What is happening with 3G?
hdang24's profile

Contributor

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2 Messages

Wednesday, July 10th, 2013 8:50 AM

Is 3G Micro Cell is still free?

We have been custormer with AT&T for a long time. Last year we moved into a new apartment complex and due to its location we experience horrible signal inside our house. Not just getting tire of stepping out side to make a call but what worst is that we have been missing a lot of phone calls from other people. I heard that AT&T gave out this unit one time in the past but are they still giving it to their loyal customers anymore?

Contributor

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1 Message

9 years ago

I understand this question is answered, but I'm adding this in case someone comes along late, like I did, wanting more answers.

 

I have been an AT&T customer for 5 years.  Last year we moved to a new house.  The AT&T map shows that we should have voice coverage.  We have had issues for the past year.  Not only do we miss calls and VM but often, even when we're in an area with good coverage, we do not start getting them again until we reboot our phones.  The biggest issue is that we don't know they aren't working until we try to use them.

I have contacted AT&T several times about the issue.

Today, they finally offered me a free microcell.  After a year of contacting them.  I don't know if it is because it is an ongoing issue or if I finally just talked to the right person.  Since someone mentioned there is no way to corroborate our stories, I've added a screenshot of the email they sent me showing the free microcell.  I hope this helps someone else.

 

AT&T.PNG

1 Attachment

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

9 years ago

Thanks for the info but that just verifies what we've been saying all along. It is not AT&T Corporate policy to provide free MicroCells to who ever requests them. If you are in an area of known issues as far as coverage goes, AT&T may decide to send you a MicroCell for free once they can establish the coverage issue. It is not automatic.

 

Coverage maps, for any provider, are very misleading. They basically indicate where the signal will reach, they do not indicate quality of service. So just because you can get a signal at your house doesn't mean that the quality of service is going to be acceptable.

 

Unfortunately the type of phone may also have something to do with the reliability of your services via the MicroCell.

Contributor

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1 Message

8 years ago

I am tired of not having service everybody that I know is getting a freeMicro cell tower

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

8 years ago

Years ago, as part of a promotional campaign, AT&T gave away MicroCells to select people. That campaign is no longer active. It's possibe, but not likely, that you could find a corporate store manager somewhere who would give you one if you are in a documented area of poor coverage. It is certainly not corporate policy though so it would be completly at the discretion of the store manager.

 

AT&T would probably give you a discount on a new one if you called support, again if you are in an area of documented poor coverage, but that's about the best you could do. You would also need to have a post paid cellular account.

 

If you choose to go the eBay/Craigs List route, I would suggest reading the section in the Tech Guide (link in my sig) about purchasing a second hand MicroCell first.

Tutor

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5 Messages

8 years ago

I called yesterday to discuss my ongoing issue of missing calls while in my home, sitting near a window. Our calls don't drop or have poor reception once started, but I regularly have a VM pop up with no call registered.  So AT&T agreed to seem me the microcell for $75 with a $75 rebate.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

8 years ago

We've been saying this for a long time whenever the free MicroCell question comes up. It is not corporate policy anymore, and hasn't been so for years, to give away the MicroCell. The best you can do, and this is not a guarantee either, is get one at a discount. Every now and then a free MicroCell report pops up but that is certainly an extremely rare, and isolated instance, if it is even true.

Professor

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2.2K Messages

8 years ago

So, $75 now for a Mcell?  They use to be $200.  I think AT&T is trying to get rid of as many Mcells as they can before they become worthless due to WiFi-C.  I better sell mine before no one wants them anymore.

 

Hey Otto!  Have I got a deal for you since you have a collection of Mcells!  Make you a real good deal too!

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

8 years ago


@Avedis53 wrote:

Hey Otto!  Have I got a deal for you since you have a collection of Mcells!  Make you a real good deal too!


Thanks pal! But I get mine free Smiley Wink

 

On an entirely different note, AT&T is starting some test locations in rural areas where they put a transciver on  your roof for fixed wireless LTE using the 20Mhz band (10x10Mhz paired uplink/downlink) for 10-30 Mbps speeds. They are even paying the households $100 per month to test and give feedback. So this should be interesting to see how this will play out over time with WiFi-C and LTE in general.

Contributor

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1 Message

8 years ago

I was having coverage issues in my house for a while and thought it was my crappy phone. I finally upgraded and still had issues (couldn't make or receive calls). Went to the att Corp store and found out that the tower near me was lost during hurricane Sandy and there were no other towers in my area. She said att had given out free microcells to those customers affected. So I called to get mine. It was a 2 week battle of being hung up on and left on hold and forgotten about. I actually had one person tell me they were sending me one and when I never received it I called and there was no order and no record of our conversation. I went back to the store and they called customer service for me. They were cursed at and hung up on. So the store manager gave me one. That microcells died yesterday. I was prepared for a fight when I called att today. The rep said there is a 1yr warranty and the fee to replace was $175 but because they never documented the date they gave me the original she went ahead and used the warranty to replace mine even though I've had mine well passed 1yr. I was prepared to fight but glad I didn't have to...

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

8 years ago

AT&T does not have, as a corporate policy, to hand out free MicroCells to anyone who wants them. However, given your circumstances, with Hurricane Sandy (which was in 2012), I'm glad that AT&T came thru.

 

My guess is that AT&T looked up the circumstances in which you were given a MicroCell and did the right thing. The upgrade fee is the discounted cost of a brand new one.

 

Thanks for the post.

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