Call Kurtis: Why Your Cellphone May Not Be Ringing
An Elk Grove man says his cellphone doesn't ring reliably. When, he says, his carrier couldn't fix the problem for six months, he called Kurtis.
That's the sound Manuel Romo wishes he heard all the time. Since March, he thinks he's only getting half his calls.
"Calls would go directly into my voicemail and if people didn't leave a voicemail, there was no way to know if you even called," said Manuel.
Missed calls don't show up either! Switching out his Motorola smartphone 5 times with Verizon hasn't fixed the problem.
"I've contacted Motorola, I've contacted Verizon, I've been on conference call with Verizon and Motorola," said Manuel.
And just recently, his wife's Motorola phone started acting up, too.
"We just want a phone that works. It's frustrating and I feel cheated," said Carmen Romo.
We found dozens of similar complaints online about all types of smartphones with all the major carriers: Verizon, AT&T,
T-Mobile and Sprint.
"We've seen it across many different carriers," said Mark Herbert, Lead Technician, Cellphone Repair.
Herbert says smart phones are sophisticated machines. A phone not ringing could be from a bad SIM card or a software or network issue.
When we asked Verizon to look into Manuel's case, they wouldn't give specifics, only calling it a "complex issue."
Magically, Manuel's phone started ringing again.
He says a Verizon rep then told him, his phone was on the wrong frequency. What does that mean?
"Occasionally it can happen when they move things around a little bit," said Herbert.
Herbert says each phone is assigned a frequency and sometimes cell carriers bump you to a frequency that doesn't talk well with the network.
"A few people can get caught in that move and it's just an error in provisioning," said Herbert.
After more than six months of unreliable service...
"Ecastatic," said Manuel.
Manuel's getting all of his calls.
"That's all I want. If you pay for something, you want to be able to get what you pay for," said Manuel.
Verizon also credited Manuel $240 for all his troubles and allowed him to upgrade to a different phone for free. He did, however, have to sign a new two-year contract.
Verizon Wireless Statement
"To protect our customers' privacy, we cannot disclose the specifics.
Verizon Wireless thanks CBS 13 for bringing this case to our attention. We worked closely with the customer and have resolved the issue.
We encourage our customers to contact our customer service department if they experience issues with their service or have questions regarding their account."
Heidi Flato
Public Relations & Employee Communications
Verizon Wireless l Northern California, Northern Nevada, Hawaii Region
Sprint Statement
"Calls going directly to voicemail, with or without an indicator showing up on the customer's phone can result from the way the device or the voicemail application is configured, or can be caused by network issues. Because the sources of the problem can vary widely, Sprint encourages customers who experience a problem with their voicemail settings or performance to contact the company so that we can work with them on an individual basis to resolve the issue. For best results, Sprint recommends customers visit a Sprint store where they can receive a free, hands-on diagnosis of their issue. Customers can quickly locate the nearest Sprint store at sprint.com/storelocator."
Caroline Semerdjian
Communications Manager, Sprint
T-Mobile Statement
"Thank you again for reaching out. In regard to your inquiry, T-Mobile does not comment on other providers' service issues. If this were related specifically to a T-Mobile customer, our technical teams would look into it and we'd be happy to provide an answer for your story. Apologies for any inconvenience!"
Heidi Merz (T-Mobile PR)
AT&T did not provide a statement, but tells us problems can occur when customers are in a marginal coverage area
