i bought a motorokr (z6m) back in november of last year...i love(d) the phone, it did everything i wanted (including let me set mp3s as the ringtone, which my old phone wouldn't do)

then comes august 2008, when the phone quits working now and then...no problem, as i have come to expect from their great customer service, doesn't question me and sends me a new one in the mail...nice

so i send the old one back as i'm supposed to, and then open up MPT to move all my backed-up contacts/settings/etc. onto the new phone...i go to change my ringtone to the mp3 it was before, and i find that it won't let me, it's not even an option anymore

i go into the store and they play dumb (or perhaps they really didn't know), but they can't figure out where the option went, and why i can't do it anymore...i'm a bit pissed because while this isn't a big deal (i mean, it still PLAYS mp3s, since it's a media player as well as a phone), i can't do what i want it to, what it was advertised to do, and what i PAID for it to do

i call up tech support and customer service, get a 30-minute runaround, and then i'm told that the FCC MADE them change it so that no phones can use mp3s as ringtones...really? the FCC? the FCC made alltel, but not anyone else, change their phone firmware to disallow custom mp3 ringtones...i call BULLSHIT

i'm STILL on the phone with them right now, demanding that they provide me with proof (public record of this FCC requirement proving that they were forced to do it, not that it was some greedy asshole choice to make me download ringtones from their fucktarded axcess service)

am i wrong in this? does anyone with more experience and knowledge know if there's ANY truth to this bullshit about the FCC? i am 95% sure this is a bald-faced lie they tell the fraction of people who call with this issue, because most people will just bend over and take it...i am not one of those, though, and at the very least, i expect to a refund for the cost of my phone (we'll see if that actually happens)

[/rant]

8/29/2008 8:36:46 PM

they'll keep you on the phone for another hour or two then give you 5 free ringtone downloads to go away

8/29/2008 9:02:54 PM

I just got the rokr from Alltel at the beginning of August. I was fucking pissed when I couldn't set my own shits as ringtones.

8/29/2008 9:16:14 PM

i spent over an hour on the phone...the tech support supervisor told me that he doesn't know why they said anything about the FCC, because that's not true, but he apologized...i asked for a refund of the Z6m price (it was $102.83 after taxes and rebate) and he said he couldn't do it, and that no one would do it because they reserve the right to change their policies whenever without notifying the customer

i told them i'd report them to the FTC and BBB (which i just finished doing, actually) and he said, i kid you not, "fuck the FTC, they won't do anything about it" (and he's right, i'm sure, but i made sure i quoted him in my complaints)...right after that, i asked to be transferred to a supervisor in customer support and he hung up on me

in 5 years, this is the first time i've EVER had ANY problems with their customer service...they've always been quick to make adjustments to my account and make me happy...i can't help but think this is what i'm in store for when verizon finally finishes sinking their tainted claws into alltel come january

you know, in this case, i don't REALLY care, but it is, 100%, the principle of the thing

oh well, fuck alltel...maybe if i find a higher level of self-loathing, i'll subject myself to at&t or, if i REALLY want pain, sprint

8/29/2008 9:53:28 PM

iphone

8/29/2008 10:02:59 PM

^ you'd like that, wouldn't you?

i may end up going down that path eventually

8/29/2008 10:17:56 PM

I think most of the carriers have done this, but I would never believe it was an FCC demand. I know my coworker bought a Samsung Glyde through employee lines (VZW) and it locked that up, and the other girl has an Alltel phone still under contract and when she got another one, it did the same thing.

Luckily my 6700/WinMo6.1 does not have this issue.

[Edited on August 29, 2008 at 10:21 PM. Reason : ]

8/29/2008 10:20:51 PM

You should have just demanded to cancel your service on the spot, and tell them you are putting a stop payment on the phone.

A) They have to comply
B) You no longer have to pay termination fees

8/29/2008 10:51:14 PM

^ well...i thought about that...the problem is that this is my work phone, and i really would prefer to keep the number because i've got far too many clients who have this number

8/29/2008 10:53:25 PM

its called porting the number.

You can port from any carrier to any carrier, for free. It takes less than 10 minutes

[Edited on August 29, 2008 at 11:24 PM. Reason : .]

8/29/2008 11:24:08 PM

i know that...but if i close my account there on the spot, how do i keep the number? am i still allowed to port it after the account's been closed and before i've set up an account with another carrier?

8/30/2008 8:10:13 AM

You can't port a number post contract termination - Tyler quit telling this dude wrong.

