UPDATE: Courtney said AT&T let her out of her contract without having to pay an early termination fee after seeing this post.

Courtney can’t get service for her new iPhone 4 at her house, and no matter what hoops AT&T had her jump through, including ordering a cover and MicroCell service extender, she’s stuck with a useless-at-home brick and an expensive contract.

AT&T said she has to pay an early termination fee to break free.

Here’s her story, picking up from where she tried the cover:

I ordered a cell phone cover and waited a week after I received the cover to see if it helped at all. Unfortunately, it didn’t help the service of the phone at all. I then called the store again and they suggested that I look into purchasing one of their products called the 3G MicroCell.

This MicroCell is supposed to plug into your internet and make your house like a cell phone tower, so you can get better service at my house. I then called the AT&T customer service number and talked to two people about purchasing the MicroCell. The first person I spoke to assured me that the MicroCell would work in my area and that I could get a rebate for the item without subscribing to any other monthly fees. I had to call back later to ask what rebate it was so I could print it off and fill it out when I went to buy the MicroCell. I was told which website to view to see all of the rebates, and was again told that I could get a rebate without subscribing to any other monthly fees.

I waited another week until I got paid and then I went and purchased a 3G MicroCell. The MicroCell was $150 without tax or any other monthly fees. They employees at the store kept trying to register the MicroCell online so when I got home I could just plug it in and it would be working. They kept getting an error message that the MicroCell wasn’t supported in my area. They then called the customer service, after asking 5 times for my information over and over again, to see what the problem was. I spent 2 hours in the store, for something that could have taken 30 minutes at the most. They assured me that if I went home and called the customer service to set it up myself, that it would work. I did so, and as soon as I told the customer service representative what the problem was, he informed me that the MicroCell wasn’t going to work in my house.

Of course, I was very upset because I had been reassured again and again that it would work. Not only this, but when I was in the store, I was told that I could NOT get a rebate without paying more monthly fees. Like $100 a month for a phone isn’t enough of a pain. I’ve had my phone and contract for around 2 1/2 months. Apparently, I’m over the 30 day trial and can not void out my contract without having to pay $300, not to mention the fees I’d have to pay to start a new contract else where and to purchase a new phone. I’ve argued with store employees and customer representatives and no one will void out my contract for free when it isn’t my fault that I’m over the 30 day period. I was told by AT&T employees to wait and try things, things that didn’t work, and now I’m going to have to stick with this service that doesn’t have any reception in my house. I have to go outside to talk on the phone, and it’s going to get cold soon.

If you’ve managed to escape a bad cell phone contract without paying an early termination fee, let us know how you pulled it off.

Previously: 6 Ways To Cancel Any Cellphone So You Can Get An iPhone

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