AT&T Customers Remaining Loyal as Verizon and Sprint Gain iPhone

[wizard]

Being grandfathered into unlimited data is a lock for AT&T.

My coverage is really good around here. I can drive i90 from Rochester all the way through Ohio without issue.

I was one of those that swore I'd dump AT&T as soon as there was an alternative. When it was time to pull the trigger, I stuck with AT&T. I had 2 dead zones that I'd lose calls when driving about 50% of the time. Since I use handsfree in the car I'd literally hold the phone up by the windshield when I got to those areas. These dead spots have spanned over several phones so I know it wasn't my device.

interesting. Did you ever communicate with AT&T about those dead zones? It is hard to fix something you don't know about.

When Verizon came out I knew their service in the Phoenix area was exponentially better. I know this because I also have 3 wireless access points for my business. 2 of the mifi Verizon devices, and 1 of the new 4G devices (I use the 4G with my MBP and I have 2 employees use the other mifi devices).

This is not an Apples to Apples comparison! Mifi adapters have a far more capable power source for one. You really should stick to phone comparisons.

These things never drop on me. My wife will watch Netflix movies all the way from here to San Diego on road trips and it will work the entire time flawlessly.

For me it was the talking and data at the same time. I know it's not a big deal for most people, but this is really a showstopper for me. I frequently multi-task like this. I'm a true life version of those lame AT&T commercials that show the guy talking and using the Internet at the same time. To me having this is more important than dropping calls in areas that I know I'm going to drop a call and can compensate by taking another route or holding the phone in a more ideal spot while I pass that one point on the freeway.

Things completely changed with the 4S. I have YET to drop a single call in the areas that I used to drop (I've had my 4s since launch day). I haven't really researched if others are having as good of luck as me, but I can say my experience has been excellent with the new antenna design. It's a win win for me and I'm finally 100% happy with AT&T

Or AT&T could have upgraded their towers or even added a tower or two. Admittedly iPhones have one of the best antennas going but the antenna in the iPhone 4 model is nothing to sneeze at. In any event AT&T service is not static, it continually improves just like all cell phone companies that are making money.

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Let me also add the disclaimer of these talks about these providers really should be regional.

Of course it is regional. I've had failures to connect to a tower with both Verizon and AT&T. It depends upon where you are.

What I experience here in the Phoenix area will obviously be completely different than say someone in the Bay area or NYC. I do know one of my business trips to Las Vegas where I found myself well off the strip (I was driving in with a tradeshow booth) I had almost zero luck getting my ATT 3G (or any "G" for that matter LOL) to work when I was trying to pull up a map.

Invest in real iOS mapping and navigation software. Trying to use google for GPS navigation is an exercise in frustration. The last thing you want to be doing is pulling up maps while driving.

My business partner could also not pull it up on his iPad either. Could have been a bad day for AT&T, or a HUGE dead spot because we couldn't get anything for several miles.

The economy has been frustrating my desire for a Vegas trip!!!! However the last time I was there wasn't a big deal. I do believe I had the fastest Internet connection ever in my hotel though. Gotta love that place.

He had to resort to using the GPS on his Verizon Blackberry to get us to where we needed to be. Pretty lame since we had $1600 worth of iPads in the front seat that wouldn't work (2 64GB 3g iPads).

They would have worked fine with any of a number of GPS navigation apps for iOS devices. It is all about the right tool for the job. Mind you I've tried navigating with Google maps and even with a decent connection the app is to much of a joke to take seriously. In the end though I go retro most times.

Yes I use a paper map!! Every time you cross a state border you can find free maps. Combine the paper maps with a pre plotted overview from Google and you never have to deal with the pitfalls of electronic mapping.

 

[sionharris]

I was one of those that swore I'd dump AT&T as soon as there was an alternative. When it was time to pull the trigger, I stuck with AT&T. I had 2 dead zones that I'd lose calls when driving about 50% of the time. Since I use handsfree in the car I'd literally hold the phone up by the windshield when I got to those areas. These dead spots have spanned over several phones so I know it wasn't my device.

You hold your phone up against the windscreen whilst talking to somebody and driving at the same time? You'll be a 'true life version' of one of those death by dangerous driving commercials soon.

 

[AJH1993]

Rogers let you unlock your iPhone...I heard they could be real jerks...

They do? I tried giving my 3GS to a friend in canada that was unlocked for 4.2.1, the idiot updated it to iOS 5 which relocked the thing. Everyone at rogers said they don't unlock phones.

