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How t-mobile screwed me (and maybe you) on the G2X

I've decided to completely abandon t-mobile and I plan to NOT pay my last bill and then fight them if it shows up on my credit report. Here is a quick summary:
1. When I got the phone, it was advertised as also running ATT 3G. That was a lie.
2. Phone also was advertised with FM radio. Not true.
3. t-mobile was never able to provide a working unlock code despite repeated attempts.
4. Phone had screen bleed issues. Went to store for replacement, but they were out of stock, so they told me to wait till after 14 days & call cust-serv for replacement. Needless to say this eventually came back to haunt me because now all they say is 'you only had 14 days to return it'!
5. Over the period of the next couple of months - I was shipped 4 empty boxes from t-mobile. Finally got one with a phone in it. Not only was it a refurb unit - it had the same problem as the original one I got.
6. I finally resorted to calling the corporate office and said I just wanted my money back for the phone and to cancel the contract. After 45 minutes of hassling the end result was that the only thing they would do is allow me to mail the phone to corporate headquarters and they would credit my account. Well guess what- I don't want anything to do with t-mobile so that is a no go. I told them if that's the way they plan to handle it then I will keep both phones & never pay the bill.
Lastly - I called LG directly to see if they would fix the phone. Making another long, sad story short - they will not. Their response is the 'screen is the type that will bleed like that - it's normal'.
I've never been so dissatisfied or disgusted with a business my whole life.

Not paying your bill is not a good idea. No technology is perfect. Plus everybody gets run arounds once in their life at any company. Sorry to hear about your experience, but not paying your bill will only create more hassle for you.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

unique77 said:
Not paying your bill is not a good idea. No technology is perfect. Plus everybody gets run arounds once in their life at any company. Sorry to hear about your experience, but not paying your bill will only create more hassle for you.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
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While I understand your point I'm not paying for something I didn't get either. Being a senior systems analyst I realize more than most that technology isn't prefect - but that has nothing to do with replacing a defective product. I'm prepared to deal with the hassle it could possibly create on my credit report as I've already spoken to a couple of experts including a CPA about what to expect and how to handle any potential issues that arise. While it might create more hassle for me at least I'll know I didn't just roll over and let them stiff me 100's of dollars. Frankly I will sleep better at night. Furthermore if more people were assertive like this perhaps t-mobile (and LG for that matter) would not be so quick to screw over the next guy. Everyone & their dog knows these G2X's were a) falsely advertised and b) most were defective right out of the box. What they should do is admit fail and offer recalls on all the phones. But why do that when they can just give run-around to customers? This attitude they have "like what ya gonna do about it huh? can't do anything can ya? just buy another phone if you dont like it" crap has got to stop and I for one will not be bullied by these a-holes any longer.

First off buying a phone from t-mobile to use on att is stupid.
FM radio, really is it that big of a deal?
screen bleed....I have it. And never see it except on boot up
As for the 14 days, you knew better and could have went to another store or just returned it all together.
As for the empty boxes. Well that sucks.
G2x with CM7 and faux kernel. NONSENSE!!!!

TechnoHippie said:
While I understand your point I'm not paying for something I didn't get either. Being a senior systems analyst I realize more than most that technology isn't prefect - but that has nothing to do with replacing a defective product. I'm prepared to deal with the hassle it could possibly create on my credit report as I've already spoken to a couple of experts including a CPA about what to expect and how to handle any potential issues that arise. While it might create more hassle for me at least I'll know I didn't just roll over and let them stiff me 100's of dollars. Frankly I will sleep better at night. Furthermore if more people were assertive like this perhaps t-mobile (and LG for that matter) would not be so quick to screw over the next guy. Everyone & their dog knows these G2X's were a) falsely advertised and b) most were defective right out of the box. What they should do is admit fail and offer recalls on all the phones. But why do that when they can just give run-around to customers? This attitude they have "like what ya gonna do about it huh? can't do anything can ya? just buy another phone if you dont like it" crap has got to stop and I for one will not be bullied by these a-holes any longer.
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Click to collapse
good points, but again, not paying your bill does not impact T-Mobile or LG. But it will impact you. With today's credit situation, intentionally damaging your credit is not a good tradeoff. Why not file a complaint with the BBB or your Statue Attorney General. At the least, the tradeoff for you is better. First, you keep your credit score. Second, the companies in question will be required to respond. It will be an irritant to them....but, right now, you cannot hope to regain your money, your contract freedom or any other satisfaction. Being an irritant might be the best you can get.
BTW...I never saw any advertisement about AT&T bands. Be careful on this one...have written proof, or understand completely what you claim.

Good luck with that ... I personally wouldn't want a $100 phone bill or whatever amount messing with my credit score. Sure you can fight it, but that sounds like a hassle. Maybe better to just pay your bill, cancel your line, cut your losses and move on. You're gonna waste a lot of energy on this (already have it sounds like) and it won't profit you a thing except more frustration.
Just my 2¢ from experience.

tackleberry said:
First off buying a phone from t-mobile to use on att is stupid.
FM radio, really is it that big of a deal?
screen bleed....I have it. And never see it except on boot up
As for the 14 days, you knew better and could have went to another store or just returned it all together.
As for the empty boxes. Well that sucks.
G2x with CM7 and faux kernel. NONSENSE!!!!
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Click to collapse
You've missed the whole point.

