Pete M Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 so I just spent a hour on the phone with ATT about why my phone that's been using 4Glte for like 9 years now is no longer acceptable to them since it was also capable of 3g (and they are getting rid of 3g). no concrete answers yet, but they will "look into it" and get back with me within 48 hours. further updates as events warrant. then I got my first email (of many I'm sure) that says I owe Uhaul for the various highway tolls I racked up in the northeast PLUS a dollar for an admin fee PER TOLL. so I just paid an extra dollar on that first $1.08 and it would appear I have to pay for each one as they get it. on a happier note, we found that a wren had figured out how to get into the smokestack and was trapped in the fireplace (much to the cat's delight). I didn't think I could coax it into a bag without a huge risk that it would escape and now be free in the house, so I dug up all the old kids tunnels and made a long wren-tunnel right out the door. worked like a charm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchamakalit Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 @ the bird tunnel Feel your pain on birds in the stove. Happens to us occasionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiNi Beast Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 Screen cover stack might help prevent birds and bats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 28, 2021 Author Share Posted July 28, 2021 yeahs, that's coming now. I just really didn't think they would squeeze through the gap that's there. it's not very large, but I guess they are a tiny bird with a tiny bird brain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchamakalit Posted July 29, 2021 Share Posted July 29, 2021 Careful with screening. The small holes will collect creosote rapidly becoming plugged. I usually put a 5 gal bucket on mine for the summer. But some times I don't get it done early enough in the spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 29, 2021 Author Share Posted July 29, 2021 got a survey text from ATT about my phone call. maybe a lot of capital letters will get someones attention? probably not but it's worth a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdog Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 I got a free flip phone cause of that, but in your case it shouldn't matter as long as it still uses 4g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 I agree, it shouldn't matter. this phone has been around for as long as 4Glte has, but for some reason I have to fight them over it. someone somewhere made a stupid decision and now I have to find a way to reverse it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdog Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 The only thing I could see is if you're phone can't get 4g it reverts to 3g and if your in an area that's spotty you will be complaining that your phone doesn't work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 it's ATT, there are so may places where I currently get nothing that how would I tell the difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 31, 2021 Author Share Posted July 31, 2021 so ATT called me back today about my survey response and I think we have all this ironed out. all I really wanted to do the other day was work my way up the chain until I found someone that knew what they were talking about but got majorly stone walled. seems I was supposed to get a notice and an offer for a free phone, and an opportunity to refuse said phone and stay with what I had. of course none of that happened. whatever. bottom line is that my phone works again and we'll see what the future holds when the future gets here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiNi Beast Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 Well cool beans. Maybe you still get an offer to join the 5g world with a new fancy phone 📱😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 31, 2021 Author Share Posted July 31, 2021 spoke too soon. had to switch my sim card back to the S7 and call again so they could unlock my account. I was already planning on swinging by a brick-n-motor on Monday so I guess that plan hasn't changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchamakalit Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 Another fine example of technology making life easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Something that came up when I was replacing my phone recently with another of the same model, is that 4GLTE ≠ 4GLTE. Different carriers use different frequency bands for phones. Basically like a radio station, your phone needs to be tuned into the right frequency to pick up the radio signal being broadcast, but your phone doesn’t necessarily have the capacity to receive and transmit on every band out there. If AT&T is dropping a couple lesser-used “obsolete” LTE bands along with their 3G capacity most customers wouldn’t notice (and I suspect they might not be keen on advertising anything about dropping 4G service with all the 5G conspiracy theories) but it’s possible your older phone might not be able to connect to the LTE bands they’re hanging onto. I won’t pretend I have any idea at all what AT&T is doing, it’s just a possible explanation for how it could affect your specific device. Due to a boatercycling incident I wanted to replace my first-gen iPhone SE with another one, but considering they’ve been out of production since 2017 I can’t get one in good shape just anywhere. While shopping I noticed that there were a couple models, the A1662 and A1723, a “US” and “international” model, respectively. Because we have different local carriers we don’t use all the same LTE bands up here, and the US model doesn’t support the dominant high-speed band up here. So it’s a good thing I checked before I pulled the trigger, but also unfortunate because the US model is much more available and cheaper as a result. This also explains why it seems like the data speeds suck when I’m roaming in the US, because my international model doesn’t support very many of your bigger selection of high-speed bands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 good to know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 finally got some answers. the guy at the store was familiar with my phone and says while the data is 4g, the calls were always on 3g. time to regroup and find a new strategy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiNi Beast Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Yeah its called come over to the dark side and get a real phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdog Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 They still sell flip phones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 That sucks. I haven’t found a new phone that I like. I don’t really want to leave apple because… reasons (largely the same reasons I come back to the same automakers all the time) but all the newer phones are MASSIVE. Barely fit in your pocket massive. No reason for it. And because no one wants a dumb phone any more the few out there are trash, no querty keyboards, limited browsing and photo capability… the old brick I had circa 2010 could do almost everything the iPhone 4 I replaced it with could do, plus the battery lasted the better part of a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 54 minutes ago, jdog said: They still sell flip phones never liked them way back when I had one. having a touch screen in a compact, super tough phone is going to be hard to find. but we'll see. that's another problem for another day. right now I gotta get my alabama trip planned out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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