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AT&T sent me a wired vip1200 Set Top Box to replace my Wireless VIP2500 STB. I hate AT&T!!!!!
One of my 2 wireless motorola VIP2500 STB's died completely no lights 100% dead.
So attempt#1 to troubleshooting via phone app. It claims to be sending a replacement receiver and I'll get a text message when the replacement order goes through. Of course it does nothing and no text comes the next day.
Attempt #2 I go online and do a chat, representative orders a replacement. 3 days later I receive a vip1200, which is useless since it isn't wireless and at&t removed all my wiring years ago. I never receive an email, so I don't know what model they are shipping until it arrives. When I check the chat transcript I realize the representative somehow misspelled my e-mail address(which hasn't changed in the 10+ years I've had U-verse), sending my personal account info to a random email address.
Attempt #3 Call 1-800-288-2020, I get sent to a terrible offshore representative, who says she's going to replace stb with a wireless one again. When she goes to process the order she tells me the wireless box will cost me a $50 one time fee. It quickly becomes apparent, she clearly has no idea what the situation is or what's she's doing. She blames the chat representative for making a mistake, but has no idea what that mistake was, and can't tell me what model she will be sending, so I have zero confidence in her to get it right.
Attempt #4 She transfers me to her "supervisor" named May Employee #MM102H another offshore representative, who speaks even worse english. She makes sure to thank me every 5 seconds, but still seems completely clueless. After an hour, it turns out both the representatives are in the billing department, and somehow still haven't figured out how to send a replacement.
Attempt#5 May transfers me to technical services dept, which takes 15 minutes of May and me sitting on hold. Employee named "Ris" #SC619C. Technical support also seems clueless, but at least they can tell me what model numbers they think I already have on my 4 stb's. Well ok actually on 3, because the broken receiver doesn't show up, since it isn't receiving power, so that's useless. Technical support claims they are sending a vip2500 tomorrow, we'll see if it actually shows up correct this time. I'm told I'll receive a confirmation e-mail. When I ask if the e-mail will come today, Ris tells me, she has no idea, it will probably arrive sometime this week, well that's useless.
After the call I'm asked to stay on the line at take a survey. It asks if I want this employee to take my call next time. I say no, it asks why? and says to leave a comment...then it says goodbye....then if you keep waiting it starts over. It's clearly just a recording it's not actually recording responses, it plays on a loop, and has pauses to sound like it's responding. Thanks for wasting even more of my time!
Well there's 1 hour and 46 minutes of my time stuck on the phone I'm never getting back.
This has happened to me multiple times, AT&T's equipment replacement system is completely broken. I end up each time something breaks, having to ship a stack of equipment back to AT&T. This time I also plan to videotape myself handing the broken receiver, and the incorrect wired receiver to the ups store, since last time after saying they received the receivers, they charged me 6 months later saying the never got it.
AT&T needs to fire all their employees or at least bother to train them for more than 1 minute.
UPDATE 4:36pm 9/4/2019:
AT&T is the WORST. I just got my confirmation...and as I expected they are overnighting me ANOTHER wired vip1200! I'm going to end up having to get a truck rolled to deliver a G*&D@#$ wireless receiver, because clearly they are entirely incompetent.
And now I've been waiting 15 minutes and still haven't even got a representative to answer.
PLEASE HELP @ATTCares
madmax988
Scholar
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404 Messages
5 years ago
update 6:00am 9/9/2019
Thanks for never responding @ATTCares ! clearly you don't care at all!
Attempt #6 Called 1-800-att-2020 asked to speak to domestic tech support representative who might actually know what they are doing. Phillipines Tech support put me on hold to transfer me.
Attempt #7 after waiting on hold for 30+ minutes I find a direct number for USA customer retention department. I call it on another phone line, they say I have to be transferred to tech support...they have no direct line for tech support and warm transfer me over phillipines tech support. Offshore tech support attempts to transfer me to domestic representative.
Attempt #8, while waiting for attempts #6,#7 to finally transfer me over USA. I call customer retention # again on a 3rd phone line. This time I speak to Chayenne who actually looks up my account. She quickly realizes the reason that I'm getting wired instead of wireless replacements, is even though I have 2 wireless stb's, they were never inputted properly on my account. The reason i have wireless boxes, is many years ago after paying AT&T to wire my house with my original uverse installation (over 10 years ago!), they couldn't figure out how to fix problems with coax cables. I asked them to replace them with cat5, but they refused saying it would be too much work, and instead decided it would be cheaper and easier for them to replace 2 boxes with wireless and only run 1 new cat 5 cable (the 4th box was next to RG so it already was connected with a cat5 patch cable). At first Chayenne, says she's going to have transfer me to tech support. but I basically refuse. And low and behold she ends up being able to fix the problem. She inputs all the boxes serial numbers into the account and deletes the bad box, and orders a new wireless box as if I had never had one.
