I am a current VRZ user here in Upstate NY and am anxious to switch over to an iPhone but have have been hearing mixed reviews about the AT&T coverage and customer service in my area. I also travel quite a bit throughout the eastern states for hiking trips etc. Looking for any honest feedback and thoughts about peoples experience with AT&T before I make the switch. Thanks.
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Need advise: Current AT&T East Coast users?
- Thread starter pigpen77
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Yeah I have checked out the coverage viewer but the complaints are from people where the map states you are covered. Reason why I am looking for folks currently using ATT in the area. Back in the Cingular days the service was down right awful here. I presently do not know anyone friends or family that is not a VRZ user. Only hear rumors that the ATT coverage also stinks and people switched back to VRZ.
Well I know this probably won't help, but you did say "east coast." I live in north Jersey, and there has been maybe three occasions where I haven't had service in the past year. Five years ago, when my parents had AT&T (not Cingular), the service was awful. Also, it's VZW, not VRZ.
worst case scenario, you get it and the coverage sucks. you take the iphone back within 30 days and you can cancel your service without penalty.
I live and travel extensively throughout the east coast. I can tell you that the coverage areas of at&t with the iPhone are great. I was also a cingular subscriber, then moved to verizon. I was very upset with the spotty areas of cingular. verizon offered better service, but i could not take their pricing any more, and etc. they are so horrible to deal with. i moved to at&t with the first iPhone, I will admit that I was nervous at first. However, there has not been a moment where I have been unhappy. Recently, traveling with a co-worker who is on Verizon, I had better reception than he did. FYI.
In my experience, if you are hiking on the interstate you are in good shape. If you stray more than the length of the off ramp, it is hit or miss.
I am in the east, but not NE, so maybe not the same experience. I had Verizon prior to the iphone and I had coverage everywhere. Woods, grocery stores, interstate, country. With ATT if I get off the interstate, I lose the signal- a lot. That said, I love the iphone, but I do travel with one of my children's Verizon phones.
I am in the east, but not NE, so maybe not the same experience. I had Verizon prior to the iphone and I had coverage everywhere. Woods, grocery stores, interstate, country. With ATT if I get off the interstate, I lose the signal- a lot. That said, I love the iphone, but I do travel with one of my children's Verizon phones.
I too had VZW before last July and was a little weary about getting ATT after some of the stories I heard of coverage in Boston, NY and where i live in Philly. However, i have had NO problems whatsoever with service when I'm with people that have VZW (in fact there have been places where i have had service out west where VZW did not!). After att merged with cingular and they've started combining their towers the service has gotten much more reliable and much more widespread. You shouldn't have a problem, but if you do you have 30 days to return the phone with no ETF...
i've ranted about this over and over, but i'm happy to rant one more time:
ATT service is pathetic compared to verizon. and since i got criticized last time for saying that and not being location specific, i can attest that ATT blows when in: new york city, long island, southern connecticut, northeast new jersey, and upstate NY.
with verizon, as you know, you get pretty perfect service.
with ATT, i got constant dropped calls, muffled voices, and lots of exercise from walking around to find a tiny spot where i'd get cell reception. not to mention having to stand outside my house in CT because it wouldn't give me service inside (and no, my house in CT is not a concrete bunker.) oh, and if you ever want service inside a building or elevator, forget it w/ ATT. somehow GSM can't handle it but CDMA can. i can't tell you how many times i laughed on the phone w/ ATT when they told me that its hard for waves to get inside buildings. i'm like #1, i'm surrounded by windows, no steel and concrete to go through. #2, CDMA seems to have no problem, EVER.
i don't understand people who live in these same areas and claim ATT is fine. clearly ignoring the truth, like i did when i had an iphone. after a while it just gets unbearable, unless steve jobs' mind grip is stronger on these other ppl than it was on me.
i'm sure ppl are going to rant about my rant, so you can go ahead and search these forums, or on google, and you'll find plenty of ppl who say the same as me. or if you want, i can give you about 30 names that will corroborate what i've gone through, because they effin hate ATT too. and that number just keeps getting bigger, because i keep asking more and more people (bc im so tempted to get the iphone 3G).
*disclaimer: like someone above said, i'm probably going to try the new iphone out again. despite everything i know about the service, the iphone is like an addiction that needs to be satisfied. the only thing to lose if ATT still blows (99% probability) is the restocking fee, so why not?*
ATT service is pathetic compared to verizon. and since i got criticized last time for saying that and not being location specific, i can attest that ATT blows when in: new york city, long island, southern connecticut, northeast new jersey, and upstate NY.
with verizon, as you know, you get pretty perfect service.
with ATT, i got constant dropped calls, muffled voices, and lots of exercise from walking around to find a tiny spot where i'd get cell reception. not to mention having to stand outside my house in CT because it wouldn't give me service inside (and no, my house in CT is not a concrete bunker.) oh, and if you ever want service inside a building or elevator, forget it w/ ATT. somehow GSM can't handle it but CDMA can. i can't tell you how many times i laughed on the phone w/ ATT when they told me that its hard for waves to get inside buildings. i'm like #1, i'm surrounded by windows, no steel and concrete to go through. #2, CDMA seems to have no problem, EVER.
i don't understand people who live in these same areas and claim ATT is fine. clearly ignoring the truth, like i did when i had an iphone. after a while it just gets unbearable, unless steve jobs' mind grip is stronger on these other ppl than it was on me.
i'm sure ppl are going to rant about my rant, so you can go ahead and search these forums, or on google, and you'll find plenty of ppl who say the same as me. or if you want, i can give you about 30 names that will corroborate what i've gone through, because they effin hate ATT too. and that number just keeps getting bigger, because i keep asking more and more people (bc im so tempted to get the iphone 3G).
