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Archive for the 'T-Mobile' Tag

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T-Mobile says phone service not working

November 3rd, 2009, 5:56 pm by

UPDATE: As of 10:25 p.m., T-Mobile says all voice, data services have been restored:

T-Mobile confirms it has fully restored voice and text/picture messaging services for customers affected by intermittent service disruptions on Tuesday. About five percent of our customers across various geographies were affected for much of Tuesday evening, and by late Tuesday PST their service was restored. Our sole focus has been restoring full services for all customers; we are now investigating the root cause of the incident. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience that this has caused our customers.

Sorry about the blog mess. It’s back now. At 7:23 p.m., no new updates from T-Mobile.

UPDATE 6:20 p.m.: T-Mobile offers a status report, saying only 5% of its customers have been affected by the outage.

“We’re making good progress restoring voice and messaging service to affected customers. At this time, approximately 5% of T-Mobile customers are experiencing service disruptions. Issues began at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time. … We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience that this has caused our customers.”

Update 5:59 p.m.: T-Mobile obviously out nationwide with blog comments coming from Minnesota, Dallas and elsewhere. Check out the comments below.

Updated 5:38 p.m.: When asked how will T-Mobile update customers get updates on the service problem, the company couldn’t offer a good reply. But it looks like T-Mobile’s Twitter account will be one place. Last update: Around 4:30 p.m.

Updated 5:29 p.m.: Added reports from other news sites.

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T-Mobile logoT-Mobile has just confirmed to me that there is a major outage.

“T-Mobile customers may be experiencing service disruptions impacting voice and data. Our rapid response teams have been mobilized to restore service as quickly as possible. We will provide updates as more information is available,” according to a statement by the company.

Reached by phone, David Henderson, a T-Mobile spokesman, said he could not discuss the outage any further or say whether it extends beyond Orange County. But it sounded like news of the outage was just hitting and he had to leave to get on a conference call to get more details.

When I asked him about this outage Monday after hearing that the service was out in South County, Henderson said no outages had been reported for the Orange County area.

I have heard of a very small number of T-Mobile customers experiencing outages in the past two to three weeks. Typically, their phones cannot find service.

I’m a T-Mobile customer as well and have not had any problems until the past 10 minutes. I’ll report more here as I learn more.

Are you having issues? Please comment below. Thanks!

Update: 5:41 p.m.: AP writes its outage story. Short and few new developments.

Update: 5:29 p.m.: C/Net is also reporting T-Mobile’s outage is widespread. The story says that this was part of a T-Mobile effort to update its SideKick users who have been without service for a whole month (!) The CNet reporter also notes that she’s heard about outages from customers in eastern Tennessee, Honolulu, Long Island, N.Y. and Westchester County, N.Y.

Update 5:16 p.m.: Phone service isn’t completely out. I’m still getting calls and can make calls.

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Posted in: Cell phones • • • • | 105 Comments »

T-Mobile changes contract terms giving customers a way out

September 1st, 2009, 2:57 pm by

Noted: The Consumerist reports that T-Mobile’s new $0.45/minute overage fees went into effect today, giving customers grounds for cancelling their contract before the two years is up. Expect to argue with customer service. Just come prepared with the contract changes, as noted HERE and on the Boy Genius Report.

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • | 3 Comments »

Has cellular customer service improved? Survey says yes

August 13th, 2009, 11:57 am by

J.D. Power and AssociatesWe may be paying more for cell-phone service then everybody else in the world, but at least customer service is improving, according to a new report from J.D. Power and Associates. 

J.D. Power surveyed 12,000 consumers between January to June 12 who called their wireless provider for help in the past year. They rated overall customer service at 735 on a 1,000 point scale. That’s an improvement of 12 points from the February 2009 report. Specific improvements:

  • Hold times improved to 5.55 minutes, from 6.58 minutes in February
  • 76 percent of the calls were resolved with the first contact, compared to 66 percent previously

J.D. Power rates cell phone carriers' customer service, August 2009.J.D. Power surveyed consumers on automated response systems, store visits and Web interaction. Within each, the survey looked at satisfaction, problem resolution and wait times.

The winners? Alltel, T-Mobile and Verizon, which all tied with scores of 747.

While T-Mobile was the leader six months ago, the carrier slipped from its 755-point perch. Verizon also dropped two points, from last period’s score of 749. Alltel previously scored 744.

