!! (The development team here worked hard, but Sprint showed no support for them at all!!!)
#6. Also on SprintFeed.com, HTC and Sprint have big announcement April 4th where it is expected they will announce the new EVO for June 10th release date. If the spec's are whats expected, I will jump ship. Whats that gonna cost me?
#7. All so on that website, Wall Street had lowered the boom on Sprint. This means 2 things. They don't have the money they claim they have and could go bankrupt. and what happens to the LTE project and will I ever see 4G?
I just think, IMO, that this is a complete slap in the face to every Photon owner!!!
End of Rant!!
dsims7_2000 said:
#4. With this announcement, my $638.00 Photon just became a worthless paperweight!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh, that's so weird, my Photon is still working great. I hope the devs here at XDA can come up with some kind of mod that blocks the worthless paperweight update.
Its not that serious bro, its just a phone. I love my photon and there's nothing sprint can do to change that.
Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk
Dude!!!..... I can't complain abut my Photon, the 4 months or so it has been with me has NEVER let me down one bit, to this day it is the BEST phone I have ever owned, the international capabilities which I was finally able to try on a trip to Mexico last week made me love it even more. I was able to use a Telcel Sim card and used all the features in my phone with no problems no errors no nothing.
(Actually to my surprise Telcel's 3G speeds are awesome compared to Sprint's)
But sadly every phones has an EOL and technology is improving every second..
I don't really see the point of even have a fit about it LOL
Seeing that I no longer work for Sprint I have no issue saying this. Sprint half-assed the handling of the Photon since day one. Considering Sprint's history with Moto Android phones they had no faith in Moto's product and made no real effort to support or push the Photon. This started before the phone was ever released.
Sprint had the update fix for the silent call bug over a month PRIOR to the release of the Photon. Instead of pushing the update on launch day they held off for a month before releasing the fix. So you have a new phone with a major bug that didn't get fixed til after the crucial launch month window had passed. Result, a new phone that doesn't work for enough people to kill sales.
Sprint advertising and sales training was also almost nonexistant. In many cases it was "and Moto makes phones too but who cares" kind of approach. I had setup a live WebTop display running Firefox streaming HULU in the store I worked in. Customers thought it was the Evo 3D and didn't even know the Photon even existed. The first response when told it wasn't the 3D was "Yeh but the 3D can do that too." and very rarely could you convince them otherwise.
In short, Sprint could care less if they ever sell another Moto Android phone and have treated the Photon with that mindset from the start. They can now go back to Moto and say "Look, your crappy phone doesn't sell so no Sprint for you."
Just because it will reach EOL status doesn't mean a whole lot to me. I started with the original Droid on Verizon and EOL was reached a loooong time ago on it and a small update was recently available for it! And there is still development going on for it as well. As long as we have some good devs that still care about it, EOL status is irrelevant.
oh well, fun while it lasted, i upgraded to the photon over my OG evo, loved it since day one, i recently went back to my EVO 3D, so when the ICS update comes out (as promised i hope) i'll update my photon and go back to it, but when it's completely gone, all i'll say is, i have a rare sprint phone (just like my echo) that not a lot of people have, and wait for the newest smartphone to come out
You do realize that all Wimax phones will be going EOL come about Summer when lte launches. And everybody else is right EOL just means they start to pull inventory from the stores no biggie. like the evo shift, epic, nexus, and trender i work at a store and we haven't gotten a shipment for them in 2 weeks and we are out.
Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk
Agreed
As I'm sure MOST people who own a MoPho agree, this phone needs much more love from the dev community, I love this phone in it's natural form! I had an OG Evo 4G and modding it was the only thing I could do to keep it up and running. This phone KILLS IT out of the box! The Tegra 2 is incredibly smooth.
I really want ICS for it, but I'll have this MoPho for A LOT longer than my crap EVO.
