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After one week with the VZ iPhone

pshifrin

pshifrin

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 14, 2010
522
393
I have had every AT&T iPhone model from original through 4. Switched to VZ because I sold the 4 on gazelle for $410 plus 15% bonus code (switching costs a wash). Live in the NYC metro area. AT&T was perfect exactly where I lived but had the usual complaints while travelling around. I travel upstate often where VZ has a big coverage advantage.

Here's the quick summary: Consistency. The VZ iPhone is consistently reliable. Not a single dropped call. Yes data is "technically" slower on speed tests (i've seen over 2mb down on VZ in places I saw 3 on AT&T but really, no real world difference). Even on 1x data still works where as on edge hardly at all. The phone works deep into buildings where AT&T would be questionable. I'm very happy.
 
I've had about the same experience in Midtown Manhattan, absolutely no problems so far (and keep in mind at work, I'm 60 floors up in a skyscraper of concrete and steel, so signals can sometimes be spotty at best.)

I ran a speed test, and got about 1.3 down in Manhattan, around 2 in Brooklyn (Prospect Park area). It's certainly not the fastest data out there, but for what it is, it's definitely useable for browsing or watching Youtube.
 
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The VZ iPhone would be my first iPhone, and I honestly have no complaints. Battery life is great, I always have 4-5 bars, and I'm totally addicted to the apps. Whenever a wifi connection isn't available, I'm completely satisfied with the data speeds. I've also read that a 4G capable iPhone will place a few Verizon doubters with their foot in their mouths, with unbeatable data speeds + dual talk/data support.
 
I'm very happy with the phone. To people considering buying or returning keep this in mind - first few days battery will suck. I was at 7-8% within 6-7 hours of normal use. Now I'm usually left with over 50% by the time I get home from work... same amount of usage.
 
I'm in south rural Georgia and I switched from AT&T to VZ. I haven't looked back. In fact, my data speeds are FASTER!!!! The problem with AT&T here is coverage. They are in the cities and on the interstates, but no where else. I can actually make a phone call from my home without having to walk outside the house to get questionable coverage.

I think it was a big win for customers. Choice is always good.
 
saberahul said:
I'm very happy with the phone. To people considering buying or returning keep this in mind - first few days battery will suck. I was at 7-8% within 6-7 hours of normal use. Now I'm usually left with over 50% by the time I get home from work... same amount of usage.
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Did you do anything special with the battery? Any conditioning (draining battery all the way down etc)

I'm real happy with my iPhone on Verizon. The data speeds are livable. The phone itself is great, fast, everything works like it should.
 
patp said:
Did you do anything special with the battery? Any conditioning (draining battery all the way down etc)

I'm real happy with my iPhone on Verizon. The data speeds are livable. The phone itself is great, fast, everything works like it should.
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No I didn't do anything with the battery. Just normal use and after about 3-4 days of usage I noticed a huge change in battery life. Haven't changed any settings or anything either. Lot of people mentioned this with ATT iPhone last yr as well - it doesn't make sense but it seems battery takes a couple days to fully warm up.
 
pshifrin said:
I have had every AT&T iPhone model from original through 4. Switched to VZ because I sold the 4 on gazelle for $410 plus 15% bonus code (switching costs a wash). Live in the NYC metro area. AT&T was perfect exactly where I lived but had the usual complaints while travelling around. I travel upstate often where VZ has a big coverage advantage.

Here's the quick summary: Consistency. The VZ iPhone is consistently reliable. Not a single dropped call. Yes data is "technically" slower on speed tests (i've seen over 2mb down on VZ in places I saw 3 on AT&T but really, no real world difference). Even on 1x data still works where as on edge hardly at all. The phone works deep into buildings where AT&T would be questionable. I'm very happy.
Click to expand...

Good to hear! I thought this thread was going to be a ranting session but I was wrong
 
I am enjoying the phone a lot. I moved from the droid x to the iphone and the internet coverage is a lot better then the x. I stream pandora all day and the x would cut in and out throughout the day at work, but w/ the iphone it works flawlessly. I am glad I made the switch.
 
I waited 4 years to puchase my first iPhone because I've been loyal to Verizon customer for about 15 years. It was definitely worth the wait. I replaced a discusting blackberry pearl that was practically unusable.

I agree with the previously posted discussionsnabout the battery. Day 1-4 were not very promising but now I get a couple days of use between charges.
 
I had an iPhone 4 on AT&T and GLADLY switched to Verizon last week. I don't care it's an 8 month old phone. IT WORKS.

No complaints.
 
Glad the ViPhone works for you OP!

Hopefully more people follow your lead and start making the switch pronto!

The more people switch, the better for me :D
 
pratt733 said:
Anyone having GPS problems? Every GPS app I use loses signal constantly.
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There definitely seems to be a bug in the baseband or the driver for the new chip. That isn't signal loss that seems to be happening, it seems to be either junk data getting reported, or communication issues between the CPU and baseband.

The signal strength on the Verizon model for GPS seems to be just as strong as with the AT&T model, and just as accurate. Areas with multipath issues on the 3G/3GS are no problem for either iPhone 4 model. But there does seem to be an intermittent issue with data not getting reported correctly up through the OS to apps that causes them to act like there is no lock (because from their perspective, there isn't a lock).

I wish I knew if this was an already known bug by Apple, and how it got missed in the first place, or if it was simply deemed low priority enough to not prevent the VZ iPhone from shipping.

That all said, it hasn't caused me to miss any turns yet with TomTom, so I'm living with it for now. The "Connect to GPS" bug in TomTom is actually more annoying, IMO. But I can certainly see how it'd get old, or if it caused missed turns it'd be a priority.
 
That all said, it hasn't caused me to miss any turns yet with TomTom, so I'm living with it for now. The "Connect to GPS" bug in TomTom is actually more annoying, IMO. But I can certainly see how it'd get old, or if it caused missed turns it'd be a priority.
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TomTom released an update this morning that fixes this problem.
 
Well, I love the iphone so far. One thing I've experienced is about 5 dropped calls so far. That's 5 more than I had with my old Motorola Razr on the same network in about a 5 year time frame. The antenna does seem to be a weak spot on these....
 
pshifrin said:
Here's the quick summary: Consistency. The VZ iPhone is consistently reliable. Not a single dropped call. Yes data is "technically" slower on speed tests (i've seen over 2mb down on VZ in places I saw 3 on AT&T but really, no real world difference). Even on 1x data still works where as on edge hardly at all. The phone works deep into buildings where AT&T would be questionable. I'm very happy.
Click to expand...

Same here. I am really happy about the change. I have had multiple 20 minutes conversations which was impossible before. Also, phone works in many places around my home with 3 bars that before I didn't have any bars.
 
Eric374 said:
I'd suggest conditioning the battery first and see if that helps.
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beat advice
 
Nothing but positives for the change for me too!. Went to Fry's today and with ATT I could not get data to check prices on Amazon or make a call. Today both were steady!!! I"m one happy guy:D
 
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