 

[jav6454]

Cant we just shoot TMO and put it out of its misery?

AT&T is trying to do this by swallowing them.

 

[Tiger8]

Don't call your chicken yet

PR? Remember it hasn't been even a year yet since Verizon introduced its iPhone. Those who were free of contract / had terrible service paid an ETF and moved, those who are semi-pissed stayed.

Let's take on February 2013, AT&T.

 

[joecatz]

1)People that were with ATT prior to the data plan change are staying B/C of unlimited data.

2)you can't take your ATT Iphone with you to Verizon/Sprint. So its not JUST an ETF, its another $199 bucks at least for a new phone (assuming its just you and not you, your wife, etc.. on a family plan...

3) If you waited (like me) for the Iphone 4 to come out you're probably also waiting (like me) for the next Iphone before buying a new one, at which time you'd think about switching.

Doesn't make sense to do it now, basically JUST for Siri...

 

[piecloud]

vote with your wallet

I wish they had a little bit more customer loss so that they would review their unlock policy. As it is, it sounds like they have no reason to change their curmudgeonly ways. "No one ELSE seems bothered that their 'world capable' phone will never be usable on another network, so why are you?"

I am going to sprint after my contract expires, for the exact same reason. AT&T refuses to unlock even for international travel. If more people did that, may be they'll change the policy.

 

[spazzcat]

I get unlimited data for $30, can't get that on VZW and can't stand Sprint...

 

[^^BIGMac]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Also, AT&T allows simultaneous voice and data. This is huge when talking and looking something up, or when tethering.

That's why I stick with AT&T in spite of their lousy network in my area. I found the work-a-round with the free MicroCell they gave me. If it wasn't for the simultaneous voice and data I'd prolly switch to Verizon.

 

[GreyStreet]

That's why I stick with AT&T in spite of their lousy network in my area. I found the work-a-round with the free MicroCell they gave me. If it wasn't for the simultaneous voice and data I'd prolly switch to Verizon.

This is why I don't get why Apple and VZW didn't work together to make that a possibility on the 4S. Seems like a big mistep to me. Now folks won't be able to grandfather unlimited data to a VZW iPhone which I'm guessing will still keep some w/ ATT.

 

[joecatz]

Honestly, I think if I switched to verizon and couldn't talk and surf at the same time after being able to do it on ATT it would drive me crazy.

 

[bmustaf]

Honestly, I think if I switched to verizon and couldn't talk and surf at the same time after being able to do it on ATT it would drive me crazy.

Ha! It drives me crazy that I can't surf *or* talk on ATT - let alone do both at the same time .

 

[mingoglia]

You hold your phone up against the windscreen whilst talking to somebody and driving at the same time? You'll be a 'true life version' of one of those death by dangerous driving commercials soon.

I wrote in my post that I use handsfree in the car. In fact I've only had my iphone up to my ear a couple of times since I've had it and only for briefly. I either use a bluetooth headset or while in any of my cars I use the handsfree that's built into the car so me holding the phone in any position (I will typically set it on my dash when approaching the dead zone) really doesn't matter. In fact when I'm not on an important call I'll frequently have my phone in my glove box since I don't need to physically handle it while in the car. My phone book in my cars are sync'd up with my phone book in my phone so dial by name works if needed...

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I don't know if "loyal" is the best word. Maybe... "trapped" would be more fitting. I'm on ATT, will likely stay ATT, but not out of any warm tingly feelings for Ma Bell. I'm grandfather w/ unlimited date and $5 texting. Sprint has unlimited data still, yes, but it's slower than ATT and available in few areas. So, there you go ATT. You got me - it's a marriage of convenience and money.

 

[mingoglia]

.....

interesting. Did you ever communicate with AT&T about those dead zones? It is hard to fix something you don't know about.

I've probably alerted AT&T to these deadzones 475 times over the course of being a customer. Yes, an exaggeration, but honestly they were aware. In fact we had 3G go down in Tempe AZ (at my former office) for a solid 10 days. We had 20 useless phones... luckily at that time I was able to set them to the EDGE network until they got their act together. On a handful of the phones we were able to get them to break the contract because of that outage, and me personally I got a month free service. I've actually had AT&T in it's various forms since I had a brick phone in 1994 so I've seen all the ups and downs over the years and have had various levels of frustration. I just so happen to be completely satisfied right now and hoping to stay that way for awhile.

