Day 1 of Engadget's Five Days of Holiday Giveaways: We'll help you switch wireless carriers
posted December 12th 2005 2:55PM
You didn't think your ol' Uncle Engadget would forget ya during the holidays, didja? Well, we're having five
straight days of giveaways this week, so there! We'll be finishing on Friday with a gadget that you'll all be freaking
out over, but today we're going to get things rolling by helping you switch wireless carriers. We're giving away three
phones — a Samsung A680 from
Sprint, an LG VX8100 from Verizon
(pictured at right), and an unlocked
Motorola RAZR V3 — so no
matter which carrier you're with now, you'll be able to switch to another one.
Here's what you have to do to win one of these handsets: post something in the comments below about why you're sick
and tired of your current carrier and why you're itching to switch to Sprint/Verizon/T-Mobile/Cingular/etc. The writers
of the three best stories, as judged by the editors of Engadget, will win the phone they need to make the jump. You
have 24 hours!
I need a cool phone. I am a cool guy with a cool job and a cool girlfriend. My current LG 4600 with verizon sucks. Picture the scene: me sitting around a cool bar with my cool friends and a cell phone rings... everyone keeps telling me to answer it, because it IS my phone ringing, but I can make myself reach into my pocket to pull the ugly bastard out. I have a black front faceplate on the factory blue and silver phone and I don't want anyone to see the thing. I use an earpiece and leave it in my pocket during the day. I absolutely HAVE to stick with Verizon because their cell coverage is the best... BUT, their phone selection is the worst in the industry, I've even written them emails. Everyone I know has a RAZR... I'm not the biggest fan of hello moto crap, but damn if it isn't cooler than any single one of verizon's current crappy lineup. So I finally go to Verizon's website and find that for existing customers (the loyal customers that pay their bills) they are charging a bargain price of $419 for the RAZR. I'm not about to whip out the coin for a phone that goes for half the price at another carrier. Verizon finally gets the cool phone and they decide to screw everyone over, but I need that phone to fit in!
This past summer I took a vacation to Alaska for some backwoods R&R. Knowing that Sprint didn't have service there I was wise to call and request the $5/month "Free" roaming. They added the service joyfully (hey, they like my money). I enjoyed two fine weeks in the sticks with my father, uncle, and surprisingly enough some pretty clear analog service. AK is not as desolate as people lead you to believe. On my return flight I was quick to call Sprint when I landed back in the lower 48 and have them cancel my almost "FREE" roaming. I don’t like wasting $5 a month when I don’t usually stray too far from home.
Needless to say I was surprised that on my next bill I had roaming charges. Hundreds of dollars in roaming. I called, they apologized, they credited my account. Next bill, new roaming charges. I called, they credited & apologized. Now, want to guess what surprise was on my next bill?
Now your average man would have cancelled their service right there. No questions. Enough is enough. Take my phone back and shove it. But not I, I’m a glutton for high phone bills. So I call, I complain, I yell, I said #$&% a lot. And then, calmly, as I’m sure they are trained to do, the guy on the other end said, “Do you still have your phone set to work with “any” carrier or did you reset it to work with “Sprint Only”? To which I replied “uh, oh, yeah, I guess I never reset my phone…sorry.”
So, I ask you, to help me save face, turn tail and run to another carrier, I could really use a new phone. And I promise to read all the directions first…
You know, I really thought that I would like Sprint. I came over from a really crappy old Morotola Timeport from T-Mobile, the reception of which was laughably bad. So, by the by, I switched to Sprint. Now, the thing about Sprint is that, no matter how little money you try to spend, you will end up spending like ten assloads of money. I racked up like $50 worth of web usage charges just from two nights of checking the score on the Mets game. The base charge for my plan is $35 (their lowest-priced plan) and I never go over my minutes; yet, it's a rare month when I pay less than $55. I don't consistently use any of the various picture/video/internet services, so it's not worth it for me to get them on a monthly basis, but on those occasions when I require them, Sprint claims an arm and both legs from me. Two months ago, I got a $75 bill on my $35 plan despite sending/receiving only a handful of text messages, not using the internet at all, not making any roaming calls, and not uploading or sending pictures. Where did all those extra charges come from? I have no idea, because the "detailed" invoices never tell you a god damn thing about the random extra charges that you've incurred for no reason.
Also, it would be just absolutely dandy if I was able to get some reception underground. I see people talking on their cell phones in the subway stations and I say, "I would like to do that as well." But I can't, because my phone gets no reception underground -- oh, and when my phone has no reception, it doesn't show the time either. What time is it? I DON'T KNOW BECAUSE MY PHONE DOESN'T HAVE ITS OWN CLOCK. It's quite troublesome.
The RAZR would be nice, because my cell phone makes quite a bulge in the dress pants that I have to wear to work. A nice and thin phone like the RAZR or the Blade would really be a boon as far as me not having a gigantic cell phone-shaped bulge on the side of my thigh. I won't get a case or holster because I don't like having shit hanging off me and because I've had bad experiences with things such as my iPod case in the past -- that is, the belt clip breaking on the first day I had it, and it wasn't a cheap case either.
So, in conclusion, please give me an excuse to switch providers -- or at least get a phone with an internal clock -- because Sprint is raping my bank account. Among other things.
I use Einstein PCS for my provider in Wisconsin. They gave me a Motorola V180 phone for 55 dollars when I started my 1-year agreement. This provider does not have GPRS, decent phones, decent coverage (coverage map: http://www.einsteinpcs.com/airadigm/service+plans/wisconsin+unlimited/default.asp), MMS messaging, nor decent customer service.
To connect to Google.com I have to directly call their data line, which they only have one of, so if someone else is using it, I can't connect, meaning I'm screwed. They do not have good service, the number I call atleast, only has one girl working all the time, and she rarely knows how to help me. Einstein does not have MMS either, last night I went to a football game in Lambeau Field (GreenBay, WI), which SHOULD have had service, but didn't, I couldn't MMS/picture the final score to my friend, or call her to tell her the score (she was at work), whereas my uncle (cingular razr), was text/mms/calling throughout the game.
