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New Member

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41 Messages

Monday, December 20th, 2021 6:32 PM

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

If you own a Samsung S8 starting with model number G955U or G950U, and you have received a text/letter from AT&T saying they will disconnect you in February for using a 3G phone, take note.

FIRST: Your phone is 4G and should is supported. Samsung has confirmed this for me and showed me an AT&T web page that doubly confirms it (see https://www.att.com/device-support/article/wireless/KM1273778/Samsung/SamsungG955U/).

SECOND: AT&T is ignoring complaints about unilaterally disconnecting 4G phones under the guise of dropping 3G service. Some are speculating that AT&T is railroading you into upgrading your phone when it is not necessary.

THIRD: You should make your concerns heard by the following interested parties:

SAMSUNG: They should be concerned that AT&T is misinforming customers about Samsung product capabilities. Here is a shortcut to voicing your concern https://www.samsung.com/us/support/contact/?model=N0022597&topic=SYM0000442

FTC: Since AT&T is providing customers fraudulent information, telling the Federal Trade Commission about it will get a response. Visit https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/form/main?pid=B

FCC: Since AT&T rents the public airwaves, and since the FCC has many consumer protection rules, they too should be made aware at https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=39744

Be sure to note that (a) you have a 4G phone, (b) AT&T is incorrectly identifying it as 3G and (c) is preparing to kill your service in February (and maybe scaring you into upgrading).

New Member

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41 Messages

2 years ago

FL_retire, I certainly don't disagree. No telling if either party didn't want the unlocked S8 to be patched to "encourage" upgrades ... in much the same way that they don't update the OS.

That being said, the Samsung support person did say they would push the suggestion up to engineering and let me know if Samsung does release a patch.

ACE - Expert

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22.7K Messages

2 years ago

@guyshomenet2 Good luck with Samsung "pushing a suggestion up to engineering".

New Member

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41 Messages

2 years ago

OttoPylot, my expectations of that having any results are very low  ;->

New Member

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12 Messages

2 years ago

What about Samsung a515F? Seems to be some Latin American phone (which I did not realize when I bought it). But it's new and works fine. I don't want a new phone e from tracfone. A) their phones are outdated garbage and B) my phone is almost new.

New Member

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12 Messages

2 years ago

What about Samsung a515F? Seems to be some Latin American phone (which I did not realize when I bought it). But it's new and works fine. I don't want a new phone e from tracfone. A) their phones are outdated garbage and B) my phone is almost new.

New Member

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12 Messages

2 years ago

What about Samsung a515F? Otherwise identical to A51. Seems to be some Latin American model (which I did not realize when I bought it). But it's new and works fine. I activated it about a year ago and should have been warned then. I knew nothing about this until November. I don't want a new phone e from tracfone. A) their phones are outdated garbage and B) my phone is almost new.

ACE - Sage

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113.3K Messages

2 years ago

New Member

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12 Messages

2 years ago

Sorry if I posted more than once. I could not find my original comment. It looked like my comment did not post.

I am now beginning to realize that the Microcenter -- which sold me this bogus counterfeit phone -- is the real villain here. I mean, I feel like, relatively speaking, I am on top of this stuff. I guarantee you, there are suckers out there dumber than me who still do not understand how they could buy a phone and have it be obsolete in a year, despite it seeming like a new model.

Yes, I did notice after I activated it that the temperatures were in celsius, and the keyboard had a tilda, but that did not bother me much. Little did I know that I was being ripped off.

I am so upset that I think there needs to be a (Edited per community guidelines) (Edited per community guidelines) in place against somebody. Personally, I do not know why they do not just whitelist this model. So what if it is from Latin America?

I am tempted to see if it will just work anyway after the deadline. IUf not, I am going to smash it with a hammer, box it up, and send it to Tracfone or AT&T.

(edited)

New Member

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12 Messages

2 years ago

Anyone who says that it is our choice to use a "dinosaur phone" is way off base. My phone was brand spanking new for a mid range item and you would have to have been an insider to know that this 3G takedown was happening. And even if you knew, we were misled into believing our devices were in fact 4G.

The whole thing stinks to high heaven and there really should be a (Edited per community guidelines) (Edited per community guidelines), offering to replace my $300 device with a $30 device and telling me I should just buy a new phone.

And I was doubly duped  because I activitated this phone about a year ago when it was "common knowledge" that it would be obsolete. This phone (a sneaky latin American version of an A51) was fobbed off on me. How on earth would anyone who does not spend all their time thinking about all this stuff be aware of this?

I say they should whitelist this device since it is almost identical (superior to) to an earlier model (the A50). Yes I am furious and I doubt I will ever shop Microcenter again. As far as the phones go, they all (Edited per community guidelines).

And yes, I know you probably don't care because you think you have us over a barrell. But I will complain long and loud.

(edited)

ACE - Expert

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23.8K Messages

2 years ago

It's not a counterfeit phone.  It was not made for the use market.

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