Asking people if they've had dropped calls does not become scientific data points.
Having the connection/drop records from AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and more is the only proof to determine the reliability across their networks.
I've had at least 10 dropped calls in the past 2 weeks from Verizon. I'm not going to fill out a survey ala Politics w/o reading the output connections across the networks to find out where the problem(s) reside.
I'm not sure if this story is really news, like polls finding that Americans were not happy with the bank bailouts. It pretty much confirms the accepted view regarding AT&T's network. Nor are the comments anything new compared to past forum posts. I suppose this just gives people a reason to vent and ask for an end to the exclusivity agreement.
I don't have an iPhone at the moment, so I have no first-hand knowledge of AT&T's network quality (at least as an iPhone user). I tend to think that service quality is highly subjective, and whether your call gets dropped, are filled with static, or crystal clear, is determined by too many factors for a simple poll to capture.
I know there are people who are justifiably mad about their service and they don't have to sit there and take it. If you're not happy with AT&T's network, you can complain to AT&T, you can e-mail Steve Jobs, and you can leave the network. Apple and AT&T probably peruse these forums, but if Steve Jobs gets an avalanche of e-mails regarding AT&T's service, it could influence his thinking.
I'm not saying don't complain on the forums, but if you're an iPhone user who's worked up about dropped calls or spotty service, I would encourage you to do something about it. I think it's far more cathartic than ranting on forums.
Screw AT&T their service was shitty at best. When I switched to T-mobile and unlocked my iPhone. Ive had no problems since. Apple really needs to open up to the option of T-mobile as a viable GSM carrier here in the states. All in all iPhone + T-mobile = WIN
Screw AT&T their service was shitty at best. When I switched to T-mobile and unlocked my iPhone. Ive had no problems since. Apple really needs to open up to the option of T-mobile as a viable GSM carrier here in the states. All in all iPhone + T-mobile = WIN
I've had few problems with ATT, but I am just speaking for myself. That said, I wish their international plans were a little cheaper, that they would unlock iPhones that have served out the contract, and will allow VoIP and tethering without too many constraints.
O/w, I am very happy. Their customer service is excellent (as mobile phone companies go).
Does the iPhone work with T-Mobile?! I thought that TM was on one of the GSM bands that the iPhone did not support?
I have been an ATT customer for 21 years starting when it was LA cellular. 20 years ago I knew when a call would drop, now I have good service almost everywhere! The last 2 years I have been in: Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, CA, Orange County, CA, Portland,OR, NewYork, San Antonio, Vegas, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, CA, Paris France, London & Washington DC. All using an Iphone, with no problems and 1 dropped call. Maybe it is time people realized a cell phone is not a hardwire phone an expect a dropped call or no service from time to time!!!!!!! P/S After the last earthquake in LA my ATT service was the only one working in my area!
There will never be an iPhone on VZW, and here's why. Apple basically raped ATT in the deal they have. You laud ATT for making the deal but in reality they didn't have much of a choice. They were faltering as a company and needed something so bad that they accepted to carry a device sight unseen. VZW will not accept the same terms and I believe the exclusivity deal hasn't been extended because ATT won't go for the same terms twice.
There will never be an iPhone on VZW, and here's why. Apple basically raped ATT in the deal they have. You laud ATT for making the deal but in reality they didn't have much of a choice. They were faltering as a company and needed something so bad that they accepted to carry a device sight unseen. VZW will not accept the same terms and I believe the exclusivity deal hasn't been extended because ATT won't go for the same terms twice.
It seems kind of laughable to call a company who owns a majority of the networking backbone of this country a "faltering" company. Even if you were just referring to the mobile side of the house...I would really like to see your definition of a successful company...
Apple should create a CDMA phone and others too, their brand and their data consumption is too large now to be tied to one carrier any longer. Plus it would invite competition and bring down prices.
Who the fsck cares it´s not going to ¨the future¨, phones only last about 2 to 3 years anyway or even less.
Right now in my area Metro PCS has a unlimited plan for $45 a month and T-Mobile has a unlimited for $60.