alodar1 said:
good points, but again, not paying your bill does not impact T-Mobile or LG. But it will impact you. With today's credit situation, intentionally damaging your credit is not a good tradeoff. Why not file a complaint with the BBB or your Statue Attorney General. At the least, the tradeoff for you is better. First, you keep your credit score. Second, the companies in question will be required to respond. It will be an irritant to them....but, right now, you cannot hope to regain your money, your contract freedom or any other satisfaction. Being an irritant might be the best you can get.
BTW...I never saw any advertisement about AT&T bands. Be careful on this one...have written proof, or understand completely what you claim.
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I've already filed 2 complaints with the BBB and sent a scathing letter to my State AG, and I have a copy of several t-mobile ads saying it was a quad-band att 3G capable phone.

phburks said:
Good luck with that ... I personally wouldn't want a $100 phone bill or whatever amount messing with my credit score. Sure you can fight it, but that sounds like a hassle. Maybe better to just pay your bill, cancel your line, cut your losses and move on. You're gonna waste a lot of energy on this (already have it sounds like) and it won't profit you a thing except more frustration.
Just my 2¢ from experience.
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If it were to affect my credit score (and at this point I doubt they'll try that) it would be such a teeenee weenne thing on it I don't think it would hurt me hardly at all and I've already got a plan in place to have it removed should it it appear. The other option is to sue and of course that would cost more money and more time than this.

TechnoHippie said:
You've missed the whole point.
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No I didn't. You sound like a typical cellphone customer that is never satisfied with anything. Sell your phone and pay t-mobile and avoid the credit report crap. These people are just not worth it. Don't get me wrong Verizon screwed me many times but finally I have up fighting, used my brain got free **** out of them and ultimately won and left them.
G2x with CM7 and faux kernel. NONSENSE!!!!

TechnoHippie said:
If it were to affect my credit score (and at this point I doubt they'll try that) it would be such a teeenee weenne thing on it I don't think it would hurt me hardly at all and I've already got a plan in place to have it removed should it it appear. The other option is to sue and of course that would cost more money and more time than this.
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Hey if its important to you go for it.

tackleberry said:
No I didn't. You sound like a typical cellphone customer that is never satisfied with anything. Sell your phone and pay t-mobile and avoid the credit report crap. These people are just not worth it. Don't get me wrong Verizon screwed me many times but finally I have up fighting, used my brain got free **** out of them and ultimately won and left them.
G2x with CM7 and faux kernel. NONSENSE!!!!
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Click to collapse
Well I think you did. I've had cellphones for 20 years and haven't had a problem before that I couldn't get worked out by talking to someone in customer service or at a store. Selling the phone and paying the bills and early termination fee means I'd be LETTING them screw me out of about $800 ...because they sold me a defective unit and won't a) fix it b) replace it with a working one or c) just give me my money back. If this is a 'typical cellphone customer experience' then I think WE ALL have a problem. I'm not giving these bozo's one red cent and if it means something pops up on my credit record for 3 days until I get it removed (as I said I'm ready) then so be it.

phburks said:
Hey if its important to you go for it.
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hahaha - well at this point I feel it's the principle of the whole thing. I've spent 18.5 hours on the phone with them dealing with this crap. My billing rate is $55hr I was thinking of sending them an invoice.

tackleberry said:
First off buying a phone from t-mobile to use on att is stupid.
FM radio, really is it that big of a deal?
screen bleed....I have it. And never see it except on boot up
As for the 14 days, you knew better and could have went to another store or just returned it all together.
As for the empty boxes. Well that sucks.
G2x with CM7 and faux kernel. NONSENSE!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so, if you bought a new car and found that it had no radio, you'd be ok with that?
big price difference, but it's still the same thing.

crazythunder said:
so, if you bought a new car and found that it had no radio, you'd be ok with that?
big price difference, but it's still the same thing.
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dude...what he means is...not paying your bill over a radio...is stupid. You can't come out of this in a good way. You will lose.

Check you PM's. Before you jump ship, let me see if I may be able to assist you.

TechnoHippie said:
While I understand your point I'm not paying for something I didn't get either. Being a senior systems analyst I realize more than most that technology isn't prefect - but that has nothing to do with replacing a defective product. I'm prepared to deal with the hassle it could possibly create on my credit report as I've already spoken to a couple of experts including a CPA about what to expect and how to handle any potential issues that arise. While it might create more hassle for me at least I'll know I didn't just roll over and let them stiff me 100's of dollars. Frankly I will sleep better at night. Furthermore if more people were assertive like this perhaps t-mobile (and LG for that matter) would not be so quick to screw over the next guy. Everyone & their dog knows these G2X's were a) falsely advertised and b) most were defective right out of the box. What they should do is admit fail and offer recalls on all the phones. But why do that when they can just give run-around to customers? This attitude they have "like what ya gonna do about it huh? can't do anything can ya? just buy another phone if you dont like it" crap has got to stop and I for one will not be bullied by these a-holes any longer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love it! I have to agree with you, these big corporations bullying, stealing, lying and taking advantage of hard working people has to stop...sadly very few people will or can fight back so they will keep doing it and getting away with it...but im glad you decided to stand your ground and fight for whats right! Good luck bud!
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

OP, I completely agree with what you've set out to do. Companies like T-mobile and LG need to correctly market and manufacture their products, and respond better to defects and mishaps after they occur. I had to exchange my first G2X (which had HEAVY screen bleed and non-working wifi), but somehow lucked out on a good unit the second time around. The hoops I had to jump through to accomplish that exchange led me to lose a lot of respect for both companies, and even more so after reading some of the truly horrid experiences on this forum.
If T-mobile and LG had worked out a coherent exchange program, made accurate announcements of software updates (GB anyone...), and overall handled customer service better, I could've written off the G2X's problems as a normal consequence of being on the cutting edge technologically. Instead, I'm stuck pondering the inability of either company to own up to their mistakes and deal with them.
All in all, best of luck to you; I hope everything works out in your (and our) favor in the end.

crazythunder said:
so, if you bought a new car and found that it had no radio, you'd be ok with that?
big price difference, but it's still the same thing.
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Click to collapse
I would have returned it within the proper legal time frame and been done with it
G2x with CM7 and faux kernel. NONSENSE!!!!

