How I just scored a free AT&T Microcell, and how you (probably) can too

[nunes013]

is there anyway to email customer service directly or should i email a manager at a store. i have a screenshot from ip4 that shows my house on the maps app with only 1 bar service. when i called before they said how my area has great coverage so i cant get one for free yet my screenshot will prove them differently.

 

[Surely]

I was pointing out the fact that the poster said he didn't have to do any manipulation when he clearly did so. And if he had no intentions of returning the iPhone 4 if he didn't get a MicroCell (which, based on the fact that he was already using an iPhone 3G, is likely the case), then he most certainly lied.

Ah, fair enough. Friggin' liars.

/is your 'tar sucking or blowing?

 

[rannddeee]

I was pointing out the fact that the poster said he didn't have to do any manipulation when he clearly did so. And if he had no intentions of returning the iPhone 4 if he didn't get a MicroCell (which, based on the fact that he was already using an iPhone 3G, is likely the case), then he most certainly lied.

What was the manipulation? I was really going to return my phone until I found this thread. I love the IP4 but it was not worth not having service at home. I thought to myself, it doesn't hurt to make one last effort in keeping the phone.

 

[Sparky9292]

MicroCell = Free = Works Great

Hope this helps someone else:

I called AT&T regular customer support and bitched about our service. I've done this multiple times over the last two years. Sometimes they credit 50% of my monthly bill back, but spending 30 minutes on the phone is no fun. The gal says that she sees the record of this on her computer. I say I have a large house. She says she can send mail two of them to put in opposite sides of the house.

Well about three days later the Fedex truck shows up with FOUR microcells. I look at my bill and see no charge for any of them.

I go to www.att.com/3dmicrocell and the site is down for maintenance. After a few false starts when it comes up, I'm able to enter the serial number and add four of my friends who all have AT&T on various phones.

Plug in the microcell into my Time Capsule and the lights blink for about twenty minutes. Then I get a text message saying WELCOME! MICROCELL ACTIVATION COMPLETE.

My iphone4 immediately picks up the new signal with six bars, but my wife has to powercycle her phone. (Not sure if she just waited a few more minutes if it would have picked up the microcell).

The Microcell range seems the same as my Time Capsule. My upload speed on my Cox connection is a crappy 70KB/sec but the quality seems fine. I couldn't detect lag/latency in the connection.

The worst signal strength I get is 3 bars in the farthest part of my house, but it never goes down or loses connection like it did before.

So I'm pretty happy and now wonder what to do with the three extra microcells they sent me.

 

[RodChester]

I'll take one of them off your hands. I'd gladly pay shipping.

 

[nyisles84]

Hope this helps someone else:

I called AT&T regular customer support and bitched about our service. I've done this multiple times over the last two years. Sometimes they credit 50% of my monthly bill back, but spending 30 minutes on the phone is no fun. The gal says that she sees the record of this on her computer. I say I have a large house. She says she can send mail two of them to put in opposite sides of the house.

Well about three days later the Fedex truck shows up with FOUR microcells. I look at my bill and see no charge for any of them.

I go to www.att.com/3dmicrocell and the site is down for maintenance. After a few false starts when it comes up, I'm able to enter the serial number and add four of my friends who all have AT&T on various phones.

Plug in the microcell into my Time Capsule and the lights blink for about twenty minutes. Then I get a text message saying WELCOME! MICROCELL ACTIVATION COMPLETE.

My iphone4 immediately picks up the new signal with six bars, but my wife has to powercycle her phone. (Not sure if she just waited a few more minutes if it would have picked up the microcell).

The Microcell range seems the same as my Time Capsule. My upload speed on my Cox connection is a crappy 70KB/sec but the quality seems fine. I couldn't detect lag/latency in the connection.

The worst signal strength I get is 3 bars in the farthest part of my house, but it never goes down or loses connection like it did before.

So I'm pretty happy and now wonder what to do with the three extra microcells they sent me.

i'll take one lol

 

[Loves2spoon]

@Sparky9292 I'll take one off your hands!

Remember we went to middle school together! We go way back

 

[Block]

What was the manipulation? I was really going to return my phone until I found this thread. I love the IP4 but it was not worth not having service at home. I thought to myself, it doesn't hurt to make one last effort in keeping the phone.

The part that I bolded. You basically gave her an ultimatum that if she doesn't give you a free Microcell, she is going to be partly responsible for a lost customer. You manipulated her into giving you a free Microcell. The artless way of doing this would have been to ask for a Microcell, and had she not given it, then request to end service.

 

[Sparky9292]

@Sparky9292 I'll take one off your hands!

Remember we went to middle school together! We go way back

Well, let me verify that they don't charge me for four of them on my next bill. I know companies have a habit of making a mistake and then billing me much later when they do an audit.

 

[TroyBoy30]

6 bars? that's amazing!

 

[Sparky9292]

6 bars? that's amazing!

LOL, I did say that. It's five bars within 20 feet of it. If I go into the farthest room in my house it goes down to 3 bars, but never lower than that.

I'll buy one off you if they don't charge you. fedex shipping label supplied. I'd like to try it out, but don't want the hassle of AT&T subscriptions for it.

Common misconception of the microcell. You only need to pay $20 per month if you want unlimited daytime minutes through the microcell.

Otherwise, it just uses the normal minutes plan of your phone.

After a couple days of heavy use, it's not perfect. I did have a couple dropped calls with full bars. Everyonce in a while the call will get choppy for a second or two when the internet lags. But in general I'm happy I have the microcell.

 

[SophiaLee]

My husband talked them into giving us a free one and I'm going to pick it up now!

