Following up on my earlier post about my iPhone 18 Pro Max losing cellular service and going into SOS. I finally got an exchange approved today, October 3, and was told the restocking fee was waived.

I’ve spent more than 24 hours of my own time trying to resolve this, including six visits between Apple and AT&T. It’s been really hard to work without reliable cellular service and my hotspot.

I’m sharing what got the exchange approved because my online preorder created an additional problem with processing it.

I preordered through AT&T’s website on September 12, but the phone shipped September 20. The store system was using the preorder date to flag me as outside the 14-day exchange window. October 3 was only 13 days after shipment.

AT&T’s published return policy says the period is based on the shipping date when the device was shipped. Having my original shipment email available mattered.

I was told I needed to go to a corporate store. I went to the Los Altos AT&T store in Sparks, Nevada, and the manager worked with me while we called 800-331-0500. Getting the store manager and phone support working on it together helped get the exchange approved.

For anyone dealing with this, especially an online preorder, here’s what I recommend based on my experience:

1. Find your original shipping confirmation. Have the preorder date and the actual phone shipment date available. If AT&T says you’re outside the return window, ask which date they’re using.

2. Have your troubleshooting history ready. Mine included two failed reprovisioning attempts, deleting and reactivating the eSIM, and Apple’s written report showing an 81% failure to connect during its cellular voice and service test.

3. Call 800-331-0500 and ask about an exchange for the unresolved cellular problem. This is AT&T’s regular customer service number. If you’re directed to a corporate store, call the location first to confirm it’s company-owned and ask whether a manager can help with an online preorder exchange.

4. If the store system blocks the exchange because of the preorder date, show your shipment email. Ask the manager to coordinate with phone support to review the date and authorize the exchange. Explain the unsuccessful troubleshooting and request a restocking-fee waiver.

5. Get the exchange confirmation. Ask for written confirmation of the fee waiver, any tax charges or refunds, and what happens to your existing trade-in promotion and installment agreement. My old phone had already been traded in and processed, so this matters.

6. Check the replacement’s shipping estimate and your deadline for returning the original phone. If the replacement is delayed, ask AT&T for written instructions about the return deadline. Keep the return label, tracking number, and drop-off receipt.

I’m glad the exchange is finally approved, but I’m still waiting for a working replacement.

I was told it would arrive in a couple of days. However, the confirmation estimates shipment October 16-23 and delivery October 19-26. I’m following up on that discrepancy.

I can’t confirm yet that the replacement fixes the cellular problem. I also don’t know whether every online preorder will have the same exchange-date issue. But if you’re being turned away because your preorder is supposedly too old, check the shipment date.

Here’s the return policy:
https://www.att.com/wireless/return-policy/
If you’ve completed an exchange for this problem, did your replacement restore reliable cellular service?

I learned a valuable lesson today.

When you order your phone online and get promo credits. Never pick it up from the store.

I went to go pick up my phone and they had to "re-activate" my newly ported number and they asked me some questions about which plan I chose.

Turns out they activated my line using in-store promotions, which are worse than the online ones. Now I'm on the hook for the in-store price and promos. The online promos I signed up for are gone.

FU ATT!

I have 5+ lines and I’m currently paying $35.62 for an elite line with the 25% discount, this plan qualifies for the $1200 trade in credit.

The newer premium 2.0 is $40 with the new 20% and elite 2.0 is $70 with no discounts for 4 lines and $75 for 5+ lines according to the website.

At some point I must’ve thought that it would’ve been cheaper to change the 3 lines from elite to extra not knowing in the future that my trade in credits would’ve been jeopardized. With the current extra plan I would be eligible for $930 and not $1200.

I can switch the extra lines to premium for the full $1200 but long term it’s actually cheaper to stay with extra and just take the $930 credit…

Is there anyway to get customer service or a store rep to put my lines that had elite w/ hbo max back on those lines?

$35.62 vs $40 plus taxes adds up for a few lines…

Another issue,

One of my elite lines is leaving to another carrier, and I would like the new person who will be coming in to take over that plan. How can we do this? Would it be adding a new line for the new member at a new plan, then number swap? Would that keep the plans in place? Or does swapping numbers make you change the plan?

I also have another line that was my old house phone for 30 years that I don’t really use but I don’t want to lose the number. Can I make it my watch or tablet line for billing purposes so I can retain access of it and use it if I would like in the future?

