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AT&T Wireless Phone "Upgrades" Aren't
An anonymous reader writes "AT&T Wireless is requiring customers in parts of California and New York and elsewhere to "upgrade" their phones and offering free replacements. The catch? In most cases the upgrades have worse features than the phones they're replacing."
Yeah, there is no Bluetooth on the new phones which is proving to be quite a hassle. It is amazing how ones life becomes adapted to a technology like Bluetooth that truly works, and then to have AT&T Wireless simply say, "sorry, you have to upgrade" simply sucks.
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I would say getting a phone that will be able to work is a pretty big upgrade.
In my area AT&T wants me to update my (TDMA) phone to a GSM phone...and in the proccess I loose about 60% of my home coverage area. Sound good to you? I don't think so. I switched from SprintPCS to AT&T BECAUSE of AT&T's coverage. I fear the day my phone dies, maybe by then the GSM coverage will be better in my area.
-Daniel
KD5UZZ
www.w5yj.org
Is the one where it disconnects randomly in supposedly good-coverage areas.
Insanity is a gradual process; don't rush it.
OMG! They want me to use a phone with no camera! How can that be? How does a phone even work if it doesn't have a camera? Next thing they'll want me to buy a refrigerator with no DSL or a car with no DVD player!
The catch? In most cases the upgrades have worse features than the phones they're replacing."
;)
That is no catch. Heck some software vendors force you to upgrade, force you to pay for the upgrade, and upgrades have worse features than the original software.
Consensus is good, but informed dictatorship is better
I think all you customers should pay some money for those downgrades. Replacing process surely have some administrative costs, taken from pockets of poor shareholders.
There you are, staring at me again.
Downgrades are upgrades.
(On a more serious note-- hey, if Microsoft can define 'repackaging old Apple, Xerox and Unix tech for the masses' as 'innovation', then sure, a downgrade can be an 'upgrade'. Businesses lying is nothing new.)
Honey, I shrunk the Cygwin
I'm in Ann Arbor Michigan and had AT&T service with my T68i. Last year I had problems with dropped calls and my service meter would go from 5 bars to 0 when I would try to make a call. I got my handset replaced twice and it seemed to more or less alleviate the problem. This winter things got worse and worse.
:)
Finally I got fed up and switched to T-Mobile. I got a nice phone for $0, and get unlimited wireless web usage for $10/mo (which got me 4 megs on AT&T). Getting my number transfered from AT&T to the new account took an 11 minute phone call and 6 hours to process.
Most importantly my calls aren't having the same problems, and I can actually use my phone again.
The irony is that between the time I called to switch my number and the time that the number switched I got an SMS saying that they were sending me a new (bluetoothless, underfeatured) phone for free. Now I'll have two to put up on eBay
Why can't I moderate something "Wrong" or at least "Grossly Misinformed"?
Too often, upgrades really mean downgrades. I was recently forced to "upgrade" my Nokia cell phone to a "newer better" model.
The newer model as the number keys laid out in converging diagonal lines, instead of straight up and down like the old one, so I have to think about and hunt for each number key. I guess the standard phone-button layout was just not good enough for Nokia.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
AT&T is attempting to do good with this. I believe the "upgrade" phones run at 850mhz, providing better service to the areas the "upgrades" are offered. They're trying to offer better service to their customers without losing a lot of money on giving away expensive phones.
I like the car DVD system that includes the windshield video projector, so I can watch movies like "Along Came Polly" while driving. It sure beats anything I'd see on the road in front of me.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Shame the feature they remove is the Bluetooth and the serial connection, rather than the phone, sucky non-regular keypad or the colour screen.
I'm sticking with my 6310i until it dies, then I'll buy another one off eBay.
Beep beep.
According to the article, "The now obsolete phones will still work on the AT&T network, howeverthey will continue to have poor reception. Use them at your own risk."
So you can still keep your old phone, and it'll still work as it has in the past -- somewhat poorly, but not differently. Or, AT&T is offering free replacement phones that have improved reception but may not have all the features of your old phone. I don't see the problem here. If you want to stick with what you have, nothing is stopping you. AT&T is giving you a choice, which is more than most companies would do.
Just my two cents.
They all laughed at my refusal to join the club and my incredibly long cords, but I'll be proven right in the end. I'm staying in control of my phone destiny.
Up until November of last year me and my SO were att wireless subscribers. It was rather obvious that at&t wireless service couldn't really get any worse than it already was. Phone call quality always sucked unless the signal strength is at least at the halfway mark. That is if you were lucky to be in an area with any reception whatsoever. Their local calling areas were piss poor, and we got hit with roaming charges every month.
