AT&T Customers Continuing to Experience Excessive Dropped Calls

[Wilbah]

They should give the miocro cell away to anyone who will take it

iphone user since day 1.. I was verizon prior.. I live in central NJ, commute into NYC.. my service is so awful that I no longer talk on the phone.. seriously, my communication habits have changed.

At home, I drop literally half of my calls inside and out, on the road, a little less but still a joke by any standard. If you check the map, I live in a high coverage, full 3G zone, it's not like I live in the sticks....

When I first upgraded to the 3GS from my 2G, I noticed a marked improvement so I thought maybe it was the original 2G phone, but now, over the last few weeks the service has gotten so bad that I am ready to dump it and move on. I really just need a phone that works and doesn't give me high blood pressure every time I pick it up to get on a call.

The problem is that the iPhone and some of the apps I utilize have become integral parts of my workflow, so it won't be an easy change.

Yesterday I called AT&T for the first time in months and just yelled at everyone I could until I was good and satisfied. I've already gotten them to give me refunds (several time) it's not about the money anymore.

I just really wish they'd invest some of the loads of cash they're taking to upgrade their network, especially in the busiest metro areas that are the hardest hit. Or perhaps maybe even invent a new method relieve pressure on their network (something along the lines of the micro-cell but more widespread)?

They should also RUSH the micro cell to all markets immediately, and GIVE it to people! Seriously.. for the money we pay, they should GIVE the microcell away to anyone on AT&T who will take it. It will relieve pressure on their network and possibly save them from additional towers.

The device is cheap comparatively .. and we are the ones who are paying for the internet connection that it utilizes! For the nearly $6,000 I've given AT&T over the last 3 years (we have 3 iPhones on a plan) I think it's only fair they give us a service that at the very least they are trying to improve.

 

[mspman]

I've noticed over the past few weeks there have been more issues than normal with AT&T in Minneapolis. Last week and the week before it I was getting at least 1 dropped call a day, sometimes two. And there are times when I'm in my condo when I don't get 3G, only EDGE. And I live downtown, so this should not be happening. Very frustrating!!

 

[rdstoll]

AT&T should be embarrassed. Seriously, I had Sprint PCS in the late 90's that had much better call performance than AT&T does today. Having been with Verizon prior to switching to AT&T to get the iPhone I used to think the device was the problem but it's clear it's AT&T.

Worst part is that I got an email from AT&T just last week saying they just "completed a major upgrade" in Chicago. I'm still getting dropped calls left and right and 3G isn't that great either. And this is AFTER the upgrade??

 

[deannnnn]

Check out this poll that was on Facebook today!
Anyone wanna guess which answer I chose?

 

[phineas]

Come ONnnnnnnnnnnn Verzion and the iPhone

This post and the results are why I am hoping vzw picks up the iPhone, if they dont, well guess I'll go to tmobile, Nahhhhh I'll just sell the iPhone and go back to vzw.

AT&T's crap is getting to be too much, wait till the Zombie invasion, I bet there network will be the first one to go down

 

[deannnnn]

Worst part is that I got an email from AT&T just last week saying they just "completed a major upgrade" in Chicago. I'm still getting dropped calls left and right and 3G isn't that great either. And this is AFTER the upgrade??

Yeah, after the "major upgrade" in NYC last year, I saw major improvements with 3G speeds, but even more dropped calls. I was happy about the speed I guess, but I don't have a landline, and really rely on my iPhone for calling. It's terrible.

 

[Scooterman1]

Dropped calls on AT&T are just a thing that you learn to tolerate. Even in our Houston area, where signals are strong on 2 iPhones, my wife and I drop calls each day in her 30 minute drive home. It seems to happen in the same areas so it may be when the calls get handed off to a different tower.

 

[zencowboy]

No drops for me in Boulder CO +

I honestly can say no dropped calls for me in Boulder and when traveling to Golden and Evergreen CO using At&t since 2005 with an iphone and LG phone since then. From all the posts saying works here...doesn't work here, seems there must be more to the issue!?

A 'joke' that came to mind is some folks energy vibe might be quite low that it must be sucking the calls connecting waves right out of the phone and thus dropping calls

 

[spazzcat]

Does this data have number of calls vs number of dropped calls? It looks like they just asked people if they have had a dropped call? I had maybe one dropped call this whole year. But I don't talk on my phone as much as someone else may.

 

[Lara F]

Funny bit of irony - I went to Lake Placid NY for a sports competition last fall where a main sponsor was AT&T - logo on the side of the boards, booth set up etc.

Tower went down second day and there was zero service for 24h.

Now that AT&T offers a Canada plan with no extra long-distance fees, I may actually start talking on my iPhone for more extensive periods of time. Should be interesting to compare with Verizon...so far my frustration in NYC has been more over unavailable/slow internet connection than dropped calls.