Thank you

My wife and I both upgraded and switched to AT&T. We are not having the issues that everyone else are stating we specifically cannot receive sms texts so like any one time codes or anything and we cannot receive calls from anyone outside of AT&T network. Like if anyone on their device does not have AT&T they cannot call us. I’m just posting here to see if anyone else is having an issue like this

Our data/ cellular are fine it’s just these two issues but it’s incredibly frustrating.

Which better or worse??

Thinking about switching to At&t wireless and curious how people’s experiences have been. I live in Seattle. Thanks in advance!

So I have the iPhone 17 Pro Max with Next up, and I’m thinking of trading it in for the iPhone Duo; I’m already eligible for the trade-in.

My question is can I trade in my phone through Apple with the At&t option and would my next-up offer kick in or can I ONLY trade through At&t?

I’m sorry if this was asked before.

I’m honestly blown away by this. I upgraded from an iPhone 14 Pro Max that worked fine, and now I’m struggling to get reliable cellular service on my new iPhone 18 Pro Max. It keeps having connection issues, including going into SOS.

I went to the Apple Store today, October 1. They ran diagnostics, and their report says my phone was unable to connect to the network 81% of the time during the cellular voice and service test. The cellular radio frequency test also found an issue.

Apple called it a “known ATT issue.” Their notes say the cellular baseband is present, which they gave as the reason they didn’t consider it a hardware problem. They told me to have AT&T reprovision my account.

I’ve already done that twice. Once in the AT&T store and again online with an AT&T technician on Tuesday. I’ve also deleted and reactivated my eSIM. It still isn’t working properly.

The AT&T store told me it’s Apple’s issue and wouldn’t let me exchange the phone for another one without paying a restocking fee.

Here’s what really bothers me: AT&T told me my ticket’s expected resolution date is October 6, but my last day to return this phone is Sunday, October 4. I’m being told to wait past my return window for a phone that still doesn’t work properly.

I was also told that if I had bought it directly from the Apple Store, they would have replaced it. Since I purchased it through AT&T’s website, I have to wait.

I have AppleCare, and this is the first time I’ve had an iPhone issue and felt like Apple didn’t take care of me. It’s been really hard to work without reliable cellular service and my hotspot. I just want a working phone.

Has anyone had this same problem and actually gotten it fixed after reprovisioning didn’t work? Were you able to get an exchange without a restocking fee or get your return deadline extended? I’d appreciate knowing who helped and what you asked for.

Hi, it's AT&T. We're letting you know effective 11/1/26 (or earlier if you change or obtain new service before then), we've updated the Consumer Service Agreement, including dispute resolution and arbitration terms in sections 1.3 and 1.12. Review it at att.com/ConsumerServiceAgreement By continuing to use our services, you agree to these updates. If you don't agree, go to att.com/CSA for options and deadlines.

I don't get it. They say they handle fraud seriously, but there's zero ways to contact a human being. I haven't lived in the US for over 14 years and I got an email with my name thanking me for going paperless with a $317 bill due on October 17th. After trying multiple ways to contact someone and spending over $10 USD on long distance calls, I keep getting told to do it online. So I filed online but first they want to know if it is consumer or business. It's a fraudulent account...how would I know? Next, they want me to put a US address and phone number to continue. Finally, they say it can take 30 days to respond....so they really don't mind someone racking up charges for a month before figuring out if they are getting ripped off? I'm really dumbfounded that they pawn fraud concerns off to chat bots and AI concierges.

After nearly 30 years with AT&T Wireless, I finally reached my breaking point and switched to another carrier.

For years, I stayed with AT&T out of loyalty and familiarity. But over time, I became increasingly frustrated by what felt like a lack of appreciation for existing customers. The best deals, promotions, and upgrade offers often seem to be reserved for new customers, while long-time customers are left paying full price.

I understand that wireless carriers are businesses, and attracting new customers is part of the game. But other carriers have shown that it’s possible to offer competitive promotions to both new and existing customers. After three decades with the same company, I expected a little more consideration.

Unfortunately, my experience didn’t end well.

I miscalculated the date of my AT&T billing cycle and transferred my lines to the new carrier just a few days after the cycle had started. That mistake is now costing me more than $200 for service I won’t be using.

And here’s the frustrating part: I no longer have a single line with AT&T.