Signed,
A faithful first time Moto owner
---------- Post added at 09:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:43 PM ----------
Also, If this phone IS EOL soon, does that mean it WILL get unlocked? Just curious if they didn't care about a phone anymore, they would UNLOCK the bootloader for us.
cman1084 said:
Also, If this phone IS EOL soon, does that mean it WILL get unlocked? Just curious if they didn't care about a phone anymore, they would UNLOCK the bootloader for us.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. It means no updates,support or unlock from official channels. Sprint will still repair/replace it but short of PRL and critical security updates, the phone doesn't exist to Sprint after the EOL date. I'd also expect this to kill the ICS update as well as it will not have passed Sprint's internal "QC and testing" and I do not believe Moto has authorization for a direct push.
Lokifish Marz said:
Nope. It means no updates,support or unlock from official channels. Sprint will still repair/replace it but short of PRL and critical security updates, the phone doesn't exist to Sprint after the EOL date. I'd also expect this to kill the ICS update as well as it will not have passed Sprint's internal "QC and testing" and I do not believe Moto has authorization for a direct push.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really hope that's not true - since they've officially announced the ICS update for the Photon, I would hope they keep their word. Although I've been frustrated with all the dead links throughout the forums here, I have been still very happy with the Photon vs the Evo so far, it's an amazing device.
Sprint's got me barely hanging on by halving my bill while the network upgrades supposedly happen -- but if speeds don't increase and awesome devices like this aren't supported, I'll be joining the hordes jumping ship to Verizon.
Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk
No religious stuff? Everyone knows Jesus is the way! If ya don't l, he is!
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium
I hope this works out for Sprint. In two years, no iDen or WiMax networks. That should greatly cut costs.
I use to love Sprint, but now it's just like they're in the business of hooking you in for the business and then coming up with ways to increase your bill. I use to have 5 lines, all qualified for the company discount, then only 2, and now only 1. I've transferred my phone over to Google, so that moving forward I can switch between companies with minimal inconveniences. Sprint essentially has no high-end world phones....
OK, Most of you are missing the entire point! I have NO problems with my Photon. I LOVE MY PHONE!!!
Go back and read post #5 and #10 by lokifish Marz. Sprint s**t on this phone from day 1!! I said it in my OP, he confirmed it as a ex-Sprint empolyee!!!
I will tell you a funny story. August 20th 2011 my power button fell out, so I had to use my finger nail to cut it on/off. Me and 2 co-workers took it to Sprint at the Garden State Plaza on RT4 in New Jersey. Chick tells me, "I have one of the tech look at it!" No problem. This idiot comes from the back and the first thing out of his mouth, "Have you had this phone for 30 days or less?" Just like lokifish Marz said, no training and no marketing!
As for XDA Development, most of the heavy hitters have jump ship and do cleanup work here (which we are thankful!)
Now the new EVO is something to brag about, no doubt. But August 1st of 2011, This was by far the best phone available from ANY carrier, and Sprint gave it no love!
EOL would kinda suck as I was planning to keep this until March when my contract is up, then re-evaluate if I want to keep Sprint.
On the other hand, I do remember back in September the Evo 4g was on the EOL list for October. It still has not gone EOL. Then again that was a far more popular phone.
fester30 said:
On the other hand, I do remember back in September the Evo 4g was on the EOL list for October. It still has not gone EOL. Then again that was a far more popular phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its back on the list for "Early April". I dont get why EVO 3D is not on the list and Photon is?
Before getting the Photon, I had a Droid Eris on Verizon and I went through the same thing. Thanks to the xda devs and community, I was able to squeeze 2 years out of it. Before rooting and loading a custom rom, using the phone was a nightmare.
I guess I'm getting used to, and have the unfortunate luck, of buying the devices that receive the least support down the road. I chose Sprint, because I thought they were somehow less evil than Verizon but corporations will be corporations.
I still hope the Photon will have a long life after losing official support. I love the phone itself.
knG333 said:
Before getting the Photon, I had a Droid Eris on Verizon and I went through the same thing. Thanks to the xda devs and community, I was able to squeeze 2 years out of it. Before rooting and loading a custom rom, using the phone was a nightmare.
I guess I'm getting used to, and have the unfortunate luck, of buying the devices that receive the least support down the road. I chose Sprint, because I thought they were somehow less evil than Verizon but corporations will be corporations.
