Apple updates iPhone with MicroCell files

[AppleInsider]

A recent carrier update delivered to U.S. iPhone users through iTunes contains two small files for use with AT&T's future MicroCell signal-patching device.

The update to the iPhone's carrier settings arrives on the heels of AppleInsider's report on AT&T's 3G solution to patch iPhone dead zones just last week.

Apple's Knowledge Base offers few details on carrier settings updates, saying only that patches contain small files with changes to the default APN (which is how the iPhone connects to the cellular data network), special dialing codes, and default settings for web apps like Stocks, Maps, Weather, and others.

However, MobileCrunch has explored the package contents of the latest update and discovered that it consists largely of two images named "Default_CARRIER_ATT M-Cell.PNG" and "FSO_CARRIER_ATT M-Cell.PNG".



The images are simply carrier logos to replace the default "AT&T" logo at the top of the iPhone's screen whenever connected to the MicroCell.



Additionally, commenters at TUAW point out that Apple has added carrier settings for Mobily (Saudi Arabia) and Etisalat (United Arab Emirates) as well. This seems to coincide with reports that the iPhone will be available on those networks before the close of the month.

iPhone 3G users stuck in an AT&T dead zone at home or at work will be able to

[afreemanmd]

So, let me get this straight. I pay monthly for access to a voice and data network for my iPhone, but the coverage is so bad I have to buy, set up and power a device in order to get the service I should already paid for? Why doesn't ATT just provide sufficient coverage?

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by afreemanmd

So, let me get this straight. I pay monthly for access to a voice and data network for my iPhone, but the coverage is so bad I have to buy, set up and power a device in order to get the service I should already paid for? Why doesn't ATT just provide sufficient coverage?

Because they're an incompentent player and rated at the bottom of Consumer reports?

[Virgil-TB2]

How hard would it have been to replace this:

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

A recent carrier update delivered to iPhone users through iTunes ...

With either this:

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

A recent carrier update delivered to iPhone users in the USA through iTunes...

or this:

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

A recent carrier update delivered to iPhone's AT&T customers users through iTunes ...

... thus being, you know minimally polite to the majority of the world who are not actually living in the USA?

[roehlstation]

Originally Posted by afreemanmd

So, let me get this straight. I pay monthly for access to a voice and data network for my iPhone, but the coverage is so bad I have to buy, set up and power a device in order to get the service I should already paid for? Why doesn't ATT just provide sufficient coverage?

I'll get you straight, this IS how AT&T is providing sufficient coverage. You don't actually think that any cell phone carrier actually owns all their cell towers do you? Many of them share and many of them lease towers from others, you could put a tower up in your backyard if you want and lease it to a carrier. (Providing you get all the proper permits) Sprint and Nextel do not own a single 3G tower (notice their ads say they provide ACCESS to the "fastest 3G network in the country" ) what you are paying for in your contract is access to the network AT&T have setup, your payment goes to paying the contracts AT&T has leases with as well as service on their own infrastructure. In this case, AT&T was required in their contracts with these additional carriers to change how their equipment connects to them, this update allows you to do that. No biggie, it happens all the time, I'm actually surprised this is even news really. only reason it is is because the update is being done through iTunes instead of being delivered to your phone from the wireless network.

Could you imagine what it would look like is instead of one tower in a location you see 3 or 4 because each carrier had to put up their own?

[paxman]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

How hard would it have been to replace this:With either this:or this:... thus being, you know minimally polite to the majority of the world who are not actually living in the USA?

Yeah but we all WISH we lived in the US. Ummm... don't we?

[bigmc6000]

[snipped]

[ed: let's nip this one in the bud. If you have political statements to make, go to AppleInsider's Political Outsider forum]

[martinmi]

I realize that the 3G iPhone is the latest and greatest, however, many of us still own the original 2G iPhone. (Maybe because we bought AppleCare and are waiting for 1) AppleCare to expire, and 2) waiting for the next generation iPhone)

Most stories like this one never address whether this software update is for all iPhones. Any idea if this is for everyone or only 3G models.

[roehlstation]

Originally Posted by roehlstation

I'll get you straight, this IS how AT&T is providing sufficient coverage. You don't actually think that any cell phone carrier actually owns all their cell towers do you? Many of them share and many of them lease towers from others, you could put a tower up in your backyard if you want and lease it to a carrier. (Providing you get all the proper permits) Sprint and Nextel do not own a single 3G tower (notice their ads say they provide ACCESS to the "fastest 3G network in the country" ) what you are paying for in your contract is access to the network AT&T have setup, your payment goes to paying the contracts AT&T has leases with as well as service on their own infrastructure. In this case, AT&T was required in their contracts with these additional carriers to change how their equipment connects to them, this update allows you to do that. No biggie, it happens all the time, I'm actually surprised this is even news really. only reason it is is because the update is being done through iTunes instead of being delivered to your phone from the wireless network.

