Thinking of switching to Cingular

[saahmed]

I currently have a family shareplan with US cellular. Our contract is just ending so were looking to switch providers, mainly because I dont like the service I have been getting (lots of dropped calls and bad sound), Also, US cellular doesnt have any good phones, they just came out with the Razr, but I cant find it anywhere for less than $300. Cant use unlocked phones either.

So, anyway, I have been looking around and the rates for Cingular are the same price but the minutes are cut almost in half, which shouldnt really be an issue. So does anybody here use Cingular? I havent been able to find any reviews of the sevice providers online. So, do you get good coverage? And another big factor for me is can you use unlocked phones? And, is it just as simple as taking the SIM card out of one phone and putting it in another bought off eBay or something?

Anybody have suggestions for another service provider?

 

[jonessoda]

Yes.

We had Cingular for 2 years, and our contract just expired. We had consistently had problems with dropped calls, poor connections, lack of a signal, poor customer service (including outright lying), etc. They were rated 60/100 in the DC/Metro area by Consumer Reports. Contrast this with verizon, whose connections can be had inside the massive stone walls of the Smithsonian and underground in the Metro, in almost all rural parts of Virginia where Cingular just says 'fvck it.'

However, despite my providing all this information, we reupped with Cingular.

I can't provide Iowa-specific information, but my suggestion is to go with Verizon. They may not be good, but they're better than Cingular.

 

[krunchykrome]

Best reception I have ever had (previously had T-Mobile, and Sprint.) Easy billing, decent customer service, awesome phones. The plans are a bit expensive.

 

[saahmed]

Originally posted by: jonessoda
Yes.

We had Cingular for 2 years, and our contract just expired. We had consistently had problems with dropped calls, poor connections, lack of a signal, poor customer service (including outright lying), etc. They were rated 60/100 in the DC/Metro area by Consumer Reports. Contrast this with verizon, whose connections can be had inside the massive stone walls of the Smithsonian and underground in the Metro, in almost all rural parts of Virginia where Cingular just says 'fvck it.'

However, despite my providing all this information, we reupped with Cingular.

I can't provide Iowa-specific information, but my suggestion is to go with Verizon. They may not be good, but they're better than Cingular.

Yeh, I was considering verizon too. They are like $10 more a month, but I cant seem to find any info on quality of coverage in my area. Also, do they use GSM? Is is just the GSM phones that you can buy unlocked and just swap out your SIM card?

 

[mattocs]

Reception wise, i've give them a 8/10. I'd give Verizon a 5/10, and Sprint 3/10. Customer service was nice. I think its by far the best i've had.

 

[ric1287]

depends where you live i think, i had verizon and it was terrible now have cingular and its amazing. look for that wirefly employee link to get 20$ razrs.

 

[saahmed]

So, Ive been hearing some good things. Anybody know about the unlocked phones question. If I buy an unlocked phone off eBay can I just stick my SIM card in there and it will work?

 

[saahmed]

Originally posted by: ric1287
depends where you live i think, i had verizon and it was terrible now have cingular and its amazing. look for that wirefly employee link to get 20$ razrs.

wirefly emplyee link?

 

[chuckywang]

Cingular's not selling the Razr anymore due to a defect.

 

[DeviousTrap]

Originally posted by: saahmed
So, Ive been hearing some good things. Anybody know about the unlocked phones question. If I buy an unlocked phone off eBay can I just stick my SIM card in there and it will work?

Yup, I just replaced my Treo 650 with a (unlocked) QTek 9100 I bought on eBay.

 

[saahmed]

Originally posted by: DeviousTrap

Originally posted by: saahmed
So, Ive been hearing some good things. Anybody know about the unlocked phones question. If I buy an unlocked phone off eBay can I just stick my SIM card in there and it will work?

Yup, I just replaced my Treo 650 with a (unlocked) QTek 9100 I bought on eBay.

So you just put the SIM card in? No activating required or anything?

 

[DeviousTrap]

Originally posted by: saahmed

Originally posted by: DeviousTrap

Originally posted by: saahmed
So, Ive been hearing some good things. Anybody know about the unlocked phones question. If I buy an unlocked phone off eBay can I just stick my SIM card in there and it will work?

Yup, I just replaced my Treo 650 with a (unlocked) QTek 9100 I bought on eBay.

So you just put the SIM card in? No activating required or anything?

That's all you do, no activation of any sort. It takes all of 10 seconds.

 

[amicold]

Originally posted by: saahmed

Originally posted by: jonessoda
Yes.

We had Cingular for 2 years, and our contract just expired. We had consistently had problems with dropped calls, poor connections, lack of a signal, poor customer service (including outright lying), etc. They were rated 60/100 in the DC/Metro area by Consumer Reports. Contrast this with verizon, whose connections can be had inside the massive stone walls of the Smithsonian and underground in the Metro, in almost all rural parts of Virginia where Cingular just says 'fvck it.'

However, despite my providing all this information, we reupped with Cingular.

I can't provide Iowa-specific information, but my suggestion is to go with Verizon. They may not be good, but they're better than Cingular.

