Has anyone ever gotten Verizon to sell the network extender for lower than $175?

[badkitties]

Has anyone ever gotten Verizon to sell the network extender for lower than $175?

I have zero signal in my house... occasionally I get 1 bar when I'm at the edge of my driveway, near the mail box.

Whenever I happen to be speaking with Verizon tech(regular or level 2) over the last 3 or 4 years, I always bring this up. My street used to get 5 full solid bard of signal. However, it went down the toilet after Verizon and Alltel fully merged. I found out that Verizon deactivated their own tower and switched to the Alltel tower. That's when things because this bad.

The best they've ever offered me was $175. I know this is not the best deal, since I know at least 3 friends who somehow managed to get if for FREE.(without even begging)

 

[Climb14er]

I received one two weeks ago for free. The signal from the tower is at issue, current open repair ticket.

Plus, the signal strength on the new Note 5 is fairly weak. Not able to keep connected and people always say to me... I can't hear you.

There's an open ticket on this as well.

I'm not a fan of this network extender. There are noises coming through in the background and it's not like the clear Verizon phone mode I'm used to.

To say that I'm disappointed in the Note 5 used in conjunction with the nearby tower is an understatement.

 

[dookie.]

Ditto above. Zero coverage here, complained, they rolled a truck & confirmed complaint, then gave me an extender for free.

 

[badkitties]

Ditto above. Zero coverage here, complained, they rolled a truck & confirmed complaint, then gave me an extender for free.

they rolled a truck? did they have to come inside your house?

I'm just picturing the Verizon guy and his entire crew knocking on your door.

I'll probably have to make arrangements with my HOA if they wanna show up like that.

 

[ffejjj]

They shouldn't charge for making their phone usable in your house. I'd argue that point.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[badkitties]

They shouldn't charge for making their phone usable in your house. I'd argue that point.

Posted via the Android Central App

true... Verizon does have great coverage... but I'm sure at least 1% of those 100 million customers don't have good reception(or any reception) inside their homes... if Verizon hands out network extenders to just half of hose 1%, which is about 500,000, that's a huge expensde. (assuming each one only costs Verizon $100, that's 50 million dollars)

but I still want a free one, obviously. a Verizon tech once told me that he couldn't give me a totally free one because my house is not in zero reception area. That's technically correct, as I can usually mange 1 bar.(which was why he could only give me a discounted price of $175) He said if I was in a zero reception area and verified by their tech who did a signal analysis survey on my street, I would get it for free without questions.

 

[Almeuit]

true... Verizon does have great coverage... but I'm sure at least 1% of those 100 million customers don't have good reception(or any reception) inside their homes... if Verizon hands out network extenders to just half of hose 1%, which is about 500,000, that's a huge expensde. (assuming each one only costs Verizon $100, that's 50 million dollars)

but I still want a free one, obviously. a Verizon tech once told me that he couldn't give me a totally free one because my house is not in zero reception area. That's technically correct, as I can usually mange 1 bar.(which was why he could only give me a discounted price of $175) He said if I was in a zero reception area and verified by their tech who did a signal analysis survey on my street, I would get it for free without questions.

Most wouldn't need it though.. And they still should do it for free. They aren't giving you the extender to keep for free - you're simply borrowing it.

 

[badkitties]

Most wouldn't need it though.. And they still should do it for free. They aren't giving you the extender to keep for free - you're simply borrowing it.

I thought only T-Mobile required the return of theirs...... Verizon lets customers keep them, which explains why there are so many of them on eBay selling for $150 to $200.

 

[Climb14er]

Ok... this might be the thread to ask this...

I've got a critical repair ticket and am in direct phone communication with the head network repair office in Texas. I was the person who helped them with Denver tp get the tower in my neighborhood... two hundred meters away twelve years ago.

They're looking into why the signal strength has deteriorated the last four months.

With my S4... no problem with the lower signal from the tower.

The Note 5... another story. Audio is weak and they're trying to determine the cause of dropping calls.

QUESTION... do any of you think the Note 5 has DIFFICULTY operating at the edges of a lower signal?

I'm convinced that This is a huge issue that Samsung and VZ has not and will not address.

The facts are proving to me that the Note 5 does NOT have the PULL to hold on to a lower strength signal.

Anyone else?

 

[dpham00]

Have you tried to disable volte?

 

[Climb14er]

Have you tried to disable volte?

Yes... no difference. Where before signal strength from tower was -78dbm to -84dbm, now it's running -102 dbm to -117dbm.

Critical call ticket is in play. VZ doesn't know if it's software, hardware or a resetting of the tower.

The network extender, poor substitute for living a few hundred meters from tower.

New Note 5 should arrive next week sometime. Will check to see if it's phone weakness in addition to cell tower's problem.

My network extender is packed up, not using it.

 

[badkitties]

Yes... no difference. Where before signal strength from tower was -78dbm to -84dbm, now it's running -102 dbm to -117dbm.

Critical call ticket is in play. VZ doesn't know if it's software, hardware or a resetting of the tower.

The network extender, poor substitute for living a few hundred meters from tower.

New Note 5 should arrive next week sometime. Will check to see if it's phone weakness in addition to cell tower's problem.

My network extender is packed up, not using it.

being so close to a tower, is there any chance that the tower is outputting way too much power?

