For you Sprint customers out there who are signed up for the Total Equipment Protection service, you now have a new way to keep your stuff safe. Sprint's released the Total Equipment Protection App that brings a slew of features to help locate, lock, wipe and backup your Sprint Android smartphone's contents. Particularly,
- Locate lost device by sounding an alarm on the smartphone even if in silent mode, doing a real time locate via GPS technology, or viewing the smartphone’s location history on a map via a Web Interface
- Remotely lock their smartphone
- Erase contacts in the address book on a lost smartphone
- Backup, manage and restore contacts
The app is free if you're a subscriber of Sprint's $7-a-month TEP service. You can get the app at protection.sprint.com. Full presser's after the break.
Smartphone Lost? Locate It, Lock It, Clear It and Restore It with New Protection App from Sprint
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), February 28, 2011 - The cost to replace a lost mobile device is usually the least of a wireless customer’s worries, especially if he or she is protected by Sprint’s Total Equipment Protection, which provides coverage against loss, theft and damage. The bigger nightmare is the thought that a customer’s personal contacts, photos and other private information could fall into the wrong hands. To help alleviate those fears, Sprint (NYSE: S) customers needing to track down a lost device and protect their personal information can do so now with the launch of a new application called Total Equipment Protection App.*
Sprint customers with Total Equipment Protection will be able to access the new application, beginning today, at www.sprint.com/protection, where they will benefit from the following features:
* Locate lost device by sounding an alarm on the smartphone even if in silent mode, doing a real time locate via GPS technology, or viewing the smartphone’s location history on a map via a Web Interface
* Remotely lock their smartphone
* Erase contacts in the address book on a lost smartphone
* Backup, manage and restore contacts
“Anyone who has lost a phone knows that their personal information is possibly just as vulnerable as if their computer was hacked,” said John Carney, senior vice president of consumer marketing for Sprint. “Now, Sprint customers have peace of mind knowing that their personal and private information is safe. TEP and this accompanying application is a safeguard for customers who want protection from not only loss, but misuse and unauthorized access.”
The Protection App is included at no additional charge as a benefit of Total Equipment Protection plan, which is $7 per month, per line of service. It is available to customers with phones using BlackBerry and Android mobile platforms. TEP customers download and install the user-friendly application at www.sprint.com/protection. Privacy protection is included with the Protection App. Each time the smartphone’s location is requested by the Web interface, an SMS text message is sent to the smartphone notifying it has been located.
In addition to purchasing TEP coverage, customers have several other steps to help customers protect their information:
* Pass codes – Sprint customers should always use pass codes to lock their phones and make it harder for the phone to be accessible if lost.
* Protect voice mail – Use the “pass code feature” to retrieve voicemails rather than opting to skip it in order to maintain the highest level of security. Without it, anyone with access to the device can connect to the voicemail.
* Contact Sprint – Call Sprint’s Customer Care department immediately to deactivate the phone if it is believed to be lost, stolen or accessed without authorization.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 49.9 million customers at the end of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 6 in its 2010 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
*Total Equipment Protections device replacement is underwritten by Continental Casualty Company, a CNA Company, and administered by Asurion.
Reader comments
Sprint Total Equipment Protection App helps safeguard Sprint Android phones
It blocked my root. Didn't break my root just blocked it while this app was installed. I uninstalled now I can tether again (root tether) (unrevoked)
The app has alot of potential but it has some issues. It does have free premium features compared to competitors. The issue is the text messages. If someone stole my phone, they would know I am searching for them. Also the computer should be able to turn my gps on automatically like the competitors do. If they could stop all the text messages and turn my gps on when needed then I would love it. For now, it is ok.
I love AVG antivirus , keeping my device safe and not bothering me with spam mail
There's a security flaw in this app even when locked. Tried on Epic with Froyo EB13. Sent an email to the developers. Hopefully they'll fix it.
Seems pretty cool to me. It "found" my Evo and sent an alarm. I like this added protection for free!
Well crap. I am on EB13 and when I installed it and started, it says "Unsupported Phone". I saw one other person with this issue. Anyone else? I am paying for the service so I should be able to use the app.
I don't have insurance on my phone but to play a little devils advocate, I find it curious that Sprint added this feature. What a great idea to give the customer the impression that they're getting something extra as part of the insurance premiums they already pay, when in reality, Sprint is probably really doing this to cut down on people claiming their phone is lost or stolen then getting a new one through insurance! Imagine the customers reaction when they make the call and Sprint say "according to the GPS, your phone is in your house, find it". Haha
For those who complain that it sends a text alerting that the app has been activated, I believe this is necessary to prevent people from installing this (or any other "tracking" app) without the actual owner knowing about it. I also tried Lookout and it sends an email to Gmail, which will also pop up on the phone to alert the user. I tried it and it works best if you send a lock signal first then the GPS locate signal. When the phone is locked, you get the text alert, but it doesn't show a preview. Used in combination with Lookout, you get the free remote lock with Sprint TEP and GPS locate with Lookout. Either way, the combo is free.
EDIT: Playing with it, I just realized that it sends a text first, way to long before the phone locks. Gonna try and find a solution.
I like it, my only issue is that most of the time I keep the gps radio off for the sake of battery life. Now if they could add a feature that turns the GPS radio on through the cell tower, it would be that much closer to perfection.