I still hope the Photon will have a long life after losing official support. I love the phone itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This sounds very familiar to me, except for me it was the Palm Pre instead of the Droid Eris. I'm starting to think I'm a curse - if I like a phone, prepare for it to turn into a stepchild and let the bitterness begin. Maybe I should go buy an iPhone and see if I can kill it...
braindeadracefan said:
Maybe I should go buy an iPhone and see if I can kill it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go for it! haha!
abrcrmdl23 said:
You do realize that all Wimax phones will be going EOL come about Summer when lte launches. And everybody else is right EOL just means they start to pull inventory from the stores no biggie. like the evo shift, epic, nexus, and trender i work at a store and we haven't gotten a shipment for them in 2 weeks and we are out.
Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you feel the Nexus is a good upgrade from coming EVO?

Photon MIA on Sprint's Website

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that the Photon 4G is no longer offered as a choice on Sprint's website. The OG Epic 4G is even still there, but no Photon, it's missing in action...
Yes, Since the Photon 4G will can not support Sprint's LTE network, they have discontinued it. Phones that are only 3g are still there but the ones that could not be upgraded to support the LTE network have been discontinued and removed.
kingofnerds said:
Yes, Since the Photon 4G will can not support Sprint's LTE network, they have discontinued it. Phones that are only 3g are still there but the ones that could not be upgraded to support the LTE network have been discontinued and removed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that would make sense except they are still offering the original Epic 4G. So maybe it's Motorola and not Sprint.
I have not looked into the Epic at all. Can that phone be upgraded to be LTE? I know that the Photon can not.
kingofnerds said:
I have not looked into the Epic at all. Can that phone be upgraded to be LTE? I know that the Photon can not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, not at all. I still have both. Only will do WiMAX.
well, either way, The photon has been removed from Sprint's store for almost a month now. There were theories that there was going to be another motorola super phone released in the near future, but those have yet to be confirmed from what I have seen.
I got the Photon this past September and as of 6/1/12 the Sprint website says I can uprade at discount prices on a new 2 year contract. Is this normal, or did they change their upgrade policy? Is anyone else seeing early update options?
kingofnerds said:
well, either way, The photon has been removed from Sprint's store for almost a month now. There were theories that there was going to be another motorola super phone released in the near future, but those have yet to be confirmed from what I have seen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just now noticed it missing. LOL. There is rumor of a "Photon Q 4G" on the horizon with a slide out keyboard.
knG333 said:
I got the Photon this past September and as of 6/1/12 the Sprint website says I can uprade at discount prices on a new 2 year contract. Is this normal, or did they change their upgrade policy? Is anyone else seeing early update options?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Were you a sprint premier customer before they got rid of it?
Sent from my MB855 using XDA
FC809 said:
Were you a sprint premier customer before they got rid of it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that I am aware of. I don't even really know what Sprint Premier is. I was wondering if maybe they did this for all Photon owners but no one else mentioned anything. Or maybe I just got lucky and it's a goof up.
Complete Goof-up
340 days for my upgrade still.
Sent from my mopho
kingofnerds said:
Yes, Since the Photon 4G will can not support Sprint's LTE network, they have discontinued it. Phones that are only 3g are still there but the ones that could not be upgraded to support the LTE network have been discontinued and removed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With all due respect, your comment doesn't make sense. As the OP states, the Epic 4G doesn't support LTE either (and can't be upgraded to it), but is still there.
willysp said:
With all due respect, your comment doesn't make sense. As the OP states, the Epic 4G doesn't support LTE either (and can't be upgraded to it), but is still there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lmaoooo
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium
From what I have read this is the conclusion I come up with...
Sprint needed to clear up some room in the phone lineup for upcoming LTE devices. They need to keep a certain range of phones for each category: budget, mainstream, and power user. The Photon was in the power user (top tier) category. Since they have the new EVO and will be getting the SGS3 as well as a few others, bundled with the fact that the Photon was probably one of lesser selling devices (especially since the release of the SGS2) it makes sense that the Photon was discontinued.
Of course we all know the reason why the Photon was not successful is because of the lack of marketing on Sprint's part and the lack of push by sales team within Sprint. I'm sure if someone came into the store and there was the Epic Touch and Photon sitting side-by-side the typical sales person would push the Samsung first.
