I know a very smart guy who was vociferously complaining for months and months that his iPhone had a strong signal but usually wasn't getting 3G (in a major metro area) and that he frequently couldn't even use the Internet. It turns out he works in a wi-fi area and frequents other locales with wi-fi hotspots, some of which set cookies that require periodic renewal (acceptance of terms of service) in Safari. Not only did the wi-fi symbol obscure the fact that he has always been on 3G, but auto-connection to previously used hotspots--combined with their expired cookies--prevented use of e-mail and other non-Safari uses of the Internet. He had no idea what was going on, and I suspect a lot of users are in the same boat. Upon explaining this to him, he said the iPhone was a nice device but he wouldn't recommend it--an opinion that I suspect will improve now but has been somewhat engrained by his past experience.
Because of my own experience with the above issues, I often keep wi-fi turned off and rarely connect to hotspots away from home.
It would help if the iPhone displayed "3G" alongside the wi-fi symbol, rather than having the wi-fi symbol supplant the "3G". Aside from letting users know they are indeed within a 3G area, it would tell them whether voice calls will be of the higher quality associated with 3G.
Finally, a report that points out how bad AT&T's phone service is.
I live in Los Angeles, and there are areas here where signal strength is as bad now as it was 10 years ago. And no, I'm not talking remote areas or canyons... I'm referring to flat stretches of mid-city L.A. or heavily populated areas in the Valley. Burbank coverage is as awful now as it was when PacBell was the carrier. So much for all the "network upgrades" AT&T is always bragging about. Where have they been done... Boise? Certainly not here.
And that's just my experience with EDGE. 3G is even worse.
It says a lot about the quality and user experience of the iPhone that many of us stick with AT&T despite their awful signal strength for basic phone service. If I could get the iPhone on a better provider like Verizon, I'd jump ship immediately, as would most of my iPhone-loving friends.
It is too bad that AI couldn't include some of the other telling remarks/findings Consumer Reports apparently published in regards to the survey, i.e.,
P.S. @ Quadra 610: Have to make my answers shorter. But it is nice that somebody else takes a little more time to ferret out the info.
Well, we live in times where the device makes the carrier. Signal strength and call quality can vary from place to place. But a lousy UI and medicore user experience tends to stay as it is.
It says a lot about the quality and user experience of the iPhone that many of us stick with AT&T despite their awful signal strength for basic phone service. If I could get the iPhone on a better provider like Verizon, I'd jump ship immediately, as would most of my iPhone-loving friends.
I suspect if Verizon had been the exclusive carrier of the iPhone, people would be complaining about Verizon instead. No way does Verizon have to handle the demand for data that AT&T is experiencing, especially in urban areas. And I suspect AT&T backs off some 3G users to EDGE in order to modulate/handle the traffic.
People would also be complaining about Verizon's "nickle-and-diming". Their early termination fee is now $350 and they charge extra per month for visual voice mail on the Druid. When Verizon's habit is to charge for every little thing, you can see why Verizon didn't want the iPhone in the first place.
Well, we live in times where the device makes the carrier. Signal strength and call quality can vary from place to place. But a lousy UI and medicore user experience tends to stay as it is.
I find it shocking that 79% of "other" phone users would buy the same phone again, despite the lousy UI and mediocre user experience.
I had to stop watching after a few seconds. There is so many foolish things going on and none of them mean it?s absolutely a problem with AT&T?s service. It very well could be and likely is, but there simply isn?t enough evidence to say that it is, without question, AT&T?s fault in that instance.
guy tries to text message with full service and then tries to make a call to 411 and it never goes thru.
It is not AT&T.
Secondly, he is using Wi-Fi and I would have immediately turned it off or checked the network settings, something that is even more apparent when he tried to make the 411 call.
[QUOTE=filburt;1528522]In my experience in northern California, AT&T is probably 3rd worst carrier ...
But in terms of service, I think it is the worst. ...
Agreed on that. I live in Berkeley and have been an AT&T Wireless customer since 2001. I've seen the service steadily deteriorate, with increasingly unknowledgeable people on the phone and in their stores. The people in their stores seem lazy and uninterested in helping you out, similar to my experience in trying to find somebody to help me when I'm in a Target store.
I find the in store service at T Mobile much better. The people there are much more pleasant to deal with and their products and services seem to be priced more reasonably. I'm going to check their bay are coverage map in the near future when I go to get a new cell phone.