AT&T is $70, Version is $90 and Sprint is $100
On the last bit, you're a little off.
T starts at $70 and is talk only. VZ is also talk only.
i had cingular and was happy until they bought ATT. that is when the the dropped calls started and network busy messages became frequent. this was well before the iphone was introduced. i switched to t-mobile and was able to use my phone again. not only that, but i was saving money each month on my plan. needless to say, i was disappointed when apple announced the iphone was going to be locked to ATT. i debated going back to ATT, but decided that i would give it a try again. at first, ATT wasn't too bad. i am now ready to make the switch to any other carrier. i don't use the phone that often for phone calls, but mostly data. in general, i make about 3 calls per day (not counting the 4 i make to call back the person i was talking to prior to the call was dropped). in the morning it works fine. in the evening, i cannot get through a single call without it being dropped. data is a similar story. i have co-workers with phones from the competition. for fun, we compare the speed by browsing a website on each phone to see who downloads it faster. sprint (HTC Hero) is continuously twice as fast while verizon (Motorola Droid) is worlds ahead of ATT.
I have become an Apple fanboy, but have to say i plan on ditching my iphone this year. even though i don't use the phone that often for calls, it would still be nice to be able to do so when i want to. just my experience in orlando, fl on an iPhone 3G.
I live in central jersey i did the field test its on -87 but i show full bars on 3g a good 95% of the time im on it.. Calls are a little different usually 3-4 ive only see one bar 1 time.. I was in a friends basement but thats it..otherwise im happy with my switch. I actually feel like i have more reliable service now :-)
Could you perhaps be clearer about how technical questions raised by the trainees are specifically related to the iPhone--whose numbers far surpass the Nexus One on AT&T--and not to 3G devices in general on AT&T's network?
The students are from around the world. I don't have any AT&T engineers as the manufacturer of their network infra is different. But of the several different operator's engineers in question (mainly in Europe, but some elsewhere) yes. They've been very specific about the fact that the issues they are working with are specifically related to the iPhone. Like I said, some are dropped calls, but many of the problems are excessive signalling realted issues and some mysterious ones like the iPhone dropping it's voice connection for 10-15 seconds and then continuing. Maybe different network vendors treat this particular case differently and that causes call drops?
It is quite easy for the network operator to know which equipment is causing which particular problem (it they are live tracing a call) since the network can ask the phone for its IMEISV-code. This tells the phone vendor, model and software version to the operator.
Of course a survey of average users is not a technical analysis. It is basically opinion and hear say. I used to have Verizon and most of the dropped calls I got was when I was talking to Cingular users.
I'm not usually a conspiracy theorist but let me know what you think of this idea. I was on hold the other day on my iPhone connected to a business land line. I was holding for a long time with no music or other audible data whatsoever. I was not moving and I had a strong signal. After about 5 minutes the iPhone dropped the call. So my theory is that AT&T listens to the call and when there is no content for a given amount of time it disconnects to save bandwidth.
That's a reasonable assertion. There are x number of accessible blocks of bandwidth that are on a priority basis. If the traffic of voice between the connections is producing a constant waveform without the amplitude falling in a consistent range it means you're not actually producing 2-way communication and thus wasting bandwidth.
The scary thing with AT&T is that should you be in an EMERGENCY and need assistance, YOU might not be able to get service. It's dangerous.
Even not an emergency. Lets say yourdriving on a highway and get a flat tire. Will you be able to call for help???
I think i've made my point.
If you dial 911, the phone will use another tower if it is available (T-Mobile for example). You can still dial 911 even if you don't have an active SIM card in a phone.
Also, for the majority of users this is not a problem. AT&T is no doubt struggling in some areas...but to make the assumption that service is completely unusable is a little extreme...and if that is in fact your experience, you should have returned the phone within 30 days and gone with another carrier. The iPhone is great, but I don't understand why people would endure the seemingly-exaggerated claims that they post on forums just to have an iPhone. Seriously.
Well, yes, I did that, but when I tap the signal bars, they still toggle between bars and a number. Isn't that still field test mode? Or has it always done that and I never noticed? That is what I was trying to reset.