CCallahan said:
From what I have read this is the conclusion I come up with...
Sprint needed to clear up some room in the phone lineup for upcoming LTE devices. They need to keep a certain range of phones for each category: budget, mainstream, and power user. The Photon was in the power user (top tier) category. Since they have the new EVO and will be getting the SGS3 as well as a few others, bundled with the fact that the Photon was probably one of lesser selling devices (especially since the release of the SGS2) it makes sense that the Photon was discontinued.
Of course we all know the reason why the Photon was not successful is because of the lack of marketing on Sprint's part and the lack of push by sales team within Sprint. I'm sure if someone came into the store and there was the Epic Touch and Photon sitting side-by-side the typical sales person would push the Samsung first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When i worked for sprint I pushed for people to buy the photon very hard, and i had a lot of successful sales with it when i showed them mine in action, no one ever brought one back
Sent from my MB855 using XDA
If it wasn't for the signal issues with the SGS2, I would have gotten that. When I saw that it had been almost three months at the time and the signal issues hadn't been fixed, I decided against it. When I saw them side-by-side in the store, the SGS2 had a nicer looking screen, and the Photon was very jittery when I'd swipe from one screen to the next. Ultimately, I'm really glad I got the Photon. However, I remember talking to a lot of friends who had the same first impression of it.
I got the photon from Target mobile because it was $50 with my upgrade, and the SGS2 was $200. But the rep pushed me hard into anything but the Photon. He first pushed the SGS2, then the Evo 3D, and then encouraged me to look at an iPhone instead of the Photon. I was actually really discouraged until I got it home and realized what a badass it was!
bradleyw801 said:
I got the photon from Target mobile because it was $50 with my upgrade, and the SGS2 was $200. But the rep pushed me hard into anything but the Photon. He first pushed the SGS2, then the Evo 3D, and then encouraged me to look at an iPhone instead of the Photon. I was actually really discouraged until I got it home and realized what a badass it was!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that's too bad. I still have my photon and was hoping for ICS goodness, but it was pushed back to Q4 2012 and likely won't get it. This is the only reason I went with the GNex. I hate bloat, but I do love my photon. It is interesting how Sprint is only interested in HTC and Samsung first before any other Android, except now pushing LG viper, but I bet that'll be a red-headed step child soon.
kbboykin said:
Yeah, that's too bad. I still have my photon and was hoping for ICS goodness, but it was pushed back to Q4 2012 and likely won't get it. This is the only reason I went with the GNex. I hate bloat, but I do love my photon. It is interesting how Sprint is only interested in HTC and Samsung first before any other Android, except now pushing LG viper, but I bet that'll be a red-headed step child soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will get it
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium

HTC Rezound MAY not be receiving Jellybean....

HTC has confirmed updates to jellybean for HTC phones... on Rodgers, T-Mobile, and AT&T.
This can be taken two ways:
1) No vzw phones are receive it, meaning that the Incredible 4G LTE won't be receiving it too, or
2) They have yet to say about Verizon phones updates.
This is should not be taken as final word since, well, the have actually said. Also, this isn't a very different upgrade, meaning it is similar to Ics and is not as big of an update as gb->ics. Also, this is only our first major update, when phones like the Incredible 2 is receiving ics.
Sources: http://www.discussmarket.com/htc-and-samsung-confirm-jelly-bean-4-1-upgrade
If this becomes a flame war or an off topic thread, I will shut it down.
Probably that's just the first wave because no way in hell will they not update that Dinc 4G... .anyway the Rezound has yet to get ICS so I doubt we will see any JB anytime before a year from now
Aaaaannd first!
AshtonTS said:
Probably that's just the first wave because no way in hell will they not update that Dinc 4G... .anyway the Rezound has yet to get ICS so I doubt we will see any JB anytime before a year from now
Aaaaannd first!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I thinking but idk if the rezound would get the update this decade, as shown by ics...
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
I would base the assumption on the T-Bolt getting ICS. It's supposed to, so I would think if it does, we'd get JB sometime next year (3rd or 4th quaryer if at all).