J.D. Powers said that each company had its own strengths: Alltel handled store visits well, T-Mobile excels in getting phone customers to a live representative, and Verizon identified customer problems quickly. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • | 7 Comments »

T-Mobile adds printless coupons via cell phone

June 29th, 2009, 4:31 pm by

T-Mobile adds phone-based coupons. Pictured: Quiksilver discounts.Cell phone companies have been talking about offering coupons on mobile phones for years but have mostly left it up to third-party providers like Cellfire to offer the service. Today, T-Mobile jumped in, launching its own digital coupon service. 

Called “Green Perks,” T-Mobile’s coupon program is intended to promote the company’s “green” efforts by offering discounts on environmentally conscious products from Method, Jamba Juice, Volcom, Roxy and Quiksilver, according to the press release.

The point of a cell phone coupon is to pull it up on your phone’s screen, show it to the store’s cashier and leave with a discount on your purchase. No printing, no paper necessary — very green, get it?

As a T-Mobile subscriber, I downloaded this myself. Oddly, T-Mobile didn’t create an app for Google Android phones, so G1 users like myself need to go to the phone’s settings and allow “unknown sources” to install non-Android Market applications (scary!).  Full instructions are HERE.

T-Mobile adds phone-based coupons. T-Mobile adds phone-based coupons. Pictured: Free samples from Dogswell. T-Mobile adds coupon feature -- no paper, print-out required. Pictured: 20% off Method products.

Only six coupons showed up for me, including 20 percent off a Volcom V-Co. Logical item at Volcom Brand Stores. That was the only in-store discount. Deals for Roxy, Quiksilver, CatSwell, DogSwell and Method cleaning products were only available through official company Web sites, which defeats the purpose of getting the discount on the phone. No Jamba Juice coupon to be found, by the way. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • | 4 Comments »

Unlimited international calls for $5/month? MetroPCS says yes!

June 24th, 2009, 1:02 pm by

MetroPCSMetroPCS, the significantly cheaper mobile-phone service, unveiled a plan today offering unlimited calls to more than 1,000 cities around the world for an extra $5 a month.

The new international plan is only available to subscribers of its $40-or-higher voice plans. Users don’t need to dial an intermediary number first and can call international numbers directly. Receiving international calls is free.

However, not every international city is included, but the biggies like Vietnam and Mexico City are part of the unlimited plan. To see if an international number qualifies, MetroPCS sends customers to this page. Also, the cheap rate doesn’t apply if the user is roaming and with MetroPCS service only available in certain U.S. cities, this extra fee could add up. 

So… the big question is how does MetroPCS do it? Its mobile rivals charge up to a few dollars per minute to call some countries. While the major wireless companies do offer international plans, those all have a monthly charge and a per-minute fee, albeit discounted from the standard international rate. MetroPCS new international plan is a flat-rate service with no extra fees, unless you’re roaming outside of MetroPCS coverage areas. 

I’m waiting to hear back from the company to explain how it can offer such a low rate. UPDATE, 3:57 p.m.: MetroPCS’ responds by avoiding all specifics:   

We don’t disclose pricing or profitability on individual products. However, our company is extremely profitable even with the launching of new markets and we have some of the lowest operating cost in the industry.

Scanning through international plans from other mobile companies, I was surprised to see that it’s not that expensive to call overseas anymore. But none are as cheap as MetroPCS, which offers unlimited U.S. cellular plans for as low as $30 a month. 

For example, Verizon Wireless charges $0.65/minute for calls to Mexico. Its $3.99  monthly value plan drops the per-minute rate to $0.25. Comparably, AT&T’s rates are $0.99/minute for calls to Mexico. On the company’s special $4.99 “Mexico plan,” calls range from $0.09 to $0.25. But if you’re just calling Mexico from a MetroPCS plan, there’s already a $3 plan for unlimited calls to Mexico. 

Here’s a look at mobile international plans:

Mobile Service Monthly Per minute? To United Kingdom No plan fee per minute
AT&T World Connect $3.99 Yes 8-28 cents/minute $1.29
MetroPCS $5 No included  
Sprint $4 Yes 6-39 cents/minute $1.49-$1.82
T-Mobile $5 Yes 6-26 cents/minute $0.69
Verizon Wireless $3.99 Yes 6-26 cents/minute $1.49-$1.67
Source: AT&T, MetroPCS, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless

More on cell-phones:


Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

T-Mobile says customer data safe after alleged hacker attack

June 9th, 2009, 4:22 pm by

T-Mobile logoIf you spotted stories over the weekend about hackers stealing data from T-Mobile, it’s just not true, said T-Mobile in a statement today.

“Following a recent online posting that someone allegedly accessed T-Mobile servers, the company is conducting a thorough investigation and at this time has found no evidence that customer information, or other company information, has been compromised,” said a T-Mobile spokesperson in an e-mail.

