Saying goodbye to AT&T

[EleanorR]

Move to T-mobile for phone? Any other recs?

Link to tweet

[hlthe2b]

1. I'm under contract.. but, there are plenty others on that list I can boycott.

[RazzleCat]

27. some carriers will buy out your contract.

[piddyprints]

2. Consumer Cellular.

They have better coverage in our area than T-Mobile. And after a bad T-Mobile experience, I will never go with them and definitely won't recommend them ever again.

We've had nothing but great service with Consumer Cellular and our bill is a fraction of what it was with AT&T or Verizon. Plus, they give a 5% discount for AARP.

[EleanorR]

5. Thank you

I'll check them out.

[piddyprints]

7. I forgot to mention

there's no contract.

You can buy a phone from them for 0% interest, but then you do have to sign up for automatic payments. And if you hate the phone you bought, they'll take it back within a month or so. We went through that when we tried to switch from iPhone to Galaxy. Neither one of us liked the switch, so we called them up, told them which phones we wanted, and they sent prepaid bags to send back the phones we didn't like. There was absolutely no extra charge. Of course, if you want to keep the phone but discontinue service, you'll still have to pay for the phone if it's past the return date.

I think that return date is also the amount of time you're allowed to see if you're happy with the service. Since we were happy with the service, we don't know what happens if you're not.

No kidding, our bill is less than half what we were paying before for the same plan. Right now they have a special running that will pay you $50 for a new line of service.

Yeah, we're happy with them.

The only down side is that their hold music it the absolutely most depressing, horrible, badly played piano piece ever. I don't even know what it is, but it's truly the worst hold music I have ever heard. Fortunately, the hold isn't usually very long and we rarely have to call for any reason.

[Celerity]

15. See my post 12, Consumer Cellular is now owned by the ex Rethug Governor of IL's private equity firm

that he founded.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215274665#post12

[ItsjustMe]

11. Consumer Cellular uses both AT&T and T-mobile

https://blog.surecall.com/consumer-cellular-coverage-maps/

Consumer Cellular is a MVNO (mobile virtual network operator). This means that instead of having its own unique cell towers, Consumer Cellular buys wholesale minutes and data from other carriers and piggybacks off these carriers’ cellular infrastructures. This means their coverage map is actually a combination of the networks of their primary cellular network providers.

In the United States, Consumer Cellular utilizes AT&T and T-Mobile for their primary nationwide wireless networks. In addition to these primary networks, Consumer Cellular also says they engage third party providers to help fill in gaps where AT&T and T-Mobile do not provide coverage. While the service from the third-party providers is less reliable and may only work outdoors and in the open without obstruction, it helps further extend Consumer Cellular’s coverage area.

[EleanorR]

14. Frankly ATT's coverage where I live is crap, so CC would be much better nt

[ItsjustMe]

24. I am confused by your reply

Consumer Cellular has no network of its own, C.C. uses the AT&T and T-mobile cellular network for its service.

So If AT&T coverage is crap where you live, Consumer Cellular will also be crap.

[EleanorR]

43. I thought CC used t-mobile towers as well

Wouldn't that help with coverage?

[ItsjustMe]

49. It depends on the area

If AT&T has good coverage you will be on the AT&T network, but when AT&T fades out you will switch to T-mobile. In my area AT&T sucks, but T-mobile works great.

Also, AT&T and T-Mobile use the GSM band, while Sprint and Verizon use CDMA. So depending on the phone, some phones will not work on another carriers frequency band.

https://www.whistleout.com/CellPhones/Guides/cell-phone-networks-and-frequencies-explained#:~:text=Generally%20speaking%2C%20phones%20sold%20exclusively,compatible%20devices%20regardless%20of%20carrier.

[Celerity]

12. Consumer Cellular is owned by Rethug ex IL Gov. Bruce Rauner's private equity firm GCTR

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Cellular

In October, 2020 the first ownership change in Consumer Cellular history was announced, with the company being sold to the Chicago-based venture capital firm GCTR for a reported $2.3 billion.


