Got my S4 replaced under warranty... while rooted AT&T is awesome

[asanatheist]

Had issues with my Samsung S4 freezing up with my SD Card. Talked to Samsung and got a rather perplexing phone call where they wanted me to troubleshoot the device, take it to a samsung experience shop, and then finally ship it in for an evaluation for repair (10-12 days they said). Overall it would be a pretty long wait.

I decided to call my carrier, AT&T. I had to troubleshoot the device for a little, maybe 5 minutes then finally was passed over to technical support. There they logged unto my device, and informed me my phone was rooted (I had rooted it some days ago to use titanium back up). I was informed that rooting could cause the issues I am having, however rooting did NOT void my warranty. I was pysched. Superb support from AT&T even though I did NOT buy the phone with them. I bought it through craigslist online, they told me my warranty was still good until May 2014. I suppose this means the phone was originally purchased from AT&T and the warranty transferred over.

Phone was dispatched and delivered the next business day (shipped Friday, arrived Saturday). Arrived in like new condition (shell only, no battery or backcover).
Every time I have had an issue, AT&T has worked with me and every time gone beyond their responsibilities. The extra $20 I pay compared to cheaper carriers is worth the support, and service.
This is quite an opposite experience from people I know with T Mobile, and Verizon (somewhat).

 

[Scott Kenyon]

It's nice to hear good things about carriers. It's a lot rarer on an internet forum than it is to hear the people bashing them.

 

[skiner5246]

Agreed. I've been a AT&T customer for a while now. And I know I can pay a little less with other carries, But their customer service has improved a great deal IMO. If I have an issue, I can call someone and 9 times out of 10 it will get handled. Unike what my son's is going through with Sprint unfortunately...

 

[asanatheist]

To add a little more:
About 1+ years ago I got accepted for an early upgrade (4 months before contract was done) because my Motorola Atrix was messed up. I explained to AT&T if I had to buy a new phone it would be cheaper for me to pay the ETF and reopen a contract with either them (more than likely) or someone else. I explained it would be a hassle so I was calling to see if there could be a remedy like an early upgrade.
They approved the upgrade, and I got a Lumia 920.

About 2 years ago, I had some financial issues (hospital bills) and I called in to cancel my data plan while under contract. They agreed despite them stating it was a requirement for the contract to be valid. That was about 4 months of no data.

Just last month I got hit with $15 sms fee... for about 30-40 texts. I stopped using Text free because of all the spam texts you get from people recycling the #s. Some year or two back this would of been about $2~ added to the cost not $15 (I think it was something like $10 for text, and $5 for administrative fees).
I went to AT&T's website to make changes to my plan. In my mind I thought $10 for data, and $5 for the 200 messages. Much to my surprise there were no alternate plans only unlimited for $20. There was no way for me to afford another $30 added to the plan. $15 I could maybe manage but not $30.
To make a long story short: at&t agreed it would be expensive after I gave them a list of alternative plans with other carriers explaining, so they footed that months bill AND gave me unlimited text for 1 year.
Even at my current pricing, I could still save some money in the next year and some months if I cancelled by switching to T mobile per month. But honestly after all this ., I am more than fine paying $80 a month for some peace of mind and excellent service.

 

[AugustArborists]

AT&T bought out Alltel in my area a few years ago, and I was really worried, I had read horror stories about their CS. Boy, was that fear baseless, I've gotten excellent CS, a better selection of phones, and my bill was about $30.00 buck a month cheaper. Two S3s went back with warranty problems (one had camera problems, one constantly asked for the SIM PIN), had two phones in a day or so.

Refurbished, I think, they also came without batteries or backs, one is still running perfectly, one was lost a month later at the County fair (12 YO daughters and phones, not a good mix). Went to Asurions site, had a brand new phone less than 24 hours later. Wow, two plugs in one post!

 

[maverick96]

I have had awesome experiences so far with AT&T. I've been with them for the last 7 years and would never switch. I have multiple friends on sprint who go through hell trying to get anything done.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 4

 

[benhmadison]

How did they log in to your device? I think it's great that they swapped it out anyway

Sent from my Google Play Edition HTC ONE.

 

[asanatheist]

How did they log in to your device? I think it's great that they swapped it out anyway

Sent from my Google Play Edition HTC ONE.

They send you a link via text to download a file which opens a AT&T remote session app. From there they can control your device.