One of my biggest beefs, aside from the recent steep increase in dropped calls, is ghost calls.
I have two variations.
1 I get to the office on Monday, and have a fellow worker ask me why I called them on the weekend and then hung up without saying anything. (One was on Sprint, one on Net10, and one on AT&T; all are in my contact list).
2 I place a call, talk for a while, hang up. I then place a call to another number. It goes through, but the phone (network?) ALSO calls my previous party. The previous party hears my voice but not that of whom I phoned.
I never had this with t-Mobile, and didn't have it with pre-Cingular AT&T either. Replacing the phone (iPhone 3G) did not help, nor did replacing the SIM.
Comments
All my use is data - and I don't think they're counting slow or unavailable data as 'dropped calls'. How do we get counted?
You get counted (at least in part) by using the Mark The Spot application. It has a selection for "Data Failure".
Having the connection/drop records from AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and more is the only proof to determine the reliability across their networks.
I've had at least 10 dropped calls in the past 2 weeks from Verizon. I'm not going to fill out a survey ala Politics w/o reading the output connections across the networks to find out where the problem(s) reside.
I don't have an iPhone at the moment, so I have no first-hand knowledge of AT&T's network quality (at least as an iPhone user). I tend to think that service quality is highly subjective, and whether your call gets dropped, are filled with static, or crystal clear, is determined by too many factors for a simple poll to capture.
I know there are people who are justifiably mad about their service and they don't have to sit there and take it. If you're not happy with AT&T's network, you can complain to AT&T, you can e-mail Steve Jobs, and you can leave the network. Apple and AT&T probably peruse these forums, but if Steve Jobs gets an avalanche of e-mails regarding AT&T's service, it could influence his thinking.
I'm not saying don't complain on the forums, but if you're an iPhone user who's worked up about dropped calls or spotty service, I would encourage you to do something about it. I think it's far more cathartic than ranting on forums.
Screw AT&T their service was shitty at best. When I switched to T-mobile and unlocked my iPhone. Ive had no problems since. Apple really needs to open up to the option of T-mobile as a viable GSM carrier here in the states. All in all iPhone + T-mobile = WIN
I've had few problems with ATT, but I am just speaking for myself. That said, I wish their international plans were a little cheaper, that they would unlock iPhones that have served out the contract, and will allow VoIP and tethering without too many constraints.
O/w, I am very happy. Their customer service is excellent (as mobile phone companies go).
Does the iPhone work with T-Mobile?! I thought that TM was on one of the GSM bands that the iPhone did not support?
There will never be an iPhone on VZW, and here's why. Apple basically raped ATT in the deal they have. You laud ATT for making the deal but in reality they didn't have much of a choice. They were faltering as a company and needed something so bad that they accepted to carry a device sight unseen. VZW will not accept the same terms and I believe the exclusivity deal hasn't been extended because ATT won't go for the same terms twice.
It seems kind of laughable to call a company who owns a majority of the networking backbone of this country a "faltering" company. Even if you were just referring to the mobile side of the house...I would really like to see your definition of a successful company...
How do you exit Field Test Mode?
Click or hold the home button
Apple should create a CDMA phone and others too, their brand and their data consumption is too large now to be tied to one carrier any longer. Plus it would invite competition and bring down prices.
Who the fsck cares it´s not going to ¨the future¨, phones only last about 2 to 3 years anyway or even less.
Right now in my area Metro PCS has a unlimited plan for $45 a month and T-Mobile has a unlimited for $60.
AT&T is $70, Version is $90 and Sprint is $100
On the last bit, you're a little off.
T starts at $70 and is talk only. VZ is also talk only.
Sprint _starts_ at $70 with unlimited mobile to mobile (to ANY network including T and VZ), unlimited messaging and unlimited data (check it: http://now.sprint.com/planpromise/?p...seMaps:960x320)
oh and you get to upgrade once a year. to phones like the EVO 4G. your phones don't have to last 2 to 3 years. :-)
On the last bit, you're a little off.
