Mike’s phone spent two weeks in the repair depot at Samsung. When it came back, shortly afterward his data stopped working. Oh, no! Would it have to go back for more repairs already? Well… no, that wasn’t the problem. The problem is that his mobile carrier, Straight Talk, has throttled his data access down to nothing. [More]
Straight Talk Cuts Off My Data, Will Only Explain Why In Confusing Doublespeak
By March 20, 2013
Verizon Thinks My Wife Spent 10-Hour Roaming Call Talking To Co-Worker’s Voice Mail
By March 15, 2013
RL isn’t arguing that his wife made a roaming call to a co-worker from a hotel in Venice, Italy. His dispute with Verizon wireless is regarding how long that call was. His wife says that it was ten minutes long. Verizon counters that it was ten hours and nine minutes. Considering that the call was to a voice mail box, that must have been an epic, almost close to the the actual meaning of the word “epic,” voicemail. [More]
Anthony Clark Is Calling From My Virgin Mobile Phone. I Am Not.
By March 14, 2013
Who is Anthony Clark? Steve doesn’t know him, but for some reason, that’s what the Caller ID on his mobile phone says when he places calls. His clients don’t know who Anthony is, so they won’t pick up the phone when his name on Caller ID. Virgin Mobile doesn’t know how the name got there, who Anthony is, or how to make him go away. [More]
FCC Yells At 2 Million People To Turn Those Darn Cell Phone Signal Boosters Off, Changes Its Mind
By February 22, 2013
What’s an average citizen to do if they can’t get a cell phone call to go through, perhaps because they live far from cell towers or their network is just shoddy? About 2 million people in the United States currently use wireless signal boosters, devices that can help strengthen cell phone signals. The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules on those yesterday, at first saying everyone would have to turn them off and get permission from carriers, but backpedaling shortly after. [More]
Is A $19/Month Smartphone Through Republic Wireless Right For You?
By February 19, 2013
Yeah, the future is here, and everyone above the age of eight seems to be wandering around with smartphones in their pockets. Maybe you’ve put off joining the mobile-computing revolution because you didn’t want to spend $100 per month for a voice and data plan. How about $19 per month for a smartphone with unlimited voice, texting, and data? That’s what Republic Wireless offers, and many consumers find this intriguing. The problem is that you pretty much get what you pay for. Or is that an advantage? [More]
Straight Talk’s Unlimited Data: Actually Sort Of Limited
By January 30, 2013
A Straight Talk mobile plan with unlimited everything for $45 per month sounded pretty great to Thom, and he bought an unlocked Samsung Galaxy to use with the carrier. All has been well since September, when he subscribed to the plan, but now something terrible has come up. Limits. TracFone (Straight Talk is a joint venture between TracFone and Walmart) tells him that he’s running up against the plan’s unspoken 2 GB limit, and they reserve the right to cut him off. [More]
If You’re Looking For An iPhone 5, Consider Going No-Contract
By January 25, 2013
If you’re looking for an iPhone 5, do you want to pay an extra $450 now, or an extra $1000 over the next two years? Buying an unlocked phone and using a no-contract carrier can give you sticker shock initially, but you can save quite a bit of money in the long run. Our number-crunching colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports looked into it, and found that if you can pay for your new phone itself out of pocket, going unlocked and contract-free is a much better deal. [More]
T-Mobile CEO Says Shared Data Plans Could Be Felled With All That Porn You’re Watching
By January 9, 2013
Everybody likes a CEO that says outrageous things and talks smack about the competition while wearing the “Look, I’m a regular guy like you!” outfit of a T-shirt and blazer. The above reasons are all part of why John Legere of T-Mobile scored a win with his recent Q&A session during the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. And also he mentioned pornography, a guaranteed ear pricker-upper. [More]
Apple-Loving T-Mobile Customers Rejoice: Your iPhones Are Arriving In 2013
By December 6, 2012
As I say when I’ve missed two buses and three trains only to arrive for the last five minutes of the open bar, better late than never, eh? And so it goes for T-Mobile customers who have been greedily eyeing Apple’s iPhone for the last four years while not being able to buy one compatible with their wireless carrier’s service. It might be late, but it’s not never — the iPhone is officially coming to T-Mobile in 2013 [cue "The Final Countdown" by Europe]. [More]