GTCR LLC is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout, leveraged recapitalization, growth capital and rollup transactions. Since 1980, GTCR has invested more than $15 billion in over 200 companies.

Founded: 1980
Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Number of employees: 80
Total assets: 11 billion USD

Founders: Bruce Rauner, Carl Thoma, Stanley Golder, Bryan C. Cressey

[EleanorR]

16. oh, well that's unfortunate

[Celerity]

25. I had T-Mobile when I lived in Los Angeles whilst I read for my MBA, had zero issues

I do not like Verizon as they use CDMA, which is only in a few other nations. GSM is the dominant standard globally.

CDMA technology was developed and patented by Qualcomm, a famous chip maker. It stands for code division multiple access and is used for the standards of 3G that include CDMA2000 and WCDMA. It is proprietary in nature, which has resulted in the technology not being adopted globally in the manner in which GSM has seen. At this point in time, fewer than 18 percent of wireless networks around the world use CDMA technology.

It is mostly found in the US within two of the four major wireless carriers, Sprint (my add, now T-Mobile bought Sprint and will phase out CDMA) and Verizon Wireless. There are other countries that also use it, specifically Japan, South Korea and Russia.

[piddyprints]

29. T-Mobile is bad here.

I didn't know that about 10 years ago when I bought a phone and a plan from them. The phone was nice but I could never make one single phone call because the service was so bad. Even in town, couldn't get a connection. 0-1 bars was the best I could get. So I called them from the land line. Sure, I could send the phone back and stop my plan, but I had to pay for the days I had it, including the days the phone was in transit. I'll never use them again.

We had Verizon when we went to Europe and it worked just fine. We just got tired of paying the expensive bills.

[Celerity]

33. if you ever move to Sweden, TELE2 FTW, best mobile firm I have ever had (I am 24yo, so take it with

a grain of salt)

[piddyprints]

34. Lol Yeah, that'll happen.

I've moved over 20 times in my life and just don't have it in me to do it again.

[piddyprints]

23. So what are you recommending?

Sort of out of options here. We tried Credo because they have a good mission, etc. But our bill kept getting higher every month. T-Mobile is crap here and they have the most horrible customer service ... and will charge you even if you don't get service from day one. Been there, done that.

We are happy with them. How can we even survive if we boycott every Rethug-owned company? In this neck of the woods, we wouldn't be able to buy anything at all.

[Celerity]

32. I had T-Mobile when I lived in Los Angeles for uni, had no issues, perhaps try another MVNO

maybe check out these MVNO's

Mint Mobile (co-owned by Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds, who hates Trump and the Rethugs)

https://www.mintmobile.com/

or

Boost Mobile

Simple Mobile

Metro by T-Mobile (different customer care)

[piddyprints]

36. That's great for you.

But here in the sticks, T-Mobile truly sucks.

I checked all of them. Not good enough service here, especially since my husband works from home.

FYI, we have no choice on our internet service either. We have to get what works, which is Xfinity. I hate it, but it's what we're stuck with.

Sometimes you just have to go with what works. No phone company is going to profit much from my business.

[Celerity]

37. List of United States mobile virtual network operators

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_mobile_virtual_network_operators

lycka till! (good luck in Swedish)

[msfiddlestix]

20. CC is my carrier. I've been with them since I said goodbye to Verizon in 2013

Low income senior and I've been very very happy with them. Can't complain about the coverage either.

[ItsjustMe]

26. People on low Income

Can get free phone service from a lifeline program.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/109527366#post17

[msfiddlestix]

35. I have one of those too

But it doesn't come close to my service with Consumer Cellular. It's great to have the free phone as a spare though.

