Both my wife and myself have iPhone 3G's with AT&T. We have never had great reception when making or receiving calls in our home. But it seems to have gotten worse over the last 3-4 weeks. Now you can not carry on a conversation when in the house. Typically we have one bar and even get no service quite often. Anytime either of our iPhones rings we have to get up and walk outside or we will be disconnected within 20 seconds of receiving or making the call. This has caused us to miss several very important phone calls. I'm really not sure what to do. I hate to cancel our AT&T service because we both really like our iPhones (even if we could get out of our contracts). Has anyone else had a situation like this? If so what did you do? FWIW - outside our house except for a few pockets here or there we get pretty good service.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Bad iPhone Reception
- Thread starter wolfpackfan
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Before I got my iPhone (1st Gen), I was a happy Verizon user. In the Washington, DC area, Verizon is king. The signal is excellent and for years they have had an exclusive with our subway system, with underground "towers" enabling Verizon users to use their phones just about anywhere. Their signal is also better able to penetrate buildings.
The only hesitation I had about the iPhone was having to switch to AT&T. I knew their network was not as good. But I really wanted the iPhone. So I took the plunge. And I quickly saw the difference. If I was on the subway - no signal. If I was not by a window at work - no signal. If I was in the parking garage downstairs - no signal. And even if I was driving on the highway, I had a weak signal. It didn't seem to like me moving.
That being said, I have noticed that things have been improving slightly. I'm getting a better signal on the main highway I use and it seems like my signal is penetrating into my building at work a little better. I'm curious to see if when I get the 3GS phone if the signal improves even more.
And then, to confirm what I had been experiencing, I recently got an email from AT&T where they were announcing the improvements they've been making to the signal in my area, actually specifying the highway I use and mentioning that they will be bringing AT&T to our subway system (yeah!!). And for once, I believe their marketing - I have seen the improvements.
I would still rather have Verizon as my provider, but AT&T appears to be getting better. I don't know where you live, but perhaps in time things will improve on your end as well. If signal strength is just too much of a problem for you, you should consider finding another provider and give up the iPhone. It's possible one of the other companies is the king of your area. Ask your friends - see which providers they have - invite them over to see how their phones work in your home. Cell phone networks are different - some are better than others and it appears to be dependent on location.
The only hesitation I had about the iPhone was having to switch to AT&T. I knew their network was not as good. But I really wanted the iPhone. So I took the plunge. And I quickly saw the difference. If I was on the subway - no signal. If I was not by a window at work - no signal. If I was in the parking garage downstairs - no signal. And even if I was driving on the highway, I had a weak signal. It didn't seem to like me moving.
That being said, I have noticed that things have been improving slightly. I'm getting a better signal on the main highway I use and it seems like my signal is penetrating into my building at work a little better. I'm curious to see if when I get the 3GS phone if the signal improves even more.
And then, to confirm what I had been experiencing, I recently got an email from AT&T where they were announcing the improvements they've been making to the signal in my area, actually specifying the highway I use and mentioning that they will be bringing AT&T to our subway system (yeah!!). And for once, I believe their marketing - I have seen the improvements.
I would still rather have Verizon as my provider, but AT&T appears to be getting better. I don't know where you live, but perhaps in time things will improve on your end as well. If signal strength is just too much of a problem for you, you should consider finding another provider and give up the iPhone. It's possible one of the other companies is the king of your area. Ask your friends - see which providers they have - invite them over to see how their phones work in your home. Cell phone networks are different - some are better than others and it appears to be dependent on location.
reception
Before I got my iPhone (1st Gen), I was a happy Verizon user. In the Washington, DC area, Verizon is king. The signal is excellent and for years they have had an exclusive with our subway system, with underground "towers" enabling Verizon users to use their phones just about anywhere. Their signal is also better able to penetrate buildings.
The only hesitation I had about the iPhone was having to switch to AT&T. I knew their network was not as good. But I really wanted the iPhone. So I took the plunge. And I quickly saw the difference. If I was on the subway - no signal. If I was not by a window at work - no signal. If I was in the parking garage downstairs - no signal. And even if I was driving on the highway, I had a weak signal. It didn't seem to like me moving.
That being said, I have noticed that things have been improving slightly. I'm getting a better signal on the main highway I use and it seems like my signal is penetrating into my building at work a little better. I'm curious to see if when I get the 3GS phone if the signal improves even more.