For coverage, when I'm on the main highway most people around here take, I get none, whereas all of my friends get service with all of their providers. In my bedroom I do not get service unless the phone is on the far end of my window sill, and I do not get service in my basement, so if I'm watching a movie or on my computer I do not get service. Last night at the Packer game I was in one of the busiest and largest cities in this state, and I had no service whatsoever, I only had service about half way home, and then when I got home it was lost again.
For text messaging, it goes down from time to time, meaning my phone is basically garbage.
I can only get out of this contract if I pay a 300-350 dollar fee, which I am not ready to do.
Please help a reader out.
_NickManderfield@gmail.com
I want to get rid of Vodafone, cause last time when they wanted to hold me as a costumer they gave me 5 euro.. - I'm a prepaid user btw - So than I had some new prepaid money and they charged the 5 euro's of that.. So I think they ripped me off a bit.. Further Vodafone Live! is just too expensive and my phone has an unremovable hair in its display.....
Im dying to switch out of Cingular...
last week i received my bill for .66 cents...sounds great right??? well i paid my bill 3 months in advance and i do this every 3 months well they raised the taxes 2 cents and assessed a 64 cent late fee? ...why bother
they said that my bill which is due the 19th wasn't processed until the 31st which is over the 10 day grace period... so I said well Im charging you a 64 cent early payment fee because I paid 2 months in advance so we are even and if you would be kind enough to take off the 64 cents ...which is the first late fee I have ever incurred...she said it was impossible
so she transfers me to their special help for things of this nature...and I explain the guy my situation and he says he doesn't think his supervisor will go for this...
mind you I have been a customer for 5 years and I am in the middle of my latest 2 year contract...
so the guy comes back and says well I can't do the 66 cent credit to your bill but if you are willing to sign up for an additional year we can give you 100 extra minutes for 90 days and then they expire...
I was irate at the fact that they wouldn't give me a 66 cent credit on my bill...
and don't even remind me of the time where there was 50 dollars of bogus charges on my bill for saying I went over my minutes so I counted every single minute twice and then called and asked them to reverse their charges...they said no...I said count the minutes all 1500 so I sat there literally for 30 min on the phone listening to this girl count minutes...not once but twice and then concluded that it must have been some sort of computer error.... ya error my a$$ more like maybe we can charge people and they won't know...
cingular used to be an okay company but now since they changed a lot of their customer service policies they simply just suck!!!!
My wife and I moved last year and tried to live like middle class people used to do in back in the 80s... not even a pager between the two of us. When we started to meet people in this new area of the country, we started to need a cell phone again.
I went to some kiosk in a mall and got contracted to t-mobile, paid an extra $15 and got a nice looking motorola with a camera in it.
It was great until we started to realized the reception on it is krappy everywhere we go. I was forced to put the SIM card in a old Nokia my wife had from way back when her parents paid the bill.
That works, but now I'm stuck holding this scratched up flourescent pink thing up to my face. My contract is up in february so I'm just waiting it out.
I think Verizon or Cingular are getting my business in 2006... unless engadget wants to set me up with something else.
Jake
I am currently a Verizon customer suffering from a severely crippled bluetooth "enabled" phone and constant, inexplicable overcharges. I am most frustrated with the service however, as I cannot get any signal at either my home or office. At first I thought it was some sort of bizarre coincidence, I live and work downtown so there is absolutely no reason for there to be no service in both my home and office, but as time goes by and I deal with Verizon more, I am beginning to think that they are intentionally trying to screw with me. Why else would I get no service in the two places where I spend 98% of my day when I get plenty or coverage everywhere else? Throw in the damned phone and the overcharges and the fact that EVERY SINGLE IMPORTANT CALL I EVER MAKE GETS DROPPED, It's too much of a coincidence! Verizon is trying to drive me insane!
Engadget, please rescue me before I strangle one of those high school kids manning their cursed booth at the mall.
Verizon has some pretty good phones...well, they were pretty good, until Verizon fgot to them. I have the e815...its all about the bluetooth and mp3 player on it...yeah, sure.
the bluetooth is completely cripiled! I might as well have a phone without it!
Im sure adding all these 'cool new' features contributed to the size of the phone...which isnt too small I must say.
So all Im asking for is a THINg phone that has bluetooth...aka..the RAZR V3,still has the cool speakerphone too!
AND, dont you wwanrt me to be the coolest kid at school, Engadget?
When I signed up for Verizon Wireless - I was expecting premier cell service and customer service. Although I get good cellular reception - I've had a nightmare with Verizon Customer Service. I spent over 30 hours on the phone with *611 (Customer Support from your phone) and about 5 hours in various Verizon stores. The task was simple: upgrade my phone at the cost that the Support rep had originally quoted. I set out to spend $140 for two Motorola e815s at a special price without a contract and I ended up paying over $400 and a new 2 year service contract. I fought for days to get my money back. After temporarily giving up - I used and enjoyed my phone for a few weeks. I was told that my $15/month VCast Data plan included unlimited SMS and MMS services when I was actually getting charged for every message sent and received. I got my bill and not only was I charged a rediculously high amount for the phones, I also had to deal with $50 in text message charges. I spent more time on the phone with the useless customer service getting nowhere. At this point I still have almost two years remaining on my contract and I was never able to get all of my money back. I can't stand the evils of Verizon any longer as they haunt me with each bill and SMS message I unwillingly receive. PLEASE ENGADGET - LIBERATE ME!
It was typical bright afternoon on December 15th, 2003. I was headiing back to work after lunch. Driving along the roads of San Jose I saw an AT&T showroom with big advertisements for Sony Ericsson T610. I had read lot of reviews about this phone and wanted to get my hands on it. Stepped into the showroom and was immediately greeted by a friendly representative. I was fixed on T610 so I did not even bother to look at other options. Then the representative got a chance to display his marketing skills. He offered me T610 for free if I sign up for 2 years contract. I was not sure at first. The representative was determined to sell me the service. It took me a good half hour to decide and I thought what the heck lets do it.