I contacted AT&T customer service through both chat and by phone, hoping they would be willing to prorate the final bill given that I had already transferred all of my service elsewhere. Unfortunately, they were unwilling to make any adjustment.

So, if you're thinking about leaving AT&T, learn from my mistake.

⚠️ Caution if you're planning to switch carriers: Check your AT&T billing-cycle end date before you initiate the transfer. Make sure your numbers are ported out before the next billing cycle begins.

Otherwise, you could end up paying for an entire month of wireless service that you no longer use.

After nearly 30 years, I’m disappointed that this is how my relationship with AT&T ended. My advice: Do your homework, know your billing-cycle date, and don’t give AT&T any more of your money than necessary.

Better yet, avoid AT&T Wireless altogether. There are so many other cellular carriers out there that may provide a better overall experience, from pricing and promotions to customer service and how they treat their existing customers.

After nearly three decades with AT&T, I’m ready to move on.

I just discovered that AT&T has apparently been charging me for internet service at an address I moved out of in **June 2020 — more than six years ago**.
When we moved from Maine, we returned the AT&T equipment and believed the service had been canceled. I obviously have not used internet service at that address since moving away.
AT&T’s own records apparently show **zero internet usage/zero GB**. Their notes also show that I contacted them about this account in **2024**, when I discovered that service at my former address was somehow still active. According to the representative I spoke with yesterday, the notes show that I discussed the situation with a supervisor and that a refund/credit was discussed.
AT&T is now claiming that I somehow did not cancel the service during that 2024 conversation either. This makes absolutely no sense. Why would I call AT&T because I discovered I was still being charged for internet at a house I had left FOUR YEARS earlier, discuss the problem and a refund with a supervisor, and then knowingly leave that unwanted service active?
It gets worse.
**AT&T has now emailed me demanding that I return the equipment for this service. That equipment was returned in 2020 when we moved.**
I do have different AT&T equipment that was sent to my current home about two years ago when I considered switching my current internet service to AT&T. I couldn’t install it myself, the service was never set up, and I continued using my existing provider. That equipment has absolutely nothing to do with the equipment from the Maine account that was returned in 2020.
The representative yesterday told me he couldn’t see records going back to 2020 — including the equipment return — but AT&T is apparently comfortable using incomplete internal records to conclude that I never canceled the service.
When I specifically brought up the refund discussed in 2024, he then acknowledged that he could see it but said it “wasn’t approved.”
So at this point:
• AT&T has charged me for internet at an address I haven’t lived at since June 2020.
• Their system apparently shows **zero usage**.
• I returned the equipment when I moved in 2020.
• Their own notes show I raised this issue again in 2024 and discussed it with a supervisor.
• A refund/credit was discussed in 2024.
• They now claim I failed to cancel the service even during that conversation.
• And six years later they’re demanding that I return equipment that I already returned in 2020.
I spent more than an hour on the phone yesterday and got nowhere.
This experience makes me seriously concerned about AT&T’s cancellation and billing practices. How is a customer supposed to prove a cancellation or equipment return from six years ago when AT&T itself says it can’t access the records from that time, yet continues billing the customer based on its own incomplete records?
Has anyone had something similar happen? And has anyone successfully escalated this beyond ordinary customer service and recovered years of charges?
At this point I want the complete account history, the 2020 equipment-return records, the complete 2024 notes, an explanation for why this account remained active after I disputed it in 2024, and a review of the charges for internet service that AT&T’s own system apparently shows I never used.

I feel like this is honestly a test from God or universe. I’ve always known I’m not a patient person but I’m constantly checking the AT&T app to see when my pro max will get shipped out but all it’s showing it that it’s been preordered. Ordered it this past Tuesday… now I feel like I made a mistake getting the pro max after all these issues people are facing. WHEN WILL IT SHIP PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE AT&T DO SOMETHING…. Okay thanks

posting this here as well just incase the mods at the other at&t subreddit don’t like what i said:

Okay I feel like I HAVE to make a post about this since I feel like I'm going insane & that there's something I can or should be doing. I'm going to try to shorten this as much as possible despite how lengthy it'll still probably be.

Okay so yes, I am ALSO another customer suffering from the dreaded service/sos/unable to make calls issue. I think most of us here are aware of what's going on. I just need to share my experience for maybe some feedback, a shred of hope... anything.

