-
"Every carrier has issues" on by djtan
Pros: Not any worst than T-mobile or Verizon or Sprint
Cons: Great phone selection, service has greatly improved since the original AT& T wireless.
Summary: Cingular is naturally not the best carrier. However, I've been with Verizon, who when they decided to discontinue a cheap plan at the time to just upgrade me to the next level up without telling me until I got my monthly invoice. Verizon's stores are like a flea market. You can't save the numbers on a chip or purchase a phone on ebay without having to involve Verizon. With Cingular (GSM) I can purchase phones, swap the chip and use the phones easily. Their service has improved greatly once I migrated from the original AT&T (hopefully this won't go back now that they are AT&T yet again). However I was not happy the way they treated the previous AT&T customers. T-mobile's customer service is by far one of the worst ones I have experienced. I was with them for a good two years and left. I had so many issues with the phone and their headquarters did not feel I was important enough. Although also GSM....I can't see myself going back to T-mobile. Every carrier has issues. There is no one 'BEST' carrier...if there were then there would be no need for competition. The only one thing I don't like was their coverage up north in the New England area....closer to Canada...there was no coverage yet. Other than that, I just renewed for another two years...so they have me...but it was my choice...
My advice, if you're happy with your carrier, stick with them...don't switch. You will only compare Cingular to your previous carrier...and complain if it does not meet your standards. Be your own reviewer. I'm happy with it...but that does not mean you won't have issues. Same goes for any carrier out there. Good luck. -
"Used for years, satisfied never" on by jedisamurai
Pros: It's a Wireless Carrier.
Cons: Abysmal service, deceptive terms, horrible reception, calls down go through, bad signals, dropped calls, arrogant customer service
Summary: Oh my goodness how can I even describe how bad my experience with this carrier has been? Let's see...my father had mutiple cell phones and a family plan, and not only did it never get service in most areas (the woods, mountains, on the road, past military base, remote locations), but when he tried to terminate the contract he was informed that he would be penalized for early termination DESPITE having been told by a customer service represenative that he could cancel at any time!
When I was in college I had one of the cell phones, and got NO signal at college, and NO signal at home. I had to go outside, and climb onto a mound 50 feet away from the house to get three bars.
The customer service is the worst I have ever encountered.
I switched to Verizon and got CRYSTAL CLEAR reception at home, three bars at college, and could hear people on the phone like they were standing next to me (Cingular had HORRIBLE echoing effect more than half the time between other Cingular customers).
Once I went over my minutes and called Verizon, they reduced my bill no questions asked. I'm never going back to Cingular no matter what. -
"No cool phone > crappy service / network." on by w4rr10r
Pros: Newer phones, few locked out features compared to competition.
Cons: Worst customer service and carrier for BlackBerry I've dealt with.
Summary: I rearly post but I had to weigh in on this. I’ve used Cingular for both personal use and through my company’s Blackberry/cell phone for the past 5 years. My personal experience started to sour when my signal and call quality started to decline after 2 years for no apparent reason. I had trouble with connecting calls, dropped calls, sound quality, the whole lot. I did not change the area of use (Southern NJ area). Any friends with Cingular also told me of similar issues, but I could not switch like them since I was in a new contract and did not want to pay the cancellation fee (250). Why should I if it was working fine until now right?
Customer service suggested I try a new phone. I upgraded to a better phone three times with very little change (always paid full price for the phone since I was still in a current contract). During these “upgrades” the store reps or CS would try to switch me to a different plan or sneak in a new 2-year contract without my consent. This was because I wisely did not change my original plan, which was before their price hikes. The best was when they switched me to a plan with no included text messaging, when my history showed I used the feature all the time. I had to fight with CS three months in a row because they were trying to jack me for $100+ worth of texting when my normal bill was never above 50! Each month they ‘didn’t see’ that I was supposed to be put back on my previous plan. My only advice is to not pay until they fix their mistakes, or you will have a hard time getting any money back. It took hours with CS, but I was able to drop them without paying any cancellation fees due to their incompetence.
Later I started work as an IT technician for a major bank on the east coast. My assigned area is about 1500 square miles from Philadelphia, West to Valley Forge, and North to Lehigh counties. It includes over 60 locations with a few hundred employees that use Blackberries. As soon as I started working in the area I noticed the signal varied greatly on my 6280, when my work cell phone was fine (oddly enough, the cheapest Cingular model they could give me). I was even upgraded to a Cingular 7290 with no change. The issue got so bad that I would not have service at all in areas where the phone had full reception (this was not just GPRS but GSM as well). I finally was able to convince our mobile department to switch me to another carrier. The company as a whole has contracts with Cingular, Verizon, and T-mobile. I was hoping for Verizon but instead got a 7290 T-mobile unit (was told Verizon was too expensive). I’ve had it for over a year now with no problems. I even had them transfer my work cell # over to the Blackberry and it works great! Every time I get a service call relating to an employee’s Cingular BB they complain about the network. I even get offers to trade my 7290 for their 8700 or pearl! I’m hearing more and more from our mobile department that they are sick of their slow customer service and are switching more people over to other networks. I personally don’t blame them. -
"compare Cingular, Tmobile, Verizon" on by egghead321
Pros: claim it has biggest coverage, fewest drop call itself.
Cons: expensive, Few phone selection, 2 YEAR CONTRACT?
Summary: i own a cellphone store, from my experience, Cingular is not a every good company and i won't recommend it to my customers. ( I had Cingular 2 years ago but switched to another carrier.)
Pro:
1. claim it has biggest coverage.
2. Rollover min.
3. u can get its service relatively easy.
4. GSM network.
Con:
1. Expensive. both plans and phones. ( they increased price about 2 years ago in case u don't know )
2. 2 year contract.(newer, better phones come out every 6 month. )
3. the phone selection can't even compare to phones in Asia and Europe. both style and features.
4. If they made mistakes on ur bill, say $600 over charge, it is very difficult to deal w/ their customer service people -
"Simple Awful" on by CaptainSpiffypants
Pros: Not as bad as small town services if you're on the road.
Cons: TERRIBLE coverage, unhelpful representatives, unwilling to "go the extra mile" if you're having issues.
Summary: When I moved to an area that was supposed to have Cingular coverage but couldn't pick up a signal, Cingular told me it'd cost around $300 to fix the problem (either by buying a new phone or paying an Early Termination Fee). In some instances this may make sense, but I live a block away from a Cingular office...so you would assume I would be able to get a signal there. Even one of the main roads in my city has no service...you will have calls dropped and cut out on major intersections.
STAY AWAY! Not worth your time or money. I will NEVER do business with them again.
Write a Review
Compare to other s
Compare Selected
Check coverage in your area 
%20-%20Cell%20Phones%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/Cingular_Wireless/4852-6454_7-32137726.html&x_breadcrumb=8900:3488:3504:6454&x_arw_bkts=MAD:high_wireless_switcher){kind=small}