I got the new shiny T610 into my hands. Charged it and started using the phone. I was like a kid gifted with a new toy. The 2 year contract agreement never appeared to be a problem, until now.
Where is AT&T. No more AT&T. Its now cingular. So you think they would treat you better. You decide -
Me: Can I get the roll over minutes since AT&T and Cingular are the same now.
Cingular: Roll over minutes are a special privilege for cingular customers only.
Me: I am cingular customer now.
Cingular: You are a cingular customer but have an AT&T service.
Me: What does that mean.
Cingular: That means you call Cingular customer service and get answers only if you have a cingular service.
Me: Can I contact someone else who deals with AT&T services?
Cingular: We deal with AT&T services.
Me: I lost my sim card in travel. Can you replace it?
Cingular: AT&T sim cards are no more available. Good luck finding one.
Atlast December 2006 arrived. I was waiting eagerly for this month. The end of my 2 year contract. I can now become a cingular customer and get one of those sleak Motorola RAZR phones. So I start looking at my options.
Vendor: "Get this black RAZR with a service plan and get back $xxx"
Me: Oh cool.. whats the plan....
Vendor: [in small font]2 year contract with cingular
Vendor: "Get this Sony Ericsson with Mp3 play back for $0"
Me: Great.. whats the plan....
Vendor: [in small font]2 year contract with cingular
Vendor: "Get this Treo 650 for just $XX.
Me: Wow.. I can start planning my daily routine if I have that.... whats the plan....
Vendor: Get the regular phone service and also sign up for data service....
What did I decide -
Stick with my T610 until someone gives you an unlocked RAZR for free.
What would I do with that-
Sign up for a T-mobile plan and get 1500 anytime minutes with just 1 year contract.
I think I deserve a new cellphone because Cingular charges customers for anything they can find. I recently added minutes to my plan in the middle of my billing cycle. Because it was the middle, they charged me a 40 pro-rated charge on top of many other ridiculous fees. Since when does a company penalize customers for trying to spend more money!?
I also think I should get a new service because I know how to spell "a lot," unlike other Engadget readers. hehe
I don't know id I'm totally deserving of a new phone but hereit goes.
I've been on Verizon for a little over a year now, and I like the fact that I have service in most of the places I go. But, the one place where I use my phone the most is where I get the least reception, my home. I didn't even drop a call when I was in Milford, PA which I guess is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. I guess they get service there, but if they can there why can I not sit at my computer and make a call?
I'd like to go to T-Mobile, because their plans are cheap as anything. My friend has T-Mobile, and even though his service used be horrendous, he can make calls from anywhere in my house, like I should be able to. They have the best customer service as well. I've called up VZW CS to tell them that people's phones were receiving calls from mine while mine was off, and the CS Lady told me that's not good. She told me to wait a week for them to subside, and had no other answers for me.
Something else I hate about my phone bill is that I have to share 500 minutes, and I don't think that's adequate. We've gone over many times. The only reason we don't switch up to a higher rate plan is because we need new phones -- the batteries last at most a whopping 3/4 of a day (We've tried other batteries).
I also hate not being able to switch phones freely. GSM customers can switch a sim card. I have to sign on to My VZW, pray to the ESN Changer gods, and click switch ESN 20 times. The one day I really needed the changer, was the day after they wouldn't allow any more E911 phones. I know, it's not their fault, but it really makes me mad.
Sorry for something so long, which probably wasn't nearly as bad as something posted in 4 lines, but I felt like ranting.
I need a new phone so I can ditch my “network” of Verizon, I have had an EVDO capable phone for the past 10 months and have been able to use the EVDO features a total of 6 times all when I am out of the state. NW Ohio has jack for EVDO coverage and The Verizon 1x coverage in my hometown is minimal at best. Verizon’s solution is to put up towers around my city instead of in it. Send me to Sprint or T-mobile or Cingular anyone who can give me coverage, high speed a plus but not necessary.
If you choose me I'll put the Engadget logo on my phone's wallpaper for the next calender year. Yeah it's suckin up you just wish you thought of it first.
First, to set the tone, I am extremely disappointed in Cingular as a business, but love the coverage. When we found out that AT&T was merging, we were ecstatic. Now that we are here, that's no longer the case.
Background: My wife's AT&T plan has expired and her phone (Motorola V600) is dying. After investigating the plans and mobile options available via Cingular, we wanted to move to another plan and get a new phone (Motorola Black V3 RAZR).
I have spent hours on the phone and emailing Cingular to no avail because of the unfair "special" pricing we receive. The Motorola V3 RAZR was selling at a discount price of $199.99 via the B2B portal. Interestingly, the $199 offer is what everyone in the whole damn country got - There was no special price. Now I have spoken to five different representatives in the customer support department and always get the party line from the Cingular: “The original price is $XXX, you receive a $100 discount.” Our B2B "special" pricing was supposed to be 50% off equipment. But no, since this is a high demand phone, EVERYONE gets the "special price." The specials are only on low-end models (non RAZR and PDA mobiles).
Ok, then I’ll buy my wife’s new mobile from a Cingular reseller to get a better price. Best Buy has the phone for $69.99 (with a two year Cingular agreement), but we can't use that special because Cingular bought AT&T which means we do not qualify as new customers. I disagree. I signed up with AT&T, not Cingular.
My wife's only option is to release her number in order to take advantage of the special. Her business mobile number!
Bottom line: This makes us all feel very “special.” My wife, daughter, and I appreciate being taken advantage of and after detailing a logical position, being told there is nothing that can be done.
I have maintained for years that in order to get a good deal in the mobile industry, the customer has to move to another service provider every two years since there is no incentive to stay. Specials are only special once and after a company owns your number, they really don't care...