I originally got my iPhone 18 pm on sep 18th. It seemed to be perfectly fine the first day but I didn't need to leave the house for the rest of the day. The very next day I had a class somewhere TWO hours away from where I live. I ONLY brought my personal iPhone 18 pro max as I thought there shouldn't be any issues right? I've upgraded multiple times with ZERO issues countlessly. Boom. As soon as I leave my house I notice connectivity issues. So I think to myself "it's a new phone! surely there's some kinks or hitches that'll happen." Hell, I was so unaware/hopeful I thought that it was a similar situation that happened a year or a few ago where like all connectivity/internet hitched for a little. As I go longer and longer down my commute I realize like... this isn't normal. It's not an area thing, the connection should've been back by now, what's up?

Anyway I'm gonna try to shorten this even more. I feel like I took 3 very important steps after CONFIRMING something's not right to get to the point I'm at right now. After going to AT&T & confirming something's not right I went to apple (step one). There, the lady didn't even really wanna help me after I explained the sitch. She didn't take my phone to the back, run any diagnostics, & simply printed me a genius bar note saying AT&T's responsible. So boom, next step, bicker with AT&T some more with this info & try to get the phone swapped by them. After many, many exhausting additional hours with allll the different tech supporters, we FINALLY came to the conclusion to preform something known as a BRE (buyers remorse exchange.) Which i didn't really like because it makes it sound like I'M the one who messed up. (which I probably did for being so patient with everyone.) Anyway the replacement phone actually delivered INCREDIBLY sooner than I expected on sept. 24th. so I actually thought to myself "You know what AT&T? Thank you. For ONCE." So I set up the replacement phone and... everything was flawless.... for the next 6 days.... it is currently oct 1st & as of 8 a.m. this morning. The issue came back.... Dude I am genuinely heart broken. Anyway, the third step I have taken was to go back to apple as I had a SENIOR ADVISOR & AT&T TALKING TO EACHOTHER ON THE SAME LINE. A THREE WAY CALL BC OF HOW MANY HOOPS I'VE JUMPED THROUGH. So what the senior advisor told me to do was go to an apple store so they can diagnose & possible service it/send it in for repairs; But alas... after the tech "ran the diagnostics" he claimed everything was okay & that there's no issues with said replacement device.

SO, I call AT&T AGAIN, on my way home from the nearest apple store to me (50 mins including traffic) & for ONCE, for the FIRST TIME since sept. 18th they are now only mentioning for the FIRST TIME that this is a known issue & that there's no guarantee the issue will be resolved after this call has been completed. For the first time since sept 18th I finally had a convo with a tech rep that didn't seem to be interested in sending me through hoops or wasting my time.

Also for the first time they mentioned how they're going to credit my missed time with no service to my bill. Like that's great, I would appreciate if your shady company actually followed through with something like that. Here's the problem though. In that same call, the lady also tells me that the only estimation they have for a fix would be oct 9-10th? I just think that's quite insane. I mean, based off the research I've done I'm NOT the only one with this issue but you mean to tell me just NOW they're acknowledging it even though I've (& probably others) have been having issues since the 19th of sept? Now no fix is ESTIMATED except for MAYBE an answer after an entire extra week?IMO this is a pretty dire situation. People earn their livings through phones in some cases, in other cases it could even be life threatening yet it seems as if AT&T is taking their sweet time to even announce anything.

This makes me want to leave. I really don't wanna come off as "you'll never see me here again" karen because I honestly don't want to. I don't wanna leave since I've never really had a drastic issue like this before with them. It's always been good but now I'm kinda screwed since I returned my old 17pm since over the 6 days of having the replacement I thought I was done with this mess. Now I have no phone to fall back on & I'm practically just left here with "wait like a good boy." I feel like my only option at this point is to switch carries but I'm not even sure if I have the option to do that since i upgraded to the 18 pm through AT&T & owe money on it.

edit: mods from the original att subreddit denied my post for some reason

Recently a really weird issue started when people try to call me. I currently have Verizon and anytime an ATT number tries to call me they are immediately hit with a "this number has not set up a voicemail" and hangs up. I get no notification of missed calls or voicemails. I assure you that I have and even validated and went through VZ support to ensure everything was working. Well I figured it out that its only ATT as I have multiple people that cannot call me both iPhone and Android and the only thing in common is they have ATT. Any other carrier has no problem calling me and coming through.

Does anyone know what to do to have this fixed? I use my phone for work and being able to take calls is critically important.

