The AT&T Megathread: Alexander Graham Bell approved since 1875

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > The AT&T Megathread: Alexander Graham Bell approved since 1875

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

obeyasia posted:

I use Uverse Internet for online gaming all the time, with sub 50ms pings, with no issue.

You seem to be implying that anything below 50ms is good. Pulling off a deagle headshot is a lot easier with 25ms than 50ms.

booshi posted:

This just in! Fiber optics are faster than copper!

that's a blanket statement that just isn't true. We have metro ethernet over copper pairs from frontier that has been just as reliable and just as fast as the fiber offerings from our other carriers. Without knowing it's copper ahead of time, there is no way I would be able to tell from the quality of the service.

# ¿ May 18, 2013 04:53

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 17:29

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

can I get a data only plan on a smartphone? I want to leave a phone in my car with 3g/4g providing a hotspot and Bluetooth audio streaming without having to mess my actual phone. I have a phone, and it is worth $10/mo for me. If I have to sign a contract I would, but I would want to get something for that.

# ¿ Oct 1, 2013 02:02

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

I have a problem with AT&T wireless, not as an end user per se, but as a recipient of their calls.

I am testing a new phone provider for my business right now, and one of the things I tested when I turned up the new service was inbound calls to our IVR system. Calls from AT&T wireless (and seemingly only AT&T wireless) produce DTMF tones that more than twice as long as any other inbound call. This causes a double DTMF on our IVR, making it useless. How do I even get started on a trouble ticket for something like this? The other carrier is not as helpful as I want them to be, which means that I probably won't purchase the service in the long run, but I still want to get this resolved.

# ¿ Nov 26, 2013 01:18

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

Beefstorm posted:

Have you tested this with multiple phones? The manufacturer of the phone determines the length of the DMTF tone. Also, most IVR systems shouldn't register a long tone as two. Might want to check if there is a configuration you can change.

I've tried with 4 android phones and an iphone. I've tested with the same model android phone on both Verizon and on AT&T wireless. The problem has occurred with every phone I've tried on AT&T and on no phones on any other carrier.

# ¿ Nov 27, 2013 03:19

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

So if I have two subsidized lines on a mobile share, and want to bring my own phone for a third line, is it the same price or can I get a discount on that?

# ¿ Dec 6, 2013 01:37

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

Duckman2008 posted:

On the new plans yes, and very likely that's the best option. Stop by a store when you get said 3rd phone and they would love to get you taken care of.

Thank you AT&T for giving the world another 8 year old with a cell phone.

# ¿ Dec 6, 2013 02:46

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

Is AT&T doing any kind of price matching at this point to compete with T-Mobile? I am very tempted to use the Tmo ETF program and switch, because I'll be money ahead in less than one year. However, with even a $10 drop on my monthly bill from AT&T they kill my temptation. Are reps able to do that at this point?

# ¿ Jan 22, 2014 02:10

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

So what is the catch on the mobile share family value plan? Both of my phones are under contract until March of 2015. It appears that I am eligible to upgrade from my 4GB + 2 smartphone plan ($70+40+40=$150) and to go a family value plan with 10gb for $130 ($100+15+15).

Am I missing something obvious?

# ¿ Feb 3, 2014 04:56

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

If I activate an iPad on my mobile share plan, it will cost me $36 + $10/mo, and I get a $100 credit, is that correct? How soon can I cancel the tablet from the plan and still keep the $100?

# ¿ Feb 6, 2014 01:02

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

Duckman2008 posted:

You actually will get two $100 credits. The traditional promo is $100 to add any iPad you already own with a two year contract. You can combine that with the general $100 new line activation credit as well. The $36 activation fee does apply. Both can take up to 3 billing cycles.

So I would recommend just doing it and getting about 2 years free of service with it.

Well I don't really want to do a 2 year on it, in fact, I'm not sure I even need mobile data. But if I could activate for $36, pay $30 for 3 months and then cancel, I would be $30 or so ahead.

Lethanialist posted:

From https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/100-dollar-credit.html#fbid=O_85Bizo2eS

Thanks. I need to learn to read.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2014 02:26

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

Kaizoku posted:

Yeah, for some reason the banks feel that since they're "holding" your money they should get to use it as they please. Or at least that's what I found in my one day as a financial consultant.

Technically, your deposit is a loan to a bank. If you bank somewhere where they charge you fees on your deposits you are banking with the wrong institution.

# ¿ Aug 1, 2014 02:04

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

Duckman2008 posted:

No, it's just that Sprint is absolutely desperate so they have stupid low pricing right now. Only so much if that any of the other 3 companies will match

Can you even use that much data on sprint? At 56kbps you can get about 17 GB per month if you utilized it fully at all times. And that is about the speed you get on sprint in my area, 56kbps.

# ¿ Oct 24, 2014 05:46

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

Duckman2008 posted:

There is a part of ATT that genuinely wonders why some customers just don't like the company. They seem to seriously not connect that stupid poo poo like this is way more visible than the better customer policies that ATT does do, and that stupid policies just piss people off.

I will admit, as a business customer, I will pay more for a data circuit from a competitor because of the smug bullshit assholes that I regularly have to deal with at AT&T. On my personal poo poo I have AT&T wireless, but that is probably because it just works and I have never had to call in to get support on anything.

# ¿ Oct 24, 2014 23:43

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

Happy Noodle Boy posted:

since hitting 5gb is crazy easy when you don't give a poo poo about data caps.

