Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with att

T-Mobile: Stay or Go?/iPhone or No?

Xalf — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 08:33:13 -0800

I have had a reasonably happy relationship with my T-Mobile G2 (aka HTC Desire Z) these past two years, but my contract is up, and I have long coveted the iPhone, mostly based on its picture taking and video chatting capabilities. Should I just get one and take advantage of T-Mobile's new pricing? Or should I jump to a new carrier? An attempt to make this less open-ended is inside. I have been a T-Mo customer nearly as long as I've had a cell phone, and I really do like their service and pricing, especially the new scheme. I rarely make calls, but quality is normally fine. My impression is that my data service is slower than other carriers, but I don't really know how to judge what difference a new carrier and a new phone would make. I spend most of my time in Washington, DC and always have pretty good reception. So here is the main question:

How can I tell how much faster things would be if I switched to AT&T or Verizon?

Bonus overthinking about whether iPhone is right for me: I am happy with Android, but I don't consider it a member of my family. Also, I'm pissed at Google over killing Reader (which I do consider to be a family member). I mostly use the phone for web browsing, email, Facebook, NYT, and podcasts (using doggcatcher). It is rarely convenient for me to sync the phone with a desktop - would that impact my iPhone experience? I am willing to consider hot new Android phones, but I am not crazy about how enormous they are. And I like the idea of being able to use FaceTime with friends and family who also have iPhones.

Are AT&T data plans for iPad still month to month, or is it a contract?

ridogi — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:47:20 -0800

The original promise of the data plans for an iPad was that they were not a long term contract, but rather something you could use for a month or two, disable / cancel for a few months and then activate again as you needed it. You also would not have overage charges as running into the limit would just disable your account until you upped the plan. Is that still the case? I've been hearing that they now have termination fees, and after you cancel and try to add service again a few months down the road that problems reactivating the account are typical and require many trips to AT&T store or or call to their support number.

I am not talking about a shared data plan with other devices, but rather the option of signing up directly on the device (in settings --> cellular data).

I'm wondering what your experiences have been if you are someone who cancels and reactivates the data plan as needed.

This is why it takes me six months to purchase anything.

griphus — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:21:13 -0800

My Verizon contract expired. I'd like a cheaper phone plan (currently on a grandfathered unlimited text/data plan) and also an iPhone 5. I don't mind paying for an unsubsidized phone if the savings on the plan even out. However... ...the thing is that I'm in NYC which has enough connectivity idiosyncracies that general "which plan is best for me" articles are kind of useless.

So, this is what my usage looks like: ~500 texts/mo., ~120 mins voice/mo., ~2 GB/mo. I can definitely be more judicious about my data use, but the number of texts and minutes used is only going up in the near future (despite the diagram.)

I'm currently paying ~$115/mo for the grandfathered Verizon unlimited plan. If I re-up my contract with Verizon, I can get an iPhone 5 for ~$250 instead of the unsubsidized price of ~$750 but I'll have to pay about $60 extra/mo. for less service. So re-upping the contract makes zero sense because I'll be paying an extra ~$1500 for less service just to save ~$500 on the phone. This is what I want to avoid with any new contract.

So I guess the questions boil down to:
1) Who in NYC has the best iPhone plan for my usage? (Or: how much are you paying right now for yours?)
2) Has anyone here switched from Verizon to AT&T and had a wildly different experience (for better or worse)?
3) Should I just buy an unsubsidized iPhone 5 (from who? Verizon? Apple? Refurbed?) and stick it on my current Verizon plan?
4) Anything I should know about T-Mobile getting the iPhone? I was on T-Mobile for 10+ years and totally satisfied (I even got reception in my living room, which I do not at the moment.)
5) Any other tips, tricks or hints to doing this the best way?

Last thing: anything but AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile is a non-starter.

Are directory listing and caller ID identity linked?

tomwheeler — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 17:12:22 -0800

With AT&T landlines, is your directory listing (i.e. what's in the phone book) necessarily the same as what people see on caller ID?

AT&T left its utility box unlocked and doorless--how do I contact them?

dottiechang — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 02:37:41 -0800

Need help finding contact information to discuss a utility box AT&T has on my easement. Looks like the last tech that was here forgot to put the door back on and lock it (padlock is locked on the ground). I couldn't get it back on myself because of a back injury. Now it is pouring rain and I've been searching for the right number to call for over an hour on their labyrinthine website. I would feel very bad if the neighborhood lost service due to this. :) I have tried calling the main line and it is of no use, they don't know who to send me to. Does anyone else here have a box on their property? It was already there when I bought the house. What department should I ask for when I call them or is there a direct line for "box hosts" like me?