Well 66% of those surveyed liked their ATT service. But overall the people have spoken. I'm a Verizon user and seldom have problems with coverage. But note that in the same issue of Consumer Reports, the ATT / iPhone is the highest rated phone out there! (They also liked the new 21" iMac). How long do we have to wait for the Verizon/iPhone?
the hardware device is clearly not working correctly tho if it shows service but nothing happens. really what excuse could there be? the phone doesn't function the way its supposed to. clearly.
if the phone shows it has service it should be able to make a call, if it can't make the call then the device should read NO SERVICE reguardless of whats "going on".
i mean, is to much to ask to just pay for something that WORKS?
its like selling a car with a faulty gas gauge. its the same idea. obviosly SOMETHING is NOT functioning properly.
Standing outside a tall AT&T building the other day - with another large AT&T building (with many antennas on the roof) in sight three blocks away - I had Edge. Happens nine times out of ten to me in that area. You'd think all the AT&T employees coming and going would do something...
That's in downtown Charlotte. One of the markets promised an upgrade by year-end. We'll see.
For those of you who say your signal is fine: That's nice, for you. Of course there are areas that have acceptable coverage. But it doesn't mean there isn't a massive problem with the network.
It would help if the iPhone displayed "3G" alongside the wi-fi symbol, rather than having the wi-fi symbol supplant the "3G". Aside from letting users know they are indeed within a 3G area, it would tell them whether voice calls will be of the higher quality associated with 3G.
How would you know whether the phone was using Wi-Fi or 3G if it showed both?
It's one area where Apple's "we'll take care of it for you" attitude can lead to problems. Users cannot choose which signal they want to use, the iPhone automatically selects one for you and the only option for users is to disable something to force the other. Give me a little popup that lets me pick.
solipsism: That is a point many from other countries don’t readily see when they talk about their coverage, bandwidth and mobile plan costs. The US’ average population density is quite low, even if you remove the areas that aren’t inhabited or are agricultural, but leaving major road coverage. What country are you from?
I'm Swedish. Sweden is a country of 9 million with about 4-5 bigger carriers. They all use GSM so the iPhone is now available on pretty much all of them. The biggest carrier, Telia, had the exclusive for the 3G version. They support EDGE as well, a nice fallback in my opinion if 3G isn't available.
Other carriers offer great 3G, but lacks in GSM performance..
But since 3G hogs the battery like crazy I only enable it when surfing is on the agenda.
The carriers also have different settings for 3G and GSM on the iPhone itself. I can turn off my 3G but my friend with another carrier cannot, as his carrier prefers the subscribers to always use 3G since that's there main network. Ergo, I get a longer battery life. He gets a bit cheaper contract, but not always.
It's a coin toss.
I pay 100 US a month for unlimited voice and data. Well the data limit is 5GB, then they will limit your speed until the next month. I get maybe 3-4 days out of the battery (3GS). So very good coverage all around.
Comments
Because of my own experience with the above issues, I often keep wi-fi turned off and rarely connect to hotspots away from home.
It would help if the iPhone displayed "3G" alongside the wi-fi symbol, rather than having the wi-fi symbol supplant the "3G". Aside from letting users know they are indeed within a 3G area, it would tell them whether voice calls will be of the higher quality associated with 3G.
I live in Los Angeles, and there are areas here where signal strength is as bad now as it was 10 years ago. And no, I'm not talking remote areas or canyons... I'm referring to flat stretches of mid-city L.A. or heavily populated areas in the Valley. Burbank coverage is as awful now as it was when PacBell was the carrier. So much for all the "network upgrades" AT&T is always bragging about. Where have they been done... Boise? Certainly not here.
And that's just my experience with EDGE. 3G is even worse.
It says a lot about the quality and user experience of the iPhone that many of us stick with AT&T despite their awful signal strength for basic phone service. If I could get the iPhone on a better provider like Verizon, I'd jump ship immediately, as would most of my iPhone-loving friends.
GTSC
It is too bad that AI couldn't include some of the other telling remarks/findings Consumer Reports apparently published in regards to the survey, i.e.,
P.S. @ Quadra 610: Have to make my answers shorter. But it is nice that somebody else takes a little more time to ferret out the info.
Well, we live in times where the device makes the carrier. Signal strength and call quality can vary from place to place. But a lousy UI and medicore user experience tends to stay as it is.
AT&T ranks last in Consumer Reports mobile service survey
Yet 98% of iPhone users would buy an iPhone again.
Well what percentage did Kinsey say are masochists?
It says a lot about the quality and user experience of the iPhone that many of us stick with AT&T despite their awful signal strength for basic phone service. If I could get the iPhone on a better provider like Verizon, I'd jump ship immediately, as would most of my iPhone-loving friends.
I suspect if Verizon had been the exclusive carrier of the iPhone, people would be complaining about Verizon instead. No way does Verizon have to handle the demand for data that AT&T is experiencing, especially in urban areas. And I suspect AT&T backs off some 3G users to EDGE in order to modulate/handle the traffic.
