Comments on: iPhone on AT&T: What's your experience?

Molly Wood claims the iPhone "sucks" on AT&T. Have you had the same experience?

[erickbailey]

My phone works great in even the most remote places of Michigan (Bad Axe, Oscoda, Hell) but I have trouble at my house near Flint (100,000+ people) it will flip between 3g and edge often and since I am at home, the edge network makes the annoying interference noise in my headphones so I can tell when it switches. My wife's iPhone does the same thing. That being said I love the apps and ease of use a lot, so will at least keep the phone for the remainder of my 2 year agreement.

My phone works great too, no problems with the device or the network. I wonder if the folks at CNET need a tutorial or something. I laughed when she said she wanted to go to Sprint. They are losing customers by the hundreds of thousands so I'm not too sure of the wisdom in that comment. Oh well, best of luck to you.

[ellunchboxo]

mine works fine. i'm in baton rouge, la. always a full sigal.

[Jsmith018]

@ The person with no name.
Your saying that some of the smarter people in the tech world need a tutorial setting it up, what?
Also, its a common fact that AT&Ts network is far behind everyones elses. Not to mention their calls are half the bitrate of verizon.

[teknikkle]

What does losing customers have to do with service and signal?? Sprint is light years ahead of AT&T Tied for #1 in the West and close second for the rest of the country. I pull down 2.5mbs on EVDO rev.A tell me how fast your iPhone goes lol.. Sprint is losing customers because they gambled stupidly on nextel.. The network has no means of being feasibly upgraded and is a dead tech.. They are losing NEXTEL customers..

All I know is I tether fast, have crystal clear voice, no crippled phones, the cheapest plans and no dropped calls

[IBEJohnson]

by Jsmith018 May 27, 2009 8:11 PM PDT
@ The person with no name.
Your saying that some of the smarter people in the tech world need a tutorial setting it up, what?
Also, its a common fact that AT&Ts network is far behind everyones elses. Not to mention their calls are half the bitrate of verizon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common fact? According to whom? And what exactly do you mean "half the bitrate"? That's not a term commonly used when referring to wireless calls.

And to teknikkle: How is Sprint light years ahead of AT&T? Tied in what category for #1? Not dropped calls, that's for sure. You may have good coverage (which is great, because Sprint's plans are much cheaper), but overall independent testing shows AT&T just behind Verizon in signal reliabliity. And while we're on the subject of independent testing, check out Enadget Labs' post yesterday. They ran a comparo of all carriers' 3G networks. Here's a quote: "AT&T's download rates obliterate the other guys. Seriously, it's not even close." BTW, they are not the first 3rd party testers to come to this conclusion.

[bluelight421]

Everyone blames the carriers for their problems and it drives me nuts. The carriers themselves make a big difference in a persons experience with a phone (this I understand) however your LOCATION and THE PHONES RADIOS make the biggest difference. It is well known that the iphone has a very poor radio which can attest for the spotty 3G and voice coverage no matter where you are. Lets face it though, if you live in a location with older towers that are heavily taxed by a larger population of wireless users, you will have these issues NO MATTER WHICH CARRIER YOU USE! I get tired of people beating down AT&T when I personally know over 10 people who have left Sprint & T-Mobile in the upstate NY area where I live. Verizon and AT&T are the preferred networks in THIS PARTICULAR area, and i'm sure that other people in different areas of the country have different preferences! Sorry to rant but someone on CNET has to agree with that logic... anyone? please?

[atomD21]

@bluelight
Totally agree with you on the influence of location and equipment. I live in SW Ohio and Verizon is the network of choice around here, with Sprint not too far behind. The problem is that people have very high expectations for anything Apple branded and the iPhone is causing more frustrations than people are willing to accept, considering the hype surrounding the otherwise awesome device. If AT&T's exclusivity is allowed to expire, it would be interesting to see how the iPhone would perform on other networks (sans jailbreaking).

[rodrajr]

this is for the person saying that sprint is better than att you are WRONG!!! sprint doess have very good service i wont lie but their customer service is the WORST in the world. when you are at the store signing your 2 year contract they treat you like your royalty but once you leave the store with a two year contract you will be treated like crap and lied to a billion times !!!!!! i had it for two months and had to get 6 diffrent phones because they all breakdown and payed 200 dollers to cancel my service. i have had my iphone for 4 months know and is the best phone i live in houston tx and get great reception and great service

[rtgavin14]

I don't know about anyone elso, but in my school, if you have anything else other than Verizon, you are weird and no one will txt you, because everyone has verizon to verizon unlimited. My friend had an iPhone, and his coverage was so bad that he switched to verizon and got an LG Dare. I did a speed test with him, and verizon's network was atleast 5 times faster than att's. I live in NJ, and have 5 bars everywhere. In my are, verizn is the network of choice among EVERYBODY i know, even adults.

