They had a selection of phones for under a hundred dollars; I purchased a Motorola SLVR L7 for 75$. I chose this phone because it was set up for AT&T's GSM network ‡, and it had no moving parts for me to break like a sliding or flipping LCD/cover. Here is my phone
Notice the on screen logo - my phone came with software set up to run in China. Although I was able to make phone calls and send texts as soon as I inserted my SIM card, I could not access WAP features like sending picture messages, downloading ringtones, or generally access the web. I went to an AT&T store to see about fixing this, and was told that I would have to call customer service, where they could give me the settings for my phone, which still might not work. I did this, and was given the wrong settings. After two more interactions with AT&T, they grudgingly revealed that Motorola can install software on your phone remotely via text message. A quick visit to Motorola's webpage and everything was fixed on my phone.So now I have a fully functional, unlocked cell phone, with no contract extension. Looking back, I am annoyed that AT&T's customer service rep's couldn't tell me where to go on my first (instead of my third) inquiry. Generally I am not pleased with the service AT&T provides, in terms of dropped calls and customer service. I feel the same way about my cable/internet service provider (Comcast). In both cases I don't plan on switching providers. I don't think there is significantly better service available§. I think we are basically stuck with poor customer service, and slimy business practices like long-term contracting in cable/wireless providers for the forseeable future. Hopefully my post will help you the next time you need to replace your cell phone, and you can skip calling your crap phone company.
†I am sure everyone has done/tried this.
‡It is necessary when buying an unlocked phone that you check that the hardware works with your network.
§I have heard similar (or worse) horror stories with Direct TV, AT&T U-verse, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.
2 comments:
I use Sprint as my mobile service and while they don't give me a free phone, they'll give me 75 dollars toward a new phone after about a year and 150 after a year and a half. If I renew my contract for another 2 years from the date that I switch to a new phone, that usually renders the phones free. That is, even if I have 10 months left on my contract right now, I can choose to sign a 2 year contract with my new phone so that the contract now ends in January 2012. I rather enjoyed this as it's allowed me to keep my plan for several years now.
I don't know about the whole unlocking a phone bit. Never tried that.
AT+T sucks. I had them for a few years for DSL/landline service in my stone age pre-cell phone days. I canceled the account when my parents got phones and we got cable, and it took 6 months for the cancellation order to go through their billing system. I kept getting bills, which their customer service people told me to ignore. Then I got a collection notice or two which they also told me to ignore, which was pretty frustrating. Finally, after 6 months of this I got a check for the 47 cents that I apparently overpaid on my last pro-rated month. I vowed never to use AT+T again...though of course I went back anyway after a year or so once DSL prices dropped and we needed a cell phone plan of our own (got the bundle 'discount'). Our contract expires just as we plan to leave Wisconsin so that works out well for us I guess,
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