Disillusioned with AT&T service

[Ol'Joe]

Okay, it's pretty simple. I left Verizon for AT&T because of the Iphone. I Love the Iphone. I Love the Apps. I like the internet and games and everything else on the "Phone". I am completely upset with AT&Ts service. Twice in the last three weeks I have been "NO SERVICE" at least 3 days. One was releated to the N'easter that came through Virginia last week. You would think okay give em a break right? (wait for it) The other was just a lack of towers in the area. So why am I upset? Well my Verizon air card for the laptop and everybody I was with who had Verizon service had total availability at all times. No problems at all. Now I can't be away from cell service that long. It's a recall thing. It could cost me a lot of lost wages. Heres the question. I have about 16 months left on my contract. Does anyone know of a way to get out of the remaining contract without paying the ridiculus Early Termination Fee"? Yeah I know I'm just a cheap SOB but I figure it's worth a shot to throw this out and see what happens. Thanks for reading and "Good roads to Ya"

[hardy1000]

Joe,
I cancelled AT&T because of the coverage issue and the lack of customer service and went with Verizon because they have 10 times the coverage. I had AT&T for 10 years and it worked fine here locally but when I started traveling I found to many dead areas. So far I have been happy with Verizon.

[Herbdb]

Last year we traveled the Intracoastal Waterway from Maryland to Florida, by boat. We had phones from ATT and Verizon with us. My wife loved the iPhone, but it was practically useless in remote areas. We have found the same thing true with campgrounds in the PA area. This is particularly true of good data service.

We recently dropped the ATT and went all Verizon. My wife does not like her Blackberry Storm nearly as much as she liked the iPhone. But it has service in remote locations where ATT just doesn't, regardless of what their advertising says. We are hoping for an Apple-Verizon deal sometime in the future. For now, we will stick with the less capable phone on the better network.

[Wayne M]

Wow! I have had AT&T for several years and the past two years I use their USB-881 data connect. We have traveled from Texas to New England, twice by different routes, and to Las Vegas. Once in those years did I NOT have coverage. It was Millersburg, OH - but the CG had WIFI so data was covered. We just drove a few miles down the road and picked up coverage for the phones.

I really think you will find that every company has their "dead zones."

[Harry B]

I agree that the wireless companies all have their areas that lack coverage. We have traveled cross country several times and have always had good coverage from AT&T for our cellphone service.
AT&T Internet access at 3G speed is another issue. My complaint is with their 3G network. I have a IPhone and when I do have 3G coverage, it is slow at best. Speed was decent in the beginning when I got the Iphone but I think the success of the Iphone has overloaded AT&T's network. I believe that this is also the reason why AT&T does not allow tethering the Iphone as it would probably further deteriorate 3G speed.

It will be interesting to see if Verizon has infrastructure/bandwidth in place to deal with greater demand created by 3G access when phones like the droid and other take off like the Iphone did.

I know if 3G coverage(availability) and speed has not improved by the time my contract expires, I'll be looking for a better option as well.

[Superslif]

I agree, ATT lacks coverage in less remote areas. We also camp a lot in Western and North Central PA. where I know coverage is very slim. My problem is we have family members all on ATT right now. If I were to change carriers when my contract is up early next year and my family members don't I'll have to really watch my minutes. I will look into Verizon...Others we camp with have much better luck with Verizon in Ohio and PA. I remember back in June while camping at Hocking Hills State Park in SE. Ohio we had to drive 15 miles away from our campsite to the top of a hill and stand on a picnic table to get 1 bar in order to check-in on an elder family member.

[Route 66]

Quote:

If I were to change carriers when my contract is up early next year and my family members don't I'll have to really watch my minutes.

Verizon has this feature.

Friends & Family®

Get unlimited calling to the people you call most. Choose up to 5 numbers for eligible single-line plans and up to 10 eligible numbers for family plans!

