How to file a complaint about network service

This is definitely not the experience we want you to have with us, and we want to help review your open cases regarding your network concerns, @Qualls137.

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Thanks for contacting the AT&T Community Forums for help.

Lynn, AT&T Community Specialist 

ATT coverage does not exist where I work and I called to see what can be done about it and the answer was - nothing! So I am stuck with a 3-year phone payoff plan or pay close to $1000 to pay off the phone early in order to switch to another carrier. So I am paying for service that I can't use for 50 hours of each week. When I spoke to tech support, they confirmed there is no plan to add coverage to my work location and there is no way to get out of my contract other than paying $1000 for my phone. I traded in an iphone Xr and received an $800 credit, but it's applied via monthly installments over 3 years, so if I leave ATT, I lose the trade-in dollars. Meanwhile, I can't make calls, I cant receive texts. My work location does not have secure WiFi, so my options are limited. The biggest problem for me is that so many systems require 2-factor authorization anymore, and I have no way of receiving texts or emails. I can use my government work station and landline to do some things, but I cannot use government equipment to conduct personal business, which means I am totally disconnected during the day from family and friends, banking and all the other options I had before switching to ATT. When I accepted this position, I had no idea there was no ATT coverage in the area. Verizon has great coverage here, interestingly. It's hard to believe that ATT has no roaming agreement with Verizon! Very disappointed with ATT and hopeful they will do something to make this feel less hopeless... If nothing is done to help my situation, obviously I will be looking to join Verizon asap. Seems like if you can't provide a service, you should not charge for that service.

@13jonimorse13

Well yeah, if you just bought a new phone and entered into a 36-month agreement, you were supposed to test the service before you trade it in your old phone, and before the 14-day return window expired.

It is 100% On Us customers to decide whether service is sufficient or not. It is not the service providers responsibility or ability to test service in every single location.

I hear you, due diligence matters. The thing is, I had no idea when I bought the phone that I would be working in a dead zone. Honestly, I had no idea ATT had a dead zone spanning hundreds of miles. It’s near a ski area, so I was surprised to find ATT provided no coverage. Situations change! It would be nice if ATT offered flexibility within its contract if they can’t provide service in your area. When we sign on, we don’t know exactly what our future holds…

@13jonimorse13

As I already wrote you had 14 days to return your new phone and take your phone number back to your previous carrier.

And the trade-in deal gives you 30 days before you have to trade in your old phone for Bill credits.

That's more than enough time to travel to all the places that you usually go and determine whether service will work for you.

And it is exactly what I did in 2014 when I switched one phone line to AT&T and then spent a week testing the service before switching all of my other phones over.  

yeah at&t isnt going to spend 5-8 million dollars on a tower because you cant get service where you work even if they did decide to erect a tower it would take almost 10 years from start to finish so not sure what you expect them to do to increase service 

When I signed up for service, I did not know I would be working in a dead zone. Life changes, I’d like my service to change accordingly. I’d like a break on getting out of my contract because I cannot use their service now that I work in a dead zone. That’s all I’m saying! I can understand paying something, but 3 years is a long time to pay when you have no service. Pay a penalty and be done, that’s what I prefer. I can’t possibly foresee every life circumstance that is going to come along and test within 30 days of having new service. It’s the things that happen after 30 days that are problematic here… Verizon has coverage here, ATT doesn’t. 

I’d like a break on getting out of my contract because I cannot use their service now that I work in a dead zone.

You’re not in a contract. You chose to purchase a device on an installment plan and then you chose to take a job in area where you don’t get service. Those were your choices. Pay the device off and move to a provider that suits your needs. 

When I signed up for service, I did not know I would be working in a dead zone. Life changes, I’d like my service to change accordingly. I’d like a break on getting out of my contract because I cannot use their service now that I work in a dead zone.

I understand how you feel, but AT&T has no reason to give you a break because AT&T didn't change anything - you did.

I've been hanging around this forum for several years and before that I was on Verizon forums and I would see people all the time post that "they just moved and the service was terrible and they wanted out of their contract" . And these posts go back to the days when contracts were still a thing and you had to pay an early termination fee.  There are no breaks. Because the service provider didn't cut service, the customer moved.  

While you are not in a contract you do have to pay off your phone.  AT&T sold you a phone on a retail sales agreement which is similar to a loan. You are asking to get out of that loan, rather than finish paying for a phone that you agreed to pay for.  

So this is not AT&T's problem to solve it's yours.

Both Verizon and T-Mobile are offering deals to switch which may help ease the $1,000 payout that you are going to owe AT&T. I would recommend you check both carriers for service coverage and decide which one is going to offer you the best deal and the best coverage. You might start by asking the people you work with who they use for cell phone service.