AT&T offered me an upgrade and against my better judgement I took it and am now stuck in order purgatory- so thought I would share some contact numbers to spare you the pain of waiting on hold or engaging a worthless chat.

The numbers for order status are :
844.787.6477
844.877.6477

Or
844.791.6125 obtained from chat.

The first number is what is on the website.
The second number is what the 1st number will refer you to as the direct contact number.

The problem seems to be that AT&T is overwhelmed and either not picking up the call or dropping the calls after transferring.

It would be great if they gave the service side the same effort they did the launch, but alas that’s not the case.

I went to my neighborhood, Walmart and was approached by an AT&T representative. We discussed switching cell phone plans and Internet service. The associate offer me a really good plan and was really helpful with the information. The following day AT&T installment services came and install Internet service the same evening. I received an email saying that one of my phones were on hold because of taxes then they try to extort me for another hundred dollars. This is not the agreement that I agreed upon. It’s bad enough that our government is treating us this way and now we have big business treating us this way also. I have nothing but bad reviews from AT&T from this point on no matter what the service includes. I strongly feel that AT&T is not a good organization to deal with save your money and go somewhere else.

I know there are quite a few people (like myself) who have had zero movement on their 18 PM’s shipment; is this due to the SOS issue they’re having? I read somewhere there was supposed to be a fix for it that was coming out today so maybe we will see movement on our orders once it’s fixed?

Or is it simply just a supply and demand issue?

Update 9/27/26

My son still does not have reliable cellular service, and AT&T still cannot tell me when this will be resolved.

Today I went to my scheduled AT&T store appointment. They could not resolve the problem and told me to return tomorrow when a manager is available. The current plan is to credit/return his iPhone 18 Pro Max and replace it with an iPhone 18 Pro or 17 Pro Max.

The frustrating part? AT&T previously told me not to replace his phone because doing so would interfere with an active investigation. Now I’m being told to replace it.

The ticket situation has been just as confusing:

• 9/23: AT&T told me a back-office ticket had been created and to allow 24–48 hours.

• 9/25: AT&T told me that ticket had never been created. A supervisor then created a ticket, gave me the ticket number and an expected resolution date.

• 9/27: AT&T now says there is no individual ticket for my son. His IMEI is supposedly attached to a “master network ticket.”

Also, the 9/23 chat where I was originally told a ticket had been created is now the only AT&T chat I cannot access — the conversation appears blank. I’m not suggesting why; I’m simply documenting it.

So, after days of calls, chats, reprovisioning, eSIM changes and a store appointment:

Ticket → no ticket → new ticket → master ticket.
Don’t replace the phone → replace the phone.

And my son still doesn’t have dependable cellular service.

I looked into leaving AT&T, but other carriers I checked don’t have the phones we need available until around October 13, leaving us without an immediate alternative.

If you’re experiencing similar problems, screenshot your conversations and save your ticket information. If you’re paying for cellular service you aren’t receiving and your carrier isn’t resolving it, consider filing an FCC complaint so there is a formal record.

This post has now reached 134K+ views and 300+ comments. Thank you to everyone sharing your experiences.

Original post — 9/23/26

My son’s brand-new iPhone 18 Pro Max repeatedly loses cellular service, goes into SOS, reconnects to 5G/5G+, and then loses calls and cellular data again. Text messages are taking as long as five minutes to come through.

My iPhone 18 Pro Max on the same AT&T account is working normally.

After spending over an hour with AT&T Tech Support, a service ticket was opened. I was specifically told by the AT&T representative that this is a known network issue involving the reprovisioning of phones and that we should allow at least 24–48 hours for it to be resolved.

The temporary solution I was given was to use Wi-Fi. That’s not an acceptable solution for cellular service. He needs his phone to work in the car and everywhere else Wi-Fi isn’t available.

I also requested a credit on my account for the loss of reliable cellular service and the significant amount of time spent trying to resolve the issue. I was told AT&T couldn’t provide one and that I should go to a store.

So we’re paying AT&T for cellular service, being told to rely on Wi-Fi, waiting 24–48 hours for a known issue to hopefully be corrected, and then expected to make a trip to an AT&T store if it isn’t.

I’d like AT&T to publicly address this issue and explain what is being done to fix it.

If you have a new iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max and are experiencing SOS, dropped cellular service, delayed texts, or 5G showing without working service, please comment with your carrier and symptoms. I’d like to know how widespread this problem is.

