Update: Sprint Unlimited Kickstart, and even “Sprint” as a brand and company no longer exists today, as it was purchased by T-Mobile in April of 2020. Fortunately, there are a number of cheaper unlimited data plans that exist these days to choose from. Read on for links to a few resources to help find them.
I’m not big on amplifying promotions, but this one is for a limited time (said to be days or weeks) and seems big enough to have a deeper look and discussion on, as I’m sure more than a few readers may be interested. I have not been compensated by Sprint in any form for this post and have no ties to the company.
The offer: Sprint is offering a $35 per month “unlimited” talk, text, and data plan (per line), called “Unlimited Kickstart“. The plan was originally offered at $25/month, but the price has increased since that original promotion.
As with all mobile “unlimited” plans, you definitely should read the fine print.
I reviewed Sprint’s new unlimited plan, and here’s what I found:
- Excludes taxes, surcharges, and roaming. Roaming charges are a big one – you’d want to make sure any data use is only on Sprint’s network (you should be able to control this within your carrier settings on your phone).
- To get the $35/mo. price per line, you need to enroll in auto-pay. Easy enough.
- You can bring your own device. You will want to as there are no discounts on phone purchases with this plan.
- Unlimited streaming is in standard definition at the following speeds: streaming video (up to 480p), streaming gaming (up to 2mbps), streaming music (500kbps). The music streaming speed seems sufficient, but there is no HD video with this plan.
- Shareable data (i.e. mobile hotspot) is not included. This could be a deal-killer for some.
- Data de-prioritization during congestion. I take this to mean that other customers in higher-tiered plans get priority at times of congestion and your speeds could be reduced, or throttled. How big of an issue could this be? Your mileage will vary based on location.
I was still left with a few unanswered questions, however, so I didn’t stop there. I chatted with Sprint customer service to find some additional details (and found both good and bad):
- There is no throttling of data speeds based on monthly data usage. That is unexpectedly good.
- 4G LTE speeds (note streaming limitations above). Good.
- The price remains the same for the life of the plan (it is not promotional pricing). I’d love to believe this is true – but it sounds a little too good to be true. According to a Sprint spokesperson, “Once you’re on the promotion there is no step up. You get in during this limited time window, you are going to enjoy that rate for a very, very long time.”
While there are some clear limitations here, overall this is a fairly unrestrained “unlimited” plan at this low of a price and stacks up very nicely in the cheapest data plan battle, even comparing favorably to most of the cheapest MVNO resellers of access to Sprint’s network (Sprint is one of the 4 big national owners of wireless spectrum that must resell wholesale access to mobile virtual network operators like Google Fi, Tracfone, Republic Wireless, and XFinity Mobile, among others). Most other carriers have some variation of unlimited that has data throttling at certain specified monthly data usage amounts – this plan does not. And at $35/month, the other limitations seem like they can be forgiven, if you’re looking for a cheap data plan.
Current Sprint customers, including those at its Boost or Virgin Mobile subsidiaries, are also not eligible. It’s worth noting that a Sprint and T-Mobile merger has been approved, and it is not clear what impact that would have on this plan continuing.
Sprint Unlimited Kickstart Review – Final Thoughts:
If you’ve been happy with Sprint (or any MVNO’s that use their network) or are looking for a cheap/frugal data plan, then Sprint Unlimited Kickstart could be a plan worth switching to. If you haven’t (or if you need a mobile hotspot or want HD video streaming), you probably would be better off looking elsewhere.
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I can’t decide. Should I ditch the Walmart T-Mobile 5GB plan for this? G.E. it definitely is tempting.
Small print:
All pricing shown with autopay and excludes taxes and surcharges.
*After 6/30/19, pay $30 per month per line for lines 3-5
*After 6/30/19, pay $30 per month per line for lines 3-5
That fine print only applies to the normal unlimited plan where those lines were free for the first year, hence the * next to those lines in the price chart above that disclosure. I had to take a second look as well, but luckily it doesn’t apply to the $15 plan.
Thanks for the great post! This deal would be worth it as well for a second phone regardless of what carrier you currently use. I will definitely check this out.
