GSM

Number Portability Day 5

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I am on day 5 of my attempt to change my cell number to a new provider. After being told yesterday by both AT&T & T-Mobile that all roadblocks to transfer the number have been cleared, I still don’t have the number moved. I am now being told that YES there are no technical issues, but AT&T is just backlogged and having technical problems. I was told to wait another 24-72 hours. That would put me at 6 days. I have no idea if these people are telling the truth, but I have no choice but to wait. calling them and waiting on hold for an hour is not my idea of fun and I have done it several times already this week.

Impatiently waiting!!!

This entry was written while listening to All Star by Smash Mouth

Number Tramsfer Day 3

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So I am still waiting for my AT&T number to move to T-Mobile. T-Mobile says AT&T has an issue. AT&T says my account looks fine. I am back on the phone with T-Mobile trying to sort this out. I knew the process would take time, but this is starting to be not funny. I am 6 or 7 calls into this process and I have no end in sight. The crazy thing is I understand what they are trying to do. Forget someone who has no clue. they would be waiting forever for this to happen. I am being told to call back tomorrow, and have the rep get AT&T on the phone to fix the issue at the same time with me on the phone.

So far today I have had a good rep, and a really bad one. FYI, when dealing with people on the phone always get there names. T-Mobile is good since they give out their rep id so if you have a problem you know who you spoke to before.

This entry was written while listening to Crutch from the album “Mad Season” by Matchbox 20

What I Said Yesterday

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What I said yesterday is totally true. So I waited till like 3PM today to call and check on my cell number move. Turns out the first guy I spoke with last night didn’t actually put the request in. Luckily I had the guy’s name and rep number. They were able to see that he did stuff to my account, but the number port didn’t go in. The new guy I got I got went ahead and put the request through. I am now on hold to check up on his work. This will be call #4. This does not count the time I tried in the T-Mobile store on monday. This is crazy. Does no one know how to do good service?

On a brighter note I was able to return the Treo 600 today. The moron’s at the AT&T store didn’t give me a hard time. Of course the thing was still in mint condition so they really couldn’t say much. When they asked about why I was bringing it back I told them about their network woes. The lady was like, wow that is the first I have heard about it. I was like are you living in a bubble, or do I look that stupid that you can say that to me with a straight face. I got my money back and I await the T-Mobile version of the 600. If Handspring, or Palmone follows their patter, the T-Mobile version will be out in 2-3 weeks. I am waiting…

AT&T Has To Go

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I tried. I really tried. I gave AT&T some time. I even gave them a second chance by using them again this week. Once again they have failed me. Today GPRS was up and down all day. And phone quality in my apartment sucked even when I had 4 bars of signal. I am a friggin stock holder of AT&T Wireless. Now I know why my stock is doing so bad. This company has some major issues.

I am on hold now with T-Mobile to transfer my coveted AT&T wireless phone number over to my working T-Mobile account.

Well that didn’t work. The person I spoke to said I had to goto the store for them to transfer my old number to an existing T-Mobile account. that goes against everything I heard yesterday. I am about to call back and see if I get another answer. the trick with dealing with customer service reps is call a few times and see if you get the answer you want. it actually works allot of the time. I will return the Treo 600 and wait for T-Mobile to come out with it. What good is the device if it cannot connect to get data anyway?

I know I have been preoccupied with this problem but it is an issue I have wanted to resolve for years and now that I am so close to fixing it I am getting roadblocks everywhere I turn.

Have I mentioned I dislike all telecomm companies???

This entry was written while listening to Satellite from the album “Under the table and dreaming” by Dave Matthews Band

Finally The Day Is Here

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So number portability day is here. Now that it is over, the day didn’t exactly end up the way I wanted it to. I tried to change my number from AT&T to T-Mobile like I had planned on. After an hour at the T-Mobile store with no end in sight, I bailed and went to work. Gus wanted to goto the AT&T store to check out if they had the Treo in stock. I figured they wouldn’t so I went along for the walk. Turns out they did have them. At first neither of us were going to pay the high price of the phone, but then he broke down and got one. I then played with his and broke down and got one. The only problem is that AT&T is having huge system problems right now so I cannot get my new price plan working. It is now 12 hours later and their system is still down. If I cannot get the changes done by tomorrow after work, I am returning the phone and switching to T-Mobile like I originally said I would.

The Treo 600 is awesome though. Speaker phone rocks. It feels good to talk on. It sounds good. Now I have to get AT&T to get their act together.

Cell Number Portability Tomorrow

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After years of waiting, Cell Phone number portability will happen (or so they say) tomorrow. “Experts” say to be warry of making changes tomorrow or for the first month or so. They say that the kinks are not out of the transfer system. I have waited too long and my patience is gone, so knowing the risks I will go tomorrow morning and transfer the number I like away from AT&T Wireless’s poor service T-Mobile who has given me decent service recently. The news articles I have read say up to 25% of all requests made to transfer numbers in the first week will fail. Since I am not currently using the number I am transfering, I can take that risk. I will know in 24 hours if it worked.

Treo 600 Update

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Just my luck that it is availible from everyone (Cingular, Sprint, AT&T) except the carrier I want (T-Mobile). AT&T just announced it friday. I am not happy. The good news is even after waiting for over a month since it has been released I still want to get it whenever I can. Not sure if Gus can resist buying the AT&T version of the Treo 600. He still won’t leave AT&T even after he has huge issues with their service.

Slow Posting

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It’s been almost a week since my last post. I have been busy, but I don’t think that is an excuse anymore since I am always busy. I am on the train, my most popular spot to write blogs these days. I am doing this blog from my ThinkPad. The reason is I sold my Powerbook yesterday to a friend, nelson. He had been nagging me to buy it for months. I kept pushing him away since I said I would wait until it was a year old and then upgrade. Well I didn’t make it. Not sure what I want to get to replace it yet. I really liked it, but I don’t know if I need 2 laptops. The company one I have (the ThinkPad) I a great machine, it is just not MY Powerbook. I can type faster on the Powerbook. But the ThinkPad has more battery life and a bigger screen. I am conflicted between another upgraded Powerbook or a new 20” imac. I want another Mac, but not sure if the portable is what I need.

Part of doing this blog entry is to see how I like typing on the train using the ThinkPad. My hands do cramp up, but I am still undecided on what to do. Gus and I will goto the Apple store today so I can browse the selection.

It is also important to note that Cell phone number portability is only 4 days away. Monday is the big day. I will go against what experts are saying and attempt to change my number first thing Monday.

Treo 600 GSM

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Handspring finally announced the GSM version of the Treo 600. that is the good news. the bad news is that it won’t be actually shipping until November 17. The really bad news is that they are only selling it for Cingular right now. I use T-Mobile and I actually don’t want to switch. I am planning on switching my “good” phone number to T-Mobile on November 24 when number portability becomes available.

Until T-Mobile releases the 600 or until something else comes along I will stick with my Treo 270. I am finding I am using it allot more than I used to. Stuff falls into and out of favor with me all the time. this time last year I was looking to sell the dam Treo.

Treo 600 Rumors

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So the new rumor is that the Treo 600 is going to be available for GSM this monday. that is what they said about it last monday, but hey I am sucked into the hype. They won’t be in people’s hands monday anyway. It will take days if not weeks to ship them out. That is what happened with the Treo 270.

Until it is released I am using my current Treo 270 all the time now. I am forwarding my Verizon phone calls to the Treo. I have not had many problems with reception. Sometimes I don’t get calls when I get good signal, but I am not sure how often that happens. I need to look into it.