Paul Sanchez
Sprint Drive is a small wireless device that plugs into your car's diagnostic port, usually located near the steering wheel, to provide various smart features. These features include in-car Wi-Fi, real-time vehicle tracking, and diagnostics, as well as 24/7 roadside assistance. While Sprint Drive itself does not seem to have any effect on insurance policies, Sprint does offer phone insurance called Sprint Complete, which covers loss, theft, and accidental damage.
What You'll Learn
Sprint Drive dongle
The Sprint Drive dongle is a small wireless device that plugs into your car's OBD-II port, usually found beneath the steering wheel, to make it smarter. It offers in-car 4G LTE Wi-Fi for up to eight devices, providing a stable internet connection for phones, tablets, and gaming consoles. It also has GPS tracking and a hotspot, which are useful features for parents who want to monitor their teen drivers. With Sprint Drive, parents can track their child's vehicle location in real time, get alerts if they go beyond certain boundaries, and receive notifications about safe driving behaviour, such as hard accelerations, sudden stops, and sharp turns. The dongle also provides real-time vehicle diagnostics, monitoring the car's battery status, fuel level, coolant temperature, and more, sending notifications if something is off. Additionally, it offers 24/7 roadside assistance, with up to four calls per year for services like unlocking your car, fuel delivery, battery jump-starts, and emergency towing.
The cost of the Sprint Drive dongle is $120, paid in 24 monthly installments of $5, along with a data plan, which can be either 2GB for $15 per month or unlimited for $30 per month. It is worth noting that the dongle is not powered when the car is turned off, so it can only send data while the car is running. Sprint offered a promotion in November 2018, where customers could get the device for free with a 24-month installment plan and a qualifying data plan. The 2GB data plan was priced at $10 per month, while unlimited data was available for $25 per month.
Sprint Drive is similar to connected-car solutions offered by other major carriers, such as Verizon Hum, T-Mobile SyncUp Drive, and AT&T Harman Spark. For example, Verizon's Hum+ dongle costs $10 a month plus taxes and fees, with one-time charges of $30 for the equipment and $40 for activation. However, Hum+ does not function as a Wi-Fi hotspot; for that feature, customers would need to upgrade to Hum X, which costs $20 per month and includes additional features like Number Share and a speakerphone for making calls.
Overall, the Sprint Drive dongle provides valuable features for parents of teen drivers, small business owners, and anyone looking for added peace of mind and convenience when it comes to their vehicle.
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In-car Wi-Fi
To use Sprint Drive, simply insert the dongle near the car's steering wheel. In addition to in-car Wi-Fi, the device offers real-time vehicle tracking and diagnostics, as well as 24/7 roadside assistance. It monitors critical aspects of the car's health, such as battery status, fuel level, and coolant temperature, and sends notifications to the user's phone if something is amiss.
Sprint Drive is particularly appealing to parents of teenage drivers. It allows parents to track their child's vehicle location in real time, set curfews and boundaries, and receive alerts if their child goes beyond established boundaries or stays out past curfew.
Small business owners can also benefit from Sprint Drive's fleet management capabilities. It enables them to monitor multiple vehicles at once, tracking mileage, trip histories, idle time, vehicle health, and driver scores. With this data, businesses can optimize their fleet operations and promote safer driving practices among their employees.
The Sprint Drive device was initially offered for free for a limited time with a 24-month installment plan and a qualifying data plan. The service plan costs $10 per month for 2GB of data or $25 per month for unlimited data.
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Vehicle tracking and diagnostics
The Sprint Drive dongle is a small wireless device that plugs into your car near the steering wheel. It provides in-car 4G LTE Wi-Fi for up to eight devices, transforming your car into a smart, connected vehicle.
Sprint Drive offers real-time vehicle tracking and diagnostics capabilities. It allows you to monitor your vehicle's location, receive alerts if it goes beyond established boundaries, and even help locate your car if it's stolen. The diagnostics feature provides valuable insights into your vehicle's health and performance. It monitors critical systems such as battery status, fuel level, coolant temperature, and more. If an issue is detected, you'll receive a notification, helping you stay on top of any potential problems.
Additionally, Sprint Drive records trip data, including mileage, trip histories, idle time, and driving habits. It tracks hard accelerations, sudden stops, and sharp turns, providing a safe behaviour rating for each trip. This information can be useful for improving driving skills and understanding the vehicle's usage.
