Sly Bald Guys Forum
Various Non-Bald Discussions => General Discussion => Topic started by: schro on May 28, 2010, 09:49:50 AM
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OK,
I live in a metropolitan area nearing a million people, so we're not in the sticks (though some might call Sacramento a cowtown). My cell phone reception has sucked for a while, and it's gotten worse. Where I live backs up to a very small hill, but that really shouldn't matter. I called AT&T and apparently a cell tower is out of commission. It's been out of commission for a few months, but no timetable can be given for its repair. When I called them a month ago, I asked them to tell me when the tower would be fixed. I then got a text saying "issue resolved, we apologize for any inconvience"......I'm calling bullsh*t! :Xo!
So yesterday, I spend an hour on the phone with AT&T. I first tried calling them using my cell and the rep repeated his name 3 times before saying "if you can hear me, please call AT&T at 1-800 whatever". CLASSIC. >:(
I then use my home phone, explain the problem, and have them call me on my cell phone. Obviously, they can't hear me. I try calling them, same thing. I then have them call the Lovely Mrs. Schro's cell, same thing. I've been with AT&T forever, including when their cell division was Cingular (and I LOVE U-Verse), but there's no way I can continue with AT&T in the current situation. The best thing to come out of the call was that I finally got someone from AT&T to experience first hand what I've been dealing with.
So, I have two realistic options:
1) Find a new provider.
2) Get a signal booster. A good friend of mine has a girlfriend that lives near me. She installed a signal booster and went from maybe one bar to four. If AT&T wants to keep my service, they will need to buy me one, upgrade my phone, and compensate me for the many months of sh*tty reception.
I'm not a big tech guy, however I'd like to get a keyboard phone and get access to my emails on my cellphone.
So, fellow SBG's, what would you do in my situation?
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I was in your situation -- additionally, AT&T kept screwing up my billing -- so I've switched to Verizon. It's only been about a month, so I can't give a long-term report, but I'm much happier with the coverage. And so far, they haven't screwed up my account.
My partner got the Samsung Rogue phone, which is Internet capable, and he's pretty happy with it. (I got a non-Internet phone because I don't really need it.)
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Thanks BB.
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ATT sucks on its good days! :x! Atlanta--a home base for that bunch--you can't drive or move while on the phone or it drops the call! Same in Houston, DC, NO & NYC area. Totally a bush league operator.
My solution, ATT is the company provider, so I use Verizon for my personal cell, and it gets used all the time. It is dependable, doesn't drop in any area of the country I've been in, it worked all the way through Hurricane Gustav when ATT was door nail dead.
If you want a truly mobile phone service, get Verizon, ATT still has cord memories @c3 @c3 @c3
But I am very ambivalent on ATT, >:D
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I'm having the same problem with AT&T. I can stand in one location and go from 5 bars to none - without moving an inch. They definitely have a service level issue.
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I don't have those problems with T-mobile, and they're cheaper than AT&T to boot. I get really good coverage everywhere except for Winston, OR.....a little town out in the sticks where no cell phones really work.
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and here I am...out in the sticks of Georgia in a town of about 3,000 people...and have wonderful service with AT&T. No dropped cell calls, excellent Internet service and home phone service. Maybe they're catering to the little crowd over the big cities? I have no idea but have no complaints.
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Schro, if you have a 3G phone, such as the iPhone, you can get one of these to put into your house - http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/why/3gmicrocell/
Hopefully you can talk AT&T into paying for it.
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Schro, if you have a 3G phone, such as the iPhone, you can get one of these to put into your house - http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/why/3gmicrocell/
Hopefully you can talk AT&T into paying for it.
Well, if I stay with AT&T, they will certainly pay for it, along with a free upgraded phone for me & the Lovely Mrs. Schro.
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Schro, if you have a 3G phone, such as the iPhone, you can get one of these to put into your house - http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/why/3gmicrocell/
Hopefully you can talk AT&T into paying for it.
Well, if I stay with AT&T, they will certainly pay for it, along with a free upgraded phone for me & the Lovely Mrs. Schro.
Yeah, ask them for a couple of Backflip phones, iPhones, or Blackberry Bold phones and a microcell for your house. You'll be golden then. Plus you get unlimited talk time when you are calling from home.