Unless they boycott VZW...which would be kind of funny.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2
It is pretty incredible that 4.1 is out, and the Rezound is still officially on 2.3. I would assume, however, that the Rezound will get JB. It's too new not to. This is where HTC is falling apart though--too many models, too many software updates.
tekhna said:
It is pretty incredible that 4.1 is out, and the Rezound is still officially on 2.3. I would assume, however, that the Rezound will get JB. It's too new not to. This is where HTC is falling apart though--too many models, too many software updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
problems are more with verizon. HTC has had ICS for the rezound available for awhile now. It seems that verizon is holding it back considering other phones released around that time on other carriers have gotten it.
Once my contract with verizon is done, I'm switching to AT&T
I think we will get it, but what do I know. By the time we do, most of us will probably be fed up and move on. If our devs can get the AOSP stuff fixed up, who cares what HTC/Verizon does at that point though. It's weird how HTC has seemingly fallen. I looked at them as the standard back in my Eris and Inc days. Now I would probably pick most any other manufacturer over them after this phone and the Thunderbolt.
AshtonTS said:
Once my contract with verizon is done, I'm switching to AT&T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't think you were old enough to have that choice...
I'm not sure what I will do. Still under contract until next summer and by then, there will be more changes. A lot of family is on verizon and I have 4 lines with unlimited data. I will probably stay put until that ends. AT&T would probably be my first choice with sprint being second. Sprint already has lte live most places I go (San Antonio, Dallas). T-mobile sucks inside buildings and I'm guessing sprint lte being on a higher frequency will as well.
nrfitchett4 said:
I didn't think you were old enough to have that choice...
I'm not sure what I will do. Still under contract until next summer and by then, there will be more changes. A lot of family is on verizon and I have 4 lines with unlimited data. I will probably stay put until that ends.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I CHOSE verizon for this 2 year contract. I wanted tmobile, so we got a sensation but tmobile has ****ty service where I live. So I ended up getting Rezound for free. I could have gotten AT&T because I could have gotten any phone on sprint verizon or AT&T free but I chose verizon. Next time, I am going to chose AT&T. Just cuz I'm a kid doesn't mean I have no say
AT&T isn't going to be any kind of magic fix. Their policies are pretty reliably in step with Verizon. You'll see similar changes on AT&T within a year. The problem with HTC updating is everything to do with Verizon being assholes about their bloatware being on the phone. Every button that can be, has to have $ for Verizon attached to it. Hence the big delay with the Nexus and the removal of Google Wallet NFC stuff.
As soon as I'm able, I'm going to be looking at some of the prepaid plans. I should be able to cut my monthly by 20-25% over my "Family" plan now.
i would only switch to tmo or sprint and sprint has ****ty service here so that leave tmo...
nrfitchett4 said:
I didn't think you were old enough to have that choice...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm 14 and pretty much control our plans because I do know so much about phones, carriers, etc. After I told my dad that we are losing our unlimited he agreed and said that we are canceling our contract and going to t-mobile when we can cause we have good coverage where we live.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2
I'm thinking of crawling back to tmobile.. My first carrier. I liked magenta. Probably get an unlocked most recent Nexus.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
I don't know when I was looking at carriers T-Mobile had some pretty ****ty phones. Guess its gotten a little better. I didn't realize that AT&T had upgraded all/any of their HTC handsets to ICS.
all you suckers can easily leave verizon cuz you're getting ripped off as it is...
unfortunately, i can't. my bill is MAD cheap because i've been with them for 15+ years, so i can't go anywhere else because i'll automatically be paying more.
man my parents have been with them for like 11 years and we pay $180 a month
I think unless you buy google's flagship development device like the nexus, you will be behind at least 1 version of android os no matter what carrier you have. It's a distinguishing selling point for new phones that are out. Personally, I think the rezound kicks every phone's ass that verizon sells aside from the GS3, but verizon wants to keep customers renewing their contracts every 18 months. They get nothing from people if they are keeping their old phones that are being continually updated with new software.
Don't know why carriers are so anxious to sell new phones when they loose money on them. Contracts don't keep customers good service and pricing does.
I pay $104 for just my rezound + insurance

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