 

[NewSc2]

Two weeks ago my service was flaking out. Couldn't make calls or get to 3G all day. Wasn't too happy. Wentthe AT&T store to go vent and the hottest clerk, I have ever seen, was working. She was so hot, she should have been over at VS in VS modellling something for me. wink, wink. nudge, nudge. She said they were working on a go-live of 12 new towers. The engineers had screwed up the configs. So the new towers and some of the old towers weren't playing nice with network. I live in mostly Verizon country. AT&T has been making improvements out the whaz. They finalized the deal for Centennial Wireless. Alot of those towers flipped to ATT recently. So for me, my piece of the network got bigger & better. Now mind you this girl was so good looking she could have told me to set my iPhone on fire and I would have given it serious consideration. It seems like AT&T is trying to act like it cares. So back to mis hottie. I asked for her phone number. ANd she told me, 1-800-331-0500. I think she likes me.

lol

 

[guzhogi]

Two weeks ago my service was flaking out. Couldn't make calls or get to 3G all day. Wasn't too happy. Wentthe AT&T store to go vent and the hottest clerk, I have ever seen, was working. She was so hot, she should have been over at VS in VS modellling something for me. wink, wink. nudge, nudge. She said they were working on a go-live of 12 new towers. The engineers had screwed up the configs. So the new towers and some of the old towers weren't playing nice with network. I live in mostly Verizon country. AT&T has been making improvements out the whaz. They finalized the deal for Centennial Wireless. Alot of those towers flipped to ATT recently. So for me, my piece of the network got bigger & better. Now mind you this girl was so good looking she could have told me to set my iPhone on fire and I would have given it serious consideration. It seems like AT&T is trying to act like it cares. So back to mis hottie. I asked for her phone number. ANd she told me, 1-800-331-0500. I think she likes me.

Pics of her?

My sister keeps asking when the iPhone is coming to Verizon. She really wants an iPhone, but hates AT&T.

And just so you know, my sister's married. Sorry guys.

 

[snoopy07]

The perfect solution would be for apple to give all US carriers the Iphone. Then we can go and pick the network that works best. People that like At&t stay with At&t, if you want Verizon or t-mobile then go, that way we all live happy. It’s your call Apple we customers deserve to choose our carrier for our iphone.

 

[nylon]

I'm really surprised about lack of choice in picking your provider in the US for the iPhone. In most other countries where the iPhone is sold it is carried on every major carrier. In Canada all 4 major carriers have the iPhone.

 

[jayducharme]

Coworkers of mine that have switched from Blackberry on AT&T to iPhone have reported an inordinant number of disconnected calls since switching to the iPhone, even though it's the same carrier, same phone number and same physical location of use.

There seems to be a real split in this thread: people who get lots of dropped calls with the iPhone and people who get none. I haven't had any dropped calls in the two years I've had my iPhone. But there have been many calls that never rang and instead went straight to voicemail.

I'm wondering if Apple might have produced a slew of defective iPhones, and those are the ones that are dropping calls. It's so strange that people are having such vastly different experiences, regardless of the call area. It sounds more like a hardware/software problem.

 

[nagromme]

I get maybe 1 dropped call a year in a medium-to-large US city (top 50, not top 10!). For all I know it was the other party who dropped. But there are still dead zones that bug me—mostly in rural areas but also in random suburban spots.

Unfortunately, the other carriers seem to be dead in the same spots!

And AT&T customer service is miserable. (I’ve never needed customer service for phone stuff, but I have their DSL as well) At the same time, my friends with Sprint and Verizon have horror stories and are itching to switch carriers! Asking which one has worse customer service seems silly when they ALL seem so bad. Not bad every time, but bad often enough that I’d want to change carriers.

There are no good US carriers in my view At least AT&T lets me use voice and data at the same time.

There seems to be a real split in this thread: people who get lots of dropped calls with the iPhone and people who get none. I haven't had any dropped calls in the two years I've had my iPhone. But there have been many calls that never rang and instead went straight to voicemail.

I'm wondering if Apple might have produced a slew of defective iPhones, and those are the ones that are dropping calls. It's so strange that people are having such vastly different experiences, regardless of the call area. It sounds more like a hardware/software problem.

My guess is regional variation—even from neighborhood to neighborhood in the same city. That, and having contacts that use different networks. The drops aren’t necessarily caused from your own end. (One person might talk to a lot of land lines and another might talk to a lot of T-Moble people. If T-Mobile drops calls in that neighborhood, the person might think his iPhone was to blame.) So it’s hard to compare two peoples’ experiences. But it’s easy to know the whole situation isn’t acceptable!