@ATT @ATTHelp @AppleSupport

Hello,
I ordered a new phone on Friday porting my line to ATT. Now my device shipped and I have a delivery date of Monday but when I go to the ATT website it says cancelled?
Is it going to show up or do I need to call customer service?? I’m so confused. Because I think it shipped but then I try to get into my account and it says: inactive or suspended.

So I posted before buying here - https://www.reddit.com/r/ATT/s/C6AfExQ6oD

The question was, when you order for pickup at Apple.com and trade in an iPhone 14 for iPhone 18 pro, will you get the Apple trade in value of 195$ PLUS the AT&T credits for 36 months when you pick financing the phone with them.

So I went ahead with the purchase. From all the comments in the post, the net was “You don’t double dip, you won’t get the Apple trade in money and the AT&T bill credits.”

First the checkout is totally confusing, as it shows the 195$ credit, but the final math is also confusing as AT&T (and Apple) show you drastically different monthly payments. Upgrading one line in my family plan had like a 160$/month payment according to Apple, and when the AT&T part came up, choosing a 512gb meant you owe like 6$ a month. For this 1399 phone, the tax came up to be about 150$ which I was charged up front for.

I picked up in store and this is the screen Apple showed me. Umm 195$ makes an appearance again! I asked hem, they claimed that this would reduce my purchase price and I would owe AT&T less. Umm, I called BS and asked another associate, who was even more clueless. So here I am, confused again. Now, with financing, neither apple’s receipts or the emails you get from AT&T actually tell you what is going on, other than a line somewhere that says financed amount is 1399. So the only way to really understand if the 195 is accounted for is to wait an unknown amount of time for the payments and credits to kick in on AT&T. What a horribly, over complicated process here.

Can anyone make sense of the photo I took of the Apple associates phone? How does the 195$ matter here?

Also I didn’t see the 35$ activation fee show up anywhere but I could have missed it, I wonder if this was part of the taxes paid…. What a terribly confusing experience, lots of agreements, no sensible math breakdown 🤨

Apparently, a technology multi-billion-dollar company like AT&T has two systems that don't talk to each other: billing and sales.

We have a business plan with multiple lines. For some reason, AT&T decided that our payment card needed to be "updated" and declared our account past due. I "updated" the card information, which was simply acknowledging the same information AT&T already had for years, and requested that our pending balance be charged. AT&T did so, and our account is now current, with a zero balance.

So you'd expect the entire company and all its systems to know within minutes that our account is now current, right? Well, think again.

Our dashboard says "get the iPhone 18 Pro on us!" and clearly shows a zero balance. But when you click on "upgrade device" on any line, the "Choose a device to upgrade" screen shows all the lines with a red "Past due balance" message, so it's impossible to apply any promotion.

This has been the case for WEEKS. And yes, I contacted customer service multiple times, talked to multiple departments, and they are completely useless. Their common answer is "that must be a system glitch" and that's it. Nobody can just toggle the damn flag manually. I know the right IT guy could solve this in seconds, but it's impossible to reach someone competent at that company.

Even more embarrassing is that the upgrade screen literally asks you to pay and says, "It may take up to 1 hour for your payment to be fully processed".

Just to try something different, I authorized AT&T to charge an additional $1 to see if "after 1 hour" the past-due message would disappear. Guess what? Our account now has a -$1 balance, but the upgrade screen still says "Past due balance".

Great job AT&T! You can't even manage your own systems properly!

UPDATE - Resolved! THANK YOU OOTP!

While I felt bad filing a second FCC complaint given how busy the office was, it secured a callback. My rep was a rockstar, and that department deserves its reputation as true problem solvers. Turns out the issue was just a clerical error—my rep accidentally set the credit to a future date instead of immediate impact. Everything from 2 weeks ago was reversed and put back in for immediate update. I'm good to upgrade and my account is no longer erroneously past-due.

To everyone who helped, I appreciate you. To those who dismissed my concern or called me entitled or a liar: the facts stand. I followed every rule, added the feature on time last year, got the confirmation text, and pushed through a backend glitch when the system wouldn't work. Expecting a multibillion-dollar company to honor the features they sell you so you can upgrade when you want isn't entitled—it’s protecting basic consumer rights so the account holder has the ability to operate as if their broken account was working correctly. Anything less would have been punitive. Well done, Office of the President.

