AT&T N5 activation Nightmare

[mamartin89]

My N5 came around noon today. I went to AT&T to activate it, and let me tell you it was a struggle.

First issue was that the rep had never heard about the N5. So she insisted that the phone probably wouldn't work on their network. I assured her that it would, but she continued to argue with me. Finally I got her to give me a Sim card and test it out and of course it worked fine.

I wanted the go phone plan that is 60 bucks a month for unlimited text and talk,with 2gb of data. Again, she insisted that the go phone plan would not work with the N5. I told her it would, but she was adamant about be signing a contract for a 110 bucks a month plan. Finally talked her into trying out the go phone plan to see if it worked, and it did.

I was there for 2 hours arguing with this lady. It was clear to me that AT&T will do anything to annoy people into signing a contract.

I'm telling you this so that if anyone else experiences this they know to keep hounding them!

The N5 DOES work on att and it DOES work on the 60 dollar go phone plan!!!

Don't take no for an answer and DON'T sign their contracts!!!!

Posted via Nexus 5 Android Central App

 

[Gekko]

wow! i ported over from Sprint. i walked into an AT&T Corporate Store, told them i wanted to port my number, i was BYOD with a Nexus 5, i wanted the $60 GoPhone Plan. they punched it up on the iPad, grabbed me a SIM Card, asked for my ID, credit card, and prior Sprint bill, and i was out the door activated in 15 minutes. and AT&T LTE is FAST AND UBIQUITOUS! it blows away my old Sprint coverage and is $10/less a month!

did you go to a CORPORATE store?

 

[Cyberguycpt]

Yeah, with any business you have employees that are simply clueless. When the $60 Gophone plan was released I went to an AT&T store. The employee not only knew about the plan but helped me and gave me excellent customer service. About two days later my phone wasnt getting LTE service so I went to another AT&T store. The employer argued that the plan didn't exist even though I was on it. Eventually I got her to check online then she said she couldn't help me because it was Gophone and I need to call Go phone customer service. Luckily my LTE started working on its own. But typically I get pretty good customer service with At&t.

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[pseudoware]

I would just get the sim on Amazon, Best Buy...wherever and just pop it in myself and activate online or over the phone. Beats having to deal with those tools at the store.

That said, the moment she said it wouldn't work on the network, that a huge "tool" red flag. I'm looking for another rep or going elsewhere.

... but she was adamant about be signing a contract for a 110 bucks a month plan..

Dude, I would have had said OK and had her set it all up, asking for a bunch of accessories, too. When it came to time to sign and pay, I would have dropped everything at her feet and walked away. Brutal, I know, but I don't take that type of scumbag BS very well.

OK, I'm done.

 

[Gekko]

I would just get the sim on Amazon, Best Buy...wherever and just pop it in myself and activate online or over the phone. Beats having to deal with those tools at the store.

That said, the moment she said it wouldn't work on the network, that a huge "tool" red flag. I'm looking for another rep or going elsewhere.

i was porting a number from Sprint to AT&T GoPhone and i didn't want any snags with the port. my fear was hearing - "We're sorry sir - your attempted port didn't go through and your number is no longer available. You should have come into a corporate store for the initial port."

 

[Mooem]

Sounds like that exact opposite experience for me. Walked into the corporate store, asked for the GoPhone $60 plan for my Nexus 5. The rep tested out my phone with a SIM card...worked. Signed up, ported my number from Verizon, and paid. It was a pretty painless experience.

Done and done!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[mr.wizard]

I would go to another rep. As I am a rep (corporate ATT), please don't think we are all idiots. I just got my N5 activated on my personal line, process is flawless (aka the IMEI registers in our system to give proper LTE data plan)...

So go to another location...Or come to Fargo, ND and I'll have you in and out in no time

Posted via Android Central App

 

[srkmagnus]

Sounds like they either tried to get you to sign a contract and/or the employee really had no idea that the device exists or could be connected to their network. I have not seen any information related to AT&T carrying this device in store, so her not knowing about it could be possible. Still, you would think she would have checked with a supervisor or made a call to support and verify information on the device.

Glad to see you got it connected and are enjoying the service.

 

[newsman787]

Got excellent service at AT&T when I went in with my IMEI and needing new SIM card.

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[Gekko]

I would go to another rep. As I am a rep (corporate ATT), please don't think we are all idiots. I just got my N5 activated on my personal line, process is flawless (aka the IMEI registers in our system to give proper LTE data plan)...

So go to another location...Or come to Fargo, ND and I'll have you in and out in no time

Posted via Android Central App

Fargo? was the movie an accurate depiction in your opinion?

 

[kd0h]

I had quite the opposite experience as the OP. Strolled up to the at&t store in my area, the guy was stoked to see the N5 and said its the first one he has set up and is deciding between the white or black. He popped in a new SIM card for me and made sure my LTE was working. We chatted about android and phones while the initial update went though and then made sure the phone worked and I was on my way.

 

[mamartin89]

wow! i ported over from Sprint. i walked into an AT&T Corporate Store, told them i wanted to port my number, i was BYOD with a Nexus 5, i wanted the $60 GoPhone Plan. they punched it up on the iPad, grabbed me a SIM Card, asked for my ID, credit card, and prior Sprint bill, and i was out the door activated in 15 minutes. and AT&T LTE is FAST AND UBIQUITOUS! it blows away my old Sprint coverage and is $10/less a month!

did you go to a CORPORATE store?