After 2 hours on the phone with her, guess what? the other 2 phone lines waiting to speak with a domestic tech support agent? attempt #6 has disconnected after an hour and a half and attempt #7 is still on freaking hold after over 2 and a half hours. I didn't leave it on to find out if any domestic tech support agents still exist and eventually would answer.
(although the other wireless box is still miscategorized as wired, so when it dies I'll have to do this all over again to get it replaced).
Attempt #9
The second wired box arrives on thursday, o good more crap I have to mail back, and worry att is going to try to charge me for. On Friday finally a wireless box, and isb 7105 + a vap2500 (to replace 1st gen ven501) since 7105 is a 2nd gen box. I excitedly hook it up. o but I forgot it wasn't supposed to arrive till saturday. well what's the worst that could happen?.....
Don't ever try that!. The wap works fine with my other wireless stb, but the 7105 gets an account mismatch message. After spending a half hour on forums, (since this issue is mentioned NOWHERE on att support page). I discover the only way to fix it is to once again speak with tech support on the phone and have them remove the hold on the box as a penalty for installing it too early. .... So I spend another hour and a half on the phone with the philippines. at first the agent keeps telling me his system is running slowly. but eventually he caves and lets me know, he's actually e-mailing someone who actually knows what the f*$# to do, and waiting on a reply. This system is ridiculous. eventually he's given instructions on what button he needs to push.
Attempt #10
the box finally works fine for about a day, but... it now has twice forced a reset saying a network setting has changed. and on the 2nd reset, it took 3 resets and me unplugging the wap and plugging it back in if this box turns out to be a defective refurb, I might have to finally give up and go to comcast.
I've now spent a minimum of 9 hours to replace a bad stb. This is turning into a full time job. Maybe I just cut the cord....
Here's an idea! at&t should pay me $0.10 a minute for every minute I have to spend on tech support. I bet if they did that their agents would be way more competent!
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TrafTrue
Contributor
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1 Message
5 years ago
Wow...I totally understand your frustration with the offshore representatives - had more than my share of issues - but I think your experience takes the cake! (not that that is a good thing ^^).
I just got my replacement wired DVR Receiver...and after going through all the steps, and then following the troubleshooting guide, it is still not working. I am dreading the next step of calling support - wish me luck!
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madmax988
Scholar
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404 Messages
5 years ago
@TrafTrue
Which model DVR did they send you? Is it the same model as your old one? What problem were you having with the old one? Lol I've had so many problems with uverse over the year's I probably know more than 99% of them.
As for my problems, I'm still getting a couple of network settings have changed requiring a restart on my "new" wireless stb. And since @ATTCares Still hasn't bothered to respond to me, it looks like my only options are 1)call customer loyalty get a nice person with no tech background who will either swap box or make me talk to tech support. 2)call the phillipines tech support and waste 2-4 hours minimum not sure when I can block out that much time to deal with this or 3)ask to be transferred to domestic tech support, which so far hasn't worked. Since I've given up after 2+ hours.
#attdoesnotcare
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Lviscard
New Member
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1 Message
5 years ago
Agreed! My husband just spent 1 1/2 hours talking to an AT & T rep in the Phillipines. She was unable to give him a clear answer on upgrading our current 1200 receiver after 11 years!! He asked 3 times to speak to the supervisor. He was put on hold several times & supervisor never helped...it was the same tech repeating the “canned answers”. Now he’s waiting for a call back from supervisor. They told him 1 hour. Supervisor still has not called back in over an hour. No resolution, no clear answers, no help at all!!! Time to find another provider or switch to Roku, or something!!! Ugh!
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mcmoe99
1 Message
3 years ago
Absolutely, I can relate to the emotion here against AT&T -- I had exactly the same issue recently. My wireless Motorola VIP2500 STBs became problematic and they sent me the wired VIP1200 STBs to fix the issue. Attempt #1: I spent 2 hours on the phone with a couple of AT&T (Edited per community guidelines) to identify the issue, which they couldn't figure out exactly but decided to send the replacement STBs anyway. Attempt #2: After receiving the VIP1200, I spent 3-1/2 hours on the phone with more (Edited per community guidelines) going back and forth between my WAP and STBs, giving me the same result: Receiver needed to be re-started. None of the (Edited per community guidelines) knew that the VIP1200 was supposed to be wired.
Finally, someone with the right mind thought about sending me the same model VIP2500 STBs, which I installed successfully with flying colors.
When I ran across this forums topic, I said to myself, "Oh my goodness, is this how dumb those (Edited per community guidelines) were? Why did AT&T hire them in the first place?"
I spent a total of 5-1/2 hours to resolve the minor issue. I don't like the word "hate" but I don't blame anyone who hates AT&T. They deserved to be hated.
(edited)
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baseballisback
ACE - Professor
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8.1K Messages
3 years ago
Please don't respond to threads over a year old.
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