I don't know about Verizon... but AT&T has a tower one block from my office. My co-workers who use AT&T frequently report poor reception on their AT&T phones.(iPhones 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4/5) The further away from the tower they go, the better the reception.

 

[Almeuit]

I thought only T-Mobile required the return of theirs...... Verizon lets customers keep them, which explains why there are so many of them on eBay selling for $150 to $200.

I've never heard of any carrier giving them out for free for customers to keep. They always just give them out for free then on a lease. Once service is done you have to return it.

I may be wrong but I'd be shocked if they'd give that for free.

 

[ffejjj]

I've never heard of any carrier giving them out for free for customers to keep. They always just give them out for free then on a lease. Once service is done you have to return it.

I may be wrong but I'd be shocked if they'd give that for free.

Sprint wanted it back.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[badkitties]

I've never heard of any carrier giving them out for free for customers to keep. They always just give them out for free then on a lease. Once service is done you have to return it.

I may be wrong but I'd be shocked if they'd give that for free.

I'm 99% sure that the customers who got the network extenders free from Verizon were never required to return them.

 

[dookie.]

they rolled a truck? did they have to come inside your house?

He said if I was in a zero reception area and verified by their tech who did a signal analysis survey on my street, I would get it for free without questions.

You've answered your own question here...

No, I never saw them. They told me they would confirm tower coverage at my address. They did call me to say essentially, "We checked. Yes, it sucks and no, there's nothing we can do about it with existing towers."

 

[SandersJC1964]

Yes... no difference. Where before signal strength from tower was -78dbm to -84dbm, now it's running -102 dbm to -117dbm.

Critical call ticket is in play. VZ doesn't know if it's software, hardware or a resetting of the tower.

The network extender, poor substitute for living a few hundred meters from tower.

New Note 5 should arrive next week sometime. Will check to see if it's phone weakness in addition to cell tower's problem.

My network extender is packed up, not using it.

Another possibility is that if there has been any new developments in your area the direction of the tower may have been adjusted to accommodate a higher population density. Also bring close to a tower isn't necessarily a good thing, because the signal could simply pass over your house.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Climb14er]

Another possibility is that if there has been any new developments in your area the direction of the tower may have been adjusted to accommodate a higher population density. Also bring close to a tower isn't necessarily a good thing, because the signal could simply pass over your house.

Posted via the Android Central App

The houses across the street from the tower and on the next street leading to mine had strong signals of -78 to-84 dbm. Their strong coverage was what mine used to be only one hundred meters away with nothing to create a barrier to reduce the signal strength.

The drastic drop began in early summer and the first trouble ticket was cleared by a tech sitting behind his console somewhere in the country.

This time, the trouble ticket was handled by a guy who supposedly drove past my house a few times and deemed it... an OK signal.

It was only when I threatened to file a report against the tech that the higher ups at VZ called me.

I've been with VZ for sixteen years and they know that I know the tower well.

It's only now that they assigned a critical response team to see if... one, the tower got repositioned... two, there was a software change or bug affecting the signal so severely... and three, is there a hardware problem.

The fact that the Note 5 has difficulty operating at low signal strength parameters, this and my longevity with VZ got their attention.

It's totally b s. that a few hundred meters from a tower that always provided excellent signal strength, the current signal is basically unusable for a new top of the line phone.

Btw, Samsung tech... horrible! Absolutely useless in three calls. I will NOT be buying another Samsung phone again!

 

[badkitties]

I've never heard of any carrier giving them out for free for customers to keep. They always just give them out for free then on a lease. Once service is done you have to return it.

I may be wrong but I'd be shocked if they'd give that for free.

I just got a call from Verizon 20 minutes ago. Apparently THEY READ ANDROIDCENTRAL postings, in additions to Verizon's own customer forums on their website. I guess they figured out who I was because I have been ranting about the exact same question over there on Verizon's own forums for a long time.(community_dot_verizonwireless_dot_com) My user name over there is just a variation of my user name here. They probably just put two and two together... I thought my postings was "anonymous" but I guess they looked up the email and linked it to my Verizon acct.

Anyway, the rep "apologized" for my trouble and asked me if I would accept a network extender as a solution to my reception issues. I jokingly asked him "don't you go to church on a Sunday morning instead of spying on customer's internet posting and calling them?" He just dryly said "I don't talk about religion at work..." I apologized and he went on to tell me how the network extender would work.(but I already knew almost everything?)

Of course, I replied YES.... so I guess I'll be getting one sometime next week.... I remember someone commented that network extended was not the customer's to keep, so I asked the rep if I had to give back the no-charge network extender. He said " you can keep it even if you leave Verizon.... why not? if you keep it plugged into the router, you'd be helping Verizon customers who walk into your home the next time..." (that's the most sensible thing I've heard this week)

There are only 4 thoughts in my mind at this time:

(1) Gotta be careful about what I post on the internet now.... (for all I know, Santa may be reading my postings as well and I've been badmouthing him for the last couple of years)

(2) can AndroidCentral block Verizon employees from reading comments here?(for example, block IPs from Verizon corporate or something)

(3) should I go back now and edit all the negative stuff I've ever posted about Verizon on AndroidCentral or community_dot_verizonwireless_com?

(4) apparently crying babies always get the candy?

Last, but not least... Verizon is the greatest mobile carrier in America (gotta give them something in return, right?)

 

[dpham00]

Android Central doesn't block anyone from reading the forums - it is an open forum . Also I always assumed that Verizon was reading what is posted