I've had the iPhone since it first came out ( currently have 3GS) and have just started having signal strength problems and dropped calls in the past year. This problem was far worse when I was with Verizon. It was so bad that Verizon, after seeing the history of calls to customer service, finally let me out of my contract without having to pay a termination fee. Then I went to AT&T.
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AT&T Customers Continuing to Experience Excessive Dropped Calls
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I've had the iPhone since it first came out ( currently have 3GS) and have just started having signal strength problems and dropped calls in the past year. This problem was far worse when I was with Verizon. It was so bad that Verizon, after seeing the history of calls to customer service, finally let me out of my contract without having to pay a termination fee. Then I went to AT&T.
me too. It's been a lot worse recently. I always said AT&T was fine, but I'm being made to look like a liar. Why are we going in the wrong direction here?
It's gotten allot better for us since September when they announced 850MHz or whatever that is. I think I have only had one dropped call in all these months. Our download speed have also increased to just under 3Mbps.
No problem
I live in good ole sunny California, down south. I don't have any troubles with dropped calls and I couldn't be happier with my at&t service. I am also totally stoked that the same company will be letting me upgrade early to the iphone 4. How awesome. I wish people all over the country had the same experience that I have that way maybe at&t wouldn't take so much grief for poor service.
I live in good ole sunny California, down south. I don't have any troubles with dropped calls and I couldn't be happier with my at&t service. I am also totally stoked that the same company will be letting me upgrade early to the iphone 4. How awesome. I wish people all over the country had the same experience that I have that way maybe at&t wouldn't take so much grief for poor service.
people like you make me sick. stop talking on your ****ing phone so much while driving and you wouldn't have nearly as much to complain about. not to mention you'd be doing everyone around you a favor.
I've been with AT&T for many years and I can not remember the last time I had a dropped call. If I started having dropped calls I would change carriers.
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new to the forums but not new with ATT. I used to own a nokia phone thru ATT and have never had any dropped call issues until after they merged with cingular which cingular used to be pacific bell cellular phones.
Pacific Bell cellular phones I used to be on years ago which lasted no more then 8months tops. Reason being was thier connection reliability was absolute junk. Didnt matter where I was standing the signal strength was garbage.
So then I switched to ATT not knowing that they two companys would merge a year and a half later.
During my time with ATT the signal strength was solid, secure and very reliable. Consistant.
Then the merge happend and the service customer service is where I noticed a significant Nose Dive heading south. Poor Service.
I continued to my time as an ATT customer being that the Nokia phone was still reliable and the signal strength consistant. Then upgraded to a Motorola flip which was also reliable.
When I made the move to the iPhone3g is when I noticed my signal strength consistancy begin to weaken. However I love my iPhone so much and use it for everything mobile that its tolerable.
I am hoping that this new anntenna system thats integrated in the new iPhone4 to put strong signal strength and reliability back into the hands that ATT used to have and be known for.
Hopefully one day this world will unify as one to focus forward to reach outside of the box, instead of focusing on the $ sign which divides the world into pieces
Pacific Bell cellular phones I used to be on years ago which lasted no more then 8months tops. Reason being was thier connection reliability was absolute junk. Didnt matter where I was standing the signal strength was garbage.
So then I switched to ATT not knowing that they two companys would merge a year and a half later.
During my time with ATT the signal strength was solid, secure and very reliable. Consistant.
Then the merge happend and the service customer service is where I noticed a significant Nose Dive heading south. Poor Service.
I continued to my time as an ATT customer being that the Nokia phone was still reliable and the signal strength consistant. Then upgraded to a Motorola flip which was also reliable.
When I made the move to the iPhone3g is when I noticed my signal strength consistancy begin to weaken. However I love my iPhone so much and use it for everything mobile that its tolerable.
I am hoping that this new anntenna system thats integrated in the new iPhone4 to put strong signal strength and reliability back into the hands that ATT used to have and be known for.
Hopefully one day this world will unify as one to focus forward to reach outside of the box, instead of focusing on the $ sign which divides the world into pieces
I'm in Atlanta and think I've only had 1 or 2 dropped calls in 3 years. AT&T and my iPhone and iPhone 3GS have been great. I am expecting the iPhone 4 to be even better,
It'd be great if we could get an engineer-type on here that actually knows how all this stuff's supposed to work. Not a flack from AT&T, or another pissed-off complaining customer, but someone who can say "It isn't working properly because. . ." in a fashion we can all understand. Just saying.
