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?

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

10 years ago

I think if you read the posts carefully you would have found that while it's not common to get a free MicroCell after the marketing campaign ended a couple of years ago, it's not impossible. It's certainly not AT&T's policy to hand them out to anyone who requests them but it can, and does, still happen. However, the fact that "everyone of your neighbors has a MicroCell" indicates that your area has a documented history of poor coverage so it's not surprising that AT&T gave you one. What ever the reason, at least you got one so hopefully it will be trouble free.

Scholar

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206 Messages

10 years ago

I just got off of chat with an AT&T Support representative. I explained to her my current situation:

1. The contract for myself and my wife is up.

2. We'd rather not leave AT&T.

3. The only way we get service is if we stand in the back of the house, and even then, we only get 1 bar (which is true).

 

I was very nice in talking to her and she gave me a $200.00 credit to my account for me to go to a store and purchase one. The credit has been applied to my account, so I have a -$84 balance on my account right now. 

 

To add to this, I'm sure there is a history of me calling in about lack of coverage at my house, so that might have played into it. But, I am very grateful that she was able to credit my account. I do have to spend the $199.99 to purchase one, but it balances out since she gave me $200 credit towards my monthly bills that I won't have to pay.  

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

10 years ago

That's good to hear. It seems that AT&T is looseing up a bit with the "free" MicroCells which is good. It sounds like they've had a policy change and are not doing this as a marketing gimmick like they did a couple of years ago and are taking it case by case. Kudos to AT&T for this.

Voyager

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2 Messages

10 years ago

I recently moved to Foster City, CA and the area where I live is known to be low coverage area.

So I contacted AT&T via chat session to check what options I have. They informed me about this microcell and mentioned that it will cost me $150.

But my point is if it is not customers fault, AT&T should improve the reception in that area or give it to loyal customers for free.

If any AT&T employee is reading this, please take it up. They will loose out on to loyal customers like me. Looks like AT&T don't care about their customers and they dont need customers any more. 

Professor

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2.2K Messages

10 years ago

AT&T has been known to give account holders free Mcells in the past but that appears to be on a case-by-case basis these days.  I know I was able to convince AT&T to give me one for free a few years ago after documenting my reception problems and being very polite but insistent on the phone with a customer service rep.  I would like to think the fact that I was a long-time AT&T customer that had four iPhones with full data and text plans and was paying them $2,500/year had something to do with that decision. Your mileage may vary.

 

From an objective standpoint, AT&T may have plans for improving cellphone coverage in Foster City but those plans may be a bit down the road.  No one knows where Foster City's coverage needs stand in the grand scheme of AT&T's cell network improvement plan.  They can't make every area of poor coverage a top priority.  Some areas are going to have to wait their turn.

 

It would appear to me that you have a choice.  Try to convince AT&T to give you a partial or full credit on you bill towards a Mcell, purchase a Mcell from AT&T, live with the problem or change carriers.  Let's face it, you chose to live in an area of poor cell coverage.  To say that AT&T doesn't care about you as a customer because they haven't met your demands within your timeframe is somewhat of an unrealistic viewpoint.

 

You can try contacting ATTCustomerCare using the link below and politely explain your situation and see what they can do for you.  Perhaps you can contact AT&T's Customer Retention department and convince them that either you get a free Mcell or you're taking your business elsewhere.

 

Good luck!

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

10 years ago

As Avedis53 pointed out, the free MicroCell program a couple of years ago was more of a marketing thing than anything else. It certainly was not a free program in the sense that anyone who asked for one got one for free, regardless of how long they've been at AT&T customer.

 

As suggested, you can contact CustomerCare (link in the sig line) and ask, nicely. I mention nicely because if you start demanding or making threats to cancel your service, you probably won't get anywhere. The best you may be able to do is get some sort of credit applied to your bill. That's what happened to me years ago when I had issues. I ended paying something like $50 for mine when they were charging $200 at the time. BTW, I live just down the road a bit from you in San Jose and coverage in our home hasn't changed much in the 30 years or so we've lived here. With tower sharing, as mandated by the FCC, some areas won't ever see an increase in signal strength because of current regulations.

Voyager

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2 Messages

10 years ago

Thanks for the suggestion Avedis53 and OttoPylot .

I don't think the expectation is unrealistic.

 

We as a customer are paying for the service that AT&T promises to fulfill and so expecting the reliable service. If the area is not supported then it should not have been included as the service area with good coverage on the coverage map. If it is clear on the coverage map that Foster City area where I live is a black spot then users can decide easily.

 

As far as improving the coverage, I see very bleak chances, as OttoPylot has pointed out, it is not improved in 30 years in San Jose so not sure what can we expect. So meanwhile the expectation is that they should provide free microcell meanwhile and that too when they agree that it is low coverage area (The chat associate agreed on that)

 

Any way, I will connect with AT&T customer care and try my luck again Smiley Sad

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

10 years ago

Coverage maps are a bit of smoke and mirrors by any cellular provider. If a signal can be detected above a certain dB limit, then it's part of the coverage area. Of course all cellular providers fudge that to indicate how much better their "coverage" is than the competition. What that doesn't take into consideration is quality of signal. You may be able to get a signal, hence your "covered", but reliability is a different matter. A lot of those maps were determined a long time ago. And since then, buildings and other structures, trees, environmental conditions, etc have changed, all of which affect signal propagation/quality. The signal is nice and strong in my street for3G/4G. And if I walk down the street I eventually get LTE. But inside my house, it's questionable enough to require a femtocell.

Professor

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2.2K Messages

10 years ago

That's because you live in a Faraday cage.......

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

9 years ago

There ya go again with those technical terms...... but yes, my house is like a Faraday cage with chicken-wire reinforced stucco and a metal roof. However, to be honest our in-home cell coverage was just as bad with and without the metal roof. But, with my MicroCell (new and old) that's never been a problem.

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