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AT&T Forcing me to "Upgrade" [Must Read]

Q

quantumrand

Android Expert
So, I have a European HTC Hero, which only works on AT&T EDGE. Well, the other day, I received this text message:

AT&T Free Message: By letter dated 12/3/2010, we informed you that upcoming network changes may impact your ability to make/receive calls & data on your phone with mobile number ending in ####. To avoid service interruption, visit an AT&T owned retail store by 1/6/2011 & exchange your current phone for a new comparable 3G phone at no cost/obligation to you. Some restrictions apply, see store for details.
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Now, at first, I thought this might be a good thing. Maybe I could upgrade to a 3G Android phone for free without even upping my contract, but I certainly wasn't optimistic (this is AT&T we're talking about).

So I visit my friendly neighborhood AT&T store and they tell me I can choose from any of their Feature or Messaging phones...Yeah, they want me to trade in my $500 Smartphone for some crappy $25 feature phone. It's either that, shell out $500 for one of their crappy Androids, or leave AT&T. Well, I guess I'm leaving AT&T.

According to the sales rep (who I don't put much stock in btw), AT&T is "changing the frequencies of their EDGE towers." I guess turning them into 3G towers. The whole story didn't make a whole lot of sense to be honest. Sounds to me like they're planning on making their whole network 3G only, or they're shifting all data (and digital voice) from their EDGE network to the 3G network due to the added strain of data phones on EDGE.
 
that sounds really weird. it would take them much more deployment and backhaul to do a complete 3g network. i find myself going to edge a lot in other parts of the country and i dont see it to be worth it to them to do that. they might just be trying to get you to buy a 3g data plan.
 
=KLRS=ZERO said:
that sounds really weird. it would take them much more deployment and backhaul to do a complete 3g network. i find myself going to edge a lot in other parts of the country and i dont see it to be worth it to them to do that. they might just be trying to get you to buy a 3g data plan.
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That's exactly what I was thinking! I'm on the ancient $10/mo unlimited data plan, but being grandfathered in, there's nothing they can do about it unless the force me into buying/using one of their phones.

On the other hand though, there were tons of people in the store doing the same thing I was, only they had really old 2G feature phones. One even said outright that she didn't use data and didn't want a phone that did. The sales rep even said that I had by far the fanciest 2G phone he'd ever seen. So it sounds like for the most part, they're replacing all 2G devices (but only giving people the option to get the crappy feature phones, rather than a truly "comparable 3G phone).
 
hmmm... thats interesting. so i guess it doesnt matter to at&t that theyre customers hate them, and they got the lowest consumer scores of the major providers, theyll still do anything to screw their customers. i guess nothing luke wilson cant fix, eh?
 
I'm fed up with AT&T. I've been waiting more than a year now for them to release a phone worth upping my contract for...Hasn't happened. I'm probably going to switch to T-Mobile, considering the Nexus S and their current promotional rate on the 3000 family plan.

In the end, It'll cost me about $20 more than AT&T, but I'll get more minutes than I had with AT&T. Plus upping my contract with AT&T would mean I'd have to spring for the $25 data plan anyways, so I'm really only paying $5/mo more.
 
It sounds like they are hating on unlocked devices :/

I have a lg neon thats edge only.. I have yet to receive that phone call..

I have had the neon for a while.. I wonder if they still read me as having the samsung impression.

Considerin at&t supposedly does "sweeps" they catch nada.
 
I remember a buddy having to upgrade his tdma phone to a (gsm?) phone so it's certainly possible.

Found this old article using google that says they're reallocating 2G bandwith to improve 3G. Have no idea if they're a valid source of info though.
Fewer Bars in More Places: AT&T Network Upgrades Degrade Service for 2G Phones - OFB.biz: Open for Business

I know I'm finally getting a good 3G signal at work so they did something. It was switching at lot to edge when the iPhone 3G/3GS was released.
 
algs26 said:
I remember a buddy having to upgrade his tdma phone to a (gsm?) phone so it's certainly possible.

Found this old article using google that says they're reallocating 2G bandwith to improve 3G. Have no idea if they're a valid source of info though.
Fewer Bars in More Places: AT&T Network Upgrades Degrade Service for 2G Phones - OFB.biz: Open for Business

I know I'm finally getting a good 3G signal at work so they did something. It was switching at lot to edge when the Iphone 3G/3GS was released.
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That sounds exactly like what they're doing, except instead of a $200 credit, they're exchanging devices, which in my case doesn't work out whatsoever (not that a $200 credit would be much better). Two of my lines are still under contract, so I'm just hoping they'll let me out in light of their ridiculous bullshit. I smell a class action lawsuit if they don't...
 
I had a feeling this would eventually lead to "lawsuit". It's not their fault you bought a phone (not from them) that doesn't work well on their network. Sorry to sound harsh, but I don't see where they did anything wrong.
 