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Schro, if you have a 3G phone, such as the iPhone, you can get one of these to put into your house - http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/why/3gmicrocell/
Hopefully you can talk AT&T into paying for it.
Well, if I stay with AT&T, they will certainly pay for it, along with a free upgraded phone for me & the Lovely Mrs. Schro.
Yeah, ask them for a couple of Backflip phones, iPhones, or Blackberry Bold phones and a microcell for your house. You'll be golden then. Plus you get unlimited talk time when you are calling from home.
Obviously if they want to keep my business, they'll do something like that. The question is, do you think the would?
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Schro, if you have a 3G phone, such as the iPhone, you can get one of these to put into your house - http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/why/3gmicrocell/
Hopefully you can talk AT&T into paying for it.
Well, if I stay with AT&T, they will certainly pay for it, along with a free upgraded phone for me & the Lovely Mrs. Schro.
Yeah, ask them for a couple of Backflip phones, iPhones, or Blackberry Bold phones and a microcell for your house. You'll be golden then. Plus you get unlimited talk time when you are calling from home.
Obviously if they want to keep my business, they'll do something like that. The question is, do you think the would?
That's my biggest rave with AT&T. They sent me new cordless house phone and a wireless router for the 'Net just by asking... O0
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hey schro: sorry 2 hear 'bout that. i recently switched cell phone carriers. after being a loyal t-mobile customer for approximately almost 9 years... i had "bad" coverage here in beautiful pensacola. i recently (just 1 month) switched to sprint. i got a gr8 deal for $69.99 per month: unlimited mobile to mobile calls to any carriers, unlimited texts, unlimited internet, & 450 free minutes (to land lines only)...thankfully 99% of my calls R mobile-to-mobile. O0
i really hated leaving t-mobile because their customer service was excellent. however, their coverage here in pensacola was horrible. so far... i am liking sprint & my new blackberry tour. i also got an extra 23% discount off my monthly bill 4 working at one of the local hospitals.O0
WARHAWK O0
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We've been on Verizon for nearly ten years now. Never had a problem with service or customer service.
And since we don't have a land line at our house, good coverage is essential.
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I'm on a family plan with T-Mobile, don't have much coverage problems except when I go on photo trips with my dad.
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I'm with Sprint after being with Verizon & AT&T.....ain't goin NOWHERE!!!
Great coverage....RARELY dropped calls...and I mean RARELY....my only beef is that AT&T has the iPhone and Verizon has the Droid.
Thanks, Schro, for precluding my switching to AT&T for the iPhone.
Anyone know of comparable phones to the iPhone and the Droid with Sprint? I'll see if it falls in line with the one I like.
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Robmiester, get the htc hero. It is pretty much identical to google's nexus one. My buddy has it and i'm truly impressed.
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Yeah....that's one of three I've been checking out online....need to go to the Sprint Store to handle them...
HTC Hero
HTC Touch Pro2
LG Rumor Touch
The Rumor Touch has the best overall customer rating but all three are close in ratings. 4.5 stars, 4.4 stars, and 4.7 stars respectively
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I have used at&t for 8 years, i will never switch, even though i get dropped calls, i have even had important phone calls dropped or hit a dead area, i have no land line, and plus ther are dead ares in Loveland, my freinds are trying to get me to switch to verizon, my family wants me to switch to Verizon because there are no dead areas in Loveland and the rest of northern colorado with Verizon, iam due for an upgrade in October and iam staying with at&t. at&t has the worse coverage in Northern Colorado, i know of ten to twenty dead areas in Northern Colorado where i get no signal what so ever
Ive heard some horror stories about Verizon.
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Robmiester, get the htc hero. It is pretty much identical to google's nexus one. My buddy has it and i'm truly impressed.
Ok.....I decided to go with the HTC EVO 4G....so I'm on 3 waiting lists...2 Sprint stores and Best Buy....
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I hear that they are pretty dang impressive Rob.
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Verizon. Seems to get high marks from Consumer Reports, and I have never had any problem with my cell. The service is bundled with my fiber optic computer connection. I skipped the TV option. I waste my former TV time on the computer, and suddenly the day is gone.