[sarcasmo]

55. Agree with you about Consumer Cellular. Great service and no contract win, win.

[IbogaProject]

3. Been on T-Mobile b4 it was cool

I've been on T-Mobile before it was cool, since fall of 2003. they have worked hard to retain us, the few times we had issues before the current truly unlimited period. They have great technology.

You should double check the LTE bands on your phone. While ATT & T-Mobile both used GSM based technology, their frequencies have shifted and there are important differences. T-Mobile is moving into Lte bands 66 good for coverage and distance in rural areas and reduces gaps, and 71or2 which is better for high speeds in more crowded areas. My list is just two newer bands that not all devices support.

You have to look up what bands are used in your area and what bands your phone supports, you may have to get another phone.
I recommend looking for an open box or refurbished and double check the band coverage and user reviews on GSM arena. I've been happy with a T-Mobile LG V20, removable battery great audio quality and very rugged.

T-Mobile big advantages are an all inclusive price, no taxes or fees and unlimited data, though they "deprioritize" during crowded moments the users over the basic truly unlimited allotment, basically a few days at the end of the billing cycle if you are a very heavy data user.

T-Mobile also has a great two line deal, and extra discounts for auto pay.

[jimfields33]

4. Verizon is the best

Had them over 10 years and never an issue. They have the most cell towers. Won’t be sorry.

[NurseJackie]

9. Been with Verizon ever since it was C&P

[CentralMass]

10. Verizon's coverage is superior.

[Mosby]

22. I just found out that Verizon has been ripping me off.

They were supposed to give me 3 more gigs of mobile data when I got my new phone but didn't so I'm constantly being charged an extra 15 to 30 a month. I'm paying 55/month for 1 line and 2 gigs of data. Their current 55 dollar plan includes 5 gigs of data.

Assholes.

[babylonsister]

6. I have used

Straight Talk for about 8 years with no issues. I pay about $37/month for unlimited. You can buy phones at their online site or go to Walmart. They're pretty good with tech issues online, too.

[ms liberty]

8. My husband and I use Straight Talk now as well

Less expensive, good service, and unlimited talk, text, streaming and data for just under $100 a month for two lines.

[Xavier Breath]

47. Same for the wife and myself.

She had been using it for some time, so when I upgraded phones last fall she convinced me to give it a try and I made the switch. No complaints so far, it's reasonably priced and the service is good.

[iemanja]

18. Can you transfer an existing phone?

Like one I got through TMobile?

[babylonsister]

42. I don't know about phone, but yes on the phone number. I

switched from AT&T to Straight Talk.

[ananda]

13. Some of us don't have choices on pharmacy and tv service.

I cannot boycott ATT or CVS.

The others, no problem.

[FSogol]

28. Don't grocery stores near you have pharmacies? I've heard this argument before,

but every time I go in a CVS the prices are much higher than the local Giant, Safeway, Shoppers, or Target. Not sure I understand anyone's preference of CVS.

[ananda]

53. It's the way my insurance works for prescription drugs.

...

[FSogol]

54. They require you to use CVS? Have you checked recently that they have other options? n/t

[iemanja]

17. I have Tmobile

They are fine

[frazzled]

45. Us too

We dumped AT&T quite a few years ago. Much happier with T-Mobile.

[BSdetect]

19. Dumping Comcast shortly.

[piddyprints]

30. I'm jealous.

We don't have any other options.

[hunter]

40. T-Mobile works fine in many places if you don't mind "DVD quality" video.

Netflix is included with some plans.

These days internet hotspots are working very reliably in our densely populated suburban neighborhood.

Some of our neighbors now use cell phone plans exclusively for phone and internet service including streaming television. But that's not for anyone who wants to get the most from their new 4k television.

My wife and I quit Comcast a long time ago. We have a DSL internet connection and the basic $8.99 Netflix subscription. Our television isn't anything fancy. We have a large DVD library so I suppose we're used to 480p video.

Our children have moved away to big cities and enjoy optical fiber internet connections directly into their homes. They don't have cable or satellite television, telephone landlines, and haven't bothered to attach antennas to their televisions. The only television they watch is streaming.