[jericho_g]

IMHO, this is an iPhone radio issue. My wife has an iPhone, I have a AT&T Tilt (WinMo smartphone). In spots where she has 1-2 bars, I have 2-3. I have to say the AT&T 3G coverage on LA's freeways is excellent. My daily commute is 30 miles one-way and I regularly stream the BOL, RealDeal, and TWIT podcasts to keep my sanity on the road. With an occasional buffer here and there, but otherwise I can't really complain about AT&T. My complaints are more with Windows Mobile, but that goes without saying...

[npanc]

I will have to agree with jericho_g. When I had the iphone I had all sorts of 3G/Edge connection and calling problems. When I switched to the Blackberry Bold, all those problems went away.

[Pizzookie]

Same here. I own an at&t tilt and I very rarely get signal problems along with every other phone I have owned with at&t however everyone with an iphone over here complain about service issues. People are dumb and don't realize that the iphone has the reception problems and not at&t. apple only cares about making the iphone slim and look good, even if it means sacrificing good hardware such as a good cellular antenna.

[FusedArtist]

I get full bars at work in Walnut Creek, CA - and stream XM radio over it, with no problems.

At home, in Pleasant Hill, I get full bars on my deck, no bars in the kitchen 10 feet away, and at my desk, it can go from full bars to none in a split second.

I'm mostly happy with it, but DESPISE ATT billing - I was ONE DAY LATE on my bill last month, and they called me 5 times, in ONE DAY.

[bytebug]

You can have your bill automatically paid by credit card. In addition to never being late, if you pay with one of the credit cards that earn you a rebate, you get cash back!

[kevin.talbot]

I have similar issues in our home (I have the first gen EDGE version iphone). Inside, the signal level varies wildly room to room. Outside, it's fine. A colleague of mine said this can be related to the type of insulation used in the house. If the insulation has a metal foil backing layer, it can act like a shield (made worse if the house has multiple layers of insulation put in). But that said, even with 1 bar, the voice quality is generally OK ut the EDGE data speed can drop a lot. I think it's like satellite radio and TV - the signal is either great or non-existent and not much in between unlike the old analog days.

[Rick Cavaretti]

@ bytebug

I refuse to pay anything electronically. When a certain administration was lobbied to pass Check 21, the middle class suddenly lost it's 'middle class float'. Your electronic payments can post at 3AM on a Sunday, but your deposit may take days to clear. Not too fair and balanced? Recent credit card reform was too light on the credit card companies. It should have had a post mark clause in it. As long as any payment was mailed and post marked by a certain date, then too bad if it takes a week to get there. Let the greedy bastards wait for the payment.

[sting7k]

@rick, I have no idea what you are talking about. I don't see what being fair and balanced has to do with an electronic debit taking a few days (it takes 1 or 2 days the majority of the time) to clear after paying a bill online? Who is getting screwed by that?

[gojeffrey]

Where I live in Jacksonville, FL I have a good 3G connection wherever I go with just a few minor exceptions. I was in the Atlanta area not too long ago and coverage was horrible there. Overall I'm very happy with my iPhone, however I would like to see AT&T get a little more competitive with their rates.

[jgvillan]

I agree with the more competetive rates. However, with AT&T's exclusitivity on the iPhone, I'm sure that they wont do that.

[Ruprect8696]

I drive between Akron and Cleveland daily and get a great 3G signal the whole way up the I-77 corridor. The only times I have any connectivity issues is when I'm in internal meeting rooms in my office.

[nwojciak]

That's great to hear because that's where I travel between and when i get my iphone after the 8th, I want to get good 3g signal if i'm paying for it :)

[bigpetis]

I love my original iPhone. I haven't upgraded to the new 3G, so I don't experience any of the 3G problems. That being sad, sometimes I will sit in one place and my reception will fluctuate between 1-4 bars. But with the release of a new iPhone eminent I am not too worried about it. Am I the only one that thinks that hardware in the original iPhone was better than the first?