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Robmiester, get the htc hero. It is pretty much identical to google's nexus one. My buddy has it and i'm truly impressed.
T is couldn't agree with you anymore, my buddy Paul has the Nexus and it rocks.....AT&T sucks and I'm on my last nerve with them......I'm not at all impressed with the 3g network, I literally watch my battery drain with it. About last year I went to the Local AT&T store near campus and told the manager to give me a cheap hand me down and renew my contract and instead the manager redid my discount and took my iphone put a data blocker on it and since I only use it as a computer when I'm on the Stanford Campus or at home ( which I have the beyond awesome wi-fi on Campus and then Google is right down the street ) and the battery of the phone lasted 3 days....I was happy plus my phone bill was about 35 bucks. Two days ago I got text from and the put the data plan back on my phone saying that's it's mandatory bla bla bla....ATT sucks, it also took them 6 months after buying my iphone to give me my Stanford discount.
I'm done with them.....I might go to T-mobile or Verizon.
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I hear that they are pretty dang impressive Rob.
Finally giving the iPhone a run for the money.....I always wanted the iPhone, but wasn't willing to change carriers (Sprint works great 'round Denver and the mountains [more 'bout that below])
Yeah, there was a discussion, maybe with Tyler, that there's a way to get a phone from another carrier hooked up with Sprint...but at the time that was just one or two steps more than I wanted to engage. I'm STOKED (that's Californian for "excited") about getting my 4G. I was about to pull the trigger on one of those I mentioned above, but then noticed on the back of my latest SPRINT bill that THE HTC EVO 4G WAS COMING
Back to topic....with us being a national (yea...INTERNATIONAL) band of bald brothers....the discussion of which is the best network is really a more localized deal. When I look at a map of SPRINTS coverage, I see areas in the country where coverage is not as..well...covered. With VERIZON, I had to run out to my driveway to answer the phone or make a call. With SPRINT we contemplated not even having a land line as it works in the bowels of my basement, let alone in the office or living room. But VIRIZON vs SPRINT in another state could be the exact opposite......nuff said.
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Well, after I got sh*t on at the AT&T store, I called AT&T directly and told them of my experience.
I'm getting a free 3G PowerCell (basically turns my home into a cell tower), a free Samsung Jack (I'm not a tech guy, and this appears to have all I need), and my wife is getting a free Pantech Impact 3G. The Lovely Mrs. Schro isn't into tech either, so we're happy.
I'll let you know how my coverage at home goes. If I get the results that a friend of mine got after installing the PowerCell, I'll be pleased.
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hey schro: that's good news. it sounds like U got "comped" well. hope it goes smooth. O0
WARHAWK O0
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hey schro: that's good news. it sounds like U got "comped" well. hope it goes smooth. O0
WARHAWK O0
I got about $500 worth (2 months credit for past crappy service thrown in), so we're pleased. Bottom line, I just need a signal here at home, and didn't feel like going through the hassle of switching carriers.
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Hey Schro--I had the same issue so I switched to Verizon. In my area and anywhere I go in America it is the best in my view...
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Yep, we've been with Verizon for about 6 years and haven't had any problems so far and their customer service has been helpful. No dropped calls even out here in Wyoming.
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ATT coverage sucks in Connecticut and has for many years. I left for Verizon 15 years ago and went from regularly dropped calls to almost never. I think that when the iPhone is available through Verizon, which is only months away, ATT is going to experience mass exodus.
I have Motorola Droid and love it ... The new Android OS is a little rough around the edges in places, but overall very good.
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We have AT&T but mostly because of friends and family have it as well so we to get charged against our minutes for calls. Coverage in the North Georgia mountains is spotty gets better when you get south a bit. But can't really advise other than to say try to get them to give you a booster or better phones because it really depends on who has the most cell towers in your area. Here in our part of Georgia if you have anyone other than AT&T or Verizon you don't get service. had Nextel/ Sprint once and couldn't get a signal unless you where whithin 50 miles of ATL.
GOOD LUCK.
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Well, got the 3G PowerCell up & running and the coverage in my house is great! The new phone has many features that I will likely never use. Guess I just have to read the manual. ;D
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AT&T sucks in more ways than I care to enumerate. :x! I'm switching to Verizon when my contract expires in October.