I'lll report back on how well it works. Right now I get about one bar at home either 3G or my neighbors wifi. Oh Edge, searching, and No Service pop up from time to time too.

 

[tivoboy]

edge

My husband talked them into giving us a free one and I'm going to pick it up now!

I'lll report back on how well it works. Right now I get about one bar at home either 3G or my neighbors wifi. Oh Edge, searching, and No Service pop up from time to time too.

It won't help with any edge phones, if that is what you mean?

 

[SophiaLee]

It won't help with any edge phones, if that is what you mean?

No sometimes I switch to Edge for a minute. Idk why.

Anyways, I got it, set it up, and now I have 5 bars. I can't seem to send a text tho. It just says sending, then stops. I have retried it twice and it won't go thru. WTF?

 

[weisjt]

i just walked into the store today and i was in a low coverage area that qualifies for micro cell with no contracts or extra fees at all.

 

[ChubZ]

I called up customer service yesterday, for soem reason my area is full of towers but im in a zone where there is very little overlap in coverage. I only get maybe 1-2 bars of service outside my house and a radius of 4-5 blocks. Customer service is sending me a free microcell. I hope I just dont have any issues with it like a lotof people have reported

 

[Maverick713]

got my free microcell

all the customer service rep did was check my address and I was qualified for a free microcell and now even in my basement I have full service. They really cam through it's a great little device.

 

[Howzbizz]

Lost the ability to send picture texts using m- cell ?

Ever since I hooked up the Att m-cell I have lost the ability to send picture texts and it takes almost one minute to connect to a phone call that I dialed.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[eekcat]

Having a microcell is nice, but the 30-sec delay when placing some calls isn't. It'll just sit there trying to initiate a call -- sometimes it fails altogether, sometimes it's a loooooong wait. The quickest solution is usually to unplug the microcell and take my chances with the 1 bar I get without it.

 

[Paratel]

I Just got a Free 3G Microcell From AT&T

I have extremely poor coverage at my home and I have made numerous calls to customer service so that I can have a "paper trail" of dropped call events. I have also downloaded and use religiously the AT&T Mark the Spot app. AT&T really does use and keep this data from this app. At first I thought it was just something that they wanted us to think we were as customers would use and then do nothing with the data but they really use it!

Here is what I did:
First I had a history of calls complaining about dropped calls and service at my home. I was always polite when calling and ran any test they needed me to. I use the Mark the spot app all the time. I called 2 days ago and spoke to a CS rep and asked for a microcell. She could not give me one but did say that I could get a rebate. I told her that I had a problem with paying for an item and service to improve their (AT&T) services for something I am already paying for with my monthly plan. I respectfully declined and just had her document my call again.

Two days ago I call the AT&T office of the President (877-707-6220) and specifically asked that someone from the Executive Response Team contact me. The lady looked at my account and asked me what issues I was having and noticed that I had already made several calls regarding my service. She stated that a member of the team would contact me within 72 hours. I received a call today from them and was at all times very polite. I told him of my issues and said that I heard that the microcell could aid me with my issues and since I have been a long standing customer, he agreed. Said that he would send me out a microcell free of charge. I thanked him for his time, concern and prompt customer service. I never once had to threaten that I was going to leave AT&T.

The deal with the microcell is that it uses the minutes that you have on your plan. It does not use Night & Weekend minutes, mobile to mobile or your Rollover. You can have the option to get the unlimited for 19.95 a month however, the guy told me he hasn't seen an instance where someone went over their minutes using it.

So there you have it. It can and does work. Good Customer Service is still alive and well.

 

[Hitch08]

...

The deal with the microcell is that it uses the minutes that you have on your plan. It does not use Night & Weekend minutes, mobile to mobile or your Rollover. You can have the option to get the unlimited for 19.95 a month however, the guy told me he hasn't seen an instance where someone went over their minutes using it.

So there you have it. It can and does work. Good Customer Service is still alive and well.

Interesting. I received a letter from AT&T offering me a free Microcell. It included a certificate with a deadline to pick it up. I pass an AT&T store on the way to work, so I stopped in and picked one up. They scanned the certificate and off I went.

Then I got home and wondered why I bothered. The reception at my house isn't that bad and the AT&T CSR told me that I would still be using my minutes. I didn't realize, however, that it also doesn't use Night and Weekend, Rollover, or M&M Minutes.

It's still sitting on the table. Reading about all of these problems with the thing, I may not bother installing it.

 

[aloofman]

It's still sitting on the table. Reading about all of these problems with the thing, I may not bother installing it.

I haven't had any problems whatsoever. And you never know how the network might change in your area.

 

[Paratel]

that it also doesn't use Night and Weekend, Rollover, or M&M Minutes.

It's still sitting on the table. Reading about all of these problems with the thing, I may not bother installing it.

That's true, AT&T said that they would be increasing it's 3G coverage to include my area but still gave me the microcell anyway. I would hook it up. Cause you never know how the network is going to be.

 

[b-rad g]

Interesting. I received a letter from AT&T offering me a free Microcell. It included a certificate with a deadline to pick it up. I pass an AT&T store on the way to work, so I stopped in and picked one up. They scanned the certificate and off I went.

Then I got home and wondered why I bothered. The reception at my house isn't that bad and the AT&T CSR told me that I would still be using my minutes. I didn't realize, however, that it also doesn't use Night and Weekend, Rollover, or M&M Minutes.

It's still sitting on the table. Reading about all of these problems with the thing, I may not bother installing it.

Can I pay you to ship it to me????? Service in my area sucks big time. Just to send a pic text I have to leave sitting in a certain place in the house for a while so it will send.

 

[Paratel]

Just follow my steps and get one for free for yourself.