[gqpenn2]

Can't say I agree. I get much better reception on my 3G than my wife gets on the original iPhone. We can be sitting next to each other on the couch and I'll have 5 bars on the 3G and she will have 2 bars on the Edge, so I think the innards are superior. However I really loved the "feel" of the original iPhone. It seemed to have a perfect weightyness to it that iPhone 3G lacks.

[alessiomore]

I agree with bigpetis. I too am very happy with the original iPhone. Originally I wasn't too crazy about the form factor, but the fact that it does what it's supposed to very consistently, and seeing how everyone I know who owns a 3G model always talks about a multitude of problems with their unit, has made me very reluctant to upgrade. Most of the problems they talk about are not really AT&T problems. Go figure.

I live in Chicago. My office recently moved from downtown to a suburb 25 miles north and I haven't experienced any problems with reception and call quality. Not a big fan of AT&T, but if I can use such a cool phone consistently without major problems, I'm staying.

Besides, every carrier has issues. There's not one cell phone carrier in the world that can say they don't experience "network problems."

[bigkahuna4330]

I'm with you. I love my original iPhone (coming up on two years in a few months). I get great reception around the Coeur d'Alene area and rarely have dropped calls. Call quality is great and aside from the cost of service, I really have no complaints about the phone or ATT. That said, I wish I could get service on Verizon with my iPhone.

[bytebug]

I've had no trouble with my iPhone or AT&T service, ever. My son and I both have service through AT&T, and it has been just fine.

As I drive to work and listen to BOL or other podcast and come upon yet another Molly-rant regarding iPhone or AT&T, I just grit my teeth and hope my blood pressure doesn't rise too far. I'm sorry that the iPhone has gotten under her skin, and that she can't let it go, but her rants have little to do with reality.

[GeoffreyTSpaulding]

It's AT&T. I have a Blackberry Bold (my third, because at first I thought the problem was the phone, not the network) with the same issues. I can sit in one spot and watch 3G disappear and reappear in a totally random way. Failed and dropped calls have become a way of life. My record is 52 failed calls in a row. Seriously. FIFTY-TWO! Shaa!!? What's more, AT&T has disabled the phone's option of using 2G or 3G. I've been on AT&T or Cingular for over 10 years and really like the Bold, probably would like an iPhone too, but AT&T's refusal to admit that there is a BIG problem with their 3G network is absurd. Makes me miss my old circa 2002 Nokia. So if any of you want me to get you in touch with AT&T customer service, I'd be happy to oblige -- I'm on a first name basis with everyone over there.

On a brighter note, Molly rocks it like no other! You da woman Molly!! GTS

[FatBadger]

When my phone has a connection it works and works great. But since AT&T coverage in the Madison, WI area sucks the big one, those times of great connection and super sweet phone action are limited in time and area.
I hate Verizon, hate them with a passion, but I would rather deal with Verizon knowing they have a better coverage map and area where I live then to deal with the spotty coverage from a company that I don't mind.
Apple should get on AT&T's butt about getting better coverage out, the crap service is only making the iPhone/Apple look bad.

[walledtown]

I live in Omaha, NE and yeah, my 3G connection is flaky. Hell, AT&T is flaky all together. If I lived in a perfect world, I'd have an iPhone on Verizon. Everyone I know has Verizon so I'd get free calls. I'd assume I'd have better service too. Don't get me wrong, the iPhone is a great little device but it needs a new or different carrier.

[amandafrench]

Maybe my standards are just low, but I don't have any trouble with AT&T on my iPhone in NYC. I get 3 or 4 bars 'most everywhere, and speed, while not lightning, is adequate.

[sting7k]

I live in the DC/Baltimore metro area. Last December AT&T expanded their 3G coverage beyond those immediate areas and to the greater Maryland area (a huge area). I get full 3G signal at my house and most places I go. The only sure fire place I lose signal is on the DC metro. It drops from time to time in buildings but every cell phone I have ever owned has done that.

I traveled to Philly last week for a work conference. I had fine coverage all over the city. However I did notice from time to time the signal would go up and down more, just standing on the street. At a friend's appartment outside the city service is normally fine, but again sometimes your bars will start going up and down requiring me to reset the iPhone. One problem could be the geography of the area, Philly has mountains and lots of elevation changes. DC is pretty much flat with no tall buildings to block your signal.

[sjschaef]

Verizon has the monopoly when it comes to the DC Metro which I personally think is ridiculous, especially in a post 9/11 world. The only way I see this changing if there is an incident in the metro where someone is killed or seriously injured and the only people around had another carrier and couldn't call for help.

