WIFI Calling Preferences Being Forced to Cellular Preferred

This will be my last post on the Wi-Fi preferences changed issue. Once I switch carriers, I will have no reason to say anything else.

I have three issues

1. My Calling preference for Wi-Fi calling being changed to Cellular against my wishes. No, my preference didn't change, it was changed without my permission.
2. While using Wi-Fi calling, some incoming calls are missed. This has no relation to #1, since it happens when I am in Airplane mode with Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi calling turned on. My preference for Wi-Fi calling isn't changed.
3. T-Mobile customer support does not have the practices and procedures to support their customers with this issue. T-Mobile and Samsung seem to not have the competence or desire to fix this issue.

I switched to T-Mobile specifically to get Wi-Fi calling. We traveled to Sedona on vacation and stayed in a resort in the Oak Creek Canyon wilderness area. The resort offered Wi-Fi, but there is no cellular service in this area. To use my cell phone, I would need Wi-Fi calling. My T-Mobile phone worked without problems on this trip. In future trips we have stayed in remote accommodations not offing cellular service but with Wi-Fi. My Wi-Fi calling has worked flawlessly.

But with what I have heard called as the Pie update, Wi-Fi calling has been an issue. For a couple of years T-Mobile customers needing Wi-Fi calling due to no or inconsistent cellular service, Wi-Fi calling has been unreliable. No suggested settings, no workarounds, no updates fix or mitigate the problem.

More disappointing is the incompetence I have seen in customer support. T-Mobile practices and procedures, as well as the technology used to support contacting the customer have exacerbated the issue. Customer support does not get back to the customer when a response is promised. Customer support seems to not understand the serious of the issue to the customer.

I have used and worked in IBM customer support. Their system is oriented in getting solutions and keeping the customer informed of the progress of the solution. The support system keeps a knowledge base of known problems and solutions, and reminds customer support when a response is due to the customer. The T-Mobile system seems to offer none of these important features.

I was employed at IBM when Lou Gertsner was hired to do its turn-around. He told us anyone dealing directly with a customer was in sales. I was skeptical, but came to understand what he was saying. It is especially true today when most of our interaction with companies is through the internet. Unless we visit a T-Mobile store, our dealings are with customer support. They don't sell us things, but they can definitely make us ex-customers. Poor customer support and inability to fix or understand the customer's problem makes the customer to look for solutions elsewhere.

I was at such frustration with phone customer support I wrote a letter to corporate customer support and heard back from a corporate rep. I was in negotiations for a solution when the rep seems to have disappeared. No rep, no solution. Only silence.

Although my cellular service is still weak, and very weak or nonexistent in parts of my house, I have turned off Wi-Fi calling for now. I spend most of my time at home in my man cave, and the T-Mobile signal is strongest (usually 1-2 bars) in this room. I leave Wi-Fi on for other functions to work in weak signal areas. This works at home, but I will need reliable Wi-Fi calling on vacations, so I need to find a cellular service that supports reliable Wi-Fi calling.

I don't use 5G now, and probably won't need it for a while. I don't game or stream. But since it is available, I will get a 5G capable phone when I switch. What makes this decision sad is T-Mobile is poised to offer the best 5G C-Band service, as Sprint owned a good number of the C-Band frequencies.

I am looking at 3 Verizon network options

• CREDO - good but not lowest price for my usage, but among the best customer support. Solo por Internet.
• Spectrum Mobile - best pricing, but very new at the customer support business for cellular service. Does have a local office.
• Verizon - Owns and controls the network. Not best pricing. As a previous customer, the support was good.