Appeasement is what spawned the reign of Hitler. I personally like this guy's spine in the matter. We need more people like him. He seems to understand his financial limitations and if he thinks he has the money & effort to spend then why not let him..?
We should all be doing the same as this guy if it wasn't for the economic restraints... that and this country has somewhat more pressing issues like corruption to iron out before we can get to consumer protection unfortunately.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

Simple solution for Verizon locked bootloader

I have read countless threads on this subject that range from just bend over and take it its not that bad to I'm selling my phone as soon as I get. There is a simple way of showing our dislike of the locked bootloader. It only takes a minute and it will get Verizons attention. it's not a smack on the head with a bag of nails but it will sting the big red bully enough to eventually act.
Go to the verizon mobile web site "my verizon" click upgrade device pick any phone click quick look click read reviews click write a reveiw and the phone you currently have wille come up and ask you to write a reveiw. Give it the lowest amount of stars Most importantly be polite, factual and don't bash Verizon (save that for the XDA forums)
This is the most efficient way a few can get their point driven home in an acceptable and respectable manner. When all the phones on its web site have only 2 or 3 stars they will definately be effected. This is the most effective civil way of letting Verizon know they are doing their customers wrong.
What do you guys think?
Press thanks if you think this will help...and because it boosts my XDA cred :laugh:

Yes at this point Verizon needs a wake up call and realize out not for its they would not have food on the table. Every one of these ways people come up with help.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

you're not going to matter to Verizon. Not trying to be a **** but the amount of customers that want an unlocked bootloader is minimal compaired to their total customer base. Yes it sucks balls and i feel for you verizon guys, but there isn't much you are going to be able to do about it.
Best option would be to call their customer service and tell them you want to cancel your account and when they ask why just say you guys refuse to unlock bootloaders so i am taking my business elsewhere. With the phone being new to the market and in high demand i would just sell it on ebay or craigslist for 500 and switch to a different carrier.

When is the developer edition of the VZW SGS3 going to be available? I think a lot of people are trying to sell their VZ S3's on eBay for $549 or $600 to buy it outright from Samsung. As long as you don't take advantage of VZ's subsidized pricing on a new device you can keep your unlimited data plan when you activate it. I'm considering that option.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

mburke178 said:
you're not going to matter to Verizon. Not trying to be a **** but the amount of customers that want an unlocked bootloader is minimal compaired to their total customer base. Yes it sucks balls and i feel for you verizon guys, but there isn't much you are going to be able to do about it.
Best option would be to call their customer service and tell them you want to cancel your account and when they ask why just say you guys refuse to unlock bootloaders so i am taking my business elsewhere. With the phone being new to the market and in high demand i would just sell it on ebay or craigslist for 500 and switch to a different carrier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If all the phones on their site suddenly had only two or three stars trust me it will affect verizon. Phones with low amounts of ratings could be affected by just one or two bad reviews. It is the biggest impact we can make with very little time invested. Calling in returning phones and all the other ideas are also excellent just not the best bang for the buck. I plan on doing all of the above.

Jugger naut said:
If all the phones on their site suddenly had only two or three stars trust me it will affect verizon. Phones with low amounts of ratings could be affected by just one or two bad reviews. It is the biggest impact we can make with very little time invested. Calling in returning phones and all the other ideas are also excellent just not the best bang for the buck. I plan on doing all of the above.
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Click to collapse
Anyone who is going to be researching a phone isn't going to go solely off the service providers website or at least they should be smarter than that. Also if they wanted they could easily just delete all the 1 star reviews.

You guys are no fun, either that or you are shills for Verizon LOL its always better to do nothing when done wrong or when faced with adversity
P.S. feel free to hit the donate button, gotta recoup for the hit im going to take selling my my S3 (they sould have named it the FU2). The hit I'm going to take cancelling my contract early, and a couple tubes of anal ease
(VERIZON left me a little raw) :crying::silly:

I think this is a great idea. Will it work? Maybe, maybe not, but it doesn't hurt to try. I think it's definitely worth a try.

Might as well give it a shot

I think this is a great idea! I think that not that many people give ratings anyway so even if a small number of us do it, it should have an impact. And I do think people might not read the review but they do look at the rating
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

I will leave negative reviews I am not sure it will help but I I am in to make the effort. I have been getting back at them (verizon) in my own ways like running my office and most my neighborhood of some extra lines my business account has with unlimited data in 4G areas
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Well since there arent many reviews leaving a bunch of negative ones would have a pretty big impact

I think this idea is "awesome"! No it's not the one thing that's going to sway VZW's politics but hopefully one of many to curb their abuse of the consumer....
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

This is a great idea
its diffidently a better idea then sitting on your azz
:victory:

Possible lawsuit against Verizon
I ride bike with two gentlemen who are members of a large law firm. Very nice guys considering they're lawyers :laugh: Had to put that in there for when they read this...hi guys!
They informed me that if Verizon does not post the negative reviews there are grounds for legal action (it took then about six paragraphs twenty minutes and a whole bunch of what I think was Latin to explain that to me but I got the jist of most of it) There are a few guidelines keep the reviews factual polite and dont bash Verizon. They offered thier services calling it "a very high profile endeavor"
They also reminded me Al Capone didn't go to jail for being a gangster he went to jail for tax evasion
Keep fighting the good fight

