Amazingly, this interaction initiated online as well on Twitter after I complained.

In Twitter Direct Messages, I was directed to contact AT&T support via chat. So I did, and that started my road to resolution. The avatar known as Jason listened to my complaints and managed to do what I had been asking various AT&T personnel in-store – trade in an old iPhone 7, change my plan to unlimited, and get this new 5G-ready iPhone 12 Pro connected.

As I learned, in order for this promotion to work, you needed an unlimited data plan already. But I pointed out to Jason that my phone ordered in November only arrived in January so why should I pay for a 5G plan when I did not have a 5G device, the new iPhone? But since I was within the 14-day return period, he said he could essentially start this promotion transaction again, making sure of the right sequence of steps. I also asked Jason about the conflicting answers of discounts, and he explained how the starter unlimited data plans did not qualify for discounts but other plans did qualify.

Thanks to this invisible voice, my questions and concerns about “upgrading” to a new iPhone were being answered and taken care of. Now, I don’t understand why this could not have happened at any of the local AT&T locations I visited. It almost seemed like these locations could only do tasks from a set script or menu. Anything off script was met with (polite) declines.

So my plan has been changed to unlimited with 5G, the iPhone 12 Pro is activated and connected, and I’m waiting for the trade-in box to mail in the iPhone 7. Thanks for chatting, AT&T!

So what is this?

It’s right there on your website.

Here are some screenshots of the terms.

Maybe Hawaii is a “select location” where this promotion does NOT apply (any more).

According to att.com/hurricanelane, AT&T mobile customers have access to unlimited talk, text, and data from August 24-28. This applies to all AT&T wireless customers with billing addresses in the state of Hawaii.

Thanks AT&T! And I gotta say their Disaster Preparation page is very informative letting customers know what actions AT&T has taken and what customers can do for themselves. I just hope AT&T won’t have to activate their National Disaster Recovery program for us.

I also said goodbye to my iPhone 4. This phone really cranked up the camera quality, making the iPhone my preferred camera.

[audio:https://www.pulpconnection.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Attringtone.mp3]

That’s what haunted me as my LG G3 Android phone was stuck playing this tune. The screen wasn’t responsive, the phone was getting hot, but I would hear that AT&T ringtone every few minutes indicating some function. Not knowing what was going on, I now understand why I had to initially install the battery – so I knew how to remove the battery for situations like this.

I removed the massive battery and let the phone sit for a few seconds. After reinstalling the battery and powering up, the phone behaved as normal though the full charge was now at 76%. I think there are few things I need to learn about the LG G3.

• Having problems with your LG G3? Try these 10 bug fixes
• 10 things new LG G3 owners need to know

Thanks to Doc Rock for this tip. On your AT&T serviced iPhone, you can (voice)call *639# then shortly thereafter, you’ll get a text message letting you know if you can upgrade your phone, namely to a forthcoming iPhone 5.

If your current AT&T service plan is almost up, you should see something like this.