Quality of AT&T phone service
As a new AT&T customer, I was with Verizon for the last 8 years, I'm unimpressed so far. The number of dead zones and dropped calls here in the Los Angeles area on the AT&T network is really disappointing.
However, my question is to all of you who have been with AT&T on other phones and are now using the iPhone. Is the phone service better, worse or the same? I'd really be interested in knowing if some of my disappointment is due to the iPhone or is it all about the AT&T network.
However, my question is to all of you who have been with AT&T on other phones and are now using the iPhone. Is the phone service better, worse or the same? I'd really be interested in knowing if some of my disappointment is due to the iPhone or is it all about the AT&T network.
Comments
As a new AT&T customer, I was with Verizon for the last 8 years, I'm unimpressed so far. The number of dead zones and dropped calls here in the Los Angeles area on the AT&T network is really disappointing.
However, my question is to all of you who have been with AT&T on other phones and are now using the iPhone. Is the phone service better, worse or the same? I'd really be interested in knowing if some of my disappointment is due to the iPhone or is it all about the AT&T network.
Don't blame iPhone. I live in the OC and switched from Sprint. AT&T sucks! Sprint had better coverage and hardly ever dropped calls. AT&T has dead spots all over the place. Some neighbors told me they switched from AT&T to Verizon or Sprint because of the terrible reception on AT&T phones.
Don't blame iPhone. I live in the OC and switched from Sprint. AT&T sucks! Sprint had better coverage and hardly ever dropped calls. AT&T has dead spots all over the place. Some neighbors told me they switched from AT&T to Verizon or Sprint because of the terrible reception on AT&T phones.
Yeah, I'm in OC too and I decided to keep my Verizon account as well as the new AT&T iPhone. My close friend has always had Cingular/AT&T and she could never get reception when she was at my house so I knew what to expect.
And with all this marketing "Cingular is now the NEW AT&T" why did my bill come from Cingular? Are they just using up the old stationery?
And with all this marketing "Cingular is now the NEW AT&T" why did my bill come from Cingular? Are they just using up the old stationery?
Yeah, I though it odd that they wanted me to write the check out to Cingular.
Back to the OP's question, I was a T-Mobile customer forever. I find the AT&T service a little bit spotty in my house, but otherwise haven't had any issues in Phoenix AZ.
I am waiting until October to see if the new iPod 6g will be like the iPhone minus the phone. if so I might jump into that and keep my Verizon.
My understanding the service in San Diego is crappy. I wish some folks who bought the iPhone here could give me some insight about their experience.
So far my worse experience has been in Los Angeles. The coverage on AT&T was pretty spotty. I was really shocked and surprised that I'm in the middle of the second largest city in the country and I cannot get a cell phone signal.
In New York City I haven't had much trouble with AT&T. I even get a signal down in some subway stations.
I don?t want this post to sound anti-AT&T, in fact I have friends in other parts of the country that are perfectly happy with their service. Unfortunately in the areas that I live, work and frequent (LA and Orange Counties) AT&T?s service was a noticeable downgrade from my current provider, Sprint. To test this I carried both phones for two weeks using the iPhone whenever possible.
In the Irvine/Tustin area alone I had 5 dropped calls over two days. As a point of reference I drop maybe 6-10 calls a year with Sprint. I also had trouble with text messages. I seemed to receive texts in a timely manner but sending them would occasionally result in an error message. I had this happen in Brea a half dozen times over the course of 4 or 5 days. With the exception of a couple calls in which the person on the other end said I sounded ?robotic? the voice quality was generally good and there were a couple places in which the iPhone displayed ?full bars? where my Sprint phone had only 1 or 2. I know the ?bars? thing is largely meaningless but I did notice a correlation to EDGE speed/availability and the signal indicator on the iPhone.
EDGE ranged from adequate to unavailable. I was in Fullerton trying to find a bank; Google Maps would display the ?pushpin? but not load the surrounding maps. After three tries and a reboot of the phone I gave up and used Google Maps on my Sprint phone. The same thing happened in Irvine only this time I actually received an ?EDGE is unavailable? message. Using the phone via a wifi connection was a dream but I can't always assume that everywhere I go I?ll have that luxury.
Many of my friends have made the switch from Cingular/AT&T to other providers but I had to try out the service for myself. Unfortunately I didn?t feel that the network quality warranted the premium I would be paying over my current Sprint rate plan. I love the iPhone and I love the concept of GSM SIM cards and the availability of unlocked phones. But in the end, at least in my case, it all boils down to service. In my opinion the iPhone is first and foremost a ?cellular? device. If the supporting network is inadequate no amount of ?revolutionary features? can compensate for it. It?s been three days without an iPhone and I?d be lying if I said I wasn?t going through withdrawals. I miss the threaded SMS, Safari via wifi, ?real? email and the elegant design and functionality of an Apple product.
