My Sprint phone broke after a couple of years of use. I can buy a new one but ATT&T has been running a great deal on cell phones. 1000 anytime minutes, free long distance etc. for $40 a month. Has anybody had experience with ATT&T cell phone service? Who do they pull for the inquiry? Will an ATT&T phone work in the shopping mall? I have to take my Sprint phone out side to use it. I can't even use it in the house. I have to go outside there too. I am 5 years past BK and I do not want to pay for a deposit. Thanx
I have AT&T, and my service is very uneven. I usually have to go outside to avoid getting dropped, and sometimes even that doesn't work. I have friends who have other providers, and they have the same problems. I'm at the point where I think it's the technology, and not the provider, since they all use pretty much the same equipment. Ask your friends or people who live near you who have cell phones how their service is, and you might decide to save yourself the trouble of changing carriers.
My wife and I have at&t and I am currently thinking about switching. I live in Houston and the signal varies to much across town. Most places I can use the phone inside the buildings but if im in an area that switched me to analog the signal sucks. Most my friends have phones through verizon and they have clear reception were I have minimal.
Re: Cell phone service Dropped calls are an effect of many different reasons. The type of cell phone you have (yes some cell phones have capacities to obtain higher signal strengths than others), where the nearest cell tower is located, what type of frequencey is at that tower, and also what type of building you are in trying to use your cell phone tower. Building materials diffuse the signal coming into a building. For example, my employer sits right beside a cell tower however our concrete monolith blocks pretty much most of the digital signal coming into our work areas. I believe if I am not mistaken that however much the signals must bounce through certain walls and rooms (for example a signal would be much more reliable when you are located near an outside wall versus standing inside a room that is several inner walls within a building). Unfortunately it is the nature of the technology. The technology is not perfect and certain dropped calls can not be blamed on the providers. You may see lots of people walking around the mall speaking on their cell phones, but I am sure if you analyzed their conversations you would be hearing a lot of-- "what i can't hear you my phone dropped a little bit"
Re: Cell phone service I used to have Sprint and now have AT&T with my wife. I can't say if one is better than the other! But I will say this about Sprint - once you become a customer, you become S**T to them. During my 4+ years with them, I have not had one good customer service experience to speak of - I mean even if I went to a store to pay my bill, they still treated my rudely! But I did notice the EXCELLENT customer service prospective new customers received! As I mentioned, just signed up with AT&T on my wife's account and so far, so good. Customer service is better - I think because it's a business account through her job, so when she calls her companies name shows up. I think it's just a crap shoot! Good luck!
Re: Cell phone service when i first got my att phone it worked great. now it hardly works at all, I even had it replaced because I thought it was bad. I rarely get signal, when I do, it drops if I walk 5 steps. never works in buildings at all. very annoying. also, my on call phone is the same way and it is ATT. I live in the dallas area.
Re: Cell phone service Thanks for the input. Does it make a difference what brand of cell phone I should buy regardless of the carrier I use in terms of minimizing 'dropped calls'. My old phone was a Motorola Star Tac Digital phone. It looked great but dropped calls were a problem. I was told Nokia is the best brand because they put the latest pentium chip in their phones. Another person told me that my Star Tac dropped calls because it was too small. The larger clunkier phones drop less calls.
Re: Cell phone service I have T-MOBIL (VOICESTREAM), it works fine in my store, my house, just about everywhere I have been EXCEPT IN-LAWS HOUSE (WEST WHITTIER)...(bad area...sometimes won't even work outside)... A customer was in the pharmacy using her cellphone (NOT T-MOBILE), she said I will go outside and call you back...I TOLD HER MY PHONE WORKS FINE IN THE PHARMACY, and all over the store... Went to PUENTE HILLS MALL had some dead spots...some other guy was walking in front of me with NO PROBLEMS...NO DROPPING CALLS...go figure...(probably NOT PAC BELL ROAMING)
Re: Cell phone service I have a sprint pcs phone as well. A few times now when I've called to speak to a live person, a recording comes on telling me that they are going to charge me to speak to them. basically asks you 'press 1 to have this billed to your account, press 2 to decline and disconnect' wtf is up with that? needless to say, i havent spoken to a Sprint rep in a few months because of this. the only reason I still have my sprint phone is because they want 150 bux to cancel the contract. EDIT: guess i should mention, neither one of these report to any credit bureau that i've seen (exp, eq, tu)
Re: Cell phone service Kerry, From previous experience, avoid Ericsson. That is the worst cell phone I've ever had. Have had three Nokia's no problem. Three Motorola's (including Nextel) no problem.
Re: Cell phone service OK, I just got back from the ATT&T store. The 1,000 mi nutes for $39.99 is only for their new 'gms' system available in only a few large population areas of the USA. You can't use the system in Montana or most of the country. The sales guy told me that their regular program has been improved to 500 anytime minutes for 34.95 a month and that EQ is pulled. I forgot to ask about free evenings and weekends This week I am going over to negotiate with Sprint for a new phone and better terms. Currently 350 anytime minutes for 39.95 plus free evenings and weekends. I will let you know how I make out. I am terribly concerned that ATT&T will see my 5 year old BK and ask me for a big deposit which I can't afford. When I got Sprint it was partly because they refunded my $125 deposit after 1 year.