Didn't their slogan used to be "The carrier with the fewest dropped calls"? Or something to that effect.
Just spent the last week in Manhattan. Wow. Service has seriously improved. I used my data card for the week to check email and work from my hotel. Good speeds and very reliable. I lost one connection over a period of 6 days and that may have been my data card fault. I use a mifi from Novatel, the device can sometimes be quirky establishing a connection. Overall my performance was solid.
I aslo used my iPhone extensively for conversation. I did not drop one call the whole week and was on it continuously. In years past driving around corners would result in suspect connections but none of that happened this trip. Finally, my iPad data rates were near 2kpbs download speeds with acceptable latency.
I assume that much of the negative chatter about AT&T is from those that have not used their service in a while. Bad memories tend to run long. I live in San Francisco and service is improving there as well, although the New York market I would rate as pretty perfect.
I aslo used my iPhone extensively for conversation. I did not drop one call the whole week and was on it continuously. In years past driving around corners would result in suspect connections but none of that happened this trip. Finally, my iPad data rates were near 2kpbs download speeds with acceptable latency.
I assume that much of the negative chatter about AT&T is from those that have not used their service in a while. Bad memories tend to run long. I live in San Francisco and service is improving there as well, although the New York market I would rate as pretty perfect.
I got the iPhone 3G two years ago after being with Verizon for seven. Love the phone - hate the network! I travel extensively. Some places my 3G is reliable, others not so much.
The iPhone cannot be beat in terms of engineering, user interface, and elegance. iPhone 4 appears to raise the bar even further. However, a phone is only as good as the network that it's on. As much as I love the thing, many times it functions more like an iPod Touch than a phone. With the introduction of the iPad 3G and influx of new iPhone 4 users, I believe AT&T's network issues will get worse before it gets better.
I've decided to leave AT&T, return to Verizon, and get a Droid. Is a Droid my device of choice? No, but at least I'll have reliability, something that I haven't had for the last two years. I've experienced more dropped calls with AT&T in one week than I have with Verizon over several years.
If and when Verizon ever gets the iPhone, I'll be in line with everyone else on launch day. Until then, I'm sure there will be days when I'm somewhat envious of those who purchased iPhone 4 (and possibly subsequent models), but at least I'll know I'll be able to make and receive calls reliably and without interruption.
The iPhone cannot be beat in terms of engineering, user interface, and elegance. iPhone 4 appears to raise the bar even further. However, a phone is only as good as the network that it's on. As much as I love the thing, many times it functions more like an iPod Touch than a phone. With the introduction of the iPad 3G and influx of new iPhone 4 users, I believe AT&T's network issues will get worse before it gets better.
I've decided to leave AT&T, return to Verizon, and get a Droid. Is a Droid my device of choice? No, but at least I'll have reliability, something that I haven't had for the last two years. I've experienced more dropped calls with AT&T in one week than I have with Verizon over several years.
If and when Verizon ever gets the iPhone, I'll be in line with everyone else on launch day. Until then, I'm sure there will be days when I'm somewhat envious of those who purchased iPhone 4 (and possibly subsequent models), but at least I'll know I'll be able to make and receive calls reliably and without interruption.
AT&T is not alone -- perhaps it's your iPhone...
In testing throughout the SE, I find I consistently get dropped calls when using my iphone on AT&T. Granted many are in areas with lots of trees or mountain roads, however, if I take the spare (non-iphone) still on AT&T I do not have the problem. iPhone dropped calls happen in strong signal or weak. We have two 3G and one 3GS. I truly believe there is something wrong in the iphone's voice circuitry. It is something we've learned to live with at home and work (where many co-workers have iphones).
Unless the CDMA technology employed by Verizon and Sprint is so different from GSM based carriers I imagine Verizon customers would experience the same poor service. Touting Verizon as the magic fix to these problems is foolish (unless GSM/iphone combo is the culprit) and people who switch to a Verizon iphone will most likely be disappointed. Additionally, even if a CDMA iphone was free of dropped calls, no one is going to keep that technology around for much longer.
Bashing AT&T is pointless. The problem is global. You can search google for iphone dropped calls in UK, AU, DE and any other country and find massive complaints and some lawsuits about iphones dropping calls.