Bottom Line: Why do new customers get a better deal on mobiles, more options, and great customer service while loyal existing customers have to deal with what they are given?
$69.99 (with a two year agreement) or 199.99 (with a two year agreement)
Hmmm...
To keep this going, my Motorola MPx220 was soaked! I tried to purchase another to replace it and was told first I needed to migrate to a new Cingulat Plan, pay the fee and then I could get it. I made the arguement that I was holding out for a new PDA UMTS phone and that I was willing to pay for a new RAZR. Again, they did not want anything to do with me unless I was ready to sign up immeadiatly.
Hmmm... Let me buy a RAZR and later I'll upgrade to a PDA UMTS mobile (~$300-$400).... Cingular: No, thats not going to work, but was have a nice GPRS system that we need to make out money on....
My cell phone carrier convinced me to switch from AT&T by telling me that I would receive an employee discount if I switched service. After I changed, the discount was only applied to my phone and not the whole family plan. Then I found charges for messages which were free on the plan I had given up.
I complained and soon, my cell phone rang and it was Cingular, threatening to discontinue service because I had not paid my old AT&T bill. I didn't pay it because I was told it would be charged to my credit card. After a long conversation, I learned that Cingular couldn't charge my old bill to the credit card. So, I agreed to give the operator my credit card number.
That night I checked my minutes, and Cingular had charged me for the billing dispute call. I called 611 and found that when Cingular calls me, I have to pay, even if the mistake is theirs!! My call to them at 611 is free.
So, I switched from AT&T, received the employee discount, and I am paying more per month than if I hadn't switched service.
We have service through US Cellular. First off, why call it "US" when they aren't located throughout the entire US? They only have 2 year contracts (at least they did when we signed up); ours will be up early 2006, and we're itching to switch to another service provider! We got the cheapest phones- Kyocera KX414. They're not too bad, but the batteries suck. When my husband talked to a rep about buying a new battery, he was told that it would be too expensive, and he might as well get a new phone and sign up for another 2-year contract! Yeah, right! The batteries can be bought from eBay for $2. I've also had times that the phone wouldn't ring, and all of the sudden I had a voicemail!
The minutes don't rollover, and using the phone is only free nights and weekends. We're paying an arm (and a leg when we go over our minutes) each month- having 2 phones on the same plan. We don't even have nationwide service.
We've already been looking at Cingular and T-Mobile; so please help us switch over to a better service!
I've had quite a bad run of cell phones, to say the least.
The first company I tried was Sprint... whose service didn't come through when I was sitting in my own house. Not that I noticed, since it barely came through anywhere else.
From Sprint, I switched to Verizon, which was decent - if you didn't mind a complete dearth of good handsets (unless you were willing to pay $500 for a phone, which I wasn't). Their service wasn't bad, but I kept running up large bills, thanks to spending tons of time on the phone with customers from...
... Cingular, which I switched to for the following reasons: Girlfriend, father, mother, best friend, other best friend, cousin, friends from work. As in, that's the list of people who have Cingular, thus lowering my bill by allowing me to call them all for free. Unfortunately, something that's "free" is only worthwhile if (a) you need it, and (b) it's not total garbage. Sadly, Cingular has failed the second test, time and time again.
At first, it was just little things: "sorry, mom, it's hard to hear you"; "oh, hon, I'll have to call you back, I'm in a bad spot"; "hey, buddy, are you in an elevator?" But then weird things started happening - I'd be sitting at home with a full signal, and suddenly the other person would say, "Hello? Hello?!? HELLO!??!?" while I'm saying, "I'm here!" The signal would drop right out from under me, randomly, for no reason. I called Cingular, and they blamed Motorola; I called Motorola, and they blamed Cingular. Nobody could tell me what was going on.
Finally, I called Cingular and told them that I would be dropping my service with them if they didn't do something about the problems. And you know what they did for me? A month's free (crappy) service, and a gentle "reminder" that I was still under contract for more than a year.
So please, help me get back to Verizon. I miss their service - at least with them, it's only the guy in the ads saying, "Can you hear me now?" and not all their customers!
A HOLIDAY POEM
Oh dear engadget, my favorite of all blogs
My service @ cingular is not fit for hogs
I can't get a signal for the life of me
Be it from a field, car, or christmas tree
A measly black and white cellular is all i carry
With this crappy phone, how can my holidays be merry?
A Razr, Samsung, or VG would be nice
Please dont make me beg for a cellular device!
And so I end this lyrical rant
To me, a cell phone you shall grant
Sincerely,
Ian "Mad Hatta" Gibson
I live in Brazil and my carrier (Claro), for about 3 months now, has decided that I am not allowed to make phone calls to other cell phones. I don´t really give a damn about wich american carrier I get. All I want is one that realizes that they make money by allowing me to call my friends. Is a little capitalism too much to ask for?
The Republic of Georgia's main cell company is Magti Com. I have been working over here for the last 7 months training their border guards how to better protect their borders. Often I need to call in a heli request but the cruddy Magti Tower is often not working because the fuel to keep it running has frozen solid.
So I am looking forward to returning to Seattle and to be with my lovely wife again. Having a Sprint phone or Razr would be wonderful beyond words.
I am currently with Verizon. First off let's say their phone selection is just plain horrid. Well I wanted to add another person to my family line. I did this inbetween billing cycles. Verizon then charged me in the month of September for my old monthly plan and the new one. So I had to charge double and then some. Verizon will do anything to make a buck. Also my phone never charges to it's full potential. In 5 minutes it says "Charging Complete." Then after talking on it for about 15 minutes the sucker dies. This is my second phone with this problem though it is the same make. But I have tried different batteries and chargers. So please Engadget please hook me up with a new phone and service, as Verizon is robbing me. They won't even let me get a new phone without charging me MSRP, they keep making me get the same make because it keeps breaking.