Which network should I pick for the iPhone 5

enn — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 09:30:29 -0800

I am thinking of getting an iPhone 5, and I'd like help deciding between AT&T and Verizon, in Chicago. From what I understand, with the iPhone 4, Verizon was universally acknowledged to have better service here.

However, with the 5, AT&T will fall back to HSPA+ when 4G is not available, vs Verizon which will fall back to the much slower 3G. I also hear things about how Verizon's 4G service is rapidly getting worse as the network grows more saturated.

My question is, how big a deal are these things in practice?

I have had really annoying service issues with my AT&T iPhone 4—lots of places around the city (particularly around Uptown/Ravenswood) where I can't load any web pages at all, even though I might have a bar or two. I frequently fall back to EDGE. Because of this, my first inclination is to try switching to Verizon. However, the above-mentioned factors have given me pause.

I'd especially like to hear from anyone who has personal experience with the iPhone 5 on both networks.

iPhone 5 to iPhone 4.

travis08 — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 08:55:45 -0800

Iphone 5 is bricked, what is the fastest/easiest way to temporarily use my old iphone 4 until I can get the 5 replaced? AT&T.

How to manage the logistics of a cellphone provider switch? Added Difficulty: Christmas Gift

Rock Steady — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 05:54:21 -0800

We are switching from AT&T cell phone to service to Verizon, and I'd like to perform the switch smoothly while also using one of the new phones as a Christmas gift. Your advice on the proper procedure would be welcome. We are going to be adding my family's three lines of service onto my parents' two lines of service (so we can split the data cost more efficiently) and porting our existing numbers in the process. As part of that switchover, we will be upgrading my daughter to an iPhone, and we'd like that phone to be one of the gifts she unwraps on Christmas morning.

How can we allow her to continue using her AT&T dumbphone right up until Christmas (or at least within a day or two of the holiday) and the switch over seamlessly to the new iPhone once it is unwrapped?

I'm willing to lose a few bucks on the transfer, so if it means temporarily porting her number to a "burner" cellphone that could work, if that is feasible when going to Verizon.

Any ideas?

Calling all Android fanboys: welcome me into your club, please.

matkline — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 03:46:45 -0800

I can't stand my iPhone 4S any longer, but I've still got a year and a half to wait for the contract to end (AT&T). I'd love to switch to an Android, because I'm sick of having to use iTunes just to get a few songs on to the device. I'd like to get an HTC One X, but am open to suggestions. What are my options for replacing this piece of crap? Should I just try and unlock/sell my iPhone on craigslist?

How bitterly should I cling to my unlimited data plan?

escabeche — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 08:04:33 -0800

How strongly should I feel about hanging on to my grandfathered AT&T unlimited data plan? It's time for a new phone contract. I currently have the $30/mo. unlimited AT&T plan on my iPhone 3g, and my wife has a non-smartphone. With the renewal, I'll upgrade both phones on the line to smartphones (probably an iPhone 5 and an iPhone 4S.)

There are various ways I can do this. I can keep my current unlmiited plan and add a 300MB/mo data plan for my wife's phone; this will total $110/month.

On the other hand, if I junk my current plan and go with one of the new shared tiered plans, I could get 1GB/month shared between both phones for $130 on either Verizon or AT&T, or 4GB/month for $150.

Why would I even be considering paying more money for capped data usage? 1) Verizon has LTE here in Madison, and AT&T doesn't -- presumably they will someday but it's not clear how near-term that is. Switching to Verizon means giving up the unlmiited plan. 2) The unlimited plan doesn't allow tethering, which sounds like it would be useful, since my laptop is the device I actually like using and I'm often in places with no wi-fi signal; and 3) looking back at my usage pattern, I have never used more than 330MB of data in a month, and am almost always below 200 MB. I use my phone mostly for receiving e-mail, web surfing, and podcast listening, but seldom or never stream movies or music. (Listening to baseball games on MLB AtBat is probably my heaviest data usage.) So it's not clear to me that "unlimited" and "1GB" are meaningfully different for us.

