On the afternoon of June 15, 2020, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint appeared to be having issues with connectivity. Phone voice calls and data connections seemed to be extremely slow and/or broken entirely for several hours. At 3:18 PM Central Time, CEO Neville Ray posted a Twitter message suggesting the network was being fixed.
AT&T has rolled out a couple of new prepaid wireless options akin to the multi-month plans long offered by companies like Mint Mobile. Under these new deals, AT&T Prepaid customers have the option of pre-paying for multiple months at a time, ultimately scoring a discount on a per-month basis compared to paying monthly. The wireless company currently has two multi-month plans available.
HBO Max went live at the tail end of last month, and if you're an AT&T subscriber, you'll find that streaming content from the new service doesn't count against your data cap. Specifically, streaming HBO Max over AT&T's network won't count against typical data caps for those who are metered connections, and it also won't count against the quasi-data caps on unlimited plans, where crossing a certain data usage threshold will lead to a throttled connection but not a halt to data access entirely.
5G has been the battle cry of many network operators and device makers so it wasn't surprising to see carriers scrambling to promote their network as the 5G network to beat. More than two years ago, however, AT&T ruffled no small amount of feathers when it rolled out its "5G Evolution" advertising campaign and its accompanying "5G E" icon on phones. That has lead to formal complaints and now AT&T is being given a slap on the wrist though that decision may come too little too late to make a difference anyway.
The Galaxy A51, a mid-range phone offering many features similar to the ones found on Samsung's higher-end models, is now available to purchase from Xfinity Mobile and AT&T. The version of the A51 available at this time features LTE connectivity -- if you're in the US, you'll have to wait until later this summer to get the 5G version. Though it's not at the same level as Samsung's latest flagships, there's a lot to like about the Galaxy A51.
Coming alongside the official launch date for WarnerMedia's HBO Max streaming service, AT&T has announced that many of its existing customers will get access to the platform for free. The perk will be made available to a number of AT&T's wireless phone service, Internet, and video customers, as well as subscribers who already pay for the HBO network through the service provider.
AT&T has announced that it is providing doctors and nurses with free mobile service on its FirstNet network for first responders. The free period will last for three months and is available across the US, according to AT&T, which recently introduced a discounted $15/month plan for consumers hit by the economic downturn. The free period went live for new AT&T customers on April 13.
In an announcement on Thursday, AT&T revealed that both AT&T Prepaid and its subsidiary Cricket have added new $15/month plans that'll help consumers hit by financial hardship during the quarantine. This plan includes 2GB of data, as well as unlimited call and text, and is available to both new and existing customers. As well, the prepaid carriers are easing the restrictions on data in order to help people stay connected.
The LG V60 ThinQ 5G has landed on US carriers, and the deals are impressive if you're looking for high-speed connectivity and some dual-screen action. Announced last month, the Android smartphone may be LG's 2020 flagship but it's not really priced that way, and the good news is that on some carriers the second screen attachment comes as standard.
Access to the Internet has proved to be more than just a luxury as cities or even whole countries lock themselves down to prevent the spread of the dreaded COVID-19 virus. Work and schools are moving their activities online and social media and messaging have become the only ways people can safely keep in touch. In the US, however, consumers are facing concerns that their increased Internet use may also increase their expenses. Fortunately for AT&T subscribers, that won't be the case, at least during the coronavirus crisis.
Google has just released its regular monthly update to improve the security of its Pixel phones and Android in general. It even talked about in some detail the new security-unrelated features that the Pixel 4 will be receiving this month. Imagine, then, the confusion that some Pixel 4 owners received instead when the March update for AT&T was mysteriously yanked from the Internet. It turns out that Google may have missed a critical step that left some features like Google Pay broken on the carrier-locked phone.
AT&T just launched AT&T TV, a system with which the average consumer can get "smart TV" in their home. This is all about getting apps and streaming content into the homes of the people that have not yet purchased a smart TV or a smart TV box of some sort or another. If you're not already in that space, AT&T wants to be the one to make you understand that this is the future - and that you should get into it as soon as possible.