AT&T Recalling Some BlackJacks
Customer support technicians at Samsung and AT&T have received a service advisory informing them of a faulty antenna design that's resulting in some BlackJack handsets dropping calls or just not getting any signal in the first place. However, it seems the companies haven't actually contacted the customers who paid for the things. Luckily, Engadget received a copy of the advisory and is making the details known for all to see. The under-the-table recall affects BlackJack phones produced between November of 2006 and February of 2007, which will include any phones bought by trend-setting early-adopters when the super-slim smart phone first came out. To check whether yours fits in this range, take a peek under the battery for a sticker with dates: If they match the aforementioned time frame, and if you've been receiving a poorer signal than you might expect, you might need to call customer support and get a little warranty repair action.
This comes just a few weeks after glitches were reported in T-Mobile's new Sidekick Slide that forced the company to stop sales of the device. Just last week, T-Mobile extended an offer to affected customers of a free upgrade to a Sidekick LX.
From Engadget
Related Links:
- BlackJack II Unveiled -- a Serious iPhone Killer?
- Switched Holiday Gift Guide
- iPod Lights Man's Pants on Fire
- Security Flaw Affects Sony MicroVault Drives
- Another Dell Laptop Explodes





Whitney Houston Dead: Singer Dies at 48, Body Found in Beverly Hilton Hotel
Whitney Houston Autopsy: Cause of Death Determined?
Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina: Late Singer's Daughter Hospitalized
Whitney Houston Dead: Stars React to Legend's Sudden Death
Adele Five-Year Break? Singer Plans to Focus on Relationship, Write 'Happy Record'
Jennifer Hudson Whitney Tribute: Grammy President Reveals Why Singer Was Chosen for Musical Memorial
Grammy 2012 Winners' List: Adele Sweeps Music's Biggest Night
5-Hour Energy: A Success Equal Parts Caffeine, Chemistry and Meditation
3 Economic Misconceptions That Need to Die
People With Easy-To-Pronounce Names More Likely To Succeed, Study Says















Comments
87
Subscribe to commentsAhmad NadeemNov 28th 2007 3:34AM
The other ATT phone with the problem that you loose the screen and it goes blank on you is the sony ericson. it happend to us twice with diferent phone and now ATT do not even replace it while still under warnty.
DebbieNov 29th 2007 6:13AM
I agree about the poor customer support and lack of techs who cannot speak fluent english. I bought my daughter a Toshiba and it had to be sent back 2 times in less than 6 months. It needed to go back a 3rd time but I was so disgusted with them I asked for my money back or an exchange for which they could not understand or comprehend. I asked for a United States phone number or address and didnt get that either. I gave up and took it to someone locally but have still had to take it in to the shop for repairs 2 more times.
Another bad customer support is for Norton! Yikes. I was on the phone with them at one point for almost SIX hours. LOL...one of them kept saying do you see the "aloe r O" I am like what? I don't understand what you are saying. I finally figured out she was saying YELLOW ARROW! roflmao! Geesh!
Just in case anyone needs to know quick ways to bypass the press 1 for so and so or press 2 for so and so, this link is very useful and I have used it many times. http://gethuman.com/us/
In ending, get rid of overseas customer service or either make sure they can speak fluent ENGLISH!
timNov 29th 2007 7:41AM
nothing but junk......
AliceNov 29th 2007 8:01AM
I had six phones in the space of a year with "Cingular" - AT & T. Their service is horrendous. Send a complaint to the Office of Consumer Affairs. I have written to them and the Better Business Bureau and intend upon having a class action law suit in the near future to stop these companies from ripping us all off. I need your support. Anyone who has been mistreated by Cingular or AT & T should participate. Send your letters out!
LauraNov 29th 2007 8:17AM
Has anyone had any battery life problems with the new HTC Mogul by Sprint? I love this smart phone, but I'm on my second battery and it's still terrible -- 2-3 short calls drops the battery power from 100% to 70-80%. Seems to always be in the charger. Prior phone was the Razr, which went for 4 days before needing a charge. Thanks for any info out there.
AshleyNov 29th 2007 8:23AM
Alice, How do I contact the Office of Consumer Affairs? When we had Cingular our service was pretty good, but ever since AT&T bought it I have dropped calls and no service and I live in the Memphis, TN area. I think something should be done.
AnneNov 29th 2007 8:38AM
Ashley, Cingular bought AT&T and when they did, tech service went through the roof but customer service fell all to hell. I actually broke my contract with them and went to T-Mobile because I was just disgusted with the way they treated me. I loved AT&T, was with them for five years.
LaraNov 29th 2007 8:52AM
I had AT&T in the past and was not happy with the service there. Between the dropped calls and the prices I decided to go to T- Mobile. I haven't had any problems since and that was over 4 years ago
rodNov 29th 2007 8:51AM
Yes Debbie, sometimes gammer and speach imperfections are difficult, and speaking of grammer and imperfections, What is this you say?>> "I am like what"
ToniaNov 29th 2007 12:25PM
I worked for AT&T in the residential part, what they did was outsource the work to cheaper countries and then laid off a lot of people. Then if you still worked for them they made you try to sale stuff to the ones that just called in for billing adjustments or ask stupid questions like "Do you use AT&T for ALL your telephone needs?" Then if u say no, then u have to go into sales mode. Awful place to work. Money is pretty good but you would be surprised at how many people are depressed who work there.