Re: Cell phone service I work in this industry. I find it funny that a lot of cellular telephone customers expect their cell phone to work like a land line telephone (like the one in your home). If a sales representative from a local store made you this promise, you're mistaken. Cell phones use the same technology as the radio in your car, and you know how that signal can be interupted by bridges, other AM towers, hills, etc. Your cell phone is no different. That said, cell phone companies vary from region to region to region. That is because different markets are launched differently. A company that has been in your market (while it may be operating under a different) the longest will likely have better coverage. You first need to figure out where you're going to use your phone most and then pick a company accordingly. Ask around and find out where the dead spots are, keeping in mind that no cellular telephone company was built with in-building coverage in mind (with the exception of a few stadiums and shopping malls where there is concetrated usage). They were designed for mobile coverage. While Sprint PCS may suck in Kansas City, MO (I'm saying it does), it may offer the best coverage in Chicago, IL. You really need to do your homework and don't buy into the coverage maps you see in stores. You MUST ask around. Lastly, there is a big concern in the wireless telephony market these days. Cellular telephone stocks are dropping and Wall Street is concerned about customer retention figures. You can often negotiate a better cell phone plan if you call your customer service number and complain about something (anything) and tell them you want to disconect. They will foward you to a "customer retention representative" who will often jump through hoops to keep you, offering you free minutes, better rates and other perks. Give it a shot...you might be pleased. But then again, why does someone with debt and credit problems want a cell phone? Seems to me it is just another luxury you could do without. Johnny Blood
Re: Cell phone service My friend called to cancel recently, I believe it was because she couldn't trust them to debit her bank account on the correct date. They wanted some exorbitant fee for early cancellation. She gave them the smackdown. The cancellation fee only applied to her original contract for her first year of service. She had had the account for over two years. Sprint PCS also has the worst reputation for sending accounts (even ones in good standing) to the worst of the collection industry scum. So I guess the question is, why would you want a (Sprint PCS) cell phone if you don't want debt and credit problems? -ingenue
Re: Cell phone service I have had Sprint PCS for several years. I haven't had any major problems with them. I have called customer service a few times and the reps have been pleasant, although I was transferred several times when I called once. I have heard that they are really working on their customer service and as of a couple days ago, they no longer charge for anyone to speak to customer service. BTW, that charge was not for every customer. It was only for customers on the Clear Pay program? My brother was on that program, but after about 6-8 months, his account was upgraded.
Re: Cell phone service Stayed with Sprint. One year contract. No credit check New plan for each of us. 500 anytime minutes. 1000 evening/weekend minutes $125 credit to buy a new phone. Cost = $35.95 The new phones we bought cost $99 + tax. They work great and have speaker phone etc. A new Motorola Star Tac phone flip phone costs $250. I think that buying a larger (and cheaper) phone improves clarity. If you want a deal like we got contact Collections at Sprint and tell them you are ready to change carriers. Make it clear what you want. Next year we will renegotiate
Re: Cell phone service I have Nextel and love it. You can talk to anyone that has a Nextel via walkie talkie unlimited minutes for free. Free incoming, rounded to the second, great customer service, no roaming charges, all and all great. I use about 2k walkie minutes and 2200 phone minutes monthly for about $100. Everytime I go to a cell phone store to get a new phone for my employees I ask them who has the best phone available and they always say Nextel. After reading what I wrote, it looks like I should be a Nextel salesman. Charlie
Re: Cell phone service Good deal Charlie, I have to say that you got a good price for all those minutes. We got what we wanted for our needs. What surprised me here was that apparently buying the smaller more expensive phones has some disadvantages, like more dropped calls, but then I am not an engineer so don't quote me.
Re: Cell phone service AT&T is the anti christ! I hate them and their stinky service. I am locked in until march when I am definitely jumping ship. I do not like them at all, i get no reception in anything that looks like a building and drop calls constantly. It's not my phone because i had the same phone when i was with sprint it was great. Customer service is unhelpful and you are hoarded with their junk mail. They pulled equifax on me, March 01.
Re: Cell phone service I use to have ATT. The service was terrible. Dropped calls, funny sounds, fast busy signals. I switched to Verizon, first with an analog startac, then to digital so I could get the new (last year) Nokia phone. Great service, no dropped calls in over two years, sounds good, voice mail is good. No complaints. John
I just applied for AT&T online and they are shipping me out the Panasonic Versio phone for free (it was 49.99 - 50.00 online instant rebate), I get 300 anytime minutes + 3000 nights/weekends for 39.99/month. Since I don't need to use the phone alot during the day that plan worked out good for me. They pulled Equifax on me cause I pulled my creditwatch yesterday and it had an inquiry from them. I only had to do a 1 yr contract and I figure if they don't work out then I'll switch. I had Cingular wireless for 2 yrs and their signals SUCKED bigtime and when I turned off my phone with them they kept billing me and it took 2 months to fix the billing problems. Only way I could get it fixed was to write a letter thru planetfeedback.com and the CEO's secretary called me!