“Reports to the contrary are inaccurate and should be corrected.  T-Mobile continues to monitor this situation and as a precaution has taken additional measures to further ensure our customers’ information and our systems are protected.  As is our standard practice, customers can be assured if there is any evidence that customer or system information has been compromised, we would inform those affected as quickly as possible.”

ChannelInsider reported Saturday that a mailing list message posted on Insecure.org Saturday claimed to have taken everything — all of T-Mobile’s databases, confidential documents, etc. The information included specific T-Mobile servers. Since none of T-Mobile’s competitors were interested in the data, the person was offering up the details to the highest bidder.

T-Mobile is looking into the matter and spokesman Peter Dobrow told the Associated Press that the company “is looking into the possibility that an internal document was leaked.”  He did not confirm if the blogger had posted accurate information.

More on cell-phones:


Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services

Posted in: Cell phones • Security • • | 1 Comment »

T-Mobile advises how to save on phone bill — ask someone else

May 28th, 2009, 12:01 am by

T-Mobile offering price makeovers.Saving money is on everyone’s mind these days. Including T-Mobile’s.

But don’t call up T-Mobile’s customer service and ask them for the best offer. The company is now sending Web visitors to BillShrink.com to see if they can save a few more bucks each month. And, I’m assuming, T-Mobile hopes BillShrink won’t suggest going to a competitor. 

“We’re so confident that T-Mobile provides the best overall experience for a majority of Americans, we’re willing to put our value to the test by pointing people to an independent source,” Denny Marie Post, chief marketing officer, T-Mobile USA Inc., said in a statement.BillShrink.com compares cellular plans 

BillShrink is a great starting place for consumers who wonder if they can save a few bucks on their monthly bills. It takes your estimated phone bill and usage, compares it to competing plans, and then offers a handy recommendation, starting with the biggest savings, if available. I wrote about the service last year (see “BillShrink quickly shows how to save on cell bill“). The site will even analyze your own phone bill, if you choose to share such personal information.

BUT what BillShrink doesn’t do is compare monthly phone bills to prepaid plans, which I found are really the cheapest way to get by with a cell phone. It also only compares phone prices from the big four: Sprint, Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile. Absent are low-priced providers MetroPCS and Cricket Wireless. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • | 1 Comment »

Text Mexico, Vietnam, the world for $10/month

March 31st, 2009, 3:22 pm by

Good news for text fiends who happen to be Boost Mobile customers with lots of international friends.

Irvine’s Boost today added International Connect, an unlimited international plan for $10 a month, which can only be added on to its newish $50 monthly unlimited plan. This is a good plan for people texting from the U.S. or Baja California to anywhere in the world.

Without the plan, it’s $0.10 to text internationally and free to receive. That means the deal is only a deal if you send way more than 100 international texts a month. 

As part of the new option, users can also chat via Boost’s Walkie-Talkie service to people in Canada, Baja California, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru. Why only those places? Boost has partnered with Nextel México, Nextel Argentina, Nextel Brasil, Nextel Perú and Nextel Chile.

The $0.10 per international text is a pretty good deal anyway. I did some research and for customers of other cell phone companies, international texting rates are much higher:

AT&T charges $0.25 to send, $0.20 to receive. Multimedia messages are $0.50 to send, $0.30 to receive. Details HERE. A $9.99 monthly plan allows users to send 100 texts internationally. Received texts are counted as regular texts.

Verizon Wireless charges $0.25 to send, $0.20 to receive. If you’re outside the U.S., sending texts cost $0.50 each but $0.05 to receive. Details HERE.

T-Mobile charges around $0.35 to text internationally and $0.20 to receive. Details HERE.

Sprint charges $0.20 to send or receive international texts. Details HERE.

Virgin Mobile USA charges $0.20 to send, $0.10 to receive. Details HERE. 

Helio, now part of Virgin Mobile, charges $0.15 to send or receive an international text message. For multimedia messaging, Helio charges $0.05 per kilobyte plus $0.25 per message sent. But if you’re an “All In” customer who pays $99/month for everything, international texts are free, while multimedia texts are $0.25 each. Details HERE.

Another option for all mobile users: Send2World.com is a pay-as-you-go plan that drops the per-text rate if you send more messages. Rates range between $0.12 per text for up to 50 messages per month to $0.07 for 500 or more. Caveat: Each message still counts against any texting plan you have on your existing cell phone plan.

Are there others I’ve overlooked? Feel free to leave suggestions in the comment area.

Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services. Latest mobile-news headlines:

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