8/30/2008 8:32:14 AM

Seriously Alltel has quickly gone all to shit. I had the LG AX8600 which was the phone they seriously promoted through commercials. The phone was a piece of shit, not only could the paint get scratched off by fingernails, but I had to have it replaced 4 times due to the screen going blank. The 4th time I turned it in, I went to several Alltel stores near Capital Blvd. and kept walking out due to their I don't give a fuck about you or your situation attitude. Finally got somewhat of a semblance of customer service at the Falls of Neuse store where they gave me a piece of shit LG phone that they had on sale for 99 cents with a 2 year agreement. This phone feels like it could break at any moment and it also doesn't allow the mp3 as a ring tone (neither does the LG scoop). I'm just wondering if there is someway I can break my contract when they merge or whatever with Verizon in January because my contract really doesn't end for around another 11 months

8/30/2008 11:26:25 AM

^^Obviously you port the number, then tell them to go to hell

8/30/2008 3:25:18 PM

Alltel has a habit of adding stuff to my contract.
For example I had a weird 4.00 charge to my account a few months ago that i didn't do. i had to call and they credited my account.
then yesterday, my wife gets a text message that says, "thanks for adding alltel ringback service"
somehow, a ringback tone was added to her phone and it was the song they play on 4th of july while shooting off fireworks
so i called this morning and told them we never added that to our phone and they had to credit us again...

8/30/2008 3:29:28 PM

Have you tried trimming down the mp3 you want as ring tone? A lot of phone manufacturers put a size limit on what can be set as a ringtone.

8/30/2008 4:38:30 PM

^ well, i had a PM from someone who used to work on this stuff, plus i got it directly out of alltel tech support before they got pissed off and hung up on me - they are actively disallowing all 3rd party ringtones on all phone firmware since february 2008...they claim it's to avoid infringement issues, but we all know it's so they can make you pay $wakecounty for theirs through axcess

8/30/2008 4:42:05 PM

the only phones on alltel that allow you to do it are the smartphone phones/plans.

8/30/2008 4:58:48 PM

^ according to alltel tech support, it's been removed on all new ones, as well...those are a bit easier to get around, though...i think

8/30/2008 5:02:49 PM

Just wait a couple months and you'll be Verizon. Then you can go through this shit again and see if you have any better results.

8/30/2008 6:34:37 PM

i know

for a while there, i really was extremely happy with alltel...they were, by far, the only cell company i was wiling to do business with...now it's going to be teh sucky

8/30/2008 6:44:59 PM

tmobile?

8/30/2008 7:16:40 PM

is t-mobile actually offered here? i know that last time i checked, you could get it in virginia or something, and then use it here...but there weren't any actual t-mobile stores

yes?

8/30/2008 8:07:49 PM

haven't pulled this shit on blackberry's yet

8/30/2008 8:43:42 PM

Quote :

"Just wait a couple months and you'll be Verizon."

They will probably tell you to fuck off too. We have the same dumbass thing on the Glyde and new phones.

8/30/2008 8:50:50 PM

Quote :

"You can't port a number post contract termination"

That's not true, I did the very same thing about a year and a half ago. Sprint changed their text messaging rates, I cancelled my contract (but not my account) without the ETF, then went to Verizon and ported the number.

8/31/2008 8:57:24 AM

Quote :

"is t-mobile actually offered here? i know that last time i checked, you could get it in virginia or something, and then use it here...but there weren't any actual t-mobile stores yes?"

Suncom (who I've had no problems at all with, despite all the bitching from ex ATT customers) -> T-Mobile next month

[Edited on August 31, 2008 at 12:41 PM. Reason : sadf]

8/31/2008 12:41:05 PM

i had verizon for a few ears, they were ok, then had some issues with shitty refurbed phones under the insurance crap

switched to alltel for 2 years, loved it, then service went to shit a couple months ago

i just switched to at&t with a blackberry, and i'm kinda neutral on it, at least their tech support speaks english and know what they are talking about

8/31/2008 2:54:30 PM

All of them suck to some degree.

8/31/2008 7:21:49 PM

When Sprint went stupid and wouldn't let me out because "I changed my minutes therefore extending my contract" I reacted like a male Courtney Love.

I then used my Sprint phones to call my home from 7p until 7a, all roaming. Amazingly after two months of doing this ALL THE TIME (All day Saturday and Sunday) they terminated my contract.

9/2/2008 1:32:21 PM

^ hahaha that's awesome

9/2/2008 1:59:01 PM