Even after coming back from vacation where I tethered my laptop to get internet access and had no other internet access, my wife, daughter, and I combined used 2.5GB in the past 24 days. Inspecting my phone right now, my wifi is off, and I do not conserve my data usage.

# ¿ Oct 30, 2014 03:38

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

Mr. Powers posted:

I think saying I don't own the phone is like saying I don't own my condo or car because they are financed. I own all of them.

I think the NEXT thing is more like a rent-to-own deal. There is no lien on the phone preventing you from reselling it like there is with a mortgage or car loan.

# ¿ Nov 29, 2014 01:45

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

Any chance AT&T will try to compete with T-Mobile on the 4/$100 deal?

# ¿ Dec 11, 2014 03:17

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

Duckman2008 posted:

You can call *SAVE and ask. I doubt they'll price match to the tee. If they offer you a special promo let us know, I would be furious.

I'm not into asking for special consideration, I am mostly curious if anyone thinks they will offer it up as a normal promo. Why would that pricing promo make you furious?

# ¿ Dec 11, 2014 04:17

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

Chocolatebuddha posted:

I understand they are pushing NEXT really hard because they want unlimited data to go away, but I cannot honestly see the benefit of paying the full cost of a phone every time I want a new one. When my phone upgrading habits are every two years where I can get a new phone at a subsidized price. company.

They are pushing NEXT because T-Mobile hosed them on perception. Do the math, your new phone is not going to cost you any more on NEXT than it would with a "subsidy", because you are getting $25 off per month. I know the specifics of the iPhone 6+ because my wife just bought one. The NEXT price is an additional $33 per month. This comes to $792 over 24 months. If we would have signed a 2 year agreement and bought it "subsidized" it would have been $199 up front, plus my bill would have been $25/mo more for service. That comes to $799 over the life of the contract. I don't see any reason to not purchase it with NEXT, it's cheaper and has a lower up front cost.

# ¿ Dec 12, 2014 04:26

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

EC posted:

I want to reduce my phone bill, and this seems like the place to ask. Right now we have two iPhones, one with "unlimited" data that has now been throttled, and one with a 3gb plan. Both have an a bunch of minutes/texts that we hardly ever reach the limit for. According to the website, they can give us a 10gb plan with unlimited talk/text, saving about $50/mo. There's some wording on the website that I find weird, though:

So if I upgraded my phone with a standard contract, I'd lose the $50/mo savings altogether, correct? If I wanted a new phone next year, I would need to go through Next. Assuming that the pricing stays the same, a 64gb iPhone 7 would cost me about $25, which would take the place of the savings.

And of course, if I opt for the standard 2 year contract option, I have to pay the $199 upgrade fee on a new phone and would lose the $25/mo savings.

Do I have all of that correct? Just wanted to make sure I understand the details before doing anything.

Or you can buy a phone outright and keep your discount.

# ¿ Dec 16, 2014 01:58

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

Meta Ridley posted:

Also 4.4.4 broke my WiFi, it drops and reconnects every 2 minutes now too.

A fellow at work had the same issue on his note 3 until he did a factory reset. He got the 4.4.x update a month or so ago, and it caused all kinds of wifi issues.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2015 02:41

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

I assume they are pulling in fiber and not using copper. In that case, you shouldn't have any speed, latency, or reliability issues unless there is something specifically going on in your local CO that is causing it.

# ¿ Feb 20, 2015 02:42

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

obeyasia posted:

That comes across pretty smarmy. Do us all a favor then:
Buy it online. You just stepping foot into a store just to get bothered is justifying the overhead a company has to budget for, which factors into the cost of goods/services.

His point is valid, most sales people don't give a poo poo about knowing anything more than the bare minimum to maximize their sales. It doesn't bother me, that's their job and I appreciate their min-maxing. It doesn't make his statement less true, and it doesn't change the fact that someone can walk into a local store and walk out with a phone the same day, which is not true for an online order.

The mistake made earlier in this thread was to suggest that the sales people needed to know more about the phones than anyone else. They just need to know enough to sell the right phone to the customer.

# ¿ Apr 15, 2015 02:25

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

i picked up a fire phone to upgrade my daughters ancient samsung. I am contract free, will at&t charge me for a sim or activation?

# ¿ Sep 16, 2015 23:50

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

BeAuMaN posted:

Is this the one you picked up? From this company?: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazon-Fire-Phone-32GB-4G-LTE-AT-T-Unlocked-Smartphone-W-Prime-Warranty-/171855373654?hash=item280360e556

That is the one I got, and I did get it at $120. Crazy deal, effectively $20 for a pretty decent cell phone. So it should be as easy as calling at&t to activate it with her number for free?

# ¿ Sep 17, 2015 01:25

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

gohmak posted:

ATT must really hate me business.

retention matters less than new business.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2016 07:00

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

doomtuba posted:

So what's up with the new activation fee? I have an iPhone, nexus and Lumina I like to switch SIMs between. Will I get charged every time I swap?

My guess is that is not an activation.

# ¿ Apr 8, 2016 03:59

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

I bought my daughter a moto g4 for her birthday. Is there any reason I have to actually visit the At&t store, or can I just swap the sim from her existing Fire Phone to the new Moto G4? She doesn't open it until tomorrow, so I can't just test it.

# ¿ Apr 3, 2017 03:46

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 17:29

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

Duckman2008 posted:

As long as it's the same SIM size you should be able to swap it.

Awesome, thanks. The moto g4 takes a micro instead of nano like the fire phone does, but Lenovo was nice enough to include the adapter tray.

# ¿ Apr 3, 2017 13:30

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