Jugger naut said:
I ride bike with two gentlemen who are members of a large law firm. Very nice guys considering they're lawyers :laugh: Had to put that in there for when they read this...hi guys!
They informed me that if Verizon does not post the negative reviews there are grounds for legal action (it took then about six paragraphs twenty minutes and a whole bunch of what I think was Latin to explain that to me but I got the jist of most of it) There are a few guidelines keep the reviews factual polite and dont bash Verizon. They offered thier services calling it "a very high profile endeavor"
They also reminded me Al Capone didn't go to jail for being a gangster he went to jail for tax evasion
Keep fighting the good fight
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah yes lawyers and hackers coming together in the search for loopholes and alternative thinking.
Sent from my Verizon S3 with locked bootloader but I would love to change my signature.

im pretty sure verizon is deleting any reviews talking about the bootloader

IAmPears said:
im pretty sure verizon is deleting any reviews talking about the bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nails in their coffin boys!
Pour it on the more they delete the stronger our case becomes, fortunately for us their disclaimer " {} I agree with terms of service " has more loopholes than their software :good:
P.S. keep an eye open for a different disclaimer
While your still pi$$ed off about Verizon being such a bully check out these other threads....I have nothing to do with them just linked them because they are ways of venting our Big V rage.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1756483
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1774849&page=4
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1771335
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1759669
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1764726
Now that you are full of pi$$ and vinegar start typing make a difference :good:
.

Good idea, doing it now!

To post a review on Verizon, or not, that is the question.
Sent from my SCH-I535

How I got to keep my HOXL and got AT&T to send me a Galaxy SIII I747 free of charge

How I got to keep my HOXL and got AT&T to send me a Galaxy SIII I747 free of charge
When my upgrade eligibility with AT&T came up last spring I decided that I needed to familiarize myself with the Android operating system. Having been a long time iPhone user (iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 4) with a mostly positive experience, I had always been frustrated by Apple's lack of Flash support and (at the time) their refusal to adjust their screen size. Little did I know that both Adobe and Apple were just "sitting in the corner" laughing at me when I came to this rationalization. Naturally, I overcompensated and went with the Galaxy Note, which, IMHO was probably not the best fit for an Android noob like myself. I did a little more research, and just on the outskirts of my 30 day return window, the HTC ONE XL was gonna debut. Bought it on launch day May 6th (before the embargo ruined the party). Like everyone else I had concerns over the lack of storage expansion from 16 Gigs - my previous iPhone 4 was 32 Gigs - but felt confident enough to pull the trigger since the 25 Gigs of free Dropbox space was on the table and according to AT&T was in play. Having been Grandfathered into AT&T's unlimited data plan and being a moderate user (I average 6-8 Gigs a month and have only been throttled twice) I felt as though I could transition to Cloud storage with ease.
I wanted to wait as long as possible before establishing my Dropbox account so I could get the maximum out of the 2 years. It wasn't until late September that I learned of AT&T purposely opting out of participating in the deal. I still can't fathom the rational for this, since its always been my understanding that not only AT&T, but all the Carriers had absolutely nothing to do with this promotion because the deal was between HTC and Dropbox. You would think the Carriers would welcome this since it would increase data usage, thus gaining them additional revenue. I'm sure that people, much smarter than myself, who contribute to the XDA forums, have the answer to this burning question since i'm clearly clueless.
Anyway, no worries, I'll just simply "Root", "Rom" and Voilà....Uh-Oh... As usual I'm a day late and a dollar short and I miss my window with the initial Root exploit that HTC closed ---- ( BTW this is in NO WAY meant as a backdoor insult or complaint to the Developers and their tirelessly Godlike work that they perpetually churn out on a daily basis, nor is it to the rest of the "awesomesauce" that describes the entire XDA Community!!!!) Now, I know in the back of my mind, there is an obvious workaround -- which I'm sure has been explained in this forum before - attach service to your previous phone for a day or so --- snag a WiFi connection and establish your Dropbox account and Boom instant 25 Gigs --then simply reattach service to your HOXL --- but ya know what....now I'm Pissed....time to call AT&T....
I started by calling sales not customer service too vent my complaint
1st Barrier ---- I get the initial non-decision making Dingbat ... As quickly as possible, I dispensed of this person and got a supervisor - I explained my issue and advised that AT&T did a "bait and switch" on me and strongly emphasized how ILLEGAL this practice is .....
2nd Barrier --- supervisor said he had no idea what I was talking about and that he had never heard of this "Dropbox freebie thing" (keep in mind I'm speaking with the sales department) --- this was easily refuted as I told the gentleman to try opening the box -- you know --the one with the AT&T logo on it that the HOXL comes in -- and to look at the paperwork inside --- it advertises the promotion!!!! Clearly his plausible deniability is out the window....
3rd Barrier --- "Can't help you because it's not our promotion..." No kidding -- that's the point..... I went on to explain how I was well aware that it wasn't their promotion and how it makes it worse because they purposely had to "opt out" --- emailed him the link to the Dropbox page explaining the promotion and How AT&T and VERIZON opted out (keep in mind the promotion is for any new HTC device running Sense 4.0 not just the HOXL) He continually stated that it wasn't their promotion for which I replied that I knew that and that it didn't matter whose promotion it was. I advised him, that I signed a contract with AT&T based on that information and that the Dropbox offer was used by AT&T as a selling tool to that end and that's why this is a bait and switch situation and that the practice is ILLEGAL
4th Barrier --- "How do we know that you were told about this offer and that our employees used this strategy...." I emailed him a link from androidcentral (Being that this is my very first post on the XDA forums protocol prevents me from posting the link that I sent ... but I can tell you that androidcentral was the original source for the "article" titled "AT&T HTC One X will have free Dropbox space, company spokeswoman affirms" and was dated Apr 24 2012) --- granted this is simply an unofficial "blog site" that can basically say anything they want but I advised him that this story was picked up by all the other major 'tech sites" and it has never been refuted by AT&T. In addition the "AT&T Spokeswomen" is Jackie Vettorino. Her official title is - Digital PR/Social Media Strategist for AT&T - She is basically their Top Dog when it comes to dealing with the press - She is widely known to many media outlets because of her role as the Point-man..er..Point-woman on "Throttlegate" last fall. I explained to him that because of her fairly high profile, it would be extremely remote that the story was fabricated or that she had somehow been grossly misquoted because of the likeliness of serious repercussions... but I did offer to three-way her office --- He declined. I also, again referred him to the materials that came in the box with my phone -- yes the Box -- the one produced and manufactured for AT&T with their logo splashed all over it.
5th Barrier --- "Did you purchase your phone and contract from a Corporate store or online through the official AT&T website ...." I told him that i didn't and that I used an "Authorized Retailer" (My friend works there and I wanted her to get the commission. To be honest, at the time I didn't know it wasn't a corporate store -- they only sell AT&T product and the only name mentioned inside or outside the building was the official AT&T logo all decked out in that crappy blue and orange - no offense to all you Miami Dolphin fans. It had been years since I had been in an AT&T store - all my recent dealings had been at an Apple store) He began to tell me that I would have to "take up this issue" with the store and that it was "out of his hands". I promptly asked him who my contract was with - He stated AT&T. I immediately repeated the question - he again correctly answered AT&T - I asked the question 3 additional times in succession and he scored a perfect 5 for 5. Finally, I asked him if he knew what the word "authorized" meant, as in "Authorized Retailer" and during my reading of this definition (straight from .merriam-webster.com) he interrupted me by resignedly asking me "what I wanted...."
Aah!!! ... Success. I went into this endeavor with the hopeful expectation that AT&T would credit my account the price of what I would have to pay for cloud storage for 2 years - It's soft money and almost always AT&T's go to when they screw up. Well after almost 90 minutes on the call, I quickly rethought my position and like any successful Rep will tell you "Ultimately, you always have to ask for it". I told the supervisor that there were 2 options:
1) AT&T could release me from my contract without penalty and refund my full purchase price for the phone...not something AT&T wants (nor did I ... again I stay because of my unlimited data plan) or....
2) Replace my HOXL with an equivalent phone that has expanded storage options at zero cost to me - of course we both knew that the only possible replacement was the Galaxy SIII
Without hesitating he asked me what color I wanted and to what address I wanted it shipped -- The phone arrived at my doorstep, Oct 2, precisely 27.5 hours from the time I ended the call. After 2 weeks and another lengthy call - this time to Customer Service - I was able to successfully argue that my contract start date should be reinstated to the original May 6th date and not the Oct 2nd citing that the SIII was not an upgrade but a replacement phone.
I created this Post not to boast or pat myself on the back, but rather as a template for other HOXL owners who may be feeling slighted by AT&T's consistently awful business practices. Hey, It doesn't have to be an SIII --- it may be a great way to offset HTC's poor decision of putting out a part deux a mere 6 months into release of their "flagship" X series. Why is it always the early adopters and loyal supporters who seem to get hosed ... but I gotta say the HOXL+ is looking mighty Dope. Although, I do question the decision of not going with a RAM increase, (can anyone confirm this?) While its not a huge hindrance, I do get a "load screen" every now and then. It just seems as though 1 Gig is really riding the line, at least with ICS 4.0.4.