Relevant questions, then, are:

a) If you switched from an older, slower phone like an iPhone 3G to a newer, faster one, how much did your data usage increase? Is 1GB/month actually a low limit with a 2012 phone? What about 4GB/month? (It sounds like my "unlimited" data plan would throttle to painful slowness after 5GB anyway, so it's not clear how unlimited it actually is.) What are people who use 5GB per month doing -- is the primary load coming from streaming video, or are there other data-intensive practices that I haven't thought of and that I'll want to use once I have a phone that can handle them?

b) How much am I going to notice the difference between HSPA+ (which is what AT&T now offers in Madison) and LTE? (I assume both will be notably faster than the 3G I'm using now?)

c) How much should I care whether I can tether? It is certainly not uncommon for me to find that I wish I had a wi-fi signal so I could e.g. send someone a file that's on my laptop, or get all my current e-mail into my OS/X mail app so that I can answer it with a real keyboard instead of a touchscreen. (In other words, it's not my practice to use my phone as my primary work device and I don't think it's likely I'll adopt this practice, even with an updated phone.)

d) Am I right that this entire question is completely independent of the question of whether to stay with iPhone or switch to Android? (e.g. I am sort of vaguely aware that there's an entirely different approach which I don't really understand involving Android phone + Straight Talk + Google Voice.)

You say Good Buy and I say Hello

tilde — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 06:30:21 -0800

TMobileUSA is merging with MetroPCS. Does this mean I can take my ATT iPhone4 or ATT iPhone4S to TMobile / MetroPCS now? While I'm not fond of the idea of losing my month to month unlimited data grandfathered plan with ATT, I don't lurve them enough to stay. I've got a choice between moving to a used iPhone4 or iPhone4S on my old GrandFathered plan (on a 3G) ....

The only reason I never went with Metro is that they didn't have the ability to use iPhones and didn't TMobile because they didn't have the coverage or rates really and I didn't want to bother ...

What happens during iPhone activation?

homodachi — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 15:37:26 -0800

AT&T/iPhone: I bought an iPhone 4 on craigslist. I plan to cut down my 3G's sim into a micro-sim and put it in the 4. However, before I got started I factory reset the 4 and now it wants to go through an activation process. What does "activation" mean, in this context? I have an old "unlimited" data plan from AT&T and would like to keep it. Does the activation process trigger anything on AT&T's side, or is it simply reading the data from the sim?

at&t vs. verizon for iphone in bay area?

roxie110 — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 18:34:23 -0800

Should I choose ATT or Verizon for iPhone in San Francisco/Bay Area? my flipphone is finally on its last legs and i've never had a smartphone. i'm probably going to get the new iphone (5). i've been with att forever but don't have any contract obligations.

i keep hearing mixed things about verizon vs. att and would love any current information/input/advice on service in the bay area, and about any features that might make one company a better choice than the other. i live in 94117 (north of the panhandle). thank you!

Want iphone carrier suggestions

udon — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 08:35:03 -0800

I got an IPhone so that I can play games while at dialysis to pass the time with. I chose AT&T because GSM network friendly phone can be unlocked and used on ANY GSM network carriers. I got mine unlocked and currently using a Simple Mobile plan which gives unlimited voice/text/data for only $40. A Verizon unlocked Iphone can only be used with international GSM networks (see this link explaining that: GSM Iphone vs CDMA. So that was the reasoning on choosing ATT. My unexpected dilemma is GSM (ATT, TMobile, Simple) does not work at my dialysis center. And I get spotty signal at work depending what part of the building I am in. So I just don't get calls when at dialysis or work. I have to forward the calls to my work phone. My question is if I switched to a Verizon Iphone. Can anyone suggest a plan that is around that $40 amount. I really don't use the phone that much for calls (between 100-200 mins a month). I don't really need text, because I use google voice for that. Having DATA is the important thing. I need the data to play games and access google voice.
Forwarding the calls to my work Blackberry has been a work around, but I don't know how much long I will have it. Thinking about finding another job.
Can you think of another solution? Would a cell tower booster be a good option so that I can just stay on my current plan?

Blackberry/iPhone sim compatibility

billtron — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:47:41 -0800

Can I put my iPhone 4 AT&T sim card in an AT&T Blackberry Curve 8310 and still send and receive calls and SMS messages without accruing additional fees or contract extensions? My iPhone 4 died recently, due to a disappointing hot tub experience. While I wait until I buy a new iPhone 5, I'm looking to use another phone to make and receive phone calls and SMS messages. A friend gave me her old Blackberry. I don't want to change my plan if possible. Possible?