The device is particularly appealing to parents of teen drivers, as it enables them to track their children's driving behaviour and location in real time, promoting safer driving practices and peace of mind. Small business owners can also benefit from Sprint Drive, as it allows them to monitor multiple vehicles simultaneously, including mileage, trip histories, and vehicle health, helping them manage their fleet more efficiently.
Overall, the vehicle tracking and diagnostics features of Sprint Drive provide users with valuable insights into their vehicles' performance, location, and driving behaviour, offering convenience, peace of mind, and improved vehicle management capabilities.
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Roadside assistance
The Sprint Drive dongle offers 24/7 roadside assistance. This includes towing for up to 15 miles for free, fuel delivery of up to 2 gallons, recovery from a ditch, flat tire changes, battery jumps, and service if you're locked out of your vehicle. You can make up to four roadside assistance calls per year.
Sprint Drive users are entitled to a maximum of four roadside assistance calls per year. This is useful for those who don't have a membership with a roadside assistance service like AAA. While it's not a replacement for a full AAA membership, it does offer some similar perks. For example, the most basic AAA package, AAA Classic, only offers free towing within 5 miles, whereas Sprint Drive offers 15 miles of free towing.
Sprint Drive's roadside assistance is especially useful for parents of young drivers, as it allows them to track their child's vehicle location in real-time from their smartphone and get alerts if they go beyond established geo-boundaries or stay out past curfew. The dongle also monitors the vehicle's battery status, fuel level, coolant temperature, and more, sending notifications if something is off.
Small business owners can also benefit from Sprint Drive's roadside assistance, as it allows them to monitor up to 25 vehicles at a time, including mileage, trip histories, idle time, vehicle health, and driver scores.
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Sprint insurance options
Sprint offers its customers several insurance options, including for smartphones and cars.
Sprint Drive
Sprint Drive is a small wireless device that plugs into your car to make it smarter. Inserting the Sprint Drive dongle near the steering wheel gives drivers access to in-car 4G LTE Wi-Fi for up to eight devices, real-time vehicle tracking and diagnostics, and 24/7 roadside assistance. The device monitors the car's battery status, fuel level, coolant temperature, and more, and sends a notification if something is wrong. It also informs users about hard accelerations, sudden stops, and sharp turns, and gives the driver a "safe behavior rating." Parents of teen drivers might be especially interested in this device as it allows them to track their child's vehicle location in real-time and get alerts if they go beyond certain boundaries or stay out past curfew. Small business owners can also use Sprint Drive to monitor up to 25 vehicles at a time, including mileage, trip histories, idle time, vehicle health, driver scores, and more.
Sprint Insurance for Smartphones
Sprint offers smartphone insurance through its Total Equipment Protection plan, Protection<360>, which covers accidental damage, theft, or loss. This includes water damage, cracked screens, and broken displays. The plan also covers malfunctions that are not caused by customer negligence or purposeful damage. Sprint's smartphone insurance also includes security provided by McAfee to protect users' identities, privacy, and against digital threats. Additionally, the JUMP! upgrade program allows users to upgrade to a new device without paying off the full cost of the old device if they have paid off at least 50% of it.
Sprint's smartphone insurance costs between $7 and $25 per month, depending on the device, with a deductible ranging from $50 to $275. Sprint Complete, powered by Asurion, is another insurance option offered by Sprint, with prices ranging from $9 to $19 depending on the device tier.
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Frequently asked questions
Sprint Drive is a small wireless device that plugs into your car's steering wheel and offers features such as in-car 4G LTE Wi-Fi, real-time vehicle tracking and diagnostics, and 24/7 roadside assistance.
Sprint Drive does not affect any insurance policies. However, it can provide real-time vehicle diagnostics and notifications about potential issues, which may help with insurance claims.
No, Sprint Drive does not offer any insurance-related services. However, it does provide roadside assistance, which can be useful in the event of a breakdown or accident.
While Sprint Drive does not directly help with insurance claims, its vehicle diagnostics and notification features can provide valuable information about the car's condition before an incident, which could be useful during the claims process.
Yes, T-Mobile's Protection360 service, offered after its merger with Sprint, may provide insurance coverage for smartphones in case of accidental damage, theft, or loss. However, it is important to review the specific terms and conditions of their insurance plans.
