Alltel is dropping me

crystalterrie · EVDO User Joined: 12 Jan 2008 Posts: 36

I got a call from Alltel today saying that I will no longer be a customer as of sept. 4. They said that it is because the tower I connect to is not an Alltel tower and it costs them too much money to keep me. When I asked who I AM connecting to, she said she didn't know, but its not Alltel. I was pretty upset that they could drop me less than a year into the 2 year contract but god forbid, if I broke the contract I'd have to pay extra. Any easy way to find out what else is available in the 48740 zip code? I just can't stand the thought of going back to landline..and sattelite doesnt looks so spiffy either. Cable is not available in my area.

Regor · Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:35 pm Post subject:

I just received the same call for the same reason. I am about 5 months into my contract and haven't had any problems until this. Makes me think Verizon has a lot to do with it. Like I told the lady on the phone, I am not going to just accept this without arguement. I had to buy the card as well as sign a two year contract. At the very least I plan on getting out of my cell phone contracts.
Will keep you posted.

Krileon · Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 6:11 pm Post subject:

If they break your contract you're very capable of suing them.

Grab a lawyer. Sue their pants off. Pay to have fiber optics ran to your home. Tada. It's about $8-11 per foot of fiber optics.. so find the nearest repeater and sue for an ample amount. Very Happy

Anyway, sounds like verizon being retarded and dropping towers or something. I don't know, but that seams pretty fishy. My internet has been messing up lately and I sure hope this don't happen to me or it's back to satellite or worse.. 56k.

karlyn · Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 6:20 pm Post subject:

It's probably Sprint, Crystal. I see two splashes of orange on their coverage map for your zip. Go to sprint.com, click on coverage and enter your address. Once you get to the map page you'll want to scroll down a bit and click on the data/e-mail tab to see their broadband coverage. The Sprint maps are nice -- you can zoom in on your address.

crystalterrie · EVDO User Joined: 12 Jan 2008 Posts: 36

Thanks Karlyn. I went there and I am to the west of that orange splash, in gray. This is what it says:

Data roaming - limited access to some services. View details.

and then under the details it says:

Music store, Location Based Services (GPS), Ready Link, and Data Link may not be available in roaming areas.

so..what exactly does that mean..should I bother to try out a sprint card? They have 5 MB limit, right?

karlyn · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:21 am Post subject:

I think it's worth trying. Alltel's main data roaming agreement is with Sprint and if you're roaming and get Rev A then it's probably off a Sprint site. My guess is that even though your location is in the gray area you're picking up a signal from the orange area. Most other roaming is only at 1x. (The dark gray area north of you is probably where Alltel's coverage starts.)

Sprint does have a 5 GB limit but so far it seems to be a fairly ambiguous soft limit (go over too often by too much and they warn you).

crystalterrie · EVDO User Joined: 12 Jan 2008 Posts: 36

Well, I tried searching for what antenna I might be hitting, and there are none listed in my area that make sense...just the local fire dept and a local person's name come up. It must be sprint...I think.

The lady on the phone kept saying "I don't know what company, I just know alot of times it is sprint"..kind of irritating that they boot you off with no real info to help you move along elsewhere..it's not like they WANT my business...sigh.

crystalterrie · EVDO User Joined: 12 Jan 2008 Posts: 36

well..I talked to 3G store(you guys still rock!) and got a sprint usb modem sent out. Everything up and running fine, and the speed tests show me as sprint isp with rev A speeds still. Had no problems at all swapping the modems in the router.

Now we will wait and see if Sprint decides to keep me. Smile

golfstyles · EVDO Newbie Joined: 26 Sep 2008 Posts: 5

I am new to this EVDO and want to know if you could help me CrystalTerrie! I am about 3 miles from downtown Mikado, going east. So you think I could get a signal with Sprint? How much did it cost you to get it up and running?

