Bad Start - Signal Help?
therdale
Newbie

I was a Sprint customer but sick of Commodore 64 dialup modem speeds so decided to switch to Verizon when the 5S came out. The map shows great coverage in my area, but to be sure I chatted with CSR and they confirmed I am good.

I woke up at 3am on release day, went online and completed my order around 320am. Expected shipping date was only 4 days away (9/24/13).

Then I got an email saying 10/7/13. I can live with that.

I checked on the 7th and my status was "Unknown shipping" with something about payment not received yet (even though my card had been charged.) I called in and the CSR expected it would ship the 14th. Status online never changed even though they had my money.

On 10/14 I called and was told it is at Fedex, and I'd get a shipping code that night. Didn't happen.

On 10/15 I called and was told that I was the second one to have an issue, but she assured me it was at Fedex and I'd get a shipping code that night. Didn't happen.

On 10/16 I called and was told that the 5S was on backorder, so could expect in 11/11. That was a no-go so I had her check, and she saw that the order was complete so I'd get a shipping code that night.

On 10/17 I called and was told that something didn't look right, the CSR was going to talk to warehouse and call me back that night. No call.

On 10/21 I called and got an ITC tracking code, and was told I'd have status that night. I called that night and was told I needed to wait 24 hours for status updates.

On 10/22 I called and was told that I should not have had an ITC tracking code, that whoever did that was wrong, and he guaranteed it would go out tonight.

FINALLY!

On 10/24 I received a call from the porting department. We went through and she confirmed that the port was all set.

I received my phone and (drumroll please) it would not activate. I called CSR and was told that the porting had not been entered yet, so to use my temporary phone number in the meantime. I don't have (nor did I want) a temporary number. He suggested I called porting.

Called porting, CSR couldn't figure out why. About 30 minutes later after elevating we had success! She called me on the line to test, and her call dropped. Sitting on my front porch I had one bar.

Most of my house has one or no bars. If I'm in the basement standing near a window I can get two. If I'm at the fence line of my far back yard I might even get three.

Needless to say - I'm not happy with the transition. And now I've gone from 5 bars with Sprint (they sent me a free Airave since they had a poor signal) to 0-1 bars with Verizon. What's the possible fix for 1) the repeated lies from CSR 2) the lack of CSR to see the actual coverage map and 3) my lack of coverage?

- Rob

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Re: Bad Start - Signal Help?
Not applicable

Only addressing the signal issue since trying to get a bally hooed new Apple device is going to be a real pain since everyone wants one.

In most cases there is no pin point for direct coverage. Look at a pie plate and make a pin hole in the center, then look at that pin hole as your cell tower. Closer to the tower gives better reception, farther away then the signal degrades. Verizon shows this map with all these red blotches, but there are white and gray blotches as well.

Take it from a business point of view when you are looking for service and the customer rep say's "Oh there is good coverage in your area" you believe them. Instead you know Sprint has good signal strength but you don't like their data speeds, Sprint is not fully out with their LTE service but calls are good. Verizon said everything was great but you never checked the service before you bought it. Yes in the area they might have service, and its 1x and 1 bar for voice service, you could try buying an extender from verizon but I think you will be wasting your money.

On T-Mobile certain devices have the ability to use your home wifi to make and receive calls, the iPhone alas has not the ability for it so that wouldnot help you. But you could ask a friend with one of their devices to let you see if their talk and data work better than what you have.

Sell the phone to another verizon customer to afford the Early Termination Fees and maybe ssome of the costs for a new device somewhere else.

Good Luck

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Re: Bad Start - Signal Help?
therdale
Newbie

I'm not upset that it took a while to get the phone, I'm upset that I was repeatedly lied to (count the number of people who told me "It is at FedEx" so either FedEx lost a LOT of my phones, or it wasn't at FedEx and they just wanted to get to their next caller to keep the quota up.)

Sprint is horrible in my area too, which is why I called VZW first to clarify. Sprint gave me the Wifi adapter to hook up for my signal. I'm curious why you say the same sort of hardware won't work for Verizon?

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Re: Bad Start - Signal Help?
Not applicable

Check the forum about the wifi extenders. Mucho problems.

Also Verizon doesn't give them to you they sell them to you at $200+

Good Luck

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Re: Bad Start - Signal Help?
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Hello therdale,

     First, I would like to welcome you to our happy wireless family. We are honored to be your wireless provider and looking forward to exceeding your expectation. With that being said, I would also like to provide a formal apology for the experience that you had. With the iPhone 5S being in such high demand along with the holidays approaching, there may have been some delays in getting your device to you. While I'm glad that you did receive your phone, I want to check to see if all of your services are working properly. Were you able to access your device? If so then what other questions do you have that I can help with? As a fellow iPhone user, I'm confident that I can address all of your questions and/or concerns. If you can be so kind as to send me a private message with your full name and account number so we can assist with your signal concerns & other account questions. I'm looking forward to your reply.

 

Thank you...

 

ArnettH_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

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Re: Bad Start - Signal Help?
therdale
Newbie

Thanks for following up. As I noted, the delay wasn't the issue - blowing me off was the issue. Every status report was the same until I absolutely forced them to do some research. Then they found that my order was lost.

At this point I'm  in the same bad situation. I have no signal at home or even in my neighborhood. When I first called to check, I was told I could get the Wifi Network box for $99 refurbished. When I tried to buy that yesterday, the rep said he hadn't seen more than one refurbished unit in his 3 years. He did offer me the $250 version.

Using Google I've seen you go as low as $125 for a new box. Tell me how to get that deal and I will purchase! Thanks!

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Re: Bad Start - Signal Help?
therdale
Newbie
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Re: Bad Start - Signal Help?
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Hi therdale,

Let's take a closer look at options. For additional assistance please follow me MatthewS_VZW and then DM me with your mobile number, thanks!

MatthewS_VZW
VZW Support
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSUPPORT

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Re: Bad Start - Signal Help?
shnomad
Newbie

YOu have explained my exact problem.. I finally got through to someone and they  checked and did a ticket to investigate. I seriously doubt they are going to fix a tower for me. Drop calls every day-have to use home phone line. then the rep said if they can't fix it they have an extender which costs over 200 dollars-great another expense. not happy at all and if nothing changes I will quit verizon when i can and NEVER come back.

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