Report: Cops Want Wireless Carriers To Save Text Messages, You Know, Just In Case
By December 4, 2012
That thing you texted to that person the other night which you deleted out of overwhelming shame the next day? Messages like that could be pored over in the future by cops if various law enforcement officials have their way. They’re reportedly asking Congress to make wireless carriers record and store customers’ private text messages for at least two years, in case police need that info for a future investigation. [More]
T-Mobile Tells Me I Can Cancel Son’s Line With No ETF After His Move – Now I Can’t
By November 16, 2012
Mobile phone carriers are supposed to let you out of your contract without an early termination fee if you move outside of a coverage area. That’s a theoretical exercise as far as Tom is concerned. His son uses one of the lines on his family plan, and moved outside of a coverage area. Should be easy enough to end that line without an Early Termination fee, right? Nope. [More]
Sprint Says Virgin Mobile Site Isn't Completely Insecure; Blogger Disagrees
By September 19, 2012
Earlier this week, we told you about blogger Kevin Burke’s claims that the website for Virgin Mobile (a subsidiary of Sprint) is incredibly vulnerable to any hacker who could write a script to generate PINs. Since then, Sprint has told Consumerist that the site isn’t as much of an open door to hackers as it’s been made to be, while Burke claims that the phone folks are missing the point. [More]
Must Have An iPhone 5 Right Now? Maybe Your Carrier Will Effectively Pay You To Leave
By September 18, 2012
Good news, Apple fans: if you absolutely must have the iPhone 5 right now, take the time to do some math and talk to your current carrier. It might be cheaper to just break up with your carrier, pay the early termination fees, sell your existing phone (or phones, on a family plan) and get a subsidized phone from a new carrier. One customer discovered that this was the case: that AT&T would effectively be paying him to leave, since the price of upgrading was so high. [More]
Will You Be Able To Take Your Unlimited Data Plan With You If You Upgrade To iPhone 5?
By September 13, 2012
Yesterday, Apple went through its occasional ritual of taking an hour to go over every minute detail of its new phone. But what wasn’t mentioned in that overlong introduction to the iPhone 5 was what it means for the folks who still have unlimited data plans from back in the day. [More]
Do You Always Wait Until You're Eligible To Upgrade Your Phone?
By September 12, 2012
Later today, Apple is slated to introduce its latest iPhone, which inevitably leads to fans of the popular device clamoring for an upgrade while they glare with disappointment at their iPhone 4S, asking “Why did I ever think I could love you?” But will people wait until they are eligible for an upgrade from their wireless carrier, or will they just say “screw it” and pony up some extra cash to have the newest and shiniest phone? [More]
Wireless Carriers Banking On New iPhone To Turn Everyone Into Data Hogs
By September 11, 2012
For years, wireless providers have been moaning about their highest volume data users and shaking their fists at the sky for ever having tried unlimited data plans in the first place. But now, with the impending release of a reportedly 4G LTE-compatible iPhone on the horizon, these same carriers are popping champagne corks, hoping that the faster data speeds will nudge consumers into the next level of data hogging. [More]
Sprint To Roll Out 4G LTE Network To 100 Cities Over Coming Months
By September 10, 2012
While Sprint may be a distant third place in the wireless wars, the folks in yellow are not going down without a fight. Earlier today, the company announced a plan to roll out a new 4G LTE network in more than 100 cities during the near future. [More]
FCC To Test Mobile Broadband Speeds… In Due Time
By September 5, 2012
For two years now, the Federal Communications Commission has been looking at terrestrial broadband services to see which DSL/cable/fiber/string-and-cans providers are actually delivering the speeds they promise. So it only makes sense for the FCC to start looking at just how quickly U.S. consumers are able to download data over mobile networks. Unfortunately, the federal government still moves at the speed of a crappy dial-up line. [More]