Moximoney,
Your are correct! Thanks might have to give this a try. I heard that it doesn’t include roaming, what do you know about that?
I have had this deal for a few days and absolutely love it so far! It does not include roaming for data usage sadly, but seriously how much do you expect for 15 dollars a month? Lol I did want to mention that you cannot be on the phone and on the internet at the same time, a little caveat that may be a deal breaker for some as well.
Is WI-Fi is included?
So long as the phone you bring or buy has wifi, yes.
With this $15 unlimited plan, Sprint Global Roaming is included at no cost which gives customers basic-data roaming (up to 2G speeds) in 185+ featured destinations. SMS texting is included at no additional cost with voice calls from only $0.20/min.
They aren’t being super clear about all the details. But for $15 I jumped in a few days ago. In Oregon, Sprint is pretty good, and I am hoping that I can text and data for free when traveling abroad. If they jack their rates up if/when they merge with Tmobile, that may still be a good deal, especially if we get to bounce on tmobile’s network. If not, I’ll just go to a MVNO, like Mint Mobile or Cricket.
Good call. Excellent point – there isn’t much downside here.
I jumped on it too. Waiting for my SIM cards via mail.
GE – Have you checked out project FI by Google? This may be a topic for a future article but thanks for sharing on the Sprint side.
Has anyone gotten their first bill yet? I’m curious what taxes and other fees are in addition to the $15/mo? (What your final bill came out to be).
Mine was 19.85
Thanks!
I dug and dug into this with multiple CSRs on Sprint’s chat. It seems that while roaming in the US is included, and the price theoretically goes for eternity, the caveat to this is “once you change your device, the plan changes”. So if your phone dies or you decide to upgrade, then you get put on a different plan……and lose the $25/month that you once had. I was so close to pulling the trigger on this, but think I’ll end up with Total Wireless instead….
I have this plan with 3 lines. I’ve swapped all 3 lines with a new phone and still remain with the plan.
Cody,
It seems like u didn’t dig deep enough. I just added a new phone to my old account and no hassle at all.
Fine print says something about Third party content/downloads are added charge!!!
I am a disabled veteran on a fixed income who lives alone, looking to get rid of my at&t landline & at&t go phone. Would this sprint program be good for someone like myself?
What makes you think that this plan is still available?
I saw the plan available 2 days ago in the Cleveland, Ohio area! At the Sprint store. 9/8/18.
I saw the plan available 2 days ago in the Cleveland, Ohio area! At the Sprint store. 9/8/18.
So, if you purchased your own mobile hotspot, does this mean you can’t use it with this plan?
i jumped in on the offer in may 2018 … that’s when it was 15/month (autopay required, $19.19 after tax/fees/etc) … i’ve had a couple dead spots in denver, but all in all, sprints come a LONG ways since wimax. i was a WIMAX customer back in the day, when they started abandoning that technology, i left sprint (yet told myself i’d come back when the offer/technology is right/close to competitors) …
again, outstanding price, and service is ok/pretty good given the price.
Can I keep my same number? And also can I use an unlocked phone on the network? Thanks.
Too bad, I need to port my number to sprint. My group plan owner will not release the account number and pin to port.I ask if I could get a NEW number but I must show these numbers to get the $25.00 plan as “won over” from Verizon.Verizon would not assign me a separate pin &number so I would lose my “OLD” number.What crap. I have her:billing address,name,PH.#,not acceptable.Will need to go to tello or some AT&T mnvo.
I am on Virgin Mobile. This article seems to say I am not eligible for Kickstart. Is that for real? Thanks in advance!
I spent a couple hours figuring it out, but if you manage to install a custom rom you can bypass the hotspot/tethering restriction. Granted, if you’re already on a custom rom, you have to reinstall the stock rom to get the carrier settings then reinstall the custom (this was my case). Otherwise, my download speed measures at 12mbps and upload speed at 1mbps, which is pretty good. There is a 50gb limit before you pay extra or something, I doubt I’ll reach that.
you can keep your number/transfer it over to sprint, just make sure you have a CDMA sim card, not a GSM one. They give the sim card for free at the store.