!%$*@# Argh, I hate AT&T!

[jpeepers]

I just spent an hour and 20 minutes on the phone with them. (again)
I have constant dropped calls, missed calls, can't make calls, etc. and I want out of my contract. I'm paying a $170 a month for a service that is unacceptable.
They basically said there is no way they will wave the ETF, even if I don't have service. They said that in my iphone contract it clearly states that you cannot cancel a iphone contract for any reason without paying the fee. Even if you are in a bad service area?
So, I am stuck for another 18 months with unacceptable service or I can pay the $435 ETF for my 3 lines. I am so mad right now I could spit fire


Sorry, just had to rant.

.

[Ichwohneinloche]

I just spent an hour and 20 minutes on the phone with them. (again)
I have constant dropped calls, missed calls, can't make calls, etc. and I want out of my contract. I'm paying a $170 a month for a service that is unacceptable.
They basically said there is no way they will wave the ETF, even if I don't have service. They said that in my iphone contract it clearly states that you cannot cancel a iphone contract for any reason without paying the fee. Even if you are in a bad service area?
So, I am stuck for another 18 months with unacceptable service or I can pay the $435 ETF for my 3 lines. I am so mad right now I could spit fire


Sorry, just had to rant.

.

I totally feel your pain. Same problems only mine is up in 6 months and i'll be moving back to my old house with better reception in 5. Still might switch to Verizon though. Everyone I know that has it loves it.

[goodgod2]

I just spent an hour and 20 minutes on the phone with them. (again)
I have constant dropped calls, missed calls, can't make calls, etc. and I want out of my contract. I'm paying a $170 a month for a service that is unacceptable.
They basically said there is no way they will wave the ETF, even if I don't have service. They said that in my iphone contract it clearly states that you cannot cancel a iphone contract for any reason without paying the fee. Even if you are in a bad service area?
So, I am stuck for another 18 months with unacceptable service or I can pay the $435 ETF for my 3 lines. I am so mad right now I could spit fire


Sorry, just had to rant.


.

I remember reading somewhere you could call att and ask for a new sim which can get you better signal.

[jpeepers]

I remember reading somewhere you could call att and ask for a new sim which can get you better signal.

Already tried the new sim. No change at all. I've also had my phone replaced, No change. Still crappy service.

.

[demonslave]

man, if I were you, I'd suck it up and pay the fees and tell AT&T to you-know-what. Otherwise, you'll be paying three grand for the rest of your contract for daily aggravation.

I don't have such an expensive plan, but I'll get voicemails from people who my phone says never called and texts that come hours late.

[GIRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL]

The new sim is a lot of hot air for most people, although some do get bad sims, please..

Where do you live OP? If you don't mind and T-Mobile has decent coverage in your area, you can cancel out and save some money, but put up with EDGE. This is again only if you have good T-Mo coverage in your area which I'm aware of isn't the case for some. That or swallow the ETF, sell your iPhone and switch to VZW for a Droid or Eris.

You could also downgrade your rate plans and buy a prepaid VZW MVNO phone like Page Plus.

[jpeepers]

If it was just me I would eat the ETF but I have 3 lines and right now it would cost me $435 to get out. Even though the service sucks the wife does see the math the way I do. In the end we would be better off but all she see's is the $435 just to get out of our contract.

It's a real shame they (AT&T) are being like this. I even offered to ship the phones back to them or work some sort of compromise but they won't budge. I was very polite with them, pleaded my case to several people but nothing.
When I was with Sprint and moved to an area that had bad coverage it just took a few calls and they let me out of my contract with no ETF. I would go back to them again because they treated me fair. When I'm done with AT&T, I will NEVER go back to them, ever.

I live in Colorado Springs and T-Mobile is a bit spotty in this area (from what I have heard?) So that's not really an option either.

[GIRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL]

If you're unsure of the coverage you could always buy a cheapy prepaid Nokia (19.99) and check the signal strength in your area if it's terrible you can just return it and explore other options. I'm suggesting this route because it does have the potential to save some money (and justify the ETF in the long run) with no contract and it will allow you to keep your iPhone provided coverage is good enough.

Try filing with the BBB, that nets results for some. Especially since they are accredited.

[Megum07]

At times, customer service reps can be really stupid, and others pretty awesome and helpful.

If it was any other phone and your coverage sucked, they would waive ETF, however the Iphone is untouchable, only in CERTAIN situations can ETF for an Iphone be waived. If you have called in over the span of months, and it still cannot happen, then, if service is that bad, cancel, sell two iphones, that will cover the etf charges. paying for your family minutes, all three Iphone data packages, and whatever Text packages each month will add up to a lot more.

-edit-

you need to look at it this way with the Iphone, it would be different if all three phones were some crappy nokia that cost 150, cause if you are getting some nokia phone, with a two year contract, the phone is free right? but in reality without a contract, the nokia is around 150, so if you cancel out your contract early, if its waived, no biggie, the nokia wasnt worth so much. The Iphone without a contract depending on which model you get is around 500-700 and in the beginning 800 dollars. when you sign a two year contract you now can get it as low as 99 dollars. the etf is covering SOME cost of the phone, cause if you cancel the lines, you still only paid a two year contract price for the iphones, getting up to 400-500 dollar discount, and now can turn around just activate another contract, and get ANOTHER iphone at a discount. The phone itself just costs way too much money, which is why ETF will not be waived, it covers the discount that you received with the phone.