That's awesome bro lol. I wish I could pull some shiz like that.
Sent from my HTC One XL using xda app-developers app

haha thats great, I'm glad you made out good

dotsquad said:
t may be a great way to offset HTC's poor decision of putting out a part deux a mere 6 months into release of their "flagship" X series.
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Yeah, exactly. Let's start demanding free phones because HTC is keeping up with technology.
If this forum had a "First world problems" section, this thread would've been a sticky.
Some people need to take a long, hard look at themselves.

Great first post. Sometimes I want to tell AT&T these things. I just seem to always get a very helpful customer service rep who always make me feel warm and cared for inside. =)
After this month I'm getting pretty pissed about being throttled to 500kbps after 5GB.

whys everyone mad.... of course they gave him an s3....it's a downgrade and very likely a refurb.
Sent from my One X using xda premium

EliWay said:
Yeah, exactly. Let's start demanding free phones because HTC is keeping up with technology.
If this forum had a "First world problems" section, this thread would've been a sticky.
Some people need to take a long, hard look at themselves.
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ATT= Cash Cow
Defrauding the public = illegal
Free phone to satisfy a customer who was LIED to and keep taking their money = MORE PROFIT
No sympathy for them. First or third world. Corporations and governments take advantage of all of us in order to make another buck.
Fight the man and stand up for yourself no matter where you live. Isn't that why XDA came into existence in the first place?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

I would of asked to not be throttled anymore =)