[sgtjoe]

Gee, everyones telling you how great Verizon is but no one has come up with a suggestion as to how to beat AT&T cancellaton fees. Try the truth, tell them you love the phone but it has some serious problems in accessessbility in areas you travel. Explain that your job requires that you be available and their coverage is not meeting that, costing you money. Good luck.

[Not a Clue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ol'Joe Okay, it's pretty simple. I left Verizon for AT&T because of the Iphone. I Love the Iphone. I Love the Apps. I like the internet and games and everything else on the "Phone". I am completely upset with AT&Ts service. Twice in the last three weeks I have been "NO SERVICE" at least 3 days. One was releated to the N'easter that came through Virginia last week. You would think okay give em a break right? (wait for it) The other was just a lack of towers in the area. So why am I upset? Well my Verizon air card for the laptop and everybody I was with who had Verizon service had total availability at all times. No problems at all. Now I can't be away from cell service that long. It's a recall thing. It could cost me a lot of lost wages. Heres the question. I have about 16 months left on my contract. Does anyone know of a way to get out of the remaining contract without paying the ridiculus Early Termination Fee"? Yeah I know I'm just a cheap SOB but I figure it's worth a shot to throw this out and see what happens. Thanks for reading and "Good roads to Ya"

You might want to try a different AT&T phone first. I have friends that have the iphone and they can't get a signal but the same AT&T signal will have no problem in the same place with a different AT&T phone. I do the only reason you have AT&T is the iphone but maybe a different phone will work until your contract is up.

[Rick Long]

Now to answer your question... YES... there are sites here online where you can sell your contract. It's very popular.

Celltrade, America's Online Cellular Exchange Place

Cellswapper.com - Cellswapper.com - Get out of your Cell Phone-Mobile-Wireless Contract

[Jim Stewart]

I had Verizon 2 years ago and it worked everywhere but my house and office. I called Verizon and they sent a rep out to verify and explained that they had shifted a tower during construction of new towers to give a wider but weaker coverage during the update. They said it would be 11 months before the project was finished. They canceled my contract with no penalty and let us keep the phones (Plain Jane).

As suggested, try the same with AT&T, they may be more forgiving than you think. Your problem may the cost of the I-Phone which they are not going to want to eat. The penalty in most early terminations is not for the service, but to cover the original discount on the phone. Most services discount the phones by a large amount to entice people to sign up.

[Bill Adams]

I just can't wait for Verizon to start selling the i-phone (or should I say, those Apple idiots allow Verizon to sell their phone). I would own one today except for the known problems with the AT&T network. AT&T is now suing Verizon for their completely accurate TV ad that states Verizon has 5 times the 3G coverage as AT&T. Yikes, the truth hurts.

[Herbdb]

Having the wide 3G coverage has another advantage if you have tethering (the option to use the phone as an external modem.) We used this in a remote area of Missouri on our last trip. It worked great. This gives us high speed internet access on our laptops while traveling without purchasing a USB modem and paying for a separate data plan. No more paying extra for lousy campground internet service.

While this is possible with second generation iPhones, you have to use an unsanctioned hack of the operating system to do it. Not my cup of tea.

[Jim Stewart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Not a Clue You might want to try a different AT&T phone first. I have friends that have the iphone and they can't get a signal but the same AT&T signal will have no problem in the same place with a different AT&T phone. I do the only reason you have AT&T is the iphone but maybe a different phone will work until your contract is up.

I am looking at new phones on my Sprint contract and looking at the new Palm Pre. It has as good of reviews overall as the i-phone just not as many applications currently available.

In my research I looked at all options (providers and phones) and all reviews on the I-phone has overall poor ratings for reception. This problem has caused many to switch from the I-Phone. The Palm Pre and new Palm Pixi from Sprint had some early reliability problems, but the major current problem is the volume of the ring tone. If you look at the website for Palm Central, there are fixes for that.

If you go to the I-phone Users website you may find more information on poor reception.