[jpeepers]

Yeah, I understand that AT&T has to get there money back out of the phone. I even offered to send them the phones back.
Point is I am paying for a service that I am not receiving. $180 a month is a lot of money to have daily dropped calls.
Very frustrating to be on a business call and next thing you know your talking to yourself.
I kid you not, If I make 10 calls a day 5 will get dropped or will not connect.


.

[Riviera]

Point is I am paying for a service that I am not receiving.

You need to keep asking to talk to the higher manager when you call the customer service. Eventually, you will end up at one of the District Manager or something who will & can help you. It is not fair if you keep continuing paying for the service you never get.

In 2005, I had a billing issue. I kept asking and asking to speak to the higher manager until they gave me this number: (337)279-4545. I still keep number, just in case I need to bypass the customer service for another "big" issue/problem.

Give it a try and call that number. You need to call on Monday to Friday between 9am - 5pm (Eastern Time). I hope the same person would answer the phone. She was a very nice middle age lady - I forgot her name, sorry. Explain your problem politely, don't rush it. AT&T is be able to pull your call history and see how many "drop calls, failed calls" you have had in your account.

Good luck.

[redcard]

You got a 2 year contract for 3 lines for a network that drops 50% of your calls?

I don't know why you would offer to send 3 phones back to save you paying the $425, when you could probably get $750 on ebay for them.

Guess you're not telling the whole story.

[punklove]

you could try to get one of them Micor-Cell thingy's that ATT recently rolled out- it hooks up to ur internet modem and increases the signal- AT&T 3G MicroCell

it looks like its not available everywhere, but call and ask-

otherwise, just cancel, get some droids on verizon, and sell ur iphones on ebay for a nice profit (unlock'em, jailbreak, and install a theme first)- i mean, even if you paid 300 each, that plus the 425 = 1325 . . . you should be able to recoup that with selling 3 iphones-

PS- FYI
I hate ATT too- thats why i wont sign a contract with them- i have no ETF cause I bought my iphone off craigslist, and insisted on getting a month to month contract. -the warranty is through apple, and they warranty the devices, not the users- I've replaced mine under warranty several times-

[GIRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL]

You got a 2 year contract for 3 lines for a network that drops 50% of your calls?

I don't know why you would offer to send 3 phones back to save you paying the $425, when you could probably get $750 on ebay for them.

Guess you're not telling the whole story.

I read some reviews for this area with T-Mobile and coverage is supposed to be good. I checked cell towers and T-Mobile has a good amount of them there. It's an option if you want to get a more reliable carrier and keep your iPhone, and save some $$$$ as data isn't required and the prices are just lower. I did suggest checking coverage on his own but I guess that's out of the question.

[Imahottguy]

They will drop you if you call every single day for about a month. The whole 'iPhone contracts cannot have ETF waived is bullocks'. If you keep calling, they will suddenly be able to (at some point) work a deal.

Just do some google searches on how to get out of a cell phone contract. I got out of my centennial contract because I 'moved' to an area where there was no centennial service. That method is based on the theory that if over 40% of your minutes used are off network, you cost them money, ergo, they dropped me (no pun intended).

Not too long ago, Sprint started dropping customers who called CS too much. So keep at it!!

Oh yeah, can I have your iPhone when you get out of your contract?

[mrrippey]

Yeah, I understand that AT&T has to get there money back out of the phone. I even offered to send them the phones back.
Point is I am paying for a service that I am not receiving. $180 a month is a lot of money to have daily dropped calls.
Very frustrating to be on a business call and next thing you know your talking to yourself.
I kid you not, If I make 10 calls a day 5 will get dropped or will not connect.


.

I get dropped calls when it says I have five bars and I am not moving. I am sitting in my hotel room in Vegas talking and I get "call failed." This happened seven times over the course of a 20 minute call.

I am thinking of not even jailbreaking the phone to see if its something with this last jailbreak. I am from NYC so I figured crappy service there but in Vegas too? I will do one more restore, no jailbreak and see how it goes, else I am taking this crap back to Apple and figure something out. I may go get the Droid if this keeps up.

[GIRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL]

I get dropped calls when it says I have five bars and I am not moving. I am sitting in my hotel room in Vegas talking and I get "call failed." This happened seven times over the course of a 20 minute call.

I am thinking of not even jailbreaking the phone to see if its something with this last jailbreak. I am from NYC so I figured crappy service there but in Vegas too? I will do one more restore, no jailbreak and see how it goes, else I am taking this crap back to Apple and figure something out. I may go get the Droid if this keeps up.

Hiii, I'm in Vegas too. Aren't you enjoying the call quality when one does go through for a minute or so? The internet is down right speedy too.

[Megum07]

I just dont get it, I was in vegas for a week not too long ago, and my iphone on atts network worked perfectly?

[GIRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL]

Where did you stay

[Channan]

My dad went to Vegas like 2 months ago and his iPhone on AT&T worked fine.