What's remarkable is Apple's ability to sell millions upon millions of these devices and have people come to accept dropped calls as just an unfortunate by-product of having a superior application/web/data experience. The switch to texting, e-mail and social networks as primary communications outlets have made talking on the phone obsolete for many. Perhaps this is part of the reason such a serious problem has been pretty much ignored (even while the complaints continue) and sales of the iphone have grown.
Cheers,
In testing throughout the SE, I find I consistently get dropped calls when using my iphone on AT&T. Granted many are in areas with lots of trees or mountain roads, however, if I take the spare (non-iphone) still on AT&T I do not have the problem. iPhone dropped calls happen in strong signal or weak. We have two 3G and one 3GS. I truly believe there is something wrong in the iphone's voice circuitry. It is something we've learned to live with at home and work (where many co-workers have iphones).
Unless the CDMA technology employed by Verizon and Sprint is so different from GSM based carriers I imagine Verizon customers would experience the same poor service. Touting Verizon as the magic fix to these problems is foolish (unless GSM/iphone combo is the culprit) and people who switch to a Verizon iphone will most likely be disappointed. Additionally, even if a CDMA iphone was free of dropped calls, no one is going to keep that technology around for much longer.
Bashing AT&T is pointless. The problem is global. You can search google for iphone dropped calls in UK, AU, DE and any other country and find massive complaints and some lawsuits about iphones dropping calls.
What's remarkable is Apple's ability to sell millions upon millions of these devices and have people come to accept dropped calls as just an unfortunate by-product of having a superior application/web/data experience. The switch to texting, e-mail and social networks as primary communications outlets have made talking on the phone obsolete for many. Perhaps this is part of the reason such a serious problem has been pretty much ignored (even while the complaints continue) and sales of the iphone have grown.
Cheers,
Guess it is really area dependent. Tried the droid incredible with Verizon, had more dropped lost calls in my 3 weeks with them than I had with my Iphone and ATT in 3 years ( or seemed like it). We went back to ATT and no problems thus far. This is here in San Antonio, TX.
Well with all my dropped calls on 3g I just decided to switch over to EDGE. Ever since I clicked 3g off, I have yet to drop a call. I do however get the random pauses/cut outs but never a dropped call.
This works for me at my house because I have wifi here. But it gets annoying having to always switch it over when I'm outside of my area. Wish there was an app that would work like a widget and you can just click it for 3g or EDGE without opening up 3 different windows.
This works for me at my house because I have wifi here. But it gets annoying having to always switch it over when I'm outside of my area. Wish there was an app that would work like a widget and you can just click it for 3g or EDGE without opening up 3 different windows.
panzer06,
I'm not here to bash AT&T - just sharing my perspective. You may be right - the problem may be within the phone itself. You also make a good point about many people overlooking dropped calls because of texting and such. All I know is that the phone should work in many places that it doesn't - full bars or not. And the problem is not limited to voice.
I had AT&T prior to Verizon and my experience back then was less than stellar. I took a chance with the iPhone 3G hoping things improved. IMO, it hasn't. FWIW, my sister (non-iPhone user) had AT&T while living in Atlanta and it worked great. However, she encountered a myriad of connection problems when she moved to LA. I'm sure that for every person who says they have problems with ABC in XYZ, there will be someone else who says just the opposite.
The beauty of all this is that everyone has the ability to choose what works for them.
I'm not here to bash AT&T - just sharing my perspective. You may be right - the problem may be within the phone itself. You also make a good point about many people overlooking dropped calls because of texting and such. All I know is that the phone should work in many places that it doesn't - full bars or not. And the problem is not limited to voice.
I had AT&T prior to Verizon and my experience back then was less than stellar. I took a chance with the iPhone 3G hoping things improved. IMO, it hasn't. FWIW, my sister (non-iPhone user) had AT&T while living in Atlanta and it worked great. However, she encountered a myriad of connection problems when she moved to LA. I'm sure that for every person who says they have problems with ABC in XYZ, there will be someone else who says just the opposite.
The beauty of all this is that everyone has the ability to choose what works for them.
Dropped calls all the time on Iphone 3GS
I've been getting dropped calls on my Iphone 3GS as well but it's gotten much worse over the last few months. It's gotten so bad that I'm hesitating in purchasing an Iphone 4G and was considering very strongly in switching over to a droid phone. AT&T's dropped calls are unacceptable.
