Spartan cell camera disappointment

[Mdepiano1]

So last fall I won my 1st cellular camera at a benefit dinner. A spartan go Cam powered by Verizon. I was so excited about this because I was in the market for one anyway and couldn't wait to use it. I used it from 11/2018 until 2/2019 and then stored it In my safe for the spring off season. During that time it preformed pretty well and I was really enjoying the camera and planned to pick up another this summer. So last week I pulled it out of my safe and powered it on and immediately was having issues. At first It would connect to Verizon but wouldn't send pictures to my phone and then I couldn't get it to turn on at all most of the time. So after troubleshooting with a tech on the phone he declared something to be wrong with the camera and to send it in for repair/replacement. At this time I explained how I won the camera at a benefit dinner and didn't have a recipt for it but that it was less than a year old. He said that they would take care of it and for me to just send the camera in. So I mail the camera in and have to include the return postage ($25) which I was okay with as long as i was going to get things fixed and get my camera back into the woods. Well i get an email today saying that they had no problem turning it on but couldn't get it to connect with Verizon (funny that me and the tech on the phone had the exact opposite findings???). They said the camera has connection issues and the o-ring for the antenna was missing (it was present when I removed the antenna and shipped it to them) and because of that they suspect I caused water damage to the unit somewhere and also since I dont have the receipt they cant do anything for me with that camera but they offered 10% off a BRAND NEW one lol. sorry for the rant I just figured if anyone is in the market for a cell camera they should know how certain companies treat their customers. Goodbye Spartan hello Exodus....

 

[Dewey]

Don’t feel bad. I spent almost $500 for a Spartan Go Cam three years ago and used it very little and now I got a email telling me that Verizon is sunsetting the 3G network at the end of 2019 so now my expensive cell cam will be worthless. Not Spartans fault but they did tell me they have an upgrade program for owners of 3G cams. Ended up it’s only a $50 discount off a new cam. I’m not taking that bait.

 

[philsanchez76]

Sorry to hear about that experience. I almost bought a Spartan last year but ended up with a Bigfoot Camera instead for $200. They are on At&T 3G network which still does not have a sunset date to my knowledge. Performed flawlessly and come with a remote app for your phone if to control it remotely too. I've Called their customer service team several times before just to ask questions and I always get a real person and they even follow up via email on some additional questions I had. Pic quality to my phone is awesome too! Data plan is super affordable as well.

 

[Tufrthnails]

Sorry to hear about that experience. I almost bought a Spartan last year but ended up with a Bigfoot Camera instead for $200. They are on At&T 3G network which still does not have a sunset date to my knowledge. Performed flawlessly and come with a remote app for your phone if to control it remotely too. I've Called their customer service team several times before just to ask questions and I always get a real person and they even follow up via email on some additional questions I had. Pic quality to my phone is awesome too! Data plan is super affordable as well.

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What does your data plan cost with the Bigfoot and where you already an at&t customer or did you open an acct for this cam? I am looking for a cam to leave in KY on the farm. My cousin lives close enough to mess with it battery wise and such.

 

[cedar paul]

I had same experience about Verizon cutting 3 G service in our area and also we could never get it to take proper pics. It seemed like we got our fair share of ass shots of critters. They also offered money off a new one which we promptly declined.

 

[dpierce72]

I will say, and I'm in the early stages of testing, but the Spypoint Link Micros are supposed to have fixed some of the issues. Time will tell, but I picked two up to to try.

I think it's worth reading the reviews on the Spypoint Link Micro (new for 2019) cameras as well. Options are ALWAYS good.

If these babies do hold up, at <$150 each, they could not only dominate the call market, but the game market in general.

But at the same time ...they might go bust. Only time will tell. And for the record, before the Link Micro, I have NEVER owned a spartan camera...

 

[philsanchez76]

What does your data plan cost with the Bigfoot and where you already an at&t customer or did you open an acct for this cam? I am looking for a cam to leave in KY on the farm. My cousin lives close enough to mess with it battery wise and such.

@Tufrthnails No ATT account needed (I have Tmobile). You just buy data through a company called SimHero. It's basically like you have a prepaid cellphone that happens to be a game camera. So no contract either. You can do month to month during deer season if you want (like $9 per month). It is a little cheaper to do a year at a time. I paid $80 for the whole year for 1600 MB of data. The camera has two options for sending pics to your phone: a smaller thumbnail version and a full size 12 MP version. The thumbnails are like 40 KB so my data plan would get me 30,000 pics. Since I don't want or need 30,000 pics, I have the camera sending me a full size 12 megapixel version which gives me like 3500 pics per year. I have researched as many camera's as I could and this seems to be the cheapest data plan and has a USA based customer service team, etc. Cannot say enough good things. They also did just come out with a 4G version that I will be trying soon.

 

[philsanchez76]

@dpierce72 Ricky Bobby just posted this Academy sale on the Spypoints. Dang now I am tempted. Only thing is: does the SPypoint give you the option to send a full size image to your phone? Or only the small thumbnail image? From research I did it seemed they would only send the thumbnail and if you wanted full size you had to go check your card. I found with the Bigfoot that the thumbnail was pretty useless to me since my cams are always elevated on public land and I could not even see enough detail to see how many points a rack had.

 

[dpierce72]

@dpierce72 Ricky Bobby just posted this Academy sale on the Spypoints. Dang now I am tempted. Only thing is: does the SPypoint give you the option to send a full size image to your phone? Or only the small thumbnail image? From research I did it seemed they would only send the thumbnail and if you wanted full size you had to go check your card. I found with the Bigfoot that the thumbnail was pretty useless to me since my cams are always elevated on public land and I could not even see enough detail to see how many points a rack had.

I saw that post lol. I have just under $250 in mine so that is a GREAT deal. My thinking was even at my price, they were worth a risk. They are my first cell cameras as I've always chosen to buy more cameras rather than spend north of $350 on a single one.

Regarding your question, I just received mine and am not 100% on the answer. My plans are to get them set up and out this weekend so I'll know more in a few days.

 

[philsanchez76]

Cool let me know! Although for $119 I may just have to pull the trigger anyway. I may just "happen" to drive by the academy that is not on my way home from work.

 

[dpierce72]

Cool let me know! Although for $119 I may just have to pull the trigger anyway. I may just "happen" to drive by the academy that is not on my way home from work.

LOL ...not a huge risk at that price point IMO

 

[Smokinya1]

Cool let me know! Although for $119 I may just have to pull the trigger anyway. I may just "happen" to drive by the academy that is not on my way home from work.

You can order them online until the 27th and enter the promo code SPENDANDSAVE and get an additional $20 off. I paid $109 total each for my last 2!!