Time for a new phone - need advice

[jimnyc]

Today, out of nowhere, sound just stops on my cell phone. I have a Sony Xperia running on the Android operating system. I noticed when I got a call that the phone was vibrating, but no sound. But the phone is not set to vibrate mode. No sound when I click on things which it always did. I put my headphones into the jack and the sound is just fine. I then do the same with my bluetooth and all is fine. Obviously the problem is with the external speaker. I went through every setting imaginable and no luck.

I had a friend take a peek down the road who knows Android very well and after he looked at everything he said it had to be a faulty external speaker as it should be working. Figuring I had to go through the process of getting a new phone, I laughingly banged my telephone against the counter 4 or 5 times - and that's right, you guessed it, the sound of course came back!

But something in there is about to go with the speaker so I think it's best to get a new one anyway. I have AT&T and I do have a warranty - but as I am to understand it, you end up working with a 3rd party company for insurance things. I was kind of hoping to go into the AT&T store, let them look at my account, and perhaps just swap out for the same or similar phone. And of course I'm willing to pay the difference if I pick out a somewhat better phone. But I don't want to be without a phone by mailing it into anyone, nor do I think I should have to pay for the entire amount for a new phone.

Advice?

[tailfins]

Get a new in box phone on Ebay or Amazon and avoid being locked into a contract.

[NightTrain]

Tailfins is correct; avoiding a contract gives you leverage... not much, but some.

Sharon just bought the new Motorola (don't know which one, but it's the latest & greatest), and it's a very impressive phone.

Her phone has dual-band capability - when LTE (4G) isn't available, it reverts to the 3G network which is very robust. So, it has two different antennas in it so she doesn't drop calls or lose service. LTE isn't fully implemented on any of the networks, so there's going to be gaps with a 4G phone as opposed to your old 3G phone.

Whatever phone you get, make sure you have both 3G and 4G capability since every cellular provider is in the middle of a very expensive upgrade.

Don't be fooled by the salesperson that's trying to sell you a strict 4G phone... they'll show you some nifty maps showing you inaccurate coverage areas. Right now you want both 4G and 3G.

[jimnyc]

Thing is though, if I go independent I pay for the phone. I'm hoping to come out of this with a replaced phone under either warranty/insurance, or to pay a small fee if I need to upgrade.

Rick, my current phone does offer the dual 4g/3g. I'm looking online now at the latest "HTC One". Maybe I'll pass by AT&T one of these days and see how I can get into that phone without being ripped off. I lateral move would be nice, without a contract extension which they always shoot for. Quite frankly, I'd rather pay a few more dollars if that's the case so as to avoid another 2 years locked in. But at the same time, I think I am still under warranty and I paid extra for insurance.

[NightTrain]

Did you check out the prices on Amazon or Ebay?

And let me know how that warranty works out for you... I had that for 3 smart phones I had going, paid the insurance every month and after a year one of the phones needed to be replaced and that useless "3rd party insurance" wanted me to pay more than I could outright buy the same phone. It was fucking worthless and I was pissed.

The company I bought that shitty insurance through refused to get in the middle of it, and they lost my business permanently because of it. When I buy insurance from someone like Best Buy or any retailer, I expect them to handle the bullshit that comes with dealing with 3rd parties - that's why Best Buy gets all my electronics business.

If you're under warranty, though, then that bypasses the bullshit 3rd party insurance scam and AT&T should just hand you a new phone... I'd go down right away before the warranty expires.

[jimnyc]

Did you check out the prices on Amazon or Ebay?

And let me know how that warranty works out for you... I had that for 3 smart phones I had going, paid the insurance every month and after a year one of the phones needed to be replaced and that useless "3rd party insurance" wanted me to pay more than I could outright buy the same phone. It was fucking worthless and I was pissed.

The company I bought that shitty insurance through refused to get in the middle of it, and they lost my business permanently because of it. When I buy insurance from someone like Best Buy or any retailer, I expect them to handle the bullshit that comes with dealing with 3rd parties - that's why Best Buy gets all my electronics business.

If you're under warranty, though, then that bypasses the bullshit 3rd party insurance scam and AT&T should just hand you a new phone... I'd go down right away before the warranty expires.

That's what my concern is, the 3rd party company that AT&T uses for insurance. And also why I'm hoping I'm still under warranty. I just checked on their website and logged in and I'm available for a free upgrade. or so it says, but it's always some marketing scam to get you to extend, or to get a free piece of shit by extending. I might think about extending if I can walk out with the right deal, because truth be told I will likely be with them another 2 years anyway, having been with them for like 12 or 13 now.

Looks like the phone I want is like $199 with a contract or in the $650 range without. Maybe I can get them bastards to drop lower on that phone, with my phone as a trade in of sorts.

[NightTrain]

Hmmm... Sharon just got 2 of those Motorolas for 100 bucks at AT&T, but maybe that's a promotion for a new customer.

Still, in my mind, they should extend any good price to a loyal customer.

Maybe that's why I'm not CEO of a multi-billion dollar telecommunications corporation.

[jafar00]

Thing is though, if I go independent I pay for the phone. I'm hoping to come out of this with a replaced phone under either warranty/insurance, or to pay a small fee if I need to upgrade.

Rick, my current phone does offer the dual 4g/3g. I'm looking online now at the latest "HTC One". Maybe I'll pass by AT&T one of these days and see how I can get into that phone without being ripped off. I lateral move would be nice, without a contract extension which they always shoot for. Quite frankly, I'd rather pay a few more dollars if that's the case so as to avoid another 2 years locked in. But at the same time, I think I am still under warranty and I paid extra for insurance.

The HTC One is a great phone if you don't mind the 3rd party UI. You might like to look at the Nexus 5 too. I went from HTC One to Nexus 5 and never looked back. Stock Android is such a joy to use and the phone is beyond my expectations.

[fj1200]

Advice?

Get with the early '00s dude. Smart phones are a passing fancy, this works just fine.