Check out this link that talks about disaster planning/response in the metro... it says that if you have a phone that can run on an analog signal you will piggyback on Verizon. Well I have a tri-band phone it too doesn't work.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/express/meg.pdf

[Doug in L.A.]

My wife and I have 1st gen iPhones. We both get wonderful reception at home (in the Valley) and poor reception at work (she's in Malibu, I'm in West Hollywood). Verizon is no better in Malibu than AT&T, and Sprint is better than both of them in our trouble areas. But even with the reception-at-work problem, my wife and I adore our iPhones, and the Pre will have to walk on water to get us to switch. The apps & multimedia functions are so great that we overlook the rest. But that won't last forever.

[MisplacedLonghorn]

Use an iPhone in Austin (on AT&T of course). I have no connectivity issues, bandwidth problems or noticable voice quality concerns. I have heard (anecdotally) that the Austin metro has one of the best coverage saturations in the AT&T network.

[rahendrick4430]

I live in NYC; no problems with 3G here. I owned the first gen iPhone before upgrading, and I loved it too. I love the phone, and have not had a single problem. I guess maybe SanFran is just a rough spot for AT&T.

[jexner325]

I agree; i think people from San Fran assume that issues in "their world" must be the same everywhere. Just kidding. But I do find it interesting that reviews from CNET, NY Times, etc. typically make assumptions about a network based only on where they live and work. Rarely do they take the device to other cities and test them to make sure it isn't just their area that is experiencing issues.

[eriknokc]

A lot of this has to do with terrain. Considering that San Fran is very hilly and in downtown there are a lot of tall buildings, this will cause issues with signal of any kind because that?s just mother nature. Not to mention that I hear that people in California (among some other places in the nation with reports of poor reception) are very picky about where the cell towers go because they are afraid of property value going down with a tower nearby. Everyone wants coverage but doesn?t want the tower up to make it happen, it?s really a catch 22.

[nwojciak]

have to agree with eriknokc on this one, that makes a lot of sense to me anyway

[mb022]

Sorry but I have to disagree with eriknokc. I live in the MIdwest and it is flat as a pancake here. The reception for AT&T is terrible. My brother has an iphone and regularly drops calls and has areas where there is little to no service. He can walk into a building with me and I will have full service with my Verizon phone while he has no service. We both travel alot for our jobs to cities large and small and I continue to have far better service and connectivity than he does. It's a shame because I would get an iphone in a heartbeat if the service were better. Hopefully the rumors about Apple brining it to Verizon in 2010 are true!

[MisplacedLonghorn]

I use an iPhone in Austin (on AT&T of course). I have no connectivity issues, bandwidth problems or noticable voice quality concerns. I have heard (anecdotally) that the Austin metro has one of the best coverage saturations in the AT&T network.

[hawaiiinsomniac]

I live in Honolulu, Hawaii and I have no problems with my iPhone nor 3G.

[Sryche22]

This is great news as I also live on Oahu and have been debating on getting the Iphone once the new model breaks later this summer...thanks for the input!

[admarrero]

I don't know what it's like in the 50 states, but in Puerto Rico (part of USA for AT&T purposes) the call reception and 3G connectivity is fantastic. I almost always have 5 bars anywhere in the metro area as well as goos 3G connectivity. The only places that I've gotten poor voice reception is between the mountains and in the center of the island (no bars for any company). There's also no 3G coverage in Vieques and Culebra. I have notices that the EDGE network has degraded quite a bit in Puerto Rico, but I suspect that AT&T is allocating more spectrum to 3G here.

The good coverage ALMOST makes up for the fact that we didn't get the iPhone 3G until October 2008 (we never got the iPhone 2G here).

[lbut]

I'm an international user, from Malta, Europe, and I'm on Vodafone's 3G network and the reception is very very flaky at times! It will just switch to GPRS (no EDGE here) randomly, even though it would just be showing full 3G reception just moments earlier. I am extremely dissatisfied and have complained countless times to Vodafone but they continously deny anything is wrong. Things work fine sometimes, and that's what's led me to blame Vodafone and not Apple, as it's their network that varies and not the phone!

[fmusignac]

Switched from Verizon to get an iPhone 3G last december and so far I have no complaints. I live in Des Moines, IA and have traveled all over the east coast and it worked perfectly. I went to Puerto Rico in march and it had great coverage everywhere... So easy to document my vacation, stay in touch, check email and look for places/directions! This is the nbest piece of hardware I have ever had!!!