And then, to confirm what I had been experiencing, I recently got an email from AT&T where they were announcing the improvements they've been making to the signal in my area, actually specifying the highway I use and mentioning that they will be bringing AT&T to our subway system (yeah!!). And for once, I believe their marketing - I have seen the improvements.
I would still rather have Verizon as my provider, but AT&T appears to be getting better. I don't know where you live, but perhaps in time things will improve on your end as well. If signal strength is just too much of a problem for you, you should consider finding another provider and give up the iPhone. It's possible one of the other companies is the king of your area. Ask your friends - see which providers they have - invite them over to see how their phones work in your home. Cell phone networks are different - some are better than others and it appears to be dependent on location.
Before I got my iPhone (1st Gen), I was a happy Verizon user. In the Washington, DC area, Verizon is king. The signal is excellent and for years they have had an exclusive with our subway system, with underground "towers" enabling Verizon users to use their phones just about anywhere. Their signal is also better able to penetrate buildings.
The only hesitation I had about the iPhone was having to switch to AT&T. I knew their network was not as good. But I really wanted the iPhone. So I took the plunge. And I quickly saw the difference. If I was on the subway - no signal. If I was not by a window at work - no signal. If I was in the parking garage downstairs - no signal. And even if I was driving on the highway, I had a weak signal. It didn't seem to like me moving.
That being said, I have noticed that things have been improving slightly. I'm getting a better signal on the main highway I use and it seems like my signal is penetrating into my building at work a little better. I'm curious to see if when I get the 3GS phone if the signal improves even more.
And then, to confirm what I had been experiencing, I recently got an email from AT&T where they were announcing the improvements they've been making to the signal in my area, actually specifying the highway I use and mentioning that they will be bringing AT&T to our subway system (yeah!!). And for once, I believe their marketing - I have seen the improvements.
I would still rather have Verizon as my provider, but AT&T appears to be getting better. I don't know where you live, but perhaps in time things will improve on your end as well. If signal strength is just too much of a problem for you, you should consider finding another provider and give up the iPhone. It's possible one of the other companies is the king of your area. Ask your friends - see which providers they have - invite them over to see how their phones work in your home. Cell phone networks are different - some are better than others and it appears to be dependent on location.
It's all where you live, which provider there is king and what phone you have. I had the exact opposite experience with Verizon Worthless. I was a VW customer and got fed up with their lousy don't care customer service, dropped calls and poor coverage. A year before the iPhone came out I switched to AT&T and had the Slvr L7 phone. Reception, call quality and coverage was fantastic with that phone. When the iPhone came out I got one; however, I have noticed reception is nowhere near as good as it was with the Slvr. I've checked reception with other AT&T phones and they are much better than the iPhone. I think the iPhone just has some issues with its design and antenna placement.
I do recall that the first gen iPhone had some reported issues with its reception and I thought that was part of the reason why Apple opted for a plastic case for the 3G phone. I'm hoping I will see an improvement with my signal when I get the 3GS.
I also think that one should not rule out a faulty iPhone. I brought my iPhone to an AT&T store when I first owned it cause I was disappointed with the signal strength and while in the store I compared it with the signal strength of other iPhones in the store at the time. Mine was worse. They tried to adjust the SIM card inside to see if that helped but it didn't make much of a difference.
I also remember doing those speed tests online with my iPhone and my internet speed was always way low, compared to the average user out there. So I've always suspected my particular phone may have been faulty.
I also think that one should not rule out a faulty iPhone. I brought my iPhone to an AT&T store when I first owned it cause I was disappointed with the signal strength and while in the store I compared it with the signal strength of other iPhones in the store at the time. Mine was worse. They tried to adjust the SIM card inside to see if that helped but it didn't make much of a difference.
I also remember doing those speed tests online with my iPhone and my internet speed was always way low, compared to the average user out there. So I've always suspected my particular phone may have been faulty.
I read somewhere and can confirm that if you are talking about phone reception, you can generally boost your signal by a bar or so by simply turning off 3G when you are in a sketchy reception area.
AT&T. Your world. Delivered.*
*Actual delivery only available in certain areas. Delivery not guaranteed indoors. Delivery subject to failure depending on how hard the wind is blowing on any given day, or the alignment of the stars, or if you're looking funny at your phone. Or if its cloudy. Or under an umbrella. Or moving. Ability of both parties to communicate with each other is typically unavailable.