*disclaimer: like someone above said, i'm probably going to try the new iphone out again. despite everything i know about the service, the iphone is like an addiction that needs to be satisfied. the only thing to lose if ATT still blows (99% probability) is the restocking fee, so why not?*
My experience
I live near Philly with ATT and I had very few problems since I have got my 3G phone (LG CU500). There is only one place that I have a constant problem with and that is my work when I am in the middle of the building which I am not near any windows or such. I then shut it off the on and after about 3 minutes I get a signal again and I can make phone calls. I get signals all over including in an airplane going to Florida last year.
My mom, who is on the same plan as I, on the other hand is always complaining how her calls are getting dropped, at least twice a week and she works out of her house.
I will tell you however the problems that do occur have occurred after the ATT/Cingular merger. I NEVER had a problem when they were Cingular and I have been with them for alittle less than 10 years.
This probably does not help you at all but this is my experience.
I live near Philly with ATT and I had very few problems since I have got my 3G phone (LG CU500). There is only one place that I have a constant problem with and that is my work when I am in the middle of the building which I am not near any windows or such. I then shut it off the on and after about 3 minutes I get a signal again and I can make phone calls. I get signals all over including in an airplane going to Florida last year.
My mom, who is on the same plan as I, on the other hand is always complaining how her calls are getting dropped, at least twice a week and she works out of her house.
I will tell you however the problems that do occur have occurred after the ATT/Cingular merger. I NEVER had a problem when they were Cingular and I have been with them for alittle less than 10 years.
This probably does not help you at all but this is my experience.
I just got back from vacation with a friend who has VZW, and we traveled to the Grand Canyon where my service was spotty, and she had service in areas where I had none. Albeit, this is not in the area in question, but maybe that is indicative of AT&T's problems in most areas.
I am in South Florida, and the service here is fine, even though reception could be better, but this is an issue that 3G is reported to address.
Customer service, OTOH, has been simply superfluous!. I had issues activating, and everyone was great. One CSR, Angelina, even called me on Sunday to make sure my port was successful and that I had no issues. She also waived my activation fee ($36) and the new SIM card I needed (I think $35). In addition, another CSR waived my prorate charges. They are tops in my book.
Hope this helps.
Jude
I'm live outside of Syracuse, but will probably be residing in the NYC for the next year or so due to school. I continue to be hesitant but may try the 30 day test period. I just can't get over that iPhone 3G temptation. Thanks for everyones input any more comments are welcomed.
NYC has 3G, and a few other places. I'm in Orange County NY and we have crap. They claim it will be available at the end of the year.
A friend of mine is upgrading to the new one anyway because our AT&T service sucks in general around here. Supposedly the new plastic back and new antenna they are using (which is at the top now, not the bottom) should help a lot. We'll see.
A friend of mine is upgrading to the new one anyway because our AT&T service sucks in general around here. Supposedly the new plastic back and new antenna they are using (which is at the top now, not the bottom) should help a lot. We'll see.
here in Virginia AT&T is pretty good--even in the country part of West Virginia it still does okay (though I don't think it'll get 3G there)
Verizon around here is pathetic and I don't know why people still buy their service. All their phones have the same stupid UI and everything they do is crippled by Verizon. Verizon video? Vcast? hahahaha get out of here
Sure AT&T isn't the perfect cell phone company but they've come a loooooong way.
I've had verizon and sprint before and after switching from CDMA carriers to GSM I can't go back. It just feels more FREE
Verizon around here is pathetic and I don't know why people still buy their service. All their phones have the same stupid UI and everything they do is crippled by Verizon. Verizon video? Vcast? hahahaha get out of here
Sure AT&T isn't the perfect cell phone company but they've come a loooooong way.
I've had verizon and sprint before and after switching from CDMA carriers to GSM I can't go back. It just feels more FREE
sounds like sim activation problem, someone didnt do somthing right! i never have any issues w/ mine anywhere i travel, and often times out in deep country areas i still have signal! my sister has VZW and hates when we go deep in country areas she gets nothing.
im not sayin this jus cause i work for the company, ive had all companies, chose to work with this one because i was so happy w/ it.
try again, make sure they update ur sim card correctly when u get the new phone, then rock out!
Sounds like a company line to me. I have tried ATT and their service would be about a 7/10 where VZW is a 9.5/10
oh well i guess it doesnt matter, im happy and havent had any problems, got all my friends to switch and they love it.
could be locations though who knows, i havent been EVERYwhere, no one has.
well if it *is* locations it's pretty darn sad that ATT cant handle new york city, upstate new york, long island, north east new jersey, or southern connecticut.
well if it *is* locations it's pretty darn sad that ATT cant handle new york city, upstate new york, long island, north east new jersey, or southern connecticut.
if that was the case no one would have att in those locations at all so i guess u have to ask ur self y one person wouldnt have any problems and someone else would? faulty equip/sim or somthing? who knows, people always have a bad experience and hate the company for life lol.
This site has a decent amount of user-supplied data on the signals people are getting with various carriers:
http://www.signalmap.com/
http://www.signalmap.com/
AT&Ts coverage maps are good for nothing. There are several areas in my town where the map shows there to be the best or second best level of service, however there is no service at all. I am actually considering calling and canceling and demanding no penalty as the coverage maps are wrong. Verizon BB Curve?