Ideas for iphone plan...

RandlePatrickMcMurphy — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 07:14:56 -0800

Another iPhone question. My iPhone 4S was included in the severance when I left my job a couple of months ago (that is, I was allowed to buy it for a reduced price). I was offered the option to "assume billing responsibility" but let the deadline pass - partly out of laziness and partly because I suspect the company hadn't paid the bill and wanted to pass it on to me. What's my best option for using my iphone at this point? It'd be nice to keep the number but not a huge cost if I don't. I'd be happy to go pre-paid rather than a contract. I use text and data a lot more than voice. I occasionally send and receive international texts. I also have a google voice number and would be happy to be able to link with that, or even use that number exclusively.

DSL XTREME or DSL XTREME 6.0?

acthelight — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 08:56:11 -0800

I'm moving to a new apartment in Louisville, KY and I need to decide on some sort of internet package. AT&T is apparently what most people in the area choose, so I've been looking at their options. I think that I might want either their DSL XTREME or DSL XTREME 6.0 but I don't want to pay for more than I need. I need to be able to download and upload music and videos, and I stream a lot of television shows and movies through Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming sites. I also need to be able to use Skype. Which option would be the better one?

What is OpenDNS and how do I turn it off?

Brittanie — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 07:55:37 -0800

What is OpenDNS and how do I turn it off? Please explain it to me like I'm seven years old. I live in Houston. I have a MacBook Pro, AT&T DSL service (no landline), and Airport Extreme, and I primarily use Firefox as my browser. I've had AT&T for years. My MO when using the internet is to use the address bar for Google searches.

About two years ago, instead of taking me to, say, the Google search results page for lululemon when I type "lululemon" into the address bar, Firefox started taking me to an OpenDNS results page. THIS IS NOT THE BEHAVIOR I WANT.

I did not sign up for OpenDNS, I do not want to use OpenDNS, but for the life of me, I can not figure out how the hell to turn it off. It just showed up one day. I believe that it was installed onto my router by AT&T. OpenDNS's "help" pages are notoriously difficult to understand, and I can't find instructions anywhere on how to disable the service.

This does not happen in Chrome if I try to use the Chrome address bar as a Google search field. It also doesn't happen at all when I'm at work on the work wifi or intranet with the same computer, no matter what browser I'm using. So why is it only happening at home, and how can I turn it off? I just want the Firefox bar to act as a Google search field. (Please don't tell me to switch to Chrome for good. I already use it, but I have to use multiple browsers for work.) Thanks in advance.

Looking for a Mac OS compatible 3G AT&T USB dongle

circular — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 12:07:14 -0800

I'm looking for 1) an AT&T 3G USB modem(?) that is compatible with Mac OS and 2) an accompanying short-term data plan arrangement. I haven't been able to find a device that states it's compatible with Mac OS, but I may be looking in the wrong place. I will be traveling to Bear Lake, UT, and it looks like coverage there is OK.

I also don't know if there's some sort of pre-paid card I can get that fits the bill--I won't be gone for long, and am not sure which service to inquire after. My needs are web & internet stuff like SSH.

Thank you!

Will AT&T U-Verse fix my noisy DSL line?

Mid — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 07:21:07 -0800

Will AT&T U-Verse fix my noisy DSL line? I have a DSL line through AT&T that is pretty poor. At best, I get d/l speeds of 500k-700k/sec. I am paying for something like 3MB/sec. I think the line is noisy - recently I have been getting a lot of dropped syncs and restarts from the modem. The voice line (AT&T copper, same wire) also has problems - frequently when someone calls us, it rings twice at our house but when we pick up the line is dead. The person calling us gets a busy or a fast busy after a few rings when this happens. Occasionally there is crackle noise on the voice line.

I have had AT&T send someone out twice times, but the repair guys have not been able to find an issue. They have said the line is clear from the jack outside my house. They then say that the problem is inside my house or that it relates to our home alarm. I think they are wrong because the problems are intermittent - sometimes everything will work great for weeks at a time - no dropped calls, top speed on DSL. Then the problem will come back but with different severity - sometimes we get a ton of dropped voice calls and modem resets, sometimes only one or two every few hours. It would seem to me that if it was our alarm the problem would be consistent. But - whatever the case - they haven't been able to fix it.