It was a corporate store. I was porting a number as well, otherwise I would have done it all online.

I want to believe that the rep was just clueless, but I can't help but think that she was trying to pull one over on me and get me to sign a contract. Unfortunately for her I had done my research before going into the store. Another thing I didn't say was that she didn't even believe me that the $60 dollar a month plan existed, much like Cyberguycpt's experience. My fear is that some people might be pushed around by reps like her and end up signing a contract and paying a crap ton more money. You have to be firm with these types of reps otherwise they will make you feel like you don't know what you are talking about and you could end up getting shafted.

It all worked out though and I am loving my Nexus 5!! and ATT LTE is great! the coverage is EPIC where I live!

 

[soma4society]

Lol, I had att for about five years, and I avoided the stores like the plague for this very reason. Out of curiosity, why didn't you opt for AIO, the att owned prepaid subsidiary for your service? I think they're nationwide now. I pay five bucks more a month than you do and get 5 gigs of 4G data rather than 2. Same coverage I believe too since they both run on the parent network.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Gekko]

Lol, I had att for about five years, and I avoided the stores like the plague for this very reason. Out of curiosity, why didn't you opt for AIO, the att owned prepaid subsidiary for your service? I think they're nationwide now. I pay five bucks more a month than you do and get 5 gigs of 4G data rather than 2. Same coverage I believe too since they both run on the parent network.

Posted via Android Central App

GoPhone prepaid is on par with AT&T postpaid. AIO and Straight Talk are not. they have slower speeds. roaming ability is in question. see below --

http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...on-regarding-t-straight-talk.html#post3200341

 

[sq0nk]

Sorry to hear about about the mess you had at the AT&T store. My experience was the exact opposite. I walked into a corporate AT&T this afternoon with the N5 and in less than 15 minutes I was hooked up. Note that I'm a brand new AT&T customer and was given a new phone number as well (having just moved from Phoenix to Austin). Couldn't have been happier with the service given.

 

[mamartin89]

Lol, I had att for about five years, and I avoided the stores like the plague for this very reason. Out of curiosity, why didn't you opt for AIO, the att owned prepaid subsidiary for your service? I think they're nationwide now. I pay five bucks more a month than you do and get 5 gigs of 4G data rather than 2. Same coverage I believe too since they both run on the parent network.

Posted via Android Central App

I've been told and read that they tend to throttle your data, even before you reach the 5gig max.

 

[mr.wizard]

Fargo? was the movie an accurate depiction in your opinion?

Funny thing; the movie was filmed mostly in Minnesota.

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[soma4society]

I've been told and read that they tend to throttle your data, even before you reach the 5gig max.

I'm just an N of 1 here, but I've had AIO for about six months and I can tell you that is not true. Not only do I routinely hit my head on the 5 gig cap by the end of the month without ever having been throttled, I also tether regularly (albeit in pretty low quantities), and have never had an issue. You can also a 7 gig plan for $70.

@Gekko, I was tempted to make a comment about how being treated like full-fledged att customer may be something of a dubious privilege, given the original post lol. But your point is well taken. You'll only get 8mb download speeds with AIO. Which seems plenty fast to me, but may really annoy others. A proxy / apn you set and forget, so no biggie there in my view. This roaming limitation seems like a questionable issue to me, but I haven't seen the hard data one way or the other so I can't refute it outright. All I know is I live in one of the mountainous areas of AZ, and I'm amazed at the places I get a good signal. And fwiw, customer service with AIO has been solid for me. Though admittedly, you won't be able to walk into an att store to deal with problems....not that doing so would help anyway ;-)

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[mamartin89]

I'm just an N of 1 here, but I've had AIO for about six months and I can tell you that is not true. Not only do I routinely hit my head on the 5 gig cap by the end of the month without ever having been throttled, I also tether regularly (albeit in pretty low quantities), and have never had an issue. You can also a 7 gig plan for $70.

@Gekko, I was tempted to make a comment about how being treated like full-fledged att customer may be something of a dubious privilege, given the original post lol. But your point is well taken. You'll only get 8mb download speeds with AIO. Which seems plenty fast to me, but may really annoy others. A proxy / apn you set and forget, so no biggie there in my view. This roaming limitation seems like a questionable issue to me, but I haven't seen the hard data one way or the other so I can't refute it outright. All I know is I live in one of the mountainous areas of AZ, and I'm amazed at the places I get a good signal. And fwiw, customer service with AIO has been solid for me. Though admittedly, you won't be able to walk into an att store to deal with problems....not that doing so would help anyway ;-)

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Well i am glad to hear that it works really well for you! Another reason the gophone works for me is that I dont really need anymore than 2gb of data. I have wifi at home and wifi at work. so its only used when im out and about, and even then its very minimal. I will admit that I don't spend tons of time on my phone lol. just the occasional facebook check or tweet.

 

[soma4society]

Well i am glad to hear that it works really well for you! Another reason the gophone works for me is that I dont really need anymore than 2gb of data. I have wifi at home and wifi at work. so its only used when im out and about, and even then its very minimal. I will admit that I don't spend tons of time on my phone lol. just the occasional facebook check or tweet.

Makes sense then. Enjoy the new phone! I'm liking mine quite a bit

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