Great first post! Great story! I really felt like when u are watching a tv series that ur addicted to and cant stop watching! Really entertaining!! And congrats on demanding ur rights, thats the way to go!
Sent from my One X using xda app-developers app

c5satellite2 said:
ATT= Cash Cow
Defrauding the public = illegal
Free phone to satisfy a customer who was LIED to and keep taking their money = MORE PROFIT
No sympathy for them. First or third world. Corporations and governments take advantage of all of us in order to make another buck.
Fight the man and stand up for yourself no matter where you live. Isn't that why XDA came into existence in the first place?
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Click to collapse
You know what else for-profit companies do? They pass their expenses down to their customers. They aren't going to eat the expense of giving out free phones like this. You're not "fighting the man". Its nice to think idealistically like that, but it really doesn't work that way. The cost gets handed down to us in the form of higher device costs, higher service costs, etc.
Their was likely no "defrauding of the public". Bonus offers like the one for Dropbox almost always come with a disclaimer that the terms of the offer can be changed at anytime, and without notice (including rescinding the offer itself). And AT&T opted out of the offer a long time before September. Just because a piece of paper has been sitting in the box since May, doesn't mean the offer is still valid.
If AT&T wanted to keep a customer happy, I can see letting him switch to another phone, if the One X is so "unacceptable" due to low storage. But it would have made the most business sense to demand the One X be returned. Otherwise its just motivation for people to game the system and get free phones.

c5satellite2 said:
Fight the man and stand up for yourself no matter where you live. Isn't that why XDA came into existence in the first place?
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No. XDA developers came into existence because we believe that if we bought a device, it's ours to reverse engineer or do whatever we want with it.
What you are doing is trying to game the system to get free stuff. It's SHAMEFUL.
redpoint73 said:
You know what else for-profit companies do? They pass their expenses down to their customers. They aren't going to eat the expense of giving out free phones like this. You're not "fighting the man". Its nice to think idealistically like that, but it really doesn't work that way. The cost gets handed down to us in the form of higher device costs, higher service costs, etc.
Their was likely no "defrauding of the public". Bonus offers like the one for Dropbox almost always come with a disclaimer that the terms of the offer can be changed at anytime, and without notice (including rescinding the offer itself). And AT&T opted out of the offer a long time before September. Just because a piece of paper has been sitting in the box since May, doesn't mean the offer is still valid.
If AT&T wanted to keep a customer happy, I can see letting him switch to another phone, if the One X is so "unacceptable" due to low storage. But it would have made the most business sense to demand the One X be returned. Otherwise its just motivation for people to game the system and get free phones.
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Couldn't have said it better myself.

IMHO and no disrespect to the OP, after spending so much time talking to their customer service, I would have been very upset if ATT tries to compensate me with an S3, I would have preferred an HTC One X+, too bad is not available yet.

OP, I need to give you props for your effort. In your particular case, I think you did the absolute right thing in complaining to AT&T about the whole issue. You getting the S3 for free is just a bonus in my eyes. IMO, this isn't defrauding a company; it's a situation where the customer was promised something and wasn't delivered by the company and the company made things right.

Congrats on the phone. Although i prefer the one x, gs3 is easier to work with for roms.
I'm surprised AT&T finally gave in. I guess they realized you were persistent and it wasn't worth it.
P.S. 6-8GB isn't moderate use by any means. You're lucky to be on unlimited data.

Great job dotsquad. Maybe others will get the same results.
As for the two that think this is shameful and wrong, ATT doesn't care about you. They only want your money regardless if their products or service work as advertised. And losing dotsquad as a customer costs them more than giving him a new phone and keeping him. Higher costs would be passed on if he went to another carrier.
Give customer a new phone, less than $250
Lose the customer, lose $1000+ per year. They don't really give you anything other than the next monthly bill.
And remember Randall Stevenson CEO of ATT lost the company 4+billion dollars with the failed T Mo merger, and then received a 22million bonus. 4 billion in costs passed on to customers.
If you really want to complain about something, that might be a better start.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

c5satellite2 said:
Great job dotsquad. Maybe others will get the same results.
As for the two that think this is shameful and wrong, ATT doesn't care about you. They only want your money regardless if their products or service work as advertised. And losing dotsquad as a customer costs them more than giving him a new phone and keeping him. Higher costs would be passed on if he went to another carrier.
Give customer a new phone, less than $250
Lose the customer, lose $1000+ per year. They don't really give you anything other than the next monthly bill.
And remember Randall Stevenson CEO of ATT lost the company 4+billion dollars with the failed T Mo merger, and then received a 22million bonus. 4 billion in costs passed on to customers.
If you really want to complain about something, that might be a better start.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
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Well played sir. I agree 100%
Sent from my HTC One XL using xda app-developers app

Awesome!
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

You know I may try something similar to this. Although not talking about DropBox I genuinely thought that the HTC One X had 32GB of space (and it does). I didn't know the At&t version, or as I know now the HTC One Xl only had 16GB. And the thing is I remember asking the sales associate at Wal-Mart (which is also authorized reseller as you may know) "How much space does it have" and she said "32GBs". I was like yesss, because I have a bunch of music, take a lot of video and photos and of course fill up on apps. Now I have to constantly clear things up. And I didn't notice it only had 16GBs until my return period was up (I was too amazed at android and didn't really download many apps until later on, I switched from iOS ).
So what do you think my odds are at getting a device with 32GB?
----------
And yes I tried to make it work but I just can't. I haven't complained about the space issue but here recently it's beging to be a real problem.

All I need to say is 'good work'
Sent from my HTC One XL using xda premium

McMichael96 said:
You know I may try something similar to this. Although not talking about DropBox I genuinely thought that the HTC One X had 32GB of space (and it does). I didn't know the At&t version, or as I know now the HTC One Xl only had 16GB. And the thing is I remember asking the sales associate at Wal-Mart (which is also authorized reseller as you may know) "How much space does it have" and she said "32GBs".
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Improper research before buying a device. And I wouldn't trust a Walmart employee to give me any correct information on phones, or an AT&T rep, for that matter. That part was clearly the Walmart employee's bad. But in the future, just do your own research. How hard would it have been to just read the box, before purchasing?
This is the exact reason that this thread is a poor precedence. Now people are trying to get free phones, for their own mistakes.