I use a Sanyo 4000. It got decent reviews in 1999. Now its struggling. The battery is shot, the reception is shoddy, and the UI is slow. When I decided to update the phone, Sprint told me that not only do I not qualify for any rebates (no idea why), but even if I buy the phone at full price I have to sign on for 2 more years. Six years was enough. Please help me leave. Thanks.
We have service through US Cellular. First off, why call it "US" when they aren't located throughout the entire US? They only have 2 year contracts (at least they did when we signed up); ours will be up early 2006, and we're itching to switch to another service provider! We got the cheapest phones- Kyocera KX414. They're not too bad, but the batteries suck. When my husband talked to a rep about buying a new battery, he was told that it would be too expensive, and he might as well get a new phone and sign up for another 2-year contract! Yeah, right! The batteries can be bought from eBay for $2. I've also had times that the phone wouldn't ring, and all of the sudden I had a voicemail!
The minutes don't rollover, and using the phone is only free nights and weekends. We're paying an arm (and a leg when we go over our minutes) each month- having 2 phones on the same plan. We don't even have nationwide service.
We've already been looking at Cingular and T-Mobile; so please help us switch over to a better service!
I am currently with Cingular. I used to really like it here in Cingular country but have recently begun to hate it.
They recently changed the menu system in there voicemail program and I hate it. I have to listen to the whole message before I can delete it and even after the whole message has been played and I hit '7' to delete it, that stupid voice asks me whether I want to delete or not, so I end up hitting the 7 another 15 times before it actually deletes it.
I am also locked into another 2 year contract and am not due for upgrade for a long time. I want to add text messaging but I can't, without paying a million dollars. So they charge me for every outgoing and incoming message.
Finally, my phone sucks. I have a Sony Ericson flipper with a camera. The interface blows, the keys are sluggish, and there isn't any bluetooth! I sure wouldn't mind that RAZR though.
I have Verizon, because my mom has it and the family plan means that my line is really cheap. Verizon used to claim (in ads at least) the best service area (before Cingular and AT&T merged) but that seems not to apply to any place I want to go. At home I have to go outside, so that people don’t think I am talking through a WWII trench radio, which is annoying when the weather is freezing. At (High) school I get zero reception so I cant get any calls or texts, again unless I walk out to the parking lot. Because my service is so bad people always leave me voicemails, But for some reason even though my phone will beep to alert me that I have a new message, my voicemail account only says I have 1 old message and doesn’t have the messages, so I have not been able to listen to messages for a month. To compound the issue Im stuck with a Nokia 6015i which can be described as a featureless blue brick that must have been designed 5 years ago. Please Engadget, I need a Cingular hookup, and a phone that can do something besides give me cancer.
I have Nextel and Somehow My area covered is like a black hole. We get no service in our town...and not to mention many other places that I like to visit as well. My Boyfriend lives in Indiana and its hard to talk to him without my cell phone bill going sky high! Nextel Sucks End of Story! I want Verizon because I can get free anytime mintutes and talk to him whenever I please for Free! Please Save Me!!! It would be the best thing in the world to be able to talk to him without worrying that my cell phone is going way over my budget!
I'm a verizon customer and although I am content with the superior network (previously had at&t and t-mobile, but very unhappy with) I am displeased with the available phones. I've cycled through nokia's, motorola's and now currently using a used LG vx 6000 that my friend gave me. Motorola's had to be the worst phones EVER, from memorizing how many clicks down my friends phone numbers were on the list because the phone couldnt keep up with the speed of the down button to having about 30 minutes after recharge before it starts beeping from low batter (even without using the phone..) I been through it all.
I can't say I want to change networks because most of my friends (and some who aren't will once their contract is up) have verizon and we are under the in network. I can make calls all day long and verizon does have the best service that I have seen. However, I could use a new phone.. My batty old LG vx6000 buttons barely punch in and sometimes even punch in twice even if i pressed it once. Amazingly phone is still working well (even though battery had to be replaced) but coming from old Motorola phones anything would be next to amazing.
Anyway a nice new phone would be nice. Thanks
Sprints customer service is a joke. I talked back to back to two women who's name was "Susan" (obviously it was outsourced and these ladies were NOT even close to a "Susan". I could not understand them and they could not understand me. Now I AM from the midwest but there is no country twang to my speech paterns. I say "wash" not "warsh". Never said "Y'all" never will.
So back to the customer service... Had what I thought was a quick question about upgrading phones... Not the case. It was just a random series of "Excuse me's" and "Could you repeat that?" and "I have no idea what you just said". So after about 10 to 15 minutes of that I finally just said, slowly and loudly like talking to a child that is hard of hearing, "I will find the answer to the question myself"... The response to that was as clear as a bell "OK thank you for choosing Sprint and have a nice day"
Needless to say I went to a Sprint/Nextel store the following day and as my luck would have it must have ran in to the newest youngest employee ever because this young man knew nothing... And I mean nothing... Let's put it this way... He had on velcro shoes for a reason.
At that point I then started to consider switching providers... If this contest helps me along that path... Excellent
Originally I was on Cingular, but I left them for AT&T Wireless. Next thing I know, Cingular buys AT&T Wireless, and I'm back on Cingular. So I'm actually running fine and dandy, since my AT&T phone hops to both sets of towers, but I get the itch for a pda type phone.
I decide to go the blackberry route, and was told that it'd be fine. Nope. Didn't work. Someone else at Cingular says, "Oh, you need to switch over to Cingular, so that we can change the data plan. It'll work just fine. You'll have to do the 'upgrade' route, get a free phone, and select this regular data plan. I've got friends that use Blackberries without the BB Data plan just fine."
That didn't work either, so I switch to a Treo since I don't want to pay for the crazy priced BB plan. They tell me, "Oh you were on the wrong data plan. You need this one." But that one doesn't work either!
So finally I take it in to a store, and they tell me, not only were the sales people giving me the wrong data plans, but they also kept inputting the wrong settings for my account, such as disabling txt messaging, etc.
