Sprint Offering Free Year of Unlimited Service to Switchers

Sprint today announced that customers of Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or any other postpaid carrier who bring their eligible iPhone or Android-based smartphone to Sprint will receive one free year of unlimited talk, text, and 4G LTE data. The offer is available for up to five lines per new account opened.

The term "unlimited" has some limitations, including a max of 1080p for streaming video, 1.5 Mbps for streaming music, and 8 Mbps for games. Data de-prioritization applies during times of congestion, and customers that exceed 23GB of data in any billing cycle may be throttled until the next billing cycle.

Unlimited talk includes long distance calls within the United States and Sprint Global Roaming, which includes 2G data and text messaging in over 165 countries for no charge, plus calling for $0.20 per minute. 10GB of high-speed data per line is included to use toward Personal Hotspot, VPN, and Peer-2-Peer usage.

Eligible smartphones must be unlocked and compatible with Sprint's network and SIM card, including the following iPhone models. An asterisk indicates only the Verizon model of that particular iPhone works on Sprint due to CDMA compatibility. Tablets and Personal Hotspot devices are ineligible.

• iPhone 5c*
  

• iPhone 5s*
  

• iPhone 6
  

• iPhone 6 Plus
  

• iPhone 6s
  

• iPhone 6s Plus
  

• iPhone 7*
  

• iPhone 7 Plus*
  

• iPhone SE

As to be expected, the offer has some fine print, but there really are no significant catches or anything that should be considered a deal breaker.

• New customers only: The offer is not available to customers that already have an active Sprint account.
  

• No annual contract: After July 31, 2018, the free plan will convert to Sprint's standard Unlimited Freedom plan starting at $60 per month with AutoPay. Customers don't appear to be under any obligation to continue paying for that plan and may cancel after the first year of free service if desired.
  

• Keep the same phone number: Port-in from postpaid carrier required.
  

• SIM card purchase required: $2.99 + $10 shipping + taxes online. Also available at Sprint stores. SIM card must be activated prior to port-in.
  

• Activation fee rebated: A $30 activation fee will appear on the first bill and an equal credit will appear within 2 bills.
  

• AutoPay and eBilling required: If AutoPay and/or eBill are removed, up to a $7.99 per month charge will apply.
  

• Taxes and fees: A standard $1.99 admin fee, $0.40 regulatory fee, state and local taxes, and other surcharges may apply each month.
  

• No device upgrade allowed during first 120 days: Any upgrades prior to October 1, 2017 will require a plan change to Unlimited Freedom, and the customer will lose the remaining free months in his or her year of free service.

Sprint said this limited time offer is available until June 30. To switch, customers must purchase a SIM card from Sprint's website or stores, activate it, and port their phone number over.