Keep unlocking phones legal!!

This really is a USA thread only but all can get involved. Recently our government has ruled that unlocking phones without carrier permission is now illegal. Please sign this petition to change such law so that we can own the technology we buy!!!
http://wh.gov/yA9n
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

I don't see what's so unfair about this.
This impacts people who are buying carrier-subsidized devices. This is a practice that has always benefited the carrier much more than the consumer.
This ruling shouldn't be something to get mad about directly - people should be mad about how badly they're being screwed over by subsidies in general. I think it's fair enough that if you sign up to be screwed, you get your full screwing.
Also, if you actually read the thing, it doesn't apply to used devices. This only applies to new phones bought under contract wherein you had full disclosure about the phone's state and the carrier's policy - no one should hedge their bets on being able to circumvent the terms they agreed to.

Even if you buy a phone at full price from a carrier it is still illegal to unlock it without the carriers approval. Thats my issue.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

See the problem is that they claim they are losing money on people unlocking their phones then going to another carrier. The flaw here is that they aren't losing anything, if someone cancels the contract they pay the etf, and if they don't they are still paying monthly because of the contract. Its just another scheme to hurt our money. Carriers can get in on the cell phone unlocking business and charge money to unlock their own cellphones, and there won't be anyone to compete
Sent from my DKOSP using Tapatalk 2

this is the result of old baby boomers who do not understand or appreciate info tech but "represent us" in govt + ridiculous amounts of corporate lobby money in politics + people surprised and shocked when they realize they voluntarily screwed themselves by signing bad contracts.
that said, people are too freaked out by this. ask yourself: will you still unlock your phone even if its illegal? if course you would and so would most people. so, who cares?
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium

bleggy said:
this is the result of old baby boomers who do not understand or appreciate info tech but "represent us" in govt + ridiculous amounts of corporate lobby money in politics + people surprised and shocked when they realize they voluntarily screwed themselves by signing bad contracts.
that said, people are too freaked out by this. ask yourself: will you still unlock your phone even if its illegal? if course you would and so would most people. so, who cares?
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
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If I paid full price for my phone, I should be able to do whatever I like to it.
But the real impact is: this law kills the spirit of technology innovation.

I see this as an issue between the consumer and carrier. Stop buying phones that don't come unlocked - demand that carriers make it an option or buy used / phones sold as unlocked only.
Carriers are slowly realising that they're losing business if they don't give people the options they want - see Sprint rolling out a pre-paid service (not just the other brands they own).
If a business is screwing you, take your business to one whose terms you like. It's like pay-day loans - terrible for you, but it's your choice to do something terrible for yourself.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

jozmedia said:
If I paid full price for my phone, I should be able to do whatever I like to it.
But the real impact is: this law kills the spirit of technology innovation.
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If you buy your phone on contract, the cost of phone is almost always subsidized and you're playing by their rules. You're essentially leasing the device.
If you buy your phone at full mrsp price, then yes, you should be free to do whatever.
I dont see how this stifles tech advancements at all; I just see the creation of more underground and gray markets for unlocking services. All the bodega cellphone stores will still unlock phones for 30 bucks; they may just advertise less. Hell, they probably wont change that. Do you think cops will even care? Not where I live.
And unlocking tools/codes/apps will still be all over the internet. They may not be on the US Google Play Store anymore. Big deal.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium

Exactly. Its not that big of a deal if you.have the know how. I unlocked my galaxy note 2 subsidized without my carriers permission. In 30 seconds flat to work on any carrier. I could care less what government agency cares. And care less about.any legislation anyways as i am officially branded by.my government as an outlaw anyways. I have no respect for worthless laws.
Nor do the police have any means of enforcing this at the moment anyways. And yes i know because i take the.exact same.classes that.digital forensic offocers.take.at.my.college
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

I was going to make this same exact thread.
Surprised to see so little activity on this topic especially here on XDA.
I would assume 95% of XDA members phones are unlocked/hacked so this would affect us.
Doesn't matter if you don't think it will be enforced or not, you shouldn't have to worry about being prosecuted just because you want to experiment with your own phone.
We need to reject laws like these that are hostile to the consumer and show greedy corporations and politicians that we are paying attention and won't stand for this crap.

Agreed
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

papi92 said:
Even if you buy a phone at full price from a carrier it is still illegal to unlock it without the carriers approval. Thats my issue.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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Okay now that's just wrong on the carrier's part because when you pay full price, you literally own the phone.
Sent from my GT-P3110 using xda app-developers app

free phones and other devices
I don't like such politics. I want devices free!!!

Too little too late?
There was a thread for this, your probably not seeing it bc no one has posted on it in 4 or 5 days. Its really sad too especially considering that this is probably the first in a line of laws to be unfairly passed that screw the consumer. To everyone overseas: not everyone wants to do something they know is technically illegal, enforced or not. The options for unlocked phones get pretty narrow if you like a certain kind of phone, and even narrower if you are tied to a particular service that has better reception in your area like say verizon like with me. I live in the middle of nowhere...lol but that's a different subject. The point is this sucks bc it takes away our options as consumers. We shouldn't have to not buy locked phones until all the carriers get the hint and safe to say that would take time. Obviously they see the wisdom in this move for them or they would not have done it. I was like the 14,000th signature on this petition and have been watching and promoting it everywhere, and sadly it looks like we have lost the needed speed to finish with 100k sigs. At this rate we will finish with about 80k give or take i figure. Not saying give up bc i wont, but everyone that is in the u.s. and understands whats involved needs to pick it up big time as this gets less media coverage. Spread the word!
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/make-unlocking-cell-phones-legal/1g9KhZG7

This big brother administration keeps ramming through laws that hurt the consumer!