Finally after all this was settled, my phone stops working... It turns out they shut off my service because they say they didn't get our payments. So we straighten that out, and exactly 30 days later, the same thing happens again.
This is finally fixed, but now I'm on Cingular with a Cingular Treo, and I get even worse reception than the old AT&T free-bee phone!
So needless to say, I really wish I hadn't "switched" back to Cingular, and really wish I was on Verizon.
I need something other than sprint because I seem to have concluded I live on an active plutonium containment dump (somewhere beneath my house) and my Sprint phone (Samsung i-330) cannot penetrate the sphere of radiation. It's fine elsewhere but within 150 feet of my home it's dead, and yet I live in a major city with EV-DO coverage all around me except within my own little DMZ called home. My wife had Verizon for a while and that worked even in this seeming cancer pit but I was lashed to Sprint for a while to stick it out waiting for the right phone to come along. I trust this site to do the phone research for me so whatever you guys want to "donate" to my "save my money for impending chemo-therapy" cause is great with me. I won't even mention the Sprint connection card I have a whole year of service for but can't use until I'm well out of range of the stray neutrons. I promise to ring up the IAEA as my first official call from that RAZR and report my findings. Thanks
Sprint Sucks....
I have been stuck on them for two years, however I cannot get off. Their intelligent Tech support line was kind enough to alter my account a year ago, and in doing so, reset my two year contract.
Here is what happened.
1. Phone would not connect to web.
2. Took it to the store, they said it was the service, call *2.
3. Tech support said the problem was my account was not iniated (keep in mind I was using it for a year without issue).
4. They kindly "reset" my account.
5. Promptly my phone stopped working altogether.
6. Call them back.
a. My account had been cancelled (billed $300 for two cancellation of both phones)
b. My phone #'s had been released to the pool and already re-assigned.
c. My account was re-opened in a new plan (more then I was paying before)
d. Both my numbers had been changed to completely different area codes, I had not moved.
7. Customer service said "sorry". Dropped the $300 fee and spent the next month getting my numbers back.
8. I have received over 500 minutes of unneccesary calls for the person who received my number for a short time.
9. My calling plan was never fixed, they just set up an almost recurring refund for the difference (when I call and complain).
Basically for the last year I have had to call *2 at least once a month to get service credits that I should not need, and they will not let me out based on my original contract date, but the reset one.
On top of that, I cannot change phones with the $150 discount becuase they reset that as well, even though I still have the original device.
Cell haiku...
U.S. Cellular
Its service so much stinketh
Time now to move on.
Redacted from my fantasy football web site:
I've been at the company Christmas party for about 40 mintues and I'm already 4 Belvederes in. My Samsung SPH-A620 cell phone operating on the Sprint PCS network starts to vibrate, so I look at who's calling thinking its somebody I don't want to talk to and will likely ignore.
Well, it turns out it is my ex-girlfried Crazy ******** so I answer. It turns out that she and her new girlfriend are in town tonight and could use some "company". I tell her I'll be occupied with the Christmas party for a while but I'll call her when I am done.
15 minutes later I'm in the restroom and I accidently drop my cell phone in the toilet (remember I'm already 4 Belvederes in). Not wanting to get *** on my hand I figure the smart play is to finish up and flush before extracting the phone as there is little danger it will be sucked down.
So I finish, flush, and retrieve my cell phone which now refuses to work. The bad news is the phone for some strange reason refuses to turn on. I finish the party and make may way home, devastated because Crazy ********'s number lives in my cell phone and my cell phone only.
So there I was forced to watch Lord of the Rings The Two Towers, not a bad option on TNT hi-def with a 50" Samsung HLR-5067W and a Denon 3806 receiver to be sure, but obviously not as exciting as a crazy ******** and her new irlfriend.
Obviously I need a provider but more specifically a cell phone which can stand up to occasional trips into the toilet and come out functioning normally so I'm not forced to watch The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers (not a bad option on TNT hi-def with a 50" Samsung HLR-5067W and a Denon 3806 receiver to be sure) instead of partying with crazy ******** and her new girlfriend.
Thank you for your consideration.
I am currently a Cingular customer, but would love to switch to TMobile. I have been with Cingular for quite a while, and have generally been satisfied. The reason I would like to go with TMobile is that I am an enormous tech head who is constantly fighting the evils of having to work too much to make money, and at the end of the struggle, I usually can't afford to buy new stuff.
The same holds true with wanting to switch. I'm currently in the first third of my Cingular contract (my second or third re-up of a Cingular contract), so I can't upgrade phones until November of next year. You can imagine how trying that is for the guy who has to "have the latest and greatest". I have bought many phones outright, and paid full retail; but, alas, those days have pretty much come to an end.
I've been following TMobile very closely, and they always seem to pace Cingular with offering some pretty frickin' killer phones! Being able to switch and have a cool phone to start with TMobile would be kind of like being able to pull the sword from the stone...I'd kind of be embarking on a new and exciting phone journey. The iMate JASJAR is in my sights. TMobile has announced they're going to carry it. Wouldn't you try to fulfill your dream if you could? Please help me fulfill mine!
Thank you for your time and the chance to receive a great gift! :)
Help me get finally free of Cingular!!! More than 2 years ago (it will be 2 years on March 18 2006, a day I cannot wait to see!) I switched from Cingular to AT&T Wireless for a pretty good reason: I had no coverage whatsoever both at my work place and my home. Then Cigular bought AT&T Wireless, so I was back with Cingular but with the AT&T coverage: No real pain then... But when I moved from San Jose to Seattle, guess what happened? I am now without any coverage at my house and barely any coverage at work! That hurts, but the REAL pain with Cingular is that since I am an Ex-AT&T, I am a second-class Cingular customer so I cannot upgrade my phone, get a local number or make any change to my service WITHOUT losing my AT&T plan privileges and starting over with a Cigular plan. The Customer Service guy agreably said "Sure we can get you a new local number, but that may impact SOME of your current plan feature... let me verify here... OK, you would lose your 600 minutes anytime, your unlimited family minutes, your rollover minutes, etc." Guess I should be happy they would leave me my crappy old phone!!!