Could you imagine what it would look like is instead of one tower in a location you see 3 or 4 because each carrier had to put up their own?

I did miss something here, what they are talking about are MicroCells, which are devices that AT&T can drop into an office building which has enough interference and what not to prevent you from getting a decent signal inside, it isn't that AT&T doesn't have proper coverage it is just that you may be located within a building with walls too thick to allow signal through. I know you can write it into the business contract to have AT&T provide the MicroCell at no additional charge, if your office has a business contract with them.

My previous statement still applies though.

[BlackSummerNight]

So if your coverage is so bad, stop paying them and move to another carrier which you think has better coverage. Problem solved.

Originally Posted by afreemanmd

So, let me get this straight. I pay monthly for access to a voice and data network for my iPhone, but the coverage is so bad I have to buy, set up and power a device in order to get the service I should already paid for? Why doesn't ATT just provide sufficient coverage?

[fraklinc]

Originally Posted by afreemanmd

So, let me get this straight. I pay monthly for access to a voice and data network for my iPhone, but the coverage is so bad I have to buy, set up and power a device in order to get the service I should already paid for? Why doesn't ATT just provide sufficient coverage?

This device although improves your cell signal at home it's pretty much aim at a different cause, for example AT&T want's you to Dump your rip-off Verizon land line and they will give you unlimited calling for about $10 a month while your home so you don't have to be switching from one phone to the other. They make will $10 per subscriber a month while at the same time they also will be taking a-lot strain of the main towers, and screwing the competition, for them it's a win, win.

[freethinker]

Originally Posted by roehlstation

I did miss something here, what they are talking about are MicroCells, which are devices that AT&T can drop into an office building which has enough interference and what not to prevent you from getting a decent signal inside, it isn't that AT&T doesn't have proper coverage it is just that you may be located within a building with walls too thick to allow signal through. I know you can write it into the business contract to have AT&T provide the MicroCell at no additional charge, if your office has a business contract with them.

My previous statement still applies though.

Great. With all this talk of micro cells, cell phone towers, etc. do you think any scientists in At&t or Apple for that matter are studying the cumulative effects these radiation sources have on our brains, soft tissue, organs, etc.?

Painful deaths- first deafness from MP3 players- are in store for future generations!

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by paxman

Yeah but we all WISH we lived in the US. Ummm... don't we?

No offence (I know you were joking), but no. I would not live in the USA if you paid me to.

[bigmc6000]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

No offence (I know you were joking), but no. I would not live in the USA if you paid me to.

You sure? Because they are - no if's about it!

[roehlstation]

Originally Posted by freethinker

Great. With all this talk of micro cells, cell phone towers, etc. do you think any scientists in At&t or Apple for that matter are studying the cumulative effects these radiation sources have on our brains, soft tissue, organs, etc.?

Painful deaths- first deafness from MP3 players- are in store for future generations!

No, that is what Mythbusters is for. Although I do have a theory of all of this affecting the honeybees

[paxman]

Originally Posted by bigmc6000

You sure? Because they are - no if's about it!

Fix Health Care and I'd move to NYC in a heart beat. I love that place. In fact, pay me enough and I'll forget about the Health Care. There is much to hate and despise about the US but equally there is much to love about the place. There are many places in the US I would never move to even if you paid me large amounts of money, but ditto places in many other countries I have been to.

[freethinker]

Originally Posted by roehlstation

No, that is what Mythbusters is for. Although I do have a theory of all of this affecting the honeybees

If it is affecting the honeybees it is most likely affecting our species and other species as well.

[freethinker]

Originally Posted by paxman

Fix Health Care and I'd move to NYC in a heart beat. I love that place. In fact, pay me enough and I'll forget about the Health Care. There is much to hate and despise about the US but equally there is much to love about the place. There are many places in the US I would never move to even if you paid me large amounts of money, but ditto places in many other countries I have been to.

Health Care is fine in the USA. You just have to pay out of your pocket if you don't have insurance.

Nothing to fix- just needs different funding. I assume thats what you mean.

I live in NYC and believe me, I wouldn't move to your country, where ever that may be.

[Booga]

Originally Posted by freethinker

If it is affecting the honeybees it is most likely affecting our species and other species as well.

Nuh uhhh!

See, I can play the "I have no evidence but I like to argue anyway" game, too.

[razorpit]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

No offence (I know you were joking), but no. I would not live in the USA if you paid me to.