If we purchase a non subsidized phone at full retail do they lower our monthly bill? Can we carrier unlock?
The answer to both is no. Funny how they get it all and we get nothing in return. Enough is enough already.
I will gladly pay full retail if I "own" my phone, no carrier lock and unlocked/s-off, and they reduce my bill accordingly.
Just remember, they use OUR airwaves, and now are abusing the legal system to hold us hostage so they can profit. Pretty sure this is not legal.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

5l4Y said:
I don't like such politics. I want devices free!!!
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Free to unlock our own phones/tablets!! :good: Totally agree!!

Yep, let's get this signed
Sent from my Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk 2.

White House Petition

Yes I know it's a long shot. But since the White House is getting more technologically advanced these days I figured it was worth a shot. Here is a petition to make it illegal for the carriers to control the software on a device you own.
http://wh.gov/layx4
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

I totally agree with this, but the problem is when you buy the device on contract, you don't technically own it until the end of the two years since you're paying it off during those two years.
But if you buy the device out right off contract I think they should have some form of removal.

I know. I phrased it as consumer owned devices so those who bought the device out right or payed their ETF would qualify. Those still under contract are at the mercy of the carrier. I figure once the contract obligations are met they can unlock the bootloader for the customer similar to unlocking it for use on other networks.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

Well I'll sign it either way but this would be a massive legal undertaking

Oh yeah. But since the courts ruled jail breaking was legal this would seem like a common sense extension. Maybe some legal firm wants to make a name for themselves and will take up the cause.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

I also think of it this way. Imagine if Ford told you that you could only put Ford approved tires on your vehicle even though it was paid off and you held the title.
Then they claimed it was to keep other Ford drivers safe. However, if you bought the the same Ford in Canada then you could put whatever tires you wanted on it. Doesn't make much sense does it?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

I'm starting a petition to stop other petitions from being petitioned especially ones that have been tried before with the same results.

There is 0 chance you get the 100,000 signatures you need in 1 month. It was a nice try, but it simply won't happen
Sent from my AT&T Galaxy S4 Running AOKP 4.2.2

I don't know, I kinda liked the one where Texas petitioned to secede. I signed it, but then again, I'm not from Texas...
As to the OP, best of luck, but I don't think 'long shot' even begins to describe it.

Yes. It will fail. People will take 30 seconds to come here and whine and [email protected]#ch about it but won't take the same amount of time to sign it. Apathy at its finest.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

I think its just a majority don't want to "Register" anything with the government.
Most of the people on these type of forums and similar forums are hackers/moders (good and/or bad doesnt matter)
They just wont simply register an account with the government to sign the petition.

Bingo...my thought exactly.

Guys, this doesn't make any sense. Don't get me wrong, i feel your pain, but you have to understand the fundamentals of business before you start asking a restructuring. When you buy a phone on contract, you are SUBSIDIZING a phone. By definition, a subsidy is: "A sum of money granted by the government or a public body to assist an industry or business so that the price of a commodity or service may remain low or competitive" In this case, its not the government but a corporation, that is funding you so you can purchase a commodity or service. You are taking a good, using a service, subsidized, and have to oblige to their guidelines. It's like if you asked a movie company that sells DVDs to remove copy protection, or a car manufacturer to not lock the car at 230km/h.
As long are you are being subsidized by your carrier, you have to follow their rules. In a carriers head, having an unlock bootloader mean user can fiddle with their phone, use them above their OEM specs, and potentially break them. How many people have bricked, or even fried their phone because of a failed flash or bad OC? A lot, and that in terms mean A LOT more $$$$ for the carriers to replace your phone, because we can all agree if you bring them a phone that is not water damaged, or physically damaged, they will almost certainly just swap it for a refurb one and they will deal with that later.
It sucks, but its not only their right, it's also understandable. If users took a little more precaution when playing around with roms, maybe this would not be the case. So until then, buy unlocked

Thermalwolf said:
I totally agree with this, but the problem is when you buy the device on contract, you don't technically own it until the end of the two years since you're paying it off during those two years.
But if you buy the device out right off contract I think they should have some form of removal.
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Click to collapse
This is not true at all. A subsidized phone still belongs to the customer.

Thank you polish_pat for explaining that. I don't know how many times I've tried to explain that to someone.
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RedIronCrown said:
This is not true at all. A subsidized phone still belongs to the customer.
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it does, but that doesn't mean you can do what you want with it. It's yours, but with "strings attached"

I really wish something like this works one day.

polish_pat said:
it does, but that doesn't mean you can do what you want with it. It's yours, but with "strings attached"
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Actually, you can do what you want with it. You can sell or modify it as you see fit with no more consequence than if you had bought the phone outright without a contract. There is literally nothing you can do with a purchased phone that you cannot with a subsidized phone.
The subsidy is to get you to sign a service contract, which obligates you to pay for their service for whatever the contract term is. Nothing to do with the hardware.

Which is why I phrased it as a consumer owned device. If gives the carrier an out while you are paying off the subsidy. However, once you paid off the device, At&t should have no say in what goes on the device. Providing an unlocked bootloader at that point would be what we would be looking for.
Remember at one time Jail breaking was considered illegal, but the courts ruled in favor of he consumer.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

Yes you can sell the phone, but you are still locked into 2 year plan. It's not like after selling the phone you can get an upgrade on the same line right away with discounted price. AT&T doesn't care what you do with your phone as long as you are not eligible for an upgrade on discounted price. You can sell it and don't use the phone, still you need to pay them the monthly bill until your contract is over. People who paid full amount without any contracts from AT&T, they have full right to make the petition about this issue.
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