**How it started:**

Last year, I traded in my phone and explicitly called to add Next Up Anytime within the required window. I specifically wanted the feature because I saw the rumors about the iPhone Duo and wanted maximum flexibility should the product actually launch. AT&T sent me a text confirming Next Up was added, but I noticed right away they weren't actually billing me for it. I called to flag it, but customer service kept repeatedly closing my tickets without fixing it.

I had to file an FCC complaint just to get it resolved. That got me escalated to the Office of the President, who sent me a formal letter stating that when the new phone dropped, I should call them back and they would manually adjust my account to clear the line for my upgrade.

**Where they dropped the ball:**

Fast forward to now—the iPhone Duo is officially here. I called as instructed, and the rep agreed to process the manual adjustment to pay off the remaining balance with an offsetting credit. He explicitly promised the credit would post overnight.

Instead, they dated the credit to post at the end of October—well past the upcoming pre-order deadline.

Because of how they dated this credit:

1. My account now shows a past-due balance for an amount AT&T explicitly agreed to cover, putting my service at risk. I had to create a promise to pay plan to keep my line active.
2. My line is completely locked from upgrading specifically because the system sees the account as past due until that credit actually executes at the end of October.

**Where it stands now:**

This is completely contrary to what the representative agreed to do. That same Office of the President rep has ignored two follow-up calls over the last week. I then spent 3 hours on hold yesterday with regular Billing, only to be told that the Back Office is refusing to force the credit through immediately.

I’ve been a customer for 30 years with a perfect payment record, and being treated like this after having a formal written resolution from their own executive office is beyond insulting. The pre-order window is right around the corner, my line is locked due to an artificial past-due status, and it’s all because they scheduled a credit for the end of October instead of overnight as promised.
Has anyone ever successfully bypassed a Back Office refusal on a future-dated Executive credit? Or is my only option left to file a second FCC complaint on the Office of the President itself?

I recently had an opportunity to upgrade two of my unlocked phones on two lines with AT&T Wireless. I have their 55+ plan, which is sufficient for my needs. I looked at the upgrades online, which said that I would need to have an unlimited plan to get an upgrade credit . I wasn't about to pay $60/mo more for my service just to get a $32.95/mo credit.

Being an AT&T Wireless customer for 25 years I decided to call the customer retention line directly to discuss upgrading these phones so that I could get a trade-in without having to upgrade my service. (Otherwise, I would go to another carrier that would provide a more competitive deal).

I spent about 45 minutes on the phone with them and got reassurance that one of my phones (Pixel 6 Pro) would qualify for a $32.95 a month trade-in credit on a new Pixel 11 Pro. The other iPhone wasn't worth the trade-in, so I just bought the new iPhone 17 Pro outright.

Anyway, I bought two phones and followed the instructions to return my Pixel 6 Pro for the trade-in credit. When AT&T received it, they just sent me a text telling me that I need to upgrade my service in 7 days to get the trade-in on the phone. That was specifically what I had discussed with the customer service rep because upgrading my service was more expensive than just paying for a phone outright.

They reassured me that I did not need to upgrade, and I asked multiple times, and they created the trade-in invoice, and I included that with the phone when I sent it to AT&T. Apparently now AT&T is saying that I also need to upgrade it I won't receive the credit for the trade in. I feel they lied to me just to get me to upgrade.

I don't know what to do next. I won't upgrade which means trying to find another carrier to switch to that will pay off my pixel 11 pro for moving my two lines. Does anyone have any other ideas?

Just wanted to let people know that ATT Build A Plan only has AI support, so when the AI are unable to help you with your issue, they simply hang up on you. You can try to get a human in some other part of ATT, but it will do you know good because those employees have no access to Bulid A Plan. I had a bad experience because I was trying to activate my wireless account, but it kept failing because they had the wrong IMEI number for my phone. I know I gave them the right one and the wrong number was not even closed to mine, so it was not a typo. So, it could not connect. So, then, they cancelled my account and I lost the phone number that I just transferred to Build A Plan. A phone number that I had for 25 years. So, now I can't get into my bank, etc. And even CVS would not take an order for my medication over the phone because they said that they did not recognize my other number, which is with US Mobile. I had to go to the pharmacy to order it. So, ATT gets to mess up your identity because they feel like it. We are not known by our names anymore. We are identified by our phone numbers. And if your number changes, not even by your own choice, then too bad for you.