AT&T is now offering U-Verse in my neighborhood. I am wondering if I can just cut through all of my issues by moving my service to U-Verse. Maybe then AT&T would basically be installing a new circuit to my house that would avoid whatever problems are going on? But, if I understand U-Verse correctly, at some point the fiber line is switched to a copper loop to my house. So maybe I would still have the same problems with my copper line?

Any thoughts appreciated on (1) whether U-Verse will probably solve my problems; or (2) what I should do to fix my crummy service. Thanks

How do I opt out of the arbitration clause for AT&T U-verse?

ErWenn — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:43:08 -0800

My new AT&T U-verse contract has a forced arbitration clause but no information about opting out. Does that mean that I can't? I'm in the process of switching over from Comcast as my internet provider to AT&T U-verse. Comcast tried this same crap on me a year or two ago, but they at least had the decency to put information for opting out into the contract. I tried to find out how to go about opting out for AT&T U-verse, but all I can find using Google is information about how to opt out of other companies' arbitration clauses or about the Supreme Court case that makes all this crap legal. I called AT&T customer service and scared the piss out of some poor customer service rep who forwarded me to an unnamed department that was closed for the day.

I guess my next step is to wait until business hours tomorrow and repeat the process. But I was hoping that somebody else out there had already tried this and could tell me what needs to be done or if it's even possible.

Replace my Motorola NVG510 modem on ATT Uverse?

314159 — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:51:12 -0800

Can I replace my ATT Uverse supplied Motorola NVG510 DSL modem with another modem? I just moved and started ATT Uverse DSL. At my old place I could use a Speedstream 5100 DSL modem in bridge mode to connect to my own wireless router on ATT's network. The Speedstream doesn't work connected to ATT DSL at my new home. I am currently using the Motorola NVG510 modem and wireless router supplied by ATT which has a whole host of issues (I won't get into them here). I would like the option of connecting my own equipment, that is, my own DSL modem and wireless router without using any ATT supplied equipment. From what I can tell reading online, it is not possible to use anything other than the NVG510. Does another compatible modem exist I can purchase and install myself? I am in Oakland, CA.

Why might my Sprint cellphone usually be unable to receive calls from AT&T cellphones?

moift — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:49:12 -0800

Why might my Sprint cellphone usually be unable to receive calls from AT&T cellphones? I've had support tickets open with both companies, but they've resulted in more frustration than progress. I wonder if someone who knows more about how these things work can give me some keywords to mention to the techs.

I can make calls to the problematic AT&T phones, and send and receive texts, and even receive calls on rare occasions, but usually attempts to call me are met with either dead air or the tri-tone beep and "your call cannot be completed as dialed". Service seems to be completely normal w/r/t every other carrier, though I haven't searched exhaustively.

This has happened since I got the phone about a month ago. I didn't port the phone number over from another carrier, and a week ago I had them change the number just in case that would sort something out.

AT&T suggested that I ask Sprint to verify and rebroadcast my local routing number. The person I talked to at Sprint surmised that they were talking about rebroadcasting my home location register. Those don't seem like equivalent things judging by the wiki, but I don't know. Should I try again to get someone to do the local routing number thing? Does it make any sense to request a replacement SIM card? I'm not sure if it could be implicated or if that's just completely outside the domain of its functionality. Is there anything else I can ask?

Why not pay the ETF?

Nothing — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:22:42 -0800

Is there a reason not to buy an iPhone from AT&T, pay the ETF, and get it unlocked, instead of paying for an unlocked phone? $199 (cost) + $325 (ETF) + $39 (activation) + one month of service comes to about the same as the $649 Apple charges for an unlocked device. Maybe you save a few bucks, but not much. However, I do need one month of service while in the US from someone, and this way it's included.

I don't like in the US, so I really need it unlocked.

Web searches seem to indicate that AT&T has no problem unlocking phones once the ETF has been paid.

Is this just asking for trouble?

Help me liberate myPhone

ChrisR — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 07:19:55 -0800

Now that AT&T is unlocking iPhones under limited circumstances, I'd like to know if anyone has any foolproof ways to do an end run around their restrictions in order to unlock my under-contract iPhone 4S. I know they unlock some iPhone 4S devices that are under contract (see here for an example). So, if there are other criteria that I might actually meet, or plausibly pretend to meet, that'd be excellent.

Thanks!