My understanding was that Cingular's network was larger than ATT so one would have thought with that merger the area would increase.
What we knew as ATT years ago is dead and gone. Cingular was a joint venture between BellSouth and SBC. Those three entities essentially merged and changed their name to the new ATT.
I have been AT&T customer in northern California since 2000, starting with AT&T Wireless TDMA (some Nokia candybar), then AT&T Wireless GSM (Sony Ericsson T616), then Cingular GSM (Sony Ericsson S710a), and finally AT&T Mobility GSM (iPhone). In terms of coverage, Verizon is the king. Still, ever since AT&T started migrating GSM towers to 850 MHz frequency, the coverage has gradually improved. In San Francisco, the coverage is generally solid, with some dead spots in southern San Francisco and parts of steep hill areas. The coverage is generally usable in underground BART and MUNI stations but not between stations. In South Bay/Peninsula, the coverage is also generally solid, although parts of Palo Alto and "hill cities" (e.g., Los Altos Hill, Hillsborough, Saratoga) are mixed.
I don't go to East Bay much, but in my experience, northern East Bay (Berkeley, Oakland) and Fremont are pretty solid. I have been told that "newer areas" such as parts of San Ramon and Castro Valley are pretty bad.
Some people recommended to do a test drive for couple of weeks and make sure the coverage is good. not sure if this is a good idea, since you have to transfer phone number, pay restocking fees in case you return the iPhone, etc.
Oh man, I wished Verizon signed with Apple. I had Pac Bell 7 years ago and it was sucks, but since merging and changing names so many times, I had the hope that they were better now under AT&T. It seems not.
I look forward to Apple to introduce the 6g iPod as being the same as the iPhone less the phone. I believe Apple will get tons of sales for the folks that do not want to switch carriers. Bring it on SOON PLEASE!
If you are in the SoCal area and you don?t mind the possibility of getting stuck with over a $100 in ?test drive? fees give the iPhone a try. I read a review written by a lawyer in Irvine that said he had great reception at home and in his daily travels around Orange County. It just goes to show you that reception and quality of service can vary dramatically depending on exactly where you use your phone.
As for the coverage maps on AT&T?s site I?ve found them to be ?somewhat? accurate. I did have a couple problems in areas they listed as ?best? so I?m not sure how precise they are.
I guess it won't hurt to give the iPhone a try.
At AT&T store they charge the restocking fee. So I guess at Apple they will let you out of it.
Hopefully down here in La Jolla and San Diego, it will work fine.
To pass the time I was on the internet on the phone. Reading web pages and chatting on AIM. I expected at some point to loose EDGE when we got out into the middle of nowhere. My connection with EDGE was dropped for moments but surprisingly I never lost it for any long length of time. I spent pretty much the entire trip on the internet. Actually it felt like EDGE was faster in the smaller communities. Possibly because I wasn't sharing the network with millions of other people in NYC.
I guess that means ATT has New York State pretty well covered.
I would love to switch to an iPhone, but I am worried about the service here in the south... specifically, New Orleans, Mobile Alabama, and then of course, Biloxi and south MS.
Anyone have any yays or nays for ATT down here?
Ultimately AT&T?s network is the reason that I returned my iPhone.
I don?t want this post to sound anti-AT&T, in fact I have friends in other parts of the country that are perfectly happy with their service. Unfortunately in the areas that I live, work and frequent (LA and Orange Counties) AT&T?s service was a noticeable downgrade from my current provider, Sprint. To test this I carried both phones for two weeks using the iPhone whenever possible.
That's really odd that you were unhappy with your service -- I live in La Mirada, Ca, and have had Cingular for two years now, and my service has been quite a bit better than Verizon (which I had before).
The only area I can really complain about is at Whittier College (where I go to school), in the dorms -- I get no service in them, but neither do Verizon phones, so it is a wash.
the comments I hear from folks that live in SoCal are not that great regarding the reception for AT&T. That's disheartening since i Love the iPhone.
Some people recommended to do a test drive for couple of weeks and make sure the coverage is good. not sure if this is a good idea, since you have to transfer phone number, pay restocking fees in case you return the iPhone, etc.
Oh man, I wished Verizon signed with Apple. I had Pac Bell 7 years ago and it was sucks, but since merging and changing names so many times, I had the hope that they were better now under AT&T. It seems not.
I look forward to Apple to introduce the 6g iPod as being the same as the iPhone less the phone. I believe Apple will get tons of sales for the folks that do not want to switch carriers. Bring it on SOON PLEASE!
Gugy,
I go down to La Jolla almost every other weekend, and my service in San Diego has been great. At UCSD, UTC, downtown La Jolla, et cetera, I got great service every where.
I don't know why so many people are having problems in Southern California.