MicroCell for free?

[emburybrett]

I just got Att a few days ago and have had nothing but issues with service have a hard time to get a single bar at my house and would like to try the MicroCell because more then 20% just today I have no coverage at my house. See,

I have tried  calling to try to work something out with customer service but they said that since I live between two towers I wouldn't ever get better coverage and they could give me $100 off one but that's still too much since I already paid $200 in deposits and the first bill is going to be around $300 so I'm not willing to pay that and when I told that to the guy I spoke with he got rude and told me I need to return the phones and cancel service if I can't deal with it.

[emburybrett]

Just note that I only have the issue at home everywhere else I will get 3+ bars

[Otto Pylot ACE - Czar]

First of all, there is absolutely no reason for the support person to be rude. If you have his name, I'd send a pm (the blue envelope in the upper right corner of this page) to ATTCustomerCare. Detail your problem and include your account information and any details you can remember about your conversation with support.

AT&T did hand out MicroCells for free at one time to certain people but the reasoning wasn't clear. I think it may have had something to do with a long documented history of poor, or no coverage, in home. Being as  you're a brand new customer, I'm not sure how that will work or if AT&T is even still giving out free MicroCell's.

[emburybrett]

I don't remember his name I hung up before calling him a **** but I have called three time and they are more then happy to give $100 off for a total price of $100 but I don't think I should have to pay because I live between two towers.

[word filter avoidance]

[Otto Pylot ACE - Czar]

When I had to get mine replaced a couple of  years ago I ended up paying only $80 after credits were applied, etc. At that time AT&T was only charging $150 for the MicroCell. If you are in the middle of two towers that may result in the shadow effect. Meaning that the tower signal strength is just strong enough so as to confuse your phone on to which signal to lock on to or hand off to. It depends, in part, on your phone as to how it can handle that. So, if and when you get a MicroCell, you may have to experiment with different locations in your house so that the strongest signal is the MicroCell. That may nececcitate the use of an exteranl GPS antenna but we're getting ahead of ourselves. However, signal propogation is theoretical and actual signal strenght is dependent on a lot of factors so just becuase you're between two towers doesn't mean that a MicroCell won't work well without any extra messing around. And, as a side note, if you ever need to talk to support again, it's always a good idea to make notes of your conversation as to when you called, who you talked to, etc. Not all support people are rude or clueless, and most genuinely want to help,  but it only takes one or two to give the impression that all support folks are like that.

[emburybrett]

Well I guess I'm either going to return the phone or they need to give me a free one because if I keep Att then I would have to spend $600 for the first month and that's not going to happen. I have had Att before but never lived in a area where I couldn't get coverage this is reminding me when I had Sprint -.-

[Otto Pylot ACE - Czar]

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emburybrett wrote:
Well I guess I'm either going to return the phone or they need to give me a free one because if I keep Att then I would have to spend $600 for the first month and that's not going to happen. I have had Att before but never lived in a area where I couldn't get coverage this is reminding me when I had Sprint -.-

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Sorry I don't have a better answer for you. You may just want to try ATTCustomerCare, explaining your situation and see what happens. It can't hurt.

[emburybrett]

I went and got the HTC one x in hopes of better service and it's a lot better then the Motorola atrix HD but still 80%  without coverage that's sad.

[Otto Pylot ACE - Czar]

Have you tried to move the MicroCell around your house? How do  you have it setup?

[emburybrett]

I'm still trying to work out a deal with att for a microcell. Next time I call them I'm going to ask to email that screenshot to show them that I really do have an issue.

[Otto Pylot ACE - Czar]

You probably don't have to email them the screenshot. Just give them your info, the setup you have, what troubleshooting you have done, and of course your account info.

[emburybrett]

I have done that and they only offer it for $100 off for $100 and that's still to much in my eyes.

[Otto Pylot ACE - Czar]

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emburybrett wrote:
I have done that and they only offer it for $100 off for $100 and that's still to much in my eyes.

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Don't know what to tell you then

[dshaw6886]

How long have you been an AT&T customer?

[Otto Pylot ACE - Czar]

In the past, if you had a "history" of documented coverage issues, AT&T handed out free MicroCells to some of those individuals (no real rhyme or reason who got one other than they had documented issues). I don't think how long you've been an AT&T customer has anything to do with it. We've been customers for well over 10 years (since the days of PacBell), had a history of coverage issues and I still had to pay $80 for mine way back when.

[Rapidturtle]

I would not pay for a Microcell. They are terrible. I got mine for free a while back, and half the time it works,and the other half it doesn't. Sprint has a similar device called an airave that I used to have, and it worked all of the time. When you walked in the door, it was connected to the phones. 

[Otto Pylot ACE - Czar]

Verizon offers a femtocell as well for the same reason, poor in-home coverage. All of them, AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon have their pros and cons depending on a multitude of factors. Our MicroCell works just fine. Walk into the house, and your phone immediately picks up the signal and all calls, sent or received, as well as messaging work just fine. iPhones (3GS, 4, and 5), Samsung phones, it doesn't matter.