[piddyprints]

44. T-Mobile sucks here

Husband works from home and needs good reliable fast internet. Some people here sound as if we have never checked out our options. We have, extensively.

[hunter]

46. I hope things improve for you.

Internet service is horrible and expensive in much of the U.S.A.. We've been dealing with that at a relative's house.

It's only been in the last year or two that the internet, cable, and phone providers have been aggressively installing new infrastructure in our neighborhood.

When we moved here neither Comcast or Pacific Bell (now AT&T) offered high speed internet. My wife and I both needed it for work so we got it from independent providers, first wirelessly via an antenna on our roof, and then through a twisted pair "alarm line" rented from the phone company.

Our children specifically look for excellent internet service when they are deciding where to live next.

[TheBlackAdder]

21. AT&T and Microsoft are the Top collaborators with the NSA.

.

AT&T is so bad that even the Electronic Frontier Foundation has T-Shirts about it from 2880 until just recently.

https://www.eff.org/nsa-spying

https://www.eff.org/nsa-spying/nsadocs

.

[csziggy]

31. I've never used T-Mobile but that did not stop them from harassing me

They started calling me about some unpaid bill, calling three or four times a day. The problem was, there was no mechanism by which to tell them that my landline number had nothing to do with any T-Mobile account. Calling the company direct, I'd have to have an account number to get to anyone.

After a month of harassment by T-Mobile, I put in a complaint with the state Consumer Bureau. Finally, about three weeks after my complaint, the calls stopped. I got a snarky letter from the president of T-Mobile to the effect that I should never had gone to the Consumer Bureau about this matter.

Well, T-Mobile asshole, there was no other way to get it stopped. And there was no guarantee from the president of the company or the Consumer Bureau that T-Mobile would set up a way to have these harassing calls stopped if they were contacting an uninvolved party.

I've never used T-Mobile and I never will.

[greatlaurel]

38. Had the same problem with AT&T

I told them we had never had AT&T service and to stop calling. I never picked up the phone when they called again. It went on for months.

[csziggy]

50. If I get another company that acted like T-Mobile I will keep records on every call

And then pursue legal remedies against them. I believe it is possible to collect money from the callers if they reach the level of harassment, such as what T-Mobile did. Of course, it was probably not actually T-Mobile, but a debt collector that bought the debt. I don't care - they gave me no option to stop the calls. The only business name mentioned was T-Mobile which is why I went after them.

Because I list my landline with just my first initial and fairly common last name, I have gotten calls from debt collectors before. The live person always asked the full name and when I tell them that person is not at my number, they hang up and do not call again. The T-Mobile calls were robocalls and if you pushed the number for one of the options, you had to put in an account number, which of course I did not have.

Oh yeah - I've had this landline number for over forty years so it could not be that anyone else had used this number (other than fraudulently) as a contact for T-Mobile. as far as I could tell, T-Mobile pulled it out of their ass.

[greatlaurel]

39. Recommend Credo mobile

Very good service, better coverage than Verizon in most areas, which was better than I expected. When we had Verizon, we had to climb the hill behind the house to get service.

[we can do it]

41. TMobile here. Love it

[Evergreen Emerald]

48. We replaced AT&T with T-Mobile a few years ago: Net neutrality

When they opposed net neutrality, and were supporting Trump, my family decided to dump them. T-Mobile is working nicely.

[mcar]

51. I've let CVS know I will never shop there again

And that I'm a 30+ year customer.

[FakeNoose]

52. I've been on T-Mobile for 5 or 6 years

... maybe longer, I'm not sure.

My son has a "family plan" and he includes me on it. How cool - it's not costing me anything. I never had a problem until last summer, I went to upstate New York where the coverage was bad in a certain area around Lake George. I'm sure it was the mountains that were blocking the signals. Other than that it has never been a problem.