Thanks, MM

Alex · Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 7:20 am Post subject:

East of Mikado looks good. she was further west, if i remember right.

we have a special going on right now where the U727 is FREE with 2yr contract:

http://www.EVDOinfo.com/U727FREE

would strongly suggest booster antenna which is only $27.95 after package discount.

ground shipping would probably be about $10 and get to you mon/tue if it shipped today.

all in all, your cash outlay would be less than $50 to see if this worked for you.

you'd have 30 days to cancel sprint service if it didn't work well enough, and a 14 day return policy from 3gstore is in play.

you can order online at https://3gstore.com/sprint/cards.php

we look forward to serving you as the next 3gstore.com customer!
_________________
EVDO :: EVDO News :: EVDO Antennas/Routers/Amps :: Verizon EVDO :: Sprint EVDO :: Why Buy from 3Gstore?

golfstyles · EVDO Newbie Joined: 26 Sep 2008 Posts: 5

I just signed up with Alltel Wireless and I am 3 miles east of downtown Mikado. I have Alltel cell phones and get fantastic signals - 5 bars, so I thought I would give it a try. I am only getting 1x signal at 136 down and 85 up. My goodness, this is worse than dialup. I called Alltel tech and they say EVDO is not available. I don't understand if they share towers. I am new to this stuff. What can I do to get EVDO with Alltel or do I have to switch to another carrier. Also, I have the UM175 USB modem with no antenna.

Thanks, MM
Sad

bucrepus · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 27 Dec 2007 Posts: 11

Make sure you talk to 2nd level Alltel tech. If your cell phone is capable of showing the letters EV near the antenna signal, and it does display it, then the EVDO signal might be a go. My phone started showing EVDO, I tethered it to a computer and got EVDO speeds. I went out and bought a USB data card, 1XRTT signal only (like yours). Called ALLTEL, NO EVDO service they said. TOOK my latop to the front of the house, and magic, the EVDO signal appeared just like on my phone. I bought an external antenna, and get 3-4 EVDO bars now, with the antenna in the front of my house ONLY. (If I move my antenna around much the signal drops down to 1X again.) Alltel 2nd level told me where the towers were around me, 4 of them, 7-10 miles away, so the RF footprint at my house is really strange, hence the antenna sweet spot. If your phone shows EV on the display (and is capable) of doing it, you might be OK. If it is call (demand) 2ND level support, and see if they will tell you the closest EVDO provisioned tower. If so, take your phone outside, walk around N,E,S,W slowly look for an EV signal of any kind. Maybe there's one out there. ALLTEL still shows my area not covered, because their AS-BUILT diagrams show I get service off of the non provisioned tower south of me (which is weak)but I get great service with my antenna in the right position (north front of my house). I use the USB 175 also, 85 up speed is pretty good, you have strange speeds though (136/85)

BUC

golfstyles · EVDO Newbie Joined: 26 Sep 2008 Posts: 5

Thanks so much for your help Bucrepus!!! I will give it a try. One question, how do you get your cell phone to show EV? Will it do this automatically?

MM

bucrepus · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 27 Dec 2007 Posts: 11

If your phone IS capable of it, it should display it automatically. Depends on the model. I have several,I have a v9 razor, and 2 LG's that display it. I have two other LG's that won't (older), I dont think an older v3 razor will either. Something to try...>Something strange I found on mine, My phones sometimes roam at my house, So the EV poped up on my wife's whose network settings were set to HOME only area. Mine was set to standard service / Automatic and did not show the EV signal. When I swithced it to HOME only area, the EV showed up. Might want to try that. Go into SETTINGs and NETWORK, and change the service type to HOME and see. Be careful and dont mess with the SID or other stuff, and after testing / looking put phone back in whatever area mode is was orginally set too, or you can't make calls if you travel outisde of your home area..
BUC

golfstyles · EVDO Newbie Joined: 26 Sep 2008 Posts: 5

Thanks Buc! I have an Alltel LG phone, probably 2 1/2 yrs old. I switched it to HOME ONLY and will walk around to see if EV comes up. Where are you located? Again, I do get absolutely fantastic cell phone reception. Full bars all around our land.

MM