DAVENov 29th 2007 9:21AM
Cingular did buy AT&T and since there were thousands of areas where the two separate companies cell towers "overlapped" they shut down each one of the cell towers that were in that overlap area. This is why so many people who once had good service in a certain area suddenly have poor service. It's because the cell tower coverage shifted when the extra cell tower site was shut down.
Jim WalkerNov 29th 2007 9:36AM
Folks, I hate to let this news get around, my old land line works just wonderful. No dropped calls or weak signals or outlandish bills.
cbbageptchkid72Nov 29th 2007 9:46AM
OMG!!! You talk about people who can not speak english when you call AT&T, you are dead wrong. Our call centers are all US based. I am an employee for the mobility side and reading your comments about overlapping cell towers, extreme dropped calls, poor customer service, really burns my tush. I love how customers think that they know everything about wireless service. If you would read your terms and conditions instead of signing on the dotted line and listen to everything a sales rep or CSR tells you, we would not have to repeat ourselves 100 times and customers still not able to work a simple device. Follow instructions, listen to what we have to tell you, be patient with issues, nothing is 100%, not even wireless service.
CherylNov 29th 2007 9:58AM
Nothing is worse than Nextel/Sprint. I live with dropped calls,no reception, and horrible customer service. My husband and I have the same exact phones and when we are driving somewhere, he can have 2 bars of reception and I can show NO SERVICE on mine! It doesn't make any sence
julianNov 29th 2007 9:59AM
i agree when AT&T bought CINGULAR the customer service and the amount of drop call r REALLY BAD. I was charged $1,000 for 5 days of internet service which i didn't make..i call and complaint and their respond was well if u say u didn't make those call then y don't we split the bill 50%...how would anyone want to pay $500 for something they didnt' do??? so i refuse to pay such amount and they would do investigating on that incident... by the way my bill monthly has been $200 + for the past 7 years... and also unlimited internet would only cost $50 per month... if i want internet y wouldn't i call in and tell them i want internet????y would i want to be charged such amount???? so we were in the process of fighting over that claim then 2 months has passed they cut me off w/o telling me at that time i have been paying for the monthly service ...so i called them up and even agree to pay for the 50% deal that they offer me cuz it's such a hassle... then their reply was too late now u have to pay the whole $1,000 so i told them to go to HELL and i switch over to T-MOBILE where they actually care about their clientelles...AT &T is so rich that they don't give a damn about their clients... people we don't need a bully like AT &T ... go to VERIZON, T-MOBILE, SPRINT or whoever that care about their clients instead of giving AT &T ur hard earn money... 7 YEARS of cingular and never once i have a dispute about my bills or complaint about any of the call and never once have i been late on the bill...until AT & T bought CINGULAR...
TerriNov 29th 2007 10:19AM
who cares if it burn you butt cbbageptchkid72 What ATT did to there customer was DEAD WRONG ALSO. SO shut you face up witch. Take the W off put the B on. That is what you're and for Laura there is your problem in the first place you with Sprint OMG they other stupid cell phone company that treat there buyers like crap, I guess you didn't here what they did to there customers. I be a T-mobile or Verizon customer for life from this point on. Never had probelem with either one of them....
bd bojhNov 29th 2007 10:13AM
MMMMMMMM---I have Cingular/ATT and it is awful..I mean Awful....your call centers may be US based...but you sure have lots of folks answering the phone that "no speak" English...just call 'em up...dropped calls is the norm in lieu of the exception and the CSR kids are just simply rude....I give up....have a great day and check all bases before contracting with Cingular/ATT....bd
BrendaNov 29th 2007 10:16AM
You all talk about poor customer service; I was a victim of it with Sprint! Their customer service reps are from other countries and it is hard for me to understand their accent because they speak somehow broken English. I finally gave up with them and went to a Sprint store to handle my business. My advice is to not try to call the customer service centers of these wireless phone companies; there should be an AT&T store in your area you can go to handle your cell phone and wireless info business. Otherwise your brains get whacked trying to listen to these people who never learned to properly speak English explain stuff to you.
HelenNov 29th 2007 10:18AM
First of all, Cingular was a joint venture between the former Bell South and the former SBC. Cingular bought the former AT&T Wireless, which was a spinoff of the former AT&T. AT&T was bought out about two years ago by SBC, who decided to keep the AT&T name. SBC (the new AT&T) bought out Bell South about a year ago and decided to change Cingular's name to AT&T/AT&T mobility. I have had wireless service with the former AT&T Wireless/Cingular/the new AT&T since 1999 and have had very few issues with them. I have lived and travelled with my cell phone in various states and other countries with very few service issues. I have also worked in customer support representing them through an outsourcer. Most people do not educate themselves on how a wireless device works, the service, the features, etc. A wireless device is essentially like a radio. For all of you who have radios you know that sometimes a station will get staticy, and the quality of the signal can go from good to mediocre to poor. You're going to experience that with ANY wireless provider. Like Cabbage says, READ the terms and conditions, and LISTEN to what the employees are trying to tell you, but most important DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST AND EDUCATE YOURSELF on how billing, service, etc works in the first place.
monicaNov 29th 2007 10:26AM
hey cbbageptchkid72: you said that " Our call centers are all US based." as you are an employee... well, hate to burst your bubble on that one - but my husband recently called on his cell phone service and he asked the customer service guy... who, by the way, sounded EXACTLY like Debbie described - with the broken English.. and we found out that he was in INDIA!!!! SO.... if you are an employee, maybe you should cut and paste all these comments and send them to your company's CEO!! maybe that might help! i sure HE doesnt have any problems with his cellphone service.. of course not!