FYI that really has no effect on batt life since any app (that I've used anyways) that uses the GPS only does so while you're in the app (like maps) or uses it momentarily to get a location fix (like weatherbug). Just peace it enabled.
I don't need my GPS wasting battery every time my weather app updates and every time I go to google.com. My cell tower or wifi location is sufficient (and available more quickly) for those tasks. Only time I need my GPS is when I need to see precisely where I am in Maps or when I need to navigate.
Um... when I locate my phone (HTC EVO) through the website, it sends an SMS message to the phone saying the protection app has been accessed.
Um... if someone stole my phone, why the hell do I want to let the criminal know I'm accessing the app? Duh?
You need to be using handcent, the native SMS doesn't have this feature. Do a trial run, then go find the text, press and hold and the option to blacklist will come up. Blacklisting the number will not stop the text from getting to your phone (the message will still show up in the stock messaging app) it just won't show in handcent or pop a notification. Delete the message thread from the stock app.
p.s. Make sure the notifications in the stock SMS app are disabled (something handcent tells you to do to avoid confusions anyway).
p.p.s. If you're using an auto task killer make sure to exclude the app
Thank you everyone for the info I was thinking about trying it but I will not bother until they come up with a better system .
not a bad app considering whats already out there.. and keep in mind as a total protection plan customer ITS FREE!! I dont get why ppl complain so much on FREE items.. If you dont like it theres a few options.. 1) trash it 2) Trash it..
I love my Evo!! Now on to trying to consider if I should root... I dont know if its worth it...any ideas anyone??? Shoot me a PM please..
You know, theres idiots out there who don't understand the concept "Sprint added this service for free"
Some folks think that us, Sprint users, are paying $7 JUST for this and then they start comparing it to Lookout (which is a good option), but Sprint is including this for their TEP users which is great!
When you locate your missing device from the web, it sends a text to your phone letting the user know that a locate is in progress. If it were stolen, all the thief would have to do is turn off the phone when he read the pop-up sms.
Lame.
Lookout seems the better choice.
it also lets you look at the last 5 locations it recorded (user adjusted time intervals)..... turning off phone doesn't affect whats in the cloud my friend. Sprints app has all/most the premium features lookout has, without the added expense of 2.99/month for lookout premium. I just dont see the fuss about every security app saying it will back up your contacts...... umm... google does that already!
OK, you don't need to get the text link. You can download from the market by searching on Sprint or Total Equipment Protection which is the name of the app. You can go to the market and just browse to check the ratings and comments, to decide if you want to download it.
This is on the market, dont really need to do anything from sprints website. http://market.android.com/details?id=com.asurion.android.mobilerecovery....
It worked just fine for me on my Epic. Uploaded contacts, submitted location, and all seems well. I suppose now I should put a lock back on my phone for good measure.
I tried get the app, selected my mobile phone type, entered my phone #, and tried to click the link, but get no response and no text message.
same for me on firefox... switched to chrome and it came through no issues
I couldn't help but notice, after last week's Froyo on EPIC 4G disaster, that that phone isn't one of the supported devices. Now THAT makes me feel just warm and fuzzy all over.
...
I have the TEP, but the damn app keeps telling me that my Epic 4G is an unsupported phone.
Tried it and I love it! Locked my phone, located it and sounded a truly annoying alarm all over the web. I pay for the insurance so it's a nice perk.
Not too secure. I installed it, locked my phone and a pin was needed to unlock. I rebooted my EVO, without unlocking it, and everything was accessible. Kind of defeats the purpose, uninstalling.
I just tested this and it was locked after reboot. Took a few seconds, after HTC Sense lauched and was fully loaded, but, worked none-the-less. Might want to re-try it again!
Thanks, will do! I gave it about 2 minutes after reboot. I'll see what happens this time.
To bad TEP is a major ripoff. Plus Sprint likes to tell people things are covered by it in store when they really aren't.
What did they tell you it was covered by an it really wasnt?
It shows up on your monthly bills, isn't that enough proof for you??
Or you could just get the Lookout app
One thing, though...
This app (if you get it to work, which I did, luckily) uses half the resources that lookout does. 2.54MB compared to 1.18MB (if im not mistaken).
It also provides the PREMIUM features of Lookout, for free
-Minus the $7/month charge, but every carrier charges
that for the protection, without this added. Sprint just
added this perk.
Hmm, I could pay just for the insurance though ($4) and cancel the $3 part of the TEP, which is really only useful for newer devices (in case it develops a defect that a Sprint service center can repair, etc.)... The $3 I save there would pay for Lookout (which is $3/mo or $30 yearly), which has much more comprehensive wipe capabilities (it'll wipe accounts and even the SD it seems).
I haven't tried either yet but I was thinking of canceling the $3 part of the TEP though... So I'll probably try the Sprint app before doing so but I'll more than likely end up w/Lookout. The fact that it can activate the GPS remotely is a nice bonus too...
If you just want a location app that does that w/o any of the frills then just remember to use Plan B (by the Lookout people) if you ever lose the phone.
I installed it. It looked very nice. A seemingly worthy competitor to Lookout.
Then it told me I wasn't covered. So I called Sprint and complained. They assured me I was covered and gave me Asurion's telephone number. So I called Asurion and complained. They assured me I was covered.
So I uninstalled and reinstalled. It still told me I was not covered.
So I uninstalled and gave it a 1-star rating and a bad comment and went back to being happy with Lookout.