You sure about that, because our government is handing out money to people left and right. In a few months you won't be able to tell the U.S. from any other socialist nation. Plus, right now we are in the fun stages of socialism where everyone thinks the government really can provide you with anything you want, all you have to do is ask.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by razorpit

You sure about that, because our government is handing out money to people left and right. In a few months you won't be able to tell the U.S. from any other socialist nation. Plus, right now we are in the fun stages of socialism where everyone thinks the government really can provide you with anything you want, all you have to do is ask.

Get thee behind me, Troll.

[BlackSummerNight]

Has anyone with a JB iPhone updated?

[cameronj]

Originally Posted by freethinker

Great. With all this talk of micro cells, cell phone towers, etc. do you think any scientists in At&t or Apple for that matter are studying the cumulative effects these radiation sources have on our brains, soft tissue, organs, etc.?

Painful deaths- first deafness from MP3 players- are in store for future generations!

Yeah, I bet life expectancy was MUCH longer 100 years ago before all the power lines, cell phones and microwave sources went live. Right? Right?

[Rot'nApple]

Originally Posted by paxman

Fix Health Care and I'd move to NYC in a heart beat.

Just don't ask Obama and the Democrats to fix your health care or you will rule the day!
Actually, the governement will rule the day.

Don't believe me... Look at the banks that came asking the government for money. The government is now telling them how much the CEO's and others can make, what furniture they can buy, how to market and advertise, where they can go with regards to retreats (unless you're democrats then you can waste taxpayer money by leaving Washington, traveling a few hours south to Kings Mill Resort in Williamsburg, VA, to "discuss" what could have been discussed right where they originally were, Washington, DC - republicans took a different retreat but did not use TAX PAYERS MONEY on their little trip).

I wonder if these banks are happy now that they took their "30 pieces of Silver" from the government?

You "might" have health care but I bet you'll wish you didn't!

[paxman]

Originally Posted by freethinker

Health Care is fine in the USA. You just have to pay out of your pocket if you don't have insurance.

Nothing to fix- just needs different funding. I assume thats what you mean.

I live in NYC and believe me, I wouldn't move to your country, where ever that may be.

No - Health Care is not fine in the US. I am not a US hater but lets not kid ourselves. Its amazing how much I know about you from your three lines. In truth the two first sentences speak for themselves and would have been enough, but it is the part of the last sentence that really nails it. You know, the insinuated insult based on the following declaration of ignorance.

[Matthew Yohe]

http://www.wireless.att.com/dcom//En...oCell_cms.html

Also:

[roehlstation]

Originally Posted by paxman

No - Health Care is not fine in the US. I am not a US hater but lets not kid ourselves. Its amazing how much I know about you from your three lines. In truth the two first sentences speak for themselves and would have been enough, but it is the part of the last sentence that really nails it. You know, the insinuated insult based on the following declaration of ignorance.

Maybe I'm missing something, I read through the article 5 times and can't fand anywhere in the article that mentions anything about the state of healthcare in the United States.

[liuping]

Originally Posted by afreemanmd

Why doesn't ATT just provide sufficient coverage?

At my house 3G is spotty, due to hills in my area.

I'm already within 1/2 mile of two different AT&T cell towers and I just don't see them adding another one just for me

This seems like a good solution, as long as they do not change too much for the base unit.

[paxman]

Originally Posted by roehlstation

Maybe I'm missing something, I read through the article 5 times and can't fand anywhere in the article that mentions anything about the state of healthcare in the United States.

5 times? You are being too honest. ;-) You'd save time by reading the thread. Health Care came in out of the blue and was not really intended cause a stir. A little like your Honey Bees, but more touchy.

[Tofino]

i wonder if anyone has heard of a similar plan by rogers in canada? i work in a black hole of cell reception and i could seriously use at least one of these...

[razorpit]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

Get thee behind me, Troll.

Did I hit a little too close to home for you Virgil to start calling me names? Should I have included "no offense" in my post to make you feel better? So sorry!

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by razorpit

You sure about that, because our government is handing out money to people left and right. In a few months you won't be able to tell the U.S. from any other socialist nation. Plus, right now we are in the fun stages of socialism where everyone thinks the government really can provide you with anything you want, all you have to do is ask.

How about we stop all this politics talk, it's offtopic. Political Outsider is the designated cesspool set aside specifically for the people that insist on talking politics. People of all political persuasions may apply, just keep it there.

Originally Posted by roehlstation

I'll get you straight, this IS how AT&T is providing sufficient coverage. You don't actually think that any cell phone carrier actually owns all their cell towers do you? Many of them share and many of them lease towers from others, you could put a tower up in your backyard if you want and lease it to a carrier. (Providing you get all the proper permits) Sprint and Nextel do not own a single 3G tower (notice their ads say they provide ACCESS to the "fastest 3G network in the country" ) what you are paying for in your contract is access to the network AT&T have setup, your payment goes to paying the contracts AT&T has leases with as well as service on their own infrastructure. In this case, AT&T was required in their contracts with these additional carriers to change how their equipment connects to them, this update allows you to do that. No biggie, it happens all the time, I'm actually surprised this is even news really. only reason it is is because the update is being done through iTunes instead of being delivered to your phone from the wireless network.

