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Problems with my new S24+ on AT&T.

(Topic created: 02-28-2024 12:43 AM)
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PhilEsk
Halo
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Galaxy S24
I've had some problems with my new S24+ on AT&T's network. I upgraded my and my wife's phones using a pre-order promo which gave us free 512gb S24+s upon tradein of any old Samsung phone - working or not. I traded in a dusty old S3 and S5.

Problem#1: 
Any call incoming to my wife's phone from someone not in her contacts would go directly to voicemail, not showing up in recent calls. I disabled all spam filters, cleared the blocked call list and the option for rerouting unknown callers to voicemail with no improvement.

Solution:
Turns out that AT&T had enabled the rerouting in the network and nothing I or the AT&T store could do would fix it. After a long conversation with AT&T support (dial 611 is the only way to reach them) they made an adjustment at their end which fixed the problem. 

Problem#2: 
In order to see how the new phones would affect my billing, I tried and failed to log into my account using the myATT app and also the ATT.com website. After entering my user name and password, the ATT system suggested two numbers to send me a texted code to ensure I was who I said. Problem was I couldn't access the two text numbers they sent. One was to a tablet and the other to an old phone belonging to my son. AT&T support said that due to the fact that I had two new phones the network security software did not recognize them even though they had been activated since 2/1 and had been in constant use. I escalated to Third Level support who said many people who had new phones had experienced the same problem and opined that it was caused by the AT&T's outage last week and that the only solution would be for them to create a Trouble Ticket and for me to wait 7-10 days for a result. 

Solution: Still not able to access my account from my phone or laptop due to the two level validation algorythym they use.
However, I discovered I was able to log into my account using my old LTE tablet with no issues. It seems that the tablet's phone number was recognized. Weird. 

So.... If anyone with a new S24 can't get into their AT&T account, you will probably have to wait untill AT&T fixes their problems. 

BTW, it is thought that the outage was caused by AT&T loading in some software patches or modifications to their network system. I just love being an unpaid beta tester for AT&T - - NOT. 

Moral of this story:
Your network provider can mess you up by imposing filters or options on your phone or account that you never saw coming and only they can fix the resulting problems. So, if you have tried everything to fix a phone problem don't assume that your network provider is blameless. Chances are, it's their fault. 
3 Replies
PhilEsk
Halo
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Galaxy S24
My last two phones were unlocked S10+s upgraded to unlocked S21+s. But the pre-order deal from AT&T was so much better than any pre-order deal for an unlocked S24+. My only cost was the sales tax on the $999 retail price of a 256gb S24+. One of the reasons I upgraded to the S24+s was the problem my wife had with unknown callers. I had no idea it was caused by AT&T until I went through the same problem with her new S24+.
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Solution
PhilEsk
Halo
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Galaxy S24
Also, I'm not sure an unlocked phone would have made any difference since both problems originated with the carrier.
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neilth
Red Giant
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Galaxy S24
But with an unlocked phone, you can easily switch to a more reliable carrier.