SPOT deactivation
- Thread starter Scott
- Start date
They make you call them, so they can try to talk you into keeping it! Called to cancel mine, first part of the year after they hiked up the price. They tried to offer it to me for the old price for a year, and I told them they'd have to do better than that at this point. They wouldn't sweeten the deal any more, so I cancelled it. Then early this summer, they sent me one of those "we want you back" emails offering it to me for $50. So I reactivated it!
They make you call them, so they can try to talk you into keeping it! Called to cancel mine, first part of the year after they hiked up the price. They tried to offer it to me for the old price for a year, and I told them they'd have to do better than that at this point. They wouldn't sweeten the deal any more, so I cancelled it. Then early this summer, they sent me one of those "we want you back" emails offering it to me for $50. So I reactivated it!
He just tried to give it to me for $85. Not sweet enough of a deal.
Went back and looked at my billing history.
I think i started in about 2007. It was $100 when I started.
It was 149 in 2009. Then it went to 151. Now it's been about 164.
TOTALLY silly.
Buh Bye!!!
V
volcano buster
Well-known member
We use the SPOT at work.
We are dropping those when our contract expires and moving to the InReach for about the same money (not sure how much) due to the ability to 2-way text feature. We have had to use the SPOT to retrieve people in the woods and the ability to communicate the needs before a recovery trip would be invaluable.
We are dropping those when our contract expires and moving to the InReach for about the same money (not sure how much) due to the ability to 2-way text feature. We have had to use the SPOT to retrieve people in the woods and the ability to communicate the needs before a recovery trip would be invaluable.
Did the same. The new InReach explorer+ is great. Went from Garmin GPS plus sPOT to inreach. One less device to worry about charging.
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This!! ^^^
That's exactly why I bought an InReach and never looked back.
I love that I can communicate with my wife to check in via text when I'm way up in the hills, no where near cell service.
It gives her peace of mind, knowing that I'm still ok.
In the event of an actual accident and using the SOS feature, it would be awesome to get immediate feedback from responders that they actually received my message and are coming for me, or whomever might be hurt.
Spot doesn't do this, you roll the dice and hope for the best with them...in my opinion, there's simply no contest.
I talked with a rep at the Boise show. I mentioned I wasn't thrilled about the fee increase to $150. She said next year the subscription fee is going to $200.
I still have the original gen 1 spot. They offer a free or greatly reduced price at the snow shows for the new spot (for new customers). I asked if they do anything for their loyal customers (have had a spot for 7 years). She said the only thing they could do was cancel my subscription and start a new one. The problem was, there is no refund for the subscription fee I had just paid in August. It would cost me more to cancel and renew to get the new device than it was worth. I did not even want a freebee - just a deal on a the newer spot. If I could have bought one with a 10% discount I would have been ok with that - of course, more would have been better - she offered nothing.
I am done with them. When my subscription gets close to expiring I am shutting it off. $100 was fine, $150 irritated me, $200 is just too much. Talk about aggressive fee hikes. 2x in a matter of 2 years.
I still have the original gen 1 spot. They offer a free or greatly reduced price at the snow shows for the new spot (for new customers). I asked if they do anything for their loyal customers (have had a spot for 7 years). She said the only thing they could do was cancel my subscription and start a new one. The problem was, there is no refund for the subscription fee I had just paid in August. It would cost me more to cancel and renew to get the new device than it was worth. I did not even want a freebee - just a deal on a the newer spot. If I could have bought one with a 10% discount I would have been ok with that - of course, more would have been better - she offered nothing.
I am done with them. When my subscription gets close to expiring I am shutting it off. $100 was fine, $150 irritated me, $200 is just too much. Talk about aggressive fee hikes. 2x in a matter of 2 years.
I think Spot is in for trouble if they don't adapt to the market. I switched to InReach. My riding buddies are either using InReach or seriously considering it. I've seen many others talk about switching. My last Spot bill was $180 if I recall correctly. InReach is $160 the first year (with the 1 time activation fee), $145 after that, with much better features. Spot is great at $100/year, but when it costs more for less functionality than the competition, very few will use them.
That said, just carry something, at least one in the group plus radios. These devices can be the difference in life & death if SHTF. I've seen it first hand. Two groups a couple miles apart in the same storm. One group was uncomfortable but got out (with help) in the middle of the night, the other group had a fatality and spent 3 nights out there before the storm cleared. Don't tell the service providers but for me that's worth more than I want to admit!
That said, just carry something, at least one in the group plus radios. These devices can be the difference in life & death if SHTF. I've seen it first hand. Two groups a couple miles apart in the same storm. One group was uncomfortable but got out (with help) in the middle of the night, the other group had a fatality and spent 3 nights out there before the storm cleared. Don't tell the service providers but for me that's worth more than I want to admit!
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