It's not just with me either, I was talking to a guy in an electronic store where they have Verizon phones on display. He said that he used to have an Iphone but kept getting dropped calls so he switched to a droid phone.
I suggest that you guys do the same until AT&T gets there act together and fixes the issue. We shouldn't be paying for a service that's not working properly and is frustrating to use.
I've been getting dropped calls on my Iphone 3GS as well but it's gotten much worse over the last few months. It's gotten so bad that I'm hesitating in purchasing an Iphone 4G and was considering very strongly in switching over to a droid phone. AT&T's dropped calls are unacceptable.
It's not just with me either, I was talking to a guy in an electronic store where they have Verizon phones on display. He said that he used to have an Iphone but kept getting dropped calls so he switched to a droid phone.
I suggest that you guys do the same until AT&T gets there act together and fixes the issue. We shouldn't be paying for a service that's not working properly and is frustrating to use.
Haven't experienced a dropped call yet... then again, I barely use my minutes.
BUT...
I've been noticing A LOT of 3G dropped signal/reception lately. The bars just disappear... then "Searching..." appears then its back to full bars again.
Get your act together AT&T... you're gonna have possibly 1 MIL+ iPhones on the network come the 24th.
BUT...
I've been noticing A LOT of 3G dropped signal/reception lately. The bars just disappear... then "Searching..." appears then its back to full bars again.
Get your act together AT&T... you're gonna have possibly 1 MIL+ iPhones on the network come the 24th.
Dropped Calls?
What is it with AT&T and dropped calls? They are starting to make people REALLY MAD I think AT&T has to step there game or people are going to go to T-Mobile lol they will just have to unlock there iPhones!
What is it with AT&T and dropped calls? They are starting to make people REALLY MAD I think AT&T has to step there game or people are going to go to T-Mobile lol they will just have to unlock there iPhones!
I don't get dropped calls at Verizon, but will occasionally receive a voice mail message someone left for me weeks ago. Also, just at my house, Verizon cell service fades in and out. Hello, AT&T and iPhone 4.
Dropped calls is the killer for me finally
Do a lot of travel around the U.S., about 25 trips a year. I have a Verizon phone with the US GOVT. and my cool Iphone. Let's just say that with every four or five dropped calls on Iphone, I get maybe 1 on the Verizon overall. Recently dropped a friend four times in a row using IPHONE at home, and I have no landline phone. As much as I like Apple and the Iphone, this DROID X is too beautiful of a screen for me to avoid July 15th, since I watch so many movies during travel on my iphone, not to mention the better service with Verizon.
Iphone it was nice knowing Ya!
I am going to keep my macbook pro and Hackintosh beast at home though!
Do a lot of travel around the U.S., about 25 trips a year. I have a Verizon phone with the US GOVT. and my cool Iphone. Let's just say that with every four or five dropped calls on Iphone, I get maybe 1 on the Verizon overall. Recently dropped a friend four times in a row using IPHONE at home, and I have no landline phone. As much as I like Apple and the Iphone, this DROID X is too beautiful of a screen for me to avoid July 15th, since I watch so many movies during travel on my iphone, not to mention the better service with Verizon.
Iphone it was nice knowing Ya!
I am going to keep my macbook pro and Hackintosh beast at home though!
Wow this ATT bashing is wild, not everybody lives in NYC or LA, I live in southern Maine and I have full bars and 3G in the house all the time Att is great up here for us.
Yes there are some dead spots here and there but,my sister has Verizon and not until this year could she use her phone in the house, so it is all about location, but I wish Att would put towers and boosters on buildings so all you NYC people would stop complaining, if you are so miserable go to verizon and get it over with, but up here verizon is no better then ATT.
So do us all a favor and get a droid if you think they are so great. Of course I mean this with all due respect.
Yes there are some dead spots here and there but,my sister has Verizon and not until this year could she use her phone in the house, so it is all about location, but I wish Att would put towers and boosters on buildings so all you NYC people would stop complaining, if you are so miserable go to verizon and get it over with, but up here verizon is no better then ATT.
So do us all a favor and get a droid if you think they are so great. Of course I mean this with all due respect.
