Why can’t other carriers be like T-Mobile U.S. and have a heart?

While T-Mobile has done some not so consumer friendly things in the past, their latest showing of compassion could make me forget the past all together.  It is no secret that people love iPhones, some just can’t stand the excuse for a network that they run on, AT&T.  Because of that, many took their jesus phones and made the journey to a land far better, in this case T-Mobile.  While the number of unlocked iPhones on T-Mobile is hard to count, I’d wager a guess of at least several tens of thousands if not and probably more.  Being the case the iPhone is officially locked to AT&T and therefore not a T-Mobile product, one would assume that T-Mobile would turn their noses at any and all support requests and problems related to unlocked iPhone usage on their networks.  However, this is not the case folks as T-Mobile is showing a heart (and brain) and instead bracing this underground following of “illegal” users.  (According to Apple).  Recently, a system update on T-Mobile’s network caused unlocked iPhone users shiny iPhones to become nice shiny paperweights – random blank text generating/missing voicemail/freaking out paperweights.  Fearing the worst, many owners called in to TMO CS to see what could be done.  Surprisingly, TMO not only fixed the issue in a *timely* manner, they also gave users credit for the inconvenience…AT&T this is where you take notes.  Way to go TMO, you deserve a pat on the back and an extra cookie!  So how exactly did it all go down?  Step inside an fill your soul.

Per the Consumerist via Eric:

T-mobile recently changed some aspect of their voicemail system, which cause iPhones (and some other unlocked non T-mobile branded phones) on their network to FREAK OUT. You’d get blank text messages from the future (2012!) when people left voicemails, and calling voicemail caused a flurry of the blank texts to arrive. These were notably NOT free texts either, so you were being charged per message if you didn’t have an unlimited plan. Some iPhone users on T-mobile’s network e-mailed Executive Customer Service, and got a very nice phone call in response, acknowledging the problem and awarding a 1-month service credit.
The T-mo rep stated that “T-Mobile, though they do not offer the iPhone, and that they are committed to supporting users on their network who have them.”

Sure enough, within a day or so, in response to the problem, a T-mobile Tier 2 service rep posted an acknowledgment of the problem in a hackintosh forum, and indicated they’d fixed the issue.

All in all, this cements my loyalty to T-mobile. Even without officially supporting a particular phone, they are willing to make accommodations to ensure the iPhone users on their network continue to enjoy good service. And, it is worth noting, can continue to do so for tens of dollar less per month than they would if they were still using a 2G iPhone on AT&T.

Source: Consumerist

Author: Mike Norris

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Gadget lover, smartphone collector, and beer connoisseur. I've been writing about gadgets for three years now and loving every minute of it. Outside of the digital landscape, I enjoy being active outdoors. I'm always up for a good conversation, so feel free to drop me a line!