 

[snoopy07]

Until at&t gets competition from other provider with the iphone things won’t change. Right now if you want the iphone in the US its at&t or jailbrake it to t-mobile. At&t won’t care because if you want the iphone you need them, but with other carriers it will be different. They will have to maintain a great network and service or will take our iphone to the other carrier. This competition is needed and it’s the only way we the customers will get what we need.

 

[Black94TSi]

I live in an area where there are 4 towers within 3 miles. I have usually 2 bars in my house and 5 bars outside.

In any given day I drop at least 60% of my calls. I will get around 10 failed calls too(goes against my minutes).

I am a new att customer too, just signed up in November.

I am really thinking of going back to sprint where I never had dropped or failed calls.

 

[JediZenMaster]

Woah i've never had excessive dropped calls with ATT mobility. The Service here in NC is pretty flawless well for me anyway.

The only time i ever experienced excessive calls was with verizon when i was attempting to use the phone underground in a mall parking deck.

Funny thing is AT&T mobility in that same parking deck works fine.

 

[Rot'nApple]

Dismissive Title Macrumors!

Shouldn't that read 'SOME' AT&T Customers Continuing to Experience Excessive Dropped Calls?!

When Gizmodo leaked the iPhone photos, I talked to a friend with an iPhone 3GS and she has had it for well over a year in my local area, surrounding cities and even states. It is her only phone, no more land line and she loves to talk on the phone. Even before iPhone she was burning up the minutes.

Anyway, not owning an iPhone myself, but this might be the model I've been waiting for, I asked her again, for her experience using the iPhone on AT&T's network regarding their service and if she had experienced problems, knowing all the complaints we hear and I'm not saying they aren't happening and are not legitimate, but what of my stomping grounds where I'll most likely be using the phone 99 percent of the time... What of it? Her answer...

No Problemo (in honor of all the illegal aliens celbrating Cinco de Mayo by going to the Los Suns basketball game without any tickets 'cuz Lord knows you can't ask for "Papers Please" err tickets!

 

[CaryMacGuy]

I consistantly drop calls. I will be just sitting in the living room or in a bedroom and BOOM call drop. I am not even moving around and a call will drop. It is really frustrating.

 

[XjeffX]

I would be thrilled if only 4.5% of my calls were dropped. While I don't use talk on the phone much, nearly 50% of my calls end up dropping at some point.

 

[manhattanboy]

I have had ATT for almost three years now - and I haven't had one dropped call.

and obviously have either never made any calls or do not live in a major metropolitan city like NY.

 

[hstaniloff]

The worst service ever...

I live on the north shore of Long Island. The service is the worst. Absolutely the worst. I get little to no service in my home. When out and about, the phone is only reliable about 30% of the time. Dropped calls every singe time. Every time. Pitiful. Everywhere else - the Hamptons, off LI like down in Virginia or Florida, the phone works great. I love the iPhone but the service is making me bail. As soon as they come out with a Verizon version of the iPhone, I'm outta here AT&T!

 

[manhattanboy]

iphone user since day 1.. I was verizon prior.. I live in central NJ, commute into NYC.. my service is so awful that I no longer talk on the phone.. seriously, my communication habits have changed.

At home, I drop literally half of my calls inside and out, on the road, a little less but still a joke by any standard. If you check the map, I live in a high coverage, full 3G zone, it's not like I live in the sticks....

When I first upgraded to the 3GS from my 2G, I noticed a marked improvement so I thought maybe it was the original 2G phone, but now, over the last few weeks the service has gotten so bad that I am ready to dump it and move on. I really just need a phone that works and doesn't give me high blood pressure every time I pick it up to get on a call.

The problem is that the iPhone and some of the apps I utilize have become integral parts of my workflow, so it won't be an easy change.

Yesterday I called AT&T for the first time in months and just yelled at everyone I could until I was good and satisfied. I've already gotten them to give me refunds (several time) it's not about the money anymore.

I just really wish they'd invest some of the loads of cash they're taking to upgrade their network, especially in the busiest metro areas that are the hardest hit. Or perhaps maybe even invent a new method relieve pressure on their network (something along the lines of the micro-cell but more widespread)?

They should also RUSH the micro cell to all markets immediately, and GIVE it to people! Seriously.. for the money we pay, they should GIVE the microcell away to anyone on AT&T who will take it. It will relieve pressure on their network and possibly save them from additional towers.

The device is cheap comparatively .. and we are the ones who are paying for the internet connection that it utilizes! For the nearly $6,000 I've given AT&T over the last 3 years (we have 3 iPhones on a plan) I think it's only fair they give us a service that at the very least they are trying to improve.

You are talking logically and trying to make sense of what AT&T is doing.
Good luck with that!
Now that the 3G iPad is out, you can say goodbye to those fast data speeds.
AT&T blows, but that said, I have noticed faster connection rates with phones other than the iPhone using the same sim, just never in NYC.