But it is their fault thy their customers who bought a phone from them are being forced to get a 3G phone. I doubt that they will not allow data on edge because some phones have better radios than others. Let's say my phone gets 3 bars of 3G. While the person next to me has an older phone. It has 3G but it only gets 4 bars of edge in the same location. It's deinately not practical for them to do this. At least until they have 3G everywhere and LTE is like 3G is now.
 
TgeekB said:
I had a feeling this would eventually lead to "lawsuit". It's not their fault you bought a phone (not from them) that doesn't work well on their network. Sorry to sound harsh, but I don't see where they did anything wrong.
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My friend has an old iPhone 2G (technically he got it as a hand-me-down, rather than directly from AT&T), but he's in the same boat I am. AT&T is basically forcing him to trade in his Smartphone for a crappy messaging phone. I'm pretty sure he even has a line still under contract, so if AT&T doesn't let people out of their contracts for this, I can't imagine they'd have much of a defense in court.

The same thing goes for many of AT&T's Blackberry devices as well. Hell, until earlier this year, all but one of AT&T's Blackberries were 2G only.
 
Apple and RIM were a bit slower at coming out with 3G devices, though I have a Blackberry Bold 9000 which came out at least 2 years ago and it is 3G. Technology is changing rapidly and if you have a phone that is a couple years old you have to expect it to be a bit outdated. EDGE will eventually be phased out.

You have a different situation. Your phone may not be old but it doesn't work on AT&T's 3G band. That was your choice. When we are spending as much as we do on our phones we have to make sure they are compatible with the network so we can get as much life out of them as possible.

Why don't you take the most expensive phone they offer you for free, sell it along with your HERO, and get yourself the best device you can find that will work on their 3G network? Hope it works out for you.
 
TgeekB said:
Why don't you take the most expensive phone they offer you for free, sell it along with your HERO, and get yourself the best device you can find that will work on their 3G network? Hope it works out for you.
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They only exchange phones for the free 3G one. I wouldn't get to keep my Hero.
 
I did confirm this yesterday - I do not get to keep my old phone even if it is a few years old. I wonder why ... Does anyone know what can be stored in the phone apart from the external memory card and in-phone memory? What will they do with the old phones?

I looked at their free 3G phones, they're not that great or at least I don't seem to like any.

I never thought I would be looking at smartphones so soon, let alone an iPhone. Now I'm considering both even if I don't need the data plan.
 
rvp said:
I did confirm this yesterday - I do not get to keep my old phone even if it is a few years old. I wonder why ... Does anyone know what can be stored in the phone apart from the external memory card and in-phone memory? What will they do with the old phones?

I looked at their free 3G phones, they're not that great or at least I don't seem to like any.

I never thought I would be looking at smartphones so soon, let alone an iPhone. Now I'm considering both even if I don't need the data plan.
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The sales rep told me they destroy the old phones at the end of the night, literally smashing them with a hammer. It baffled me.
 
quantumrand said:
They only exchange phones for the free 3G one. I wouldn't get to keep my Hero.
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Wow, I'd have a problem with that. When ATT/Cingular went from TDMA to 3G, I kept the TDMA phone.

FWIW, I have both ATT and T-Mo. I bought T-Mo's Motorola Defy, which supports ATT's 850 3G band. $379 full retail price, and after unlocking, works fine on ATT.

http://androidforums.com/t/217819-t-mo-motorola-defy-working-t-3g-850-band-only.html

Though I'm using it on T-Mo, because at my new job location T-Mo provides a better signal than any other carrier inside the building (new cell just a mile away), one of the only places I've had this happen vs. ATT.
 
algs26 said:
...I know I'm finally getting a good 3G signal at work so they did something. It was switching at lot to edge when the iPhone 3G/3GS was released.
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Given the reports "in other countries" about the iphone 3G having reception issues, I'd say that the phone was partly to blame.
 
colnago said:
Given the reports "in other countries" about the iphone 3G having reception issues, I'd say that the phone was partly to blame.
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I was using Nokias back then. Those were the good old days of the iPhone 2G... I thank all those people who were paying for my 3G data and using edge.
 
Just wanted to confirm something: Does AT&T care about which phone they want to exchange? I mean, if I get a cheap phone and plug in my SIM into that then, I'm guessing I can exchange that?
 
rvp said:
Just wanted to confirm something: Does AT&T care about which phone they want to exchange? I mean, if I get a cheap phone and plug in my SIM into that then, I'm guessing I can exchange that?
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They don't seem to care. I just went in with an old Sony Ericsson W580i that I got for free on Craigslist. They went ahead and exchanged it. They probably check your account to make sure you've actually been flagged for an upgrade though.
 
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