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Sprint’s Total Equipment Protection App Helps Keep Your Phone Secure

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Sprint users out there who subscribe to the carrier’s $7 total equipment protection plan will be glad to know that a new application is now available for download. It’s their equivalent of Lookout, if I had to compare it to something. Here are the list of features you can look forward to should your phone ever get lost or stolen:

  • 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

It’s nothing new, but it’s a free service for anyone with an Android phone and one that you should definitely download just in case. Trust me when I say I know what it feels like to lose a phone. Or two. Maybe even three. And I would have loved having that in every last one of those situations. You can download it by visiting Sprint.com/protection. Full press details ahead.

Smartphone Lost? Locate It, Lock It, Clear It and Restore It with New Protection App from SprintFree application is available to customers who subscribe to Sprint’s Total Equipment Protection plan
OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Feb 28, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) —

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.

Quentyn Kennemer
The "Google Phone" sounded too awesome to pass up, so I bought a G1. The rest is history. And yes, I know my name isn't Wilson.

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8 Comments

  1. Finally, another reason for me to switch to Sprint…then again Lookout Security does the same thing. But it’s a nice bundle to get with phone insurance. Now if only they could get another good HTC 4G phone…

  2. Lookout = better app.

  3. You can get it in the market. Its a bit of a bother going through the link

  4. @ Dvrcowbooy: I couldn’t find it in the market. What did you search for? I have the EVO 4g.

  5. This is a nice option considering some similar apps in the market, like Wavesecure etc. cost money. Sure, Lookout is free, but it doesnt have device lock or erase.

  6. I downloaded it on the 20th, then received an email today stating that my trial period had ended. I was no longer able to log in to the program online. I called Asurion and sent Sprint an email. Whitney at Asurion told me it was only available to those that had upgraded or purchased a phone in the last 30 days (which is amazingly the same guidelines for signing up for TEP). Even though I have had TEP since I purchased my phone, I couldn’t find anything that limited participation on Sprint. I looked up the issue on the forum for the App and found that others had the same problem. They had uninstalled the app and reinstalled it. After doing the same, I was once again able to log into it online.

  7. doesnt work on optimus s after last update-help

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