T starts at $70 and is talk only. VZ is also talk only.
Sprint _starts_ at $70 with unlimited mobile to mobile (to ANY network including T and VZ), unlimited messaging and unlimited data (check it: http://now.sprint.com/planpromise/?p...seMaps:960x320)
oh and you get to upgrade once a year. to phones like the EVO 4G. your phones don't have to last 2 to 3 years. :-)
You get an UPGRADE ONCE A YEAR ONLY IF YOU AGREE TO A NEW 2 YEAR CONTRACT
I have become an Apple fanboy, but have to say i plan on ditching my iphone this year. even though i don't use the phone that often for calls, it would still be nice to be able to do so when i want to. just my experience in orlando, fl on an iPhone 3G.
Could you perhaps be clearer about how technical questions raised by the trainees are specifically related to the iPhone--whose numbers far surpass the Nexus One on AT&T--and not to 3G devices in general on AT&T's network?
The students are from around the world. I don't have any AT&T engineers as the manufacturer of their network infra is different. But of the several different operator's engineers in question (mainly in Europe, but some elsewhere) yes. They've been very specific about the fact that the issues they are working with are specifically related to the iPhone. Like I said, some are dropped calls, but many of the problems are excessive signalling realted issues and some mysterious ones like the iPhone dropping it's voice connection for 10-15 seconds and then continuing. Maybe different network vendors treat this particular case differently and that causes call drops?
It is quite easy for the network operator to know which equipment is causing which particular problem (it they are live tracing a call) since the network can ask the phone for its IMEISV-code. This tells the phone vendor, model and software version to the operator.
Regs, Jarkko
Of course a survey of average users is not a technical analysis. It is basically opinion and hear say. I used to have Verizon and most of the dropped calls I got was when I was talking to Cingular users.
I'm not usually a conspiracy theorist but let me know what you think of this idea. I was on hold the other day on my iPhone connected to a business land line. I was holding for a long time with no music or other audible data whatsoever. I was not moving and I had a strong signal. After about 5 minutes the iPhone dropped the call. So my theory is that AT&T listens to the call and when there is no content for a given amount of time it disconnects to save bandwidth.
That's a reasonable assertion. There are x number of accessible blocks of bandwidth that are on a priority basis. If the traffic of voice between the connections is producing a constant waveform without the amplitude falling in a consistent range it means you're not actually producing 2-way communication and thus wasting bandwidth.
Even not an emergency. Lets say yourdriving on a highway and get a flat tire. Will you be able to call for help???
I think i've made my point.
The scary thing with AT&T is that should you be in an EMERGENCY and need assistance, YOU might not be able to get service. It's dangerous.
Even not an emergency. Lets say yourdriving on a highway and get a flat tire. Will you be able to call for help???
I think i've made my point.
If you dial 911, the phone will use another tower if it is available (T-Mobile for example). You can still dial 911 even if you don't have an active SIM card in a phone.
Also, for the majority of users this is not a problem. AT&T is no doubt struggling in some areas...but to make the assumption that service is completely unusable is a little extreme...and if that is in fact your experience, you should have returned the phone within 30 days and gone with another carrier. The iPhone is great, but I don't understand why people would endure the seemingly-exaggerated claims that they post on forums just to have an iPhone. Seriously.
Click or hold the home button
Well, yes, I did that, but when I tap the signal bars, they still toggle between bars and a number. Isn't that still field test mode? Or has it always done that and I never noticed? That is what I was trying to reset.
I have two variations.
1 I get to the office on Monday, and have a fellow worker ask me why I called them on the weekend and then hung up without saying anything. (One was on Sprint, one on Net10, and one on AT&T; all are in my contact list).
2 I place a call, talk for a while, hang up. I then place a call to another number. It goes through, but the phone (network?) ALSO calls my previous party. The previous party hears my voice but not that of whom I phoned.
I never had this with t-Mobile, and didn't have it with pre-Cingular AT&T either. Replacing the phone (iPhone 3G) did not help, nor did replacing the SIM.
Please, drop me a note if you have had this.