Please get me out of Cingular's poor customer service (and coverage...)
I am currently with Cingular/AT&T. I have the cheapest phone available on the plan (it was free along with 3 others). I share a service plan with my family. The phone is constantly getting lost. Partially because I really don't care about it. Everytime I go in to get it serviced or repaired, since my phone was originally on the ATT network, I have to go through a huge hassle to get the problem taken care of.
I walked into a Cingular store about three months ago to fix my phone. I had been about to leave from a friends house to a baseball game. My car had no top (jeep wrangler) so we decided I should put it in his garage, as it was about to rain. So we pushed the car in (after putting it in neutral). For some reason, the damn phone fell out of my pocket right in front of the tire. One of my friends started to laugh as we continued to push the car onto and over the phone. The entire thing was mangled. When I went into the cingular store, I was greated with a "heeeellloo" from an overly enthusiastic swede. While attempting to decifer his speech patterns, I attempted to get some help. He finally told me that, since the phone was on the AT&T portion of the network, he did not have a SIM card for me and I would have to wait two weeks to get a replacement phone. (the same one, still on the ATT portion, still hard to get serviced). This was the third time my phone had been broken.
About 5 months before this, I dropped the phone next to my car at the ATM. (The thing is too light, I can't tell when I've dropped it). I didn't notice but the phone was lost for a week before we finally decided to call the phone. Some how it still had power. I checked the messages on it remotely and found a message for a RN looking for a job and man named Steve. My name isn't Steve, nor is anyone in my family named Steve. The person included a last name and I looked them up in the phone book. We called back the numbers on the phone eventually finding out exactly who these people were. Rather than going to the guys house and demanding the phone back, we had the police figure it out. He returned the phone the next day.
Friday night, I had a party, and lost my phone. It is somewhere in my basement. But it is impossible to find. Please, Engadget, help me. If I actually cared more about my phone or I noticed I had it, I might not lose it again. It's been replaced 5 times, I can't replace it anymore or I get fined!
I can't wait to switch from Verizon to Cingular. Going from CDMA to GSM means I can finally get phones that I actually might want without a 1+ wait for CDMA versions. Verizon's support for the Treo 650 is always lacking, espeically since I've only had to hard reset it 6 times in 5 months. Cingular has a much better selection of phone now and coming soon and their network seems to reach further and be more stable. And Rollover Minutes!!!!
"Can you hear me now?" Not anymore, I'm going for more bars!
I have been under Sprint PCS for about two years now. Everything was fine when my phone was under my stepfather's account, but once he passed away in June I realized how much they really screw customers over.
I went to switch my phone into an account under my name, but they told me that they couldn't since I didn't own it. I was ready for this one, however, and produced a sprint receipt that said I had bought the phone with MY credit card for the full amount so I wouldn't have to extend my original contract. After some more fighting about that, they realized that they had no choice but to activate my phone. By the time they managed this, I was late for school and had to run straight out of there.
When I reviewed my plan later that evening, I realized that they had tacked on every extra they could after I had specifically told them not to. I had to call up the nightmare Sprint calls customer service and fight with them to have the extra services removed and get my plan changed to what I wanted (they gave me a two year service plan after I had told them I was only going to accept their plan with the one year contract).
After this nightmare, I made the mistake of trying to apply my Best Buy employee discount. I got that set up relatively headache free, or so I thought. A week later they send me a letter saying that they couldn't approve me for the original contract I had signed, but they could give me one on a limited spending program (a joke, as I'm a 19 year old with a 765 credit score and perfect credit history since I had first activated a platinum card in high school). I finally accepted this since I already had an LG PM-325 slider that I had paid $300 for a year before.
The next Sprint nightmare came about a week later. They deactivated my service for not paying my bill. When I called to find out what this was about they said my bill was almost a month late. I told them this was ridiculous since I had service for only 3 weeks at that point. Come to find out that they failed to mention that giving me my Best Buy discount changed my billing date to the corporate one. Not only this, but they retroactively changed all of my due dates for bills sent before my discount was activated. This made my first bill due 4 DAYS BEFORE I ACTIVATED SERVICE! The customer representative could not figure out what my problem was with this, and asked me why I wouldn't just pay my bill now. He did not seem to understand the concept of a budget that didn't include a phone bill that shouldn't have been due for 2 more weeks. I finally snapped at him for his attitude and inability to do anything other than read off of a script and hung up. The worst thing was that I couldn't even report this to the BBB since they don't handle billing issues.
So now I have been screwed over by Sprint a good handful of times, and I am desperate to switch. I am planning on selling my LG phone (they're going for $100 a piece on ebay) to pay most of the early deactivation fee. I really want to go to Cingular and a RAZR would be just the thing to help me make the switch. Even Verizon would be a better deal than the hellish nightmare that is Sprint. Any help you could provide would be appreciated. Either way thanks for taking the time to read my rant. I've been wanting to let people know about how shady Sprint is for a while now.
I dont really want to switch providers, I think that cingular is the best out there, But for all you people out there who want the razr, its the worst phone out there. The only thing good about it, is the way it looks. I have had 7 of them. Each time they had something different with them. Either it was something wrong with the screen or the sound. They suck!! In addition motorola sucks. They pop out a new phone every 5 minutes, but can't take the time to make the phone worth the money you pay for it. Please just give me any phone thats not motorola. I need a new phone.
So, yeah, I've been on Cingular for 3 years now, and it really sucks. It worked great till about 2 years ago, when verizon put up a cell tower right down the block. Seriously, the thing is withing spitting distance. It's sort of funny to watch my phone while I'm driving. The signal strength steadily decreases as I get near the verizon tower, and starts increasing again as I pass it. It's ridiculous. I usually get about 1 bar in my house. ANYWAYS...on with the story. I literally got dumped by my gf of 6 months because of Cingular. I was having a "talk" (fight), over the phone because I caught her with another guy, and at THE most important part of the conversation, the phone beeped 3 times and I lost coverage. She dumped me the next day, citing my "sensitivity"...cingular sux majorly right now.