What a shame
I find it such a shame about the the low standards we as Americans have for our mobile providers. I see many people with the satisfaction of AT&T around the country, that they have no connection problems. Here is the problem. We are so accustomed to saying that signal strength is the be all and end all. The next question should be network speed. Case in point, I have family in Ottawa in Canada. He did a speedtest, during a weekday, and was getting 5.8 - 6.0 Mbps download speeds on Rogers and Fido networks. What do I get in NYC the fastest? On a good day 2.0 Mbps. The same morning he sent me his results from Ottawa I did a test and received 54 kbps. That's right...dial up speed. The fact is that we do not demand fast speeds as they have have in other places throughout the world, Europe, many parts of Asia and, yes, Canada. There is a reason for this: no competition. I can speak of Canada because of family there: there are multiple carriers there that will support the frequency the iPhone is on. Here, it is only AT&T. Many report using iPhone on T-Mobile with an unlocked phone, but, as I understand it, you can only used Edge on T-Mobile because of the different frequency. In other words, only 2G speeds.
I also feel I have to comment on all the "why isn't Apple developing a phone for Verizon" comments. Simply put, that would be an enormous step back. Verizon's and Sprint's use of CDMA is a huge step back. CDMA just doesn't have the capability of a GSM network (and let's not forget you can't use a CDMA phone outside the United States because nobody else uses this really bad technology). What people don't know is that CDMA does not support simultaneous data and voice transmission and receive. Case in point: friend of mine has Verizon. He called me to ask me to send some directions to his phone. I asked him if he could check to see if the map I'd sent was the correct one. His response: I have to hang up to check my email. The issue, then, is to NOT seek a Verizon phone, but to demand that AT&T build a ubiquitous network that is fast enough.
I find it such a shame about the the low standards we as Americans have for our mobile providers. I see many people with the satisfaction of AT&T around the country, that they have no connection problems. Here is the problem. We are so accustomed to saying that signal strength is the be all and end all. The next question should be network speed. Case in point, I have family in Ottawa in Canada. He did a speedtest, during a weekday, and was getting 5.8 - 6.0 Mbps download speeds on Rogers and Fido networks. What do I get in NYC the fastest? On a good day 2.0 Mbps. The same morning he sent me his results from Ottawa I did a test and received 54 kbps. That's right...dial up speed. The fact is that we do not demand fast speeds as they have have in other places throughout the world, Europe, many parts of Asia and, yes, Canada. There is a reason for this: no competition. I can speak of Canada because of family there: there are multiple carriers there that will support the frequency the iPhone is on. Here, it is only AT&T. Many report using iPhone on T-Mobile with an unlocked phone, but, as I understand it, you can only used Edge on T-Mobile because of the different frequency. In other words, only 2G speeds.
I also feel I have to comment on all the "why isn't Apple developing a phone for Verizon" comments. Simply put, that would be an enormous step back. Verizon's and Sprint's use of CDMA is a huge step back. CDMA just doesn't have the capability of a GSM network (and let's not forget you can't use a CDMA phone outside the United States because nobody else uses this really bad technology). What people don't know is that CDMA does not support simultaneous data and voice transmission and receive. Case in point: friend of mine has Verizon. He called me to ask me to send some directions to his phone. I asked him if he could check to see if the map I'd sent was the correct one. His response: I have to hang up to check my email. The issue, then, is to NOT seek a Verizon phone, but to demand that AT&T build a ubiquitous network that is fast enough.
See my post later on about this subject. Again, what a shame that we Americans actually think this is acceptable. That speed is pitiful for a 3G network. I will say it here, as I've said a million times other places, the speeds are just too slow and don't measure up. My partner lives in Ottawa, Canada. On June 24, 2010, during mid morning, he received download speed of 6 Mbps. During the evening, he receives speeds in the 7-9 Mbps range.
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I was on sprint for 10 years, dropped 6 to 7 calls a day. I switched one of my 8 phones into AT&T (iphone) to test it out. I did not drop a single call for 3 weeks. So I cancelled all my sprint lines and switched to AT&T, been on AT&T for 8 months maybe 6 dropped calls since. Much better service IMO
I was on sprint for 10 years, dropped 6 to 7 calls a day. I switched one of my 8 phones into AT&T (iphone) to test it out. I did not drop a single call for 3 weeks. So I cancelled all my sprint lines and switched to AT&T, been on AT&T for 8 months maybe 6 dropped calls since. Much better service IMO