Contributor
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How do we get ATT to address the chronic network coverage issues in Elgin, Texas
I was at a community meeting in Elgin, Texas a few days ago. We met at a bank within walking distance of an ATT Store, and several of us noted that we did not have good cell coverage. The joke of the meeting was that if you were traveling east on highway 290 from Austin into Elgin that the reception dropped as you drive past the ATT store. The reception gets even worse at my house. At best, we get 1 bar. At worst, we have zero bars. If it were not for wifi calling, I would not be able to receive or make calls / texts. There have been several incidences when the wifi was down, so we have to jump in the vehicles and drive around to try and find a signal. I work from home, so this is especially problematic. It is also problematic during emergencies.
I have called ATT on numerous occasions. Tech support typically tells me that engineers are working on the tower and the issue will be resolved within 24 to 48 hours. I will call back and get the same response. When I started challenging them on that response, I was told that was not a guarantee and then they would guide me through setting changes followed by them tell me to see if that resolved the issue over the next few days. When it would not, I would call back and the cycle would continue. My sense is Tech Support is being evaluated on their case close rate and perhaps length per call, so they are motivated to do something and disengage the call. Each time I call in, I have to provide the same lengthy background. There have also been times that I am put on hold only to be routed to a new Tech Support person, where I have to give the same information. Tech Support has directed to the "loyalty department" who then directed me to the Tech Support department. The experience is very marginalizing and time consuming. It discourages me from seeking Tech Support, because there is no short-term or long-term resolution. My sense is that my call ends up being a hashmark on someone's performance evaluation with no really mechanism for addressing the issue.
I tried calling 611 yesterday, but the call would not go through because I have zero bars. I started trying to call again this morning, but still zero bars. So, I found an ATT Chat. I was told that there is a working tower within a mile of me. I am not sure how close towers are supposed to be to provide good coverage, but I would think a mile would provide great coverage. So, a nearby working tower is difficult to believe when the cell coverage is so spotty in the general area. Perhaps the tower is under capacity for the amount of load?
Sometimes Tech Support asks if I am near tall buildings. This is rural Texas. Tall buildings do not exist out here; unless you call two stories tall. I have 7 undeveloped acres in back of me, an empty lot to the east, a house and large highway easement to the west. I don't see how there would be any obstruction. I actually get better cell reception at my dad's place which is in a much more remote area of Texas.
We have two cell phone. They are different versions of iPhones. At ATT Tech Support recommendation, we have changed and reset different settings. What is consistent is that neither get good reception or reception at all when we are at home or in the neighborhood.
I have even considered getting a signal booster, but if there is not signal to boost, then that is a waste of money.
This morning, I found this forum. I welcome any input or guidance around how to elevate this issue with ATT, because calling 611 or using their chat box does not accomplish that. I have even tried having business conversations with staff. If ATT is not interested in expanding their infrastructure or capacity in this area, I respect that. We can shake hands and walk away. My issue is that I am being told that this area does have coverage and there must be something non-ATT related that is wrong. Essentially, I am paying for a service that I can only use when I am not home.
formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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118.4K Messages
5 years ago
I have a very short answer to your very long question. Switch to a different carrier that works from home. It can take 10 years to add new towers. And it is also 100% for the customers to select a carrier that works for them, not for the carrier to accommodate its customers (because it likely cannot)
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Majoflutepainter
1 Message
2 months ago
I'm going to start with - I don't have an answer as much of an update to this issue. This is a discouraging post to find that is nearly 4 years old. But this still hasn't been solved for Elgin, Texas. Even more so, I think AT&T is doing some sneaky marketing techniques now because of this issue being so prevalent. If you go look up a Cellular outage in Elgin on AT&T's Website, you won't find one. My cellphone icon for my reception while in Elgin says that I have full service. 5 bars. I have the 5G next to those 5 bars. When I was touring houses in this area, cell service didn't really become a factor in us relocating to Elgin, because its a decently sized town east of Austin, and my phone was saying I had full service when visiting the area. But now that I live here (we purchased a house in a Subdivision with ATT Fiber Internet, so they obviously should be servicing this area). I have no mobile data unless I'm connected to wifi. I can't use google maps when going downtown, I can't pay for anything virtually with an in store app. I barely can send or receive texts sometimes when I'm out.
It works fine in Bastrop, TX just 20 miles south of Elgin. It works fine in Hutto, 20 miles north of Elgin. Austin is fine. I used to live in Cedar Creek (a town that is roughly 1/3 the size of Elgin in Population) and I used to stream movies on my phone when my home internet was down. AT&T is not fixing the issue in Elgin and brushing it under the rug it seems. I'm tied to them because I cannot afford to buy out my cellphone plan with them (I financed my phone with AT&T because I didn't think I would have to switch for moving 30 minutes away to a town that is literally more populated than my previous one.)
I have tried submitting tickets to AT&T about this issue and find myself in the same loop as the original poster. I've also tried to get compensation for this on my previous bills, because I'm paying for unlimited data that is not available or usable to me at all in this area, and it should be according to all of their maps and icons. But they tell me they cannot compensate me until the issue is fixed with the tower.
All this to say that if you have AT&T - Don't move to Elgin. Or be in a better spot to switch Cellphone Carriers when you do.
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ATTHelp
Community Support
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232.9K Messages
2 months ago
Hello @Majoflutepainter, we hope everything is going well with you.
We're glad you contacted us about that, it's important that we get it fixed.
Here are a few reasons for signal loss or bad signal in general:
This could a location problem. Some outskirts and rural areas get less to no signal as towers maybe located too far off for the frequencies to reach those specific areas, which could be this case. Speaking about frequencies, there are various external devices that interrupt signal strength at your home, devices such as microwaves, refrigerators, washing machines, all run on the same electromagnetic wave length as your mobile carrier. That said, this is prime for service disruption that is undiagnosed.
You can look into our Troubleshoot and Resolve Tool (https://www.att.com/support/wireless/) on our website to get in depth review of all your devices. By logging in with your myAT&T account, and selecting the proper service, you can get personalized troubleshooting steps and diagnostics for your signal issues.
You can also take a look at our Network Coverage Map (https://www.att.com/maps/wireless-coverage.html?source=IC2Y0H0000000000L&wtExtndSource=wireless-map) by yourself, to check for a possible outage.
Next, if you still need further assistance, we recommend you to contact us via the support us link for us to help you better.
The Community Forums are a public support option where other users, and AT&T, will try and assist with high level support needs. This means we won’t be able to look into account specific concerns. To get the help you need for your unique issue, please review our Contact Us page (https://www.att.com/support/contact-us/), and choose the best option to reach out to us. You can call, chat, or reach out via social media, and we can review your specific issue and provide you support. If you feel your issue isn’t account specific, and can be answered generally, please let us know, and we’ll be happy to help.
We hope the above-mentioned troubleshooting steps alleviate your concern! Please do let us know if you require any further assistance.
Thank you for contacting AT&T Community Forums.
Rachel, AT&T Community Specialist.
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