As for your apples to apples comparison, I have a better comparison, though it's been about 4 or 5 years since I've done it. My partner used to have the AT&T PCMCIA (PC card for you youngsters), and I had a similar PC card but with Verizon for my old last generation PowerPC Powerbook. The Verizon was clearly the card of choice... particularly at his cabin where it got so bad that I set up my machine to NAT (Internet sharing) the Internet because the ATT worked so poorly. Again, that was years ago so doesn't really apply now but the point being I've had AT&T and Verizon both in some capacity for many many years.

 

[nilk]

If Verizon or Sprint ever switches to a GSM based network (which iirc LTE is, but the iPhone does not yet), I will consider switching to them. I have been a GSM user since 2002 (mainly because I lived in Europe) and enjoy more having the ability to swap a device as easy as removing and inserting a card, something you don't get with CDMA. Death to CDMA!

This actually isn't the fault of CDMA, but was a choice Verizon and Sprint made to not use some sort of equivalent of SIM cards.

What bothers me about AT&T is that they won't unlock iPhones. The funny thing is that Verizon and Sprint WILL unlock the GSM portion of the iPhone.

I'm an AT&T user and my contracted ended, but I'm not sure what I am going to do when I get the 4S. I really want an GSM-unlocked phone, so I can buy sim cards and use them when I travel, and also so I can eventually pass the phone on to my wife who is on T-Mobile. I may switch to Verizon, and they supposedly will unlock the iPhone 4S after 60 days. The other option is to buy an unlocked iPhone 4S at full price, and keep using my grandfathered unlimited data on AT&T (though I don't really need to, I never use more than 250MB of data - though iTunes Match may increase that a bit), but I don't like the idea of continuing to pay AT&T the subsidy that they haven't earned.

I'm not much of a talker, so dropped calls have never been a problem with AT&T for me...

 

[zepharus]

Grandfathered UNLIMITED DATA

That sums up why I stay with ATT....

 

[sterlingindigo]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

I still get occasional error messages that I cannot conduct a phone call in addition to a safari search on at$t. Not to mention the degradation of Edge and 3G speeds. Wish Steve was able to build that network free iPhone.

 

[Dr99]

Microcells crack me up. So you pay AT&T for mobile service, only to have them leverage your wired home internet provider because their signal sucks. Even more hilarious is there are people that actually pay AT&T for the microcells.

But I have 5 bars!

 

[ModestForumName]

I have my unlimited data and that's the ONLY reason I'm still with AT&T.

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

Microcells crack me up. So you pay AT&T for mobile service, only to have them leverage your wired home internet provider because their signal sucks. Even more hilarious is there are people that actually pay AT&T for the microcells.

But I have 5 bars!

well if you are on a 2 year contract it might be better to pay a little extra each month and ensure you get signal inside your own house. In any case, should have ditched the service provider as soon as you got home and realized you have no service.

 

[OneNature]

I was with AT&T since the first iPhone and finally was able to switch to Verizon with the 4S.

The reception difference was noticable the first day I switched to Verizon. I had no reception at my home and now I have no issues at all. I don't live in a country area either.

I am in the same boat as you were with AT&T. I am about to switch to Verizon as soon as my contract expires.

Yes, yes, I was grandfathered into the unlimited data plan of AT&T, but the last time I checked, my lifetime usage hasn't budged from less than 2 GB since I'm mostly on WIFI so I think it's pointless to hang on to that.

Soon ... very soon ... now that Verizon's phone has GSM capability.

 

[Dr99]

well if you are on a 2 year contract it might be better to pay a little extra each month and ensure you get signal inside your own house. In any case, should have ditched the service provider as soon as you got home and realized you have no service.

True, good points.

 

[jaybergen]

I switched from Verizon to AT&T& 2-1/2 years ago to get a 3GS when I lived in N NJ. The service wasn't nearly as reliable as Verizon, but it did improve over time. Since I moved to Palm City, FL in April, the service has been fine. I stayed with AT&T& for the 4S because service here is good, I was grandfathered in with unlimited data (which I do need), and I love having simultaneous voice/data. I haven't noticed any speed improvement due to HTSA, but data is still faster than Verizon offers.

 

[AppleScruff1]

"Dumb Pipe is able to foster brand loyalty."

Strange times we live in, but there you have it.

How do the Canadian cell providers compare to AT&T? Who provides the service for your iPhone? How do the data speeds compare to AT&T? Or does Apple own a cell company in Canada? That's probably the only way you would be satisfied.