As soon as number portability kicked in, we bailed out for t-mobile GSM. The difference was like night and day. at&t wireless showed no signal in my home. The new phones (free t610 camera phones, by the way, with bluetooth, infrared, etc...) now show a good signal. No roaming charges, the call quality is now much better, and there are hardly any dropouts even if the phone shows only a single blip on the signal strength meter.
When I called to cancel at&t they lamely offered an upgrade to gsm. No thanks. Even if gsm is supposedly a better technology, I'm sure that at&t would find a way to screw it up, somehow.
Cingular wants to swallow up at&t? I hope they choke.
On topic, DUH. They aren't saying you HAVE to switch, they are just strongly suggesting it because it will improve your reception. And you forked out all that extra cash for a smart phone, you should be prepared to do it again. If AT&T was going to disable your phone, then it would be reasonable to make them replace it with the same thing. But as it is they are just offering you one of their standard phones free. If you still want all those extra features, you can pay again.
It's not extra nice, but it makes perfect sense to me. I don't think you can really falt AT&T for this. Sorry.
The OT part: I am seroiusly thinking about switching carries for my phone (I don't care about my current number, so that hassle doesn't factor in), and I'm seriously looking at AT&T. I was thinking of getting a Sony-Ericsson T610 (or T616, whatever they want to sell me) for it's bluetooth and java (and looks).
Is AT&T a very nice provider? How hard is it to use a bluetooth phone as a modem (you know, connect to the internet through it)? Where can I find directions on that?
But overall, how are people's expiriances with it?
PS: I'm in eastern Kansas if you know what the reception is like there
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Almost switched to AT&T a little bit ago, but then found out that all of their modem capable cell phones can only use that capability on their digital network. I explained I was wanting to use my cell phone as a regular analog modem, and was told it didn't matter. It was charged by the MB regardless, and to get more than 4 MB a month was extroidnarily expensive. Can you imagine you land line provider telling you that you would have to pay extra for using your line for a modem instead of voice? This wasn't a case of minutes or the like either.
I think even the old 270 was. Makes you wonder how much fact checking was done before posting the article.
I'll keep using my T68i, and when they cut my service off, I'll demand a refund for my original phone. Then I'll take my business elsewhere.
AT&T shouldn't be forcing their customers to "upgrade" to anything. I smell a class-action lawsuit coming.
I like big butts and I cannot lie.
This is how companies save money. They give the cheapos to most people, and only give the more expensive items to people who complain. With most companies, complaining can get you some crazy good deals. If you are a 'good' customer, phone companies will go out of there way to serve you.
I'm currently shopping around for a new provider, though the crazy set of plans and prices that all the firms offer makes it impossible to compare plans or even figure out how much the service will cost.
Where does one begin?
Tried the phone for a couple of hours and just gave up on it. Sent it back. Thankfully you can switch the SIM card back to the old phone so easily. If you have a T68, you are stepping way down with this phone! BMW to Yugo. You're a fool if you keep it. And now, of course, it'll be a case of once bitten, twice shy if they try it again.
I don't know who to blame more: AT&T or Sony-Ericson. For AT&T, this will go down as one the stupidest tech marketing blunders in a while! For Sony-Ericson, well, the engineering team that designed the T226 should be taken out and shot. At the very least they should barred from designing any consumer electronic product - for life!
When the T68 came out I thought maybe Ericson might finally have figured out what Nokia does right - with this phone it's apparent the T68 was just a lucky, but utterly random accident. :-p
I got the letter on Friday from ATTWS, saying that they were sending me a new phone. They are supposedly providing return shipping for the old phone but the letter didn't say anything about HAVING to return the old phone to get the new phone. I'll be interested in reading the fine print when the new phone shows up but I'm not worried. I have no interest in downgrading from my T68i to this lesser phone, and I have no interest in returning either my old phone or the new one they are sending to me. More information can be found at: http://sonyericssont226upgrade.com/
Now, some background information on the return issue - I used to manage the returns department for a dotcom and thus I was supposed to know a bit about returns issues. I cannot name the specific regulation by name, but the FTC says that if a merchant sends you a product that you didn't order, it is your's for free. They can ask for you to pay for it, they can ask for you to return it, they can call you bad names for keeping it, but they cannot require you to return it nor can they require you to pay for it. Keep this in mind for this new phone and any future boxes that end up at your door step. Now, since we are all ATTWS subscribers and signed some contract when we got our service, they might actually be able to force us to return the new phones or pay for them, but I'm not sure.
Now here's the part about the whole deal that makes me worried. Why are they sending new phones for free to people? Why aren't they just letting us keep our outdated phones and stop selling them, and start selling the new phones? What is the benefit of sending me a new phone and asking for me to return my old phone? At first I thought they wanted to give me a new phone with more features so that I'd send more SSM messages, or download ringtones, or do something else that would generate more revenue for ATTWS, but I don't think that is the case, if it was I think they would have given out even cooler phones. Frankly I cannot use a phone without Bluetooth, I just cannot, if the new phone had all the features of my old phone and some bonuses it would be a different story but... ATTWS is doing something it doesn't have to. They are giving out free phones when they don't have to. It doesn't make any sense, they should just stop selling the old phones. I think there is more to the story unfortunately, and I think that the end effect is that sooner or later my old phone will no longer work with ATTWS.
