4G S8 to be disconnected with 3G shutdown - here is what you can do

The same S8  will work ok in Verizon ... I just ported it after AT&T gave such (Edited per community guidelines) excuse

AT&T is not allowing S8 not purchased from them simply because they want to sell a phone

Until Verizon shuts down their 3G network by the end of this year 😉. You might want to check with Verizon to see if they have the same mfr. certification for their network as well down the road.

@krishmunn

AT&T is not allowing S8 not purchased from them simply because they want to sell a phone

If buying a phone from AT&T we're the only criteria there would not be a very long list of unlocked phones that AT&T has certified to work on their Network.

Peddle your sour g(Edited per community guidelines)s elsewhere.

Unlocked, non carrier phones that will work on AT&T now that 3-g is going away

The only other option that can be valid is - AT&T is incompetent.  

Verizon has already declared that models above S4 will work after shutdown

BTW,  I have no reason to have sourG --  got a better price .  In fact , thanks to AT&T to force me to look out

@OttoPylot , I'll agree with @newbienewperson.... It was a HUGE fiasco.

I come from the tech industry, with 20+ years, albeit not from a cell provider, and am not stupid when it comes to these things. Nor to communications to customers.

The communication that went out, the SUPPORT PEOPLE that answer the calls, etc, have not been great.

When I first got my notice, I ignored it, as my phones were supported...according to their own info. Thing was, I buy my phones unlocked from 3rd parties, and not from ATT. Been that way for years and never a single issue. Just that ATT didn't correctly identify it on their system, and since everything worked fine on my side, I never tried to correct them nor their online info.

So, the next step was getting FREE phones. Yes, they didn't cost me anything out of pocket so some will say I shouldn't complain. Well, I will. They were unsolicited. All I got was something in the mail saying "new phones are sent and will arrive soon".

Those things are total (Edited per community guidelines), especially when they were sup(Edited per community guidelines)ed to replace much better/more powerful phones.

I called their CS support line. Got a rep. She didn't know anything and was trying to find info in their internal tools. When I read her the requested info she asked for, she agreed my phones would/should work. I asked about sending the "free" phones back, or if I should drop them at local ATT store. She said not to worry about it. They didn't want them back.  If I knew someone locally that needed a cheap ATT phone, I would just give it to them.

Then, my wife started using my son's old S8 (unbranded). After reading through a couple months of (Edited per community guidelines)ts here, I see it is unlikely supported by ATT, and why. Information that the CSR I called couldn't give me a reason for, that I found here.  Fine. They also sent a "free" phone for her SIM as well, just 2 weeks ago. She uses her phone for work apps as well. That "free" phone wouldn't do.  Fine...I was willing to go out and just buy her another, new (Samsung S21FE) phone that she wanted. As I got ready to do that, ATT, their website, and a few other things continued to upset me in dealing with them (and, I say this as a "T" stockholder), so I called TMobile.  I have been with ATT for 20+ years and had a nice deal with my employer discount (15% off, 50% all accessories, etc). 

My Tmobile phones just arrived today.  I'm leaving ATT and transferring my numbers.  Tmobile is also giving me a LARGER discount (I'm ex-military and they have a special rate for that).  I'm going from 12GB/mo 3 lines (where we seldom use 6GB) to UNLIMITED... for ~$40-$60 LESS per month.  And, my wife's S8 becomes a S21FE today, my and my son's S20+ become S22+.  We pay a difference of $300 on her 'upgrade' and our upgrades are FREE.  Tmobile wanted our business. ATT seemed quite indifferent to keeping me as a cashcow. No wonder my "T" stock is staying down

Maybe the grass isn't greener, but 90% of the reason I am leaving ATT, as one of their loyal cash cows, is FULLY BECAUSE of how they have handled this FIASCO.

@formerlyknownas 

You said "But fine, if you haven't purchased a phone from AT&T since 2017, you have no right to a free phone from AT&T "

LOL. I was going to say "you are right, but it was still a major 'messup' in the way they handled it", but, as I typed this, my mind changed.  As someone who has had ATT for 20+ years, and haven't purchased a phone FROM them in over 10+ years, THEY obviously felt I had a right to THREE "free" phones (1 per line I have with them).

Given that, anyone that received one, and had inaccurate information, or the information changed, or hardly any real info at all, about the change, at any time in the process, has a right to complain about them if they want to.

I now have 2-3 "free" phones that I will be e-cycling (need to find 1 of them as it has been a few months), that were never used by us and are baseline specs....that the ATT rep said not to worry about when I asked about sending them back before.

One thing I will say, (Edited per community guidelines)itive side of things, is that this thread was 1000x more helpful than the ATT CSR that I talked to before.  I wish I would have looked here before, rather than calling, but, I am old school, and like to talk to a real person as convesations can be dynamic rather than structured with no deviations. 

As a former CSR Lead/Manager someplace else in high tech, I won't blame that person. It is more the fault of their management and those that are sup(Edited per community guidelines)ed to provide the info for them to look up. They were woefully ill-informed.

@guyshomenet2 Glad that you seem to have things resolved. I felt your pain all through the thread as I read it. Much of it resonated with me. 

Once ATT made the choice to allow unlocked cellphones on their network, this was inevitable. Given that, and how THEY and the OEMs handle models and model numbers for the variants, it is a big problem that isn't normally an issue but is for something like this.

IMO, all parties have some fault in this fiasco. The end user needs to do due diligence (mothra67 appears to have tried to do that). The OEM and provider need to do a better job of highlighting, and making readily and easily available, all the model numbers they sell and support, and which ones are which (including differences).

In a prior reincarnation of myself, one of many in the last 25 years working in the tech industry, I was "privilege" enough to work with ATT for a huge project. I have also worked with Samsung, LG, and others.

They DON'T want to make things easy. They want the easiest most locked down way to do things (cell providers), which I understand. The OEMs want to sell as much as they can, to anyone and everyone that will pay, with as few barriers as possible. I understand that as well.  
But, the 2 don't work together to make it easy for the end user.

So, I don't see how anyone can read what mothra67 posted that they did and blame them.  Maybe if they did it the same way today but definitely not if they did it months/year before.

@Fl_retire 

@guyshomenet2. Blame Samsung for changing the release date after AT&T made their 3G shutdown announcement in 2020. 

No. That is not a good answer/excuse. The amount of communication from ATT/Samsung is huge. And even given the rest of what  you posted, that I didn't quote, it wasn't like the release was announced and locked in by Samsung.  You kept saying "typically launches" and "bucked the trend".  So, everything was based off history, but you can be assured that ATT had much better info on the actual date.

That said, ATT is a huge company and once something is in motion, it is difficult and costly to change.

So, I am not arguing that ATT should have waited for Samsung but rather just that your trying to 'blame Samsung' based on S22 release date is very flimsy and convolutes things in this fiasco that should be kept separate or not brought into the picture.

I find it absolutely unreal that AT&T sent me a garbage phone to replace my samsung s8. Its like a spit in the face. The phone they sent me (Fusion Z) doesn't end up coming close to the performance of my s8. Truly disappointing. 

AT&T sent you a cheapie phone that will work after 3G is gone so you can at least stay connected. They didn't have to. If you don't like the phone and want something better, then buy what you want.

Nah AT&T is making perfectly good phones end up in landfills (Edited per community guidelines)