Yeh, I was considering verizon too. They are like $10 more a month, but I cant seem to find any info on quality of coverage in my area. Also, do they use GSM? Is is just the GSM phones that you can buy unlocked and just swap out your SIM card?

Verizon is CDMA. CDMA phones are more expensive and models are rarely desireable.

 

[teckmaster]

I've been with AT&T for years and when I got my new phone my account switched to Cingular. I've never had a problem reception wise or customer service wise. It really just depends on how has the most towers where you live.

 

[astrosfan90]

I had Cingular a few years back before switching to Verizon. Was not a happy camper. Their service was so-so, but their customer service was downright deplorable. One year after cancelling, I was getting harassed by credit collection agencies and had no idea why. I finally determined that they were trying to collect payment for my Cingular account, which I had cancelled a year before. Called Cingular, talked to a rep to find out that I was being charged for two months of service after my cancellation. Even though I had paid my account in full to cancel and had no more service.

I finally talked to a manager and after about an hour and a half got them to drop the fees. Then again, Verizon's not terribly impressive either. I wish my cell phone companies could be as good as my SunRocket service.

 

[j00fek]

verizon FTW

 

[Megadeth]

I just got rid of cingular after 2 years of service.
The reception wasnt bad but cingular is too expensive for my needs! I got tired of paying $130-150 bills because of how much I use the phone ect.... The new plan I'm on is costing me $60 per month. You may have different needs and it might be fine for you, when I first got cingualr I had different needs and it worked great for me but my needs for a cell phone plan changed.

 

[saahmed]

I just found out I get a pretty good discount from Cingular because I am a student at U of Iowa.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

worst service I've ever had (had Nextel, Sprint, Tmobile also)

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: amicold

Originally posted by: saahmed

Originally posted by: jonessoda
Yes.

We had Cingular for 2 years, and our contract just expired. We had consistently had problems with dropped calls, poor connections, lack of a signal, poor customer service (including outright lying), etc. They were rated 60/100 in the DC/Metro area by Consumer Reports. Contrast this with verizon, whose connections can be had inside the massive stone walls of the Smithsonian and underground in the Metro, in almost all rural parts of Virginia where Cingular just says 'fvck it.'

However, despite my providing all this information, we reupped with Cingular.

I can't provide Iowa-specific information, but my suggestion is to go with Verizon. They may not be good, but they're better than Cingular.

Yeh, I was considering verizon too. They are like $10 more a month, but I cant seem to find any info on quality of coverage in my area. Also, do they use GSM? Is is just the GSM phones that you can buy unlocked and just swap out your SIM card?

Verizon is CDMA. CDMA phones are more expensive and models are rarely desireable.

What does CDMA or GSM have to do with a phone being desireable? Unless you want to use a SIM card. In my opinion Sprint has bar none the best phones (Sanyo's) As far as call quality, GSM phones sound more hollow to me. Maybe it was just the brand of phone, and not actually a GSM issue. And CDMA phones aren't more expensive, ever look at retail price for a GSM vs a CDMA phone? Razr's are redicliously expensive for both GSM or CDMA (before any types of rebates)

 

[AtlantaBob]

Service/reception all of that is fine. And they do have good prices. But their customer service is AWFUL -- I was told to "shut up" by a customer service rep when I called about a 100 minute call that somehow had gotten billed to my account incorrectly (story's too long to go into here). The higher ups--all the way up to the VP level--were uniformly unfriendly and unapologetic. I cancelled my plan the next day, and moved over to TMobile, where my one experience with customer service was much better.

 

[Zysoclaplem]

Love cingular. Best service I have had yet. But it varies from area to area. Verizon and T-Mobile suck where I live. Cingular has the most towers here, and the best phones and plans.

 

[QueBert]

also my .02 cents on customer service. I've never had Cingular, but had to deal with their CS to help a friend, wasn't good. But, I have Verizon who has probably the fastest CS ever, I call and have somebody live talking to me within a minute, but they are stupid and never help me. Sprint (when I had them) was slow and pretty much couldn't ever help me. According to TV commericals T-Mobile is #1 in the entire US when it comes to CS. But they have the worst service. I think pretty much all cell companies have piss poor CS. If speed is your thing though Verizon can [not] help you the quickest

 

[lokiju]

I've never had a cell phone service that has dropped out as much as Cingular has, I hate it and my Fiancee and I are planning on switching to something different within a month or so since both our contracts are up.

 

[Dead3ye]

The opinions on this board don't mean a whole lot because cell service is very location dependant. If you look at the responses, some love Cingular, some hate them.

You need to speak to people in the geographical area that you plan on using it most and see what the quality of the service is. That would be my first and foremost deciding factor. If the service for cell x and cell y is about the same, then look at plan pricing and phone selection.

In my case I have both Cingular (personal) and Verizon (work). The both seem to work equally as well in my area. I like GSM (Cingular) phones better because of the SIM capabilty.

One plus for GSM was I just got back from the Bahamas and my Cingular phone had signal (I think it was BaTelCo) and my friends Verizon phone did not. GSM is used more internationally.