Will someone please file a class action lawsuit. I'm already ready to sign up.
The first I heard of this "upgrade" program was a card I got in the mail a week ago last Friday. It doesn't say, "Hey, if you want, you can switch to this phone," it says, "We're giving you this phone in exchange for yours."
When I saw what a feature-lacking piece of shit the T226 is compared to my T68i, I called the number on the card to see if I had an option of declining this allegedly-generous gesture. When they told me I could refuse the T226, they took my name and checked to see if my T226 had already been shipped out, and it had-- via UPS, according to the CSR, who told me to just refuse the package.
I am in complete agreement that the T616 should have been the replacement phone for the T68i. Not everyone is purely interested in stupid-ass ringtones and games. Every feature I bought the T68i for is missing in the T226, so I don't see how anyone can call that an upgrade with a straight face.
~Philly
I cannot believe AT&T are giving out simple phones. Where did they find them? All I ever see is Bluetooth, virtual laser keyboards, SMS, digital video, WiFi, 3G, a 3D video processor and flash memory.
...
Sales Droid: So Maam, this is our most fully-featured phone
Me: That's great but all I want to do is make phone calls.
Droid: Sorry! That feature was depricated last year.
Me: What! Oh well.
The old phones ran at 1900mhz. So the new phones are, what, like less than half as good as the old ones?
Switch carriers. TDMA is the BEST cell phone standard in the United States. You can get coverage virtually ANYWHERE. Because TDMA is so much older, it has longer range and better sound quality. Switching from a TDMA phone to a GSM phone is OF COURSE A DOWNGRADE.
I have TDMA service through Cellular One in Oregon and I LOVE it. I've made phone calls on Mt Hood, South Sister and lots of other strange, way away from civilization places you wouldn't expect a phone to work.
Plus, TDMA plans are generally cheaper because the cell companies have already paid off their investment in them.
So you're the guy who almost hit me today!
I asked the same questions a short while back on a different cell phone related slashdot article, and mkop kindly pointed me to this site....
--
Time is on my side
I had a nice, top of the line Nokia - a couple years later, calls would randomly disconnect. I used equipment replacement twice and get back the same model. Finally they tell me my phone is no longer compatible with their network! I asked to be transfered to the guy who could close my account, since my phone was entirely useless. Instead they transferred me to the guy who sent me a new phone, which did turn out to be a marginal upgrade due to two years of advancement in the technology. Eventually they even gave me a nice credit on my account for the months my phone was useless. However, I had to threaten to terminate my account before getting any results.
I can use my bluetooth phone as a data connection for my laptop, or for something like the Palm Tungsten with a bluetooth connection. Then I don't have to rely on having a wireless or dialup connection wherever I go.
It's not the speediest thing, but it's far nicer browsing on a laptop than a phone and is faster than dialup.
And of course you can use the bluetooth phone as a controller for various apps on the laptop - most useful for presentations, but it has a few other cool uses as well.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
OK, here's the deal. AT&T Wireless sends these users a card saying that they'll be getting an upgraded phone within the next couple weeks. This is ONLY in areas where a GSM850 network now exists. The T68i does NOT support GSM850. So, you've got two options - Keep using your T68i keep on whining and moaning that the service sucks, or use the T226 and use the GSM850 network and the GSM1900 network. Either way, you're not really REQUIRED to send the T68i back, it's just begged that you do so in the papers. They give you a postage-paid box to send it back in.
Yeah, the phone blows. You're the moron that bought a phone that didn't support GSM850. I've had a phone from the BEGINNING that did, and still do. A SonyEricsson T616. It's easy enough to get one cheap, too. It's called a contract extension. And don't whine about the contract either, you COULD go prepaid. ATTWS has some of the best prices in the business. Mod me troll is you like, but hey, caveat emptor. It's your own fault.
Actually, on T-Mobile after you've had the phone for a while you can send an email requesting the unlock code to SIMUnlock@T-Mobile.com I had no problems getting my Nokia 3390 unlock code from them.
i say all of the above being an unabashed GSM user. i just hate Verizon and like the features of GSM phones.
and a hint for at&t people getting "upgrades": you're probably eligible for a customer retention upgrade. skip all this crossgrade nonsense and call at&t and say you want a new phone for being a long-term customer. i got a T616 for my T68i for free like this. you'll end up getting whatever prices a new subscriber would get, so check on at&t's website before you call.
Just raise the taxes on crack.