I am currently a T-Mobile customer, and it's a good service and all, with good reception and everything. However, i'm sick and tired of having T-Mobile get phones that are not even that great. T-Mobile is getting the Samsing T809, and that's like the only good phone from them that is nice. When you compare it to Cingular, who got the SE S710a, the W600i, and other nice phones. T-Mobile just seems like you might as well go buy an unlocked phone somewhere to use on T-Mobile. Like I bought my current phone while I was in Hong Kong, knowing that T-Mobile wouldn't get any cool phones...
I just wish that T-Mobile could get some better handsets.
Sprint sucks the life out of me and my family, please help us!
Service: Sprint
Verdict: Sucks
Why?
Phone selection - they took away the StarTac and I have never forgiven them for that - now I have some Samsung thing that plays classical music. I would gladly take back my StarTac than use this piece. (Note: If the phones provided as prizes play "Fuer Elise" can you please disable the ringer before sending?)
Service - I have no idea what their training program entails, but their interview process goes something like this:
Interviewer: "Are you comfortable being mean?"
Candidate: "Screw You"
Interviewer: "What experience do you have?"
Candidate: "Screw you"
Interviewer: "How are you with people?"
Candidate: "Screw You"
Interviewer: "You're hired"
Plans: They still have no Blackberry solution, which is baffling considering Nextel does, but yet Sprint coverage gets you no discount on a Nextel plan. You'd think we could get some love right?
Coverage: The Sprint Swiss Cheese Coverage model is bizarre, my phone goes from 0-5 bars constantly - no matter where I am. I typically get the "software" excuse - but have yet to ever have this improve coverage.
Ads: they now have ads on the mobile web site - not only am I paying them a monthly fee, but now they are getting revenue from others for me wasting my minutes waiting to click through an ad. I called on Saturday to ask for my part of the revenue (or at least my minute back) and all I got as a nice "Screw You."
Happy Holidays.
Because there is more to life than the free phone my mom got me.
Well, I am currently a verizon customer but longing to return to sprint. I got sucked into the hated V by the lure of so called "great reception" and EVDO. This turned out to be the greatest lie since someone told me Titanic was a good movie. I picked up my new LG handset, all pimped out, and returned to college all jazzed up. As I walked down some steps to go into my dorm I saw four bars of service and the great EV tag on the top of my screen. Life was grand. I could check scores, download sweet midi ring tones, and even do more nefarious things all within the comfort of my palm. However the roaring 20 minutes abruptly ended. As I entered my dorm room, with a great view to the north (and the light of minneapolis in view) i had no bars. None. Not one. To this day I still get psyched if I can maintain an erec....one bar of service in my room. However, this is not the worst of my problems. I use EVDO very little in my room as my much faster computer is present. However as I walked out of my dorm and onto the gorgeous campus of my college, I was once again greeted with 4 bars and EVDO service. Rejoicing was done by me and my young, innocent phone. However, when I walked approximately 50 feet away from my dorm, i suddenly entered the twilight zone of extended service. What does this mean? It means midwest wireless controls my cellphone life. I cannot use any internet service or properly send text messages. The text problem is my arch nemesis. My phone will pop up with the "message sent" icon, but will never actually send the message. I close by saying, verizon, you have caused me to miss so much hot co-ed action its appalling.
I've been a Verizon customer for three years. About a year and a half ago, I started to get poor reception inside the basement of my house. I called customer care and explained the situation, and the very sympathetic rep promised that she would look into it and get back with me. A few days later I still hadn't heard anything back, so I called back in to enquire. This time they transferred me to a department called "Tier 2," whose rep listened to my concerns and promptly hung up on me. That’s when the real trouble began.
I started to get calls in the middle of the night from James Earl Jones, who would ramble on drunkenly about whatever was on his mind. Pets would go missing, only to return a few days later looking bewildered and scared. Whenever the black Verizon van would make its hourly drive past my house - did I mention the van? - the pets would cower under the porch until it passed. I was pretty concerned about this right up until my house burned down, after which I had bigger things to worry about. We moved to another house in the neighborhood, only to have that one burn down as well. Eventually I moved to another state, changed my name, and started a new life, only to have misfortune follow me. The plane that I was taking to my new home crashed after someone yahoo in a black Verizon jacket tried to use their phone during takeoff, but I survived just long enough to be run over by one of the fire trucks that was arriving to help. Now I'm confined to a bed in the basement of my parents house, paralyzed from the waist down and hooked up to a ventilator that only occasionally works. Through the constant and unending pain that I am forced to endure, I have but one simple desire: A phone that works here in the basement.
My Verizon phone still doesn't work down here.
Could I get an unlocked RAZR, please?
I have sprint and there is little reception where i live in colorado. I have to go outside and freeze my buns off in the snow to make a call. everyone else at the college has cingular and can make free calls to eachother. Cingular works just fine here. If i can switch to cingular then i can get good reception and free calls to my friends.
Im sick and tired of Virgin Mobile. Besides the Christmascanuakwhateveritis commercials on TV, I have to put up with text messages from Virgin that try to make them sound "hip" and in touch with today's youths. Plus I am tired of going out to buy a new refill card so I can put more time on my phone.
I am with Cingular. To me, all the carriers are pretty much the same and I could not care less which one to use. But what irritated me recently was their lack of the holiday spirit. Yeah, it is the shopping season, why am I not qualified for a discount phone just because I signed them up a dozen of days too late two years ago.
Their web site says that I can get a phone update after 1/2/2006. Can you believe it? I know that their computer just computed the two-year term minus couple of months. But what about the programers? Can he and/or she give the system a little bit of culture or just commercial taste?