Could you imagine what it would look like is instead of one tower in a location you see 3 or 4 because each carrier had to put up their own?

Exactly what does this have to do with providing an adequate signal? How does this situation really mitigate the need to put down more towers? The way you describe it, AT&T is doing some cost shifting, rather than paying to set up additional towers, they make people pay extra to put in their own mini-towers in their own buildings.

Originally Posted by BlackSummerNight

So if your coverage is so bad, stop paying them and move to another carrier which you think has better coverage. Problem solved.

The problem is that none of them are all that great.

Originally Posted by fraklinc

This device although improves your cell signal at home it's pretty much aim at a different cause, for example AT&T want's you to Dump your rip-off Verizon land line and they will give you unlimited calling for about $10 a month while your home so you don't have to be switching from one phone to the other. They make will $10 per subscriber a month while at the same time they also will be taking a-lot strain of the main towers, and screwing the competition, for them it's a win, win.

Assuming there is a monthly fee. I don't recall final details of this device being released, I only remember the one story talking about the rumor.

Given that AT&T is in the land line business, I'm not sure they want to do this to snipe at Verizon's land line business.

Originally Posted by freethinker

Great. With all this talk of micro cells, cell phone towers, etc. do you think any scientists in At&t or Apple for that matter are studying the cumulative effects these radiation sources have on our brains, soft tissue, organs, etc.?

Painful deaths- first deafness from MP3 players- are in store for future generations!

Stop spreading useless FUD. There is very little evidence that this is a problem, and I haven't heard about any of that evidence being credible.

Originally Posted by roehlstation

No, that is what Mythbusters is for. Although I do have a theory of all of this affecting the honeybees

That would probably be a worthless theory. IIRC, the latest conjecture is an anti-ant or anti-termite insecticide is messing with the bees. The explanation is a bit long, but no one has any credible link showing radio waves having anything to do with it. It's a chemical that's designed to mess with their brains, and it appears to be messing with the bees in exactly the same way it was meant to mess with other insects, and its use seems to coinside with the onset of bee CCD.

If you want to keep up with that sort of thing, I recommend listening to NPR's Science Friday, offered on iTunes for free as a podcast.

[NomadMac]

I've read the microcells work with the iPhone 3G, which I don't have. I have a couple of 2G iPhones.

The microcells are providing GSM service, correct? Why won't they work with 2G iPhones?

****

Hey, you trolls, aren't you supposed to be out bothering some Billy Goats Gruff?

Did any Internet argument, ever convince anyone to change their position or opinion?
Who would respect the ranting of an individual calling you an idiot because he doesn't share your viewpoint?

Don't get sucked into wasting your energy on these rascals with a response.

****

It's not "rule the day", it's "rue the day".

[cameronj]

Originally Posted by NomadMac

It's not "rule the day", it's "rue the day".

Thank god somebody said it

[TBell]

Wow, I love that line. Even more so being that it is true.

I am from the US and I wouldn't live anywhere else. This, however, is based strictly on subjective factors such being born here and knowing my way around. I have traveled outside the Country quite a bit and have noticed that most people who say things like America is the greatest place on earth to live have never been anywhere else. Don't get me wrong, America has a lot going for it. It also has a lot going against it. For instance, if you want a medical system that serves the masses the best you'd be better off in Cuba. If you want a place that is clean, low in crime, high in income, and low in government corruption, Norway objectively beats the US in just about ever metric. For a healthy population (e.g. not excessively overweight), pick just about any country other then the US. The list goes on.

Originally Posted by paxman

ou know, the insinuated insult based on the following declaration of ignorance.

[razorpit]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

How about we stop all this politics talk, it's offtopic. Political Outsider is the designated cesspool set aside specifically for the people that insist on talking politics. People of all political persuasions may apply, just keep it there.

I hear ya Jeff, but you need to go a couple posts back before mine to make your point proper.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by razorpit

I hear ya Jeff, but you need to go a couple posts back before mine to make your point proper.

Which I did as well. I put a note on thread post #7, which is where it seemed to start, though on looking back, maybe I should have started at #6, that's a bit subjective.

[smallduck]

it obviously should be: µcell

[FSugino]

The link in the last paragraph is busted... where is it supposed to go?

[vandil]

The big conspiracy theory with the update was that it was narc'ing on jailbroken phones. Ah the paranoia of the jailbroken.

Originally Posted by FSugino

The link in the last paragraph is busted... where is it supposed to go?

Must have walked into a dead zone