People would also be complaining about Verizon's "nickle-and-diming". Their early termination fee is now $350 and they charge extra per month for visual voice mail on the Druid. When Verizon's habit is to charge for every little thing, you can see why Verizon didn't want the iPhone in the first place.
NSFW because of language (a few f-words dropped)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRRoHAs8x8w
guy tries to text message with full service and then tries to make a call to 411 and it never goes thru.
Well, we live in times where the device makes the carrier. Signal strength and call quality can vary from place to place. But a lousy UI and medicore user experience tends to stay as it is.
I find it shocking that 79% of "other" phone users would buy the same phone again, despite the lousy UI and mediocre user experience.
Well what percentage did Kinsey say are masochists?
I don't know, is it related to the percentage of sadists?
here is a perfect example of how bad the iphone service is...
NSFW because of language (a few f-words dropped)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRRoHAs8x8w
I had to stop watching after a few seconds. There is so many foolish things going on and none of them mean it?s absolutely a problem with AT&T?s service. It very well could be and likely is, but there simply isn?t enough evidence to say that it is, without question, AT&T?s fault in that instance.
here is a perfect example of how bad the iphone service is...
NSFW because of language (a few f-words dropped)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRRoHAs8x8w
guy tries to text message with full service and then tries to make a call to 411 and it never goes thru.
It is not AT&T.
Secondly, he is using Wi-Fi and I would have immediately turned it off or checked the network settings, something that is even more apparent when he tried to make the 411 call.
Firstly, he should have sobered up.
here is a perfect example of how bad the iphone service is...
Let me guess: his iPhone is jailbroken and/or he hasn't updated its software. Since he prefers 4-letter words, I suspect the latter.
But in terms of service, I think it is the worst. ...
Agreed on that. I live in Berkeley and have been an AT&T Wireless customer since 2001. I've seen the service steadily deteriorate, with increasingly unknowledgeable people on the phone and in their stores. The people in their stores seem lazy and uninterested in helping you out, similar to my experience in trying to find somebody to help me when I'm in a Target store.
I find the in store service at T Mobile much better. The people there are much more pleasant to deal with and their products and services seem to be priced more reasonably. I'm going to check their bay are coverage map in the near future when I go to get a new cell phone.
It must be a lot.
if the phone shows it has service it should be able to make a call, if it can't make the call then the device should read NO SERVICE reguardless of whats "going on".
i mean, is to much to ask to just pay for something that WORKS?
its like selling a car with a faulty gas gauge. its the same idea. obviosly SOMETHING is NOT functioning properly.
That's in downtown Charlotte. One of the markets promised an upgrade by year-end. We'll see.
For those of you who say your signal is fine: That's nice, for you. Of course there are areas that have acceptable coverage. But it doesn't mean there isn't a massive problem with the network.
It would help if the iPhone displayed "3G" alongside the wi-fi symbol, rather than having the wi-fi symbol supplant the "3G". Aside from letting users know they are indeed within a 3G area, it would tell them whether voice calls will be of the higher quality associated with 3G.
How would you know whether the phone was using Wi-Fi or 3G if it showed both?
It's one area where Apple's "we'll take care of it for you" attitude can lead to problems. Users cannot choose which signal they want to use, the iPhone automatically selects one for you and the only option for users is to disable something to force the other. Give me a little popup that lets me pick.
Let me guess: his iPhone is jailbroken and/or he hasn't updated its software. Since he prefers 4-letter words, I suspect the latter.
read the description guy:
" AT&T has garbage 3G cell phone service
and i want to slap steve jobs across the face. where's the App for that???
the phone has never been thru the jailbreak process and never will. iPhone OS 3.0 is what i'm running.
Category: Science & Technology"
solipsism: That is a point many from other countries don’t readily see when they talk about their coverage, bandwidth and mobile plan costs. The US’ average population density is quite low, even if you remove the areas that aren’t inhabited or are agricultural, but leaving major road coverage. What country are you from?
I'm Swedish. Sweden is a country of 9 million with about 4-5 bigger carriers. They all use GSM so the iPhone is now available on pretty much all of them. The biggest carrier, Telia, had the exclusive for the 3G version. They support EDGE as well, a nice fallback in my opinion if 3G isn't available.
Other carriers offer great 3G, but lacks in GSM performance..
But since 3G hogs the battery like crazy I only enable it when surfing is on the agenda.
The carriers also have different settings for 3G and GSM on the iPhone itself. I can turn off my 3G but my friend with another carrier cannot, as his carrier prefers the subscribers to always use 3G since that's there main network. Ergo, I get a longer battery life. He gets a bit cheaper contract, but not always.
It's a coin toss.
I pay 100 US a month for unlimited voice and data. Well the data limit is 5GB, then they will limit your speed until the next month. I get maybe 3-4 days out of the battery (3GS). So very good coverage all around.