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Followup: AT&T States there is No Active 3G Voice Service in Phoenix, AZ Area

C

chisoxbull

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 7, 2008
47
0
Scottsdale, Arizona
As a followup to a post yesterday, I stated that AT&T was telling everybody in the Scottsdale, AZ area to turn 3G off as you cannot hold a call for more then a minute regardless of the 3G phone. I spent several hours on the phone last night with upper tier technical support at AT&T and spent several quite a while on a conference call with the Scottsdale, AZ AT&T store. They clearly stated that there is no 3G voice service within the 25 mile radius surrounding Phoenix. AT&T I feel has been advertising Phoenix, AZ as having pretty good coverage for 3G Voice and Data. Does anyone else feel that they were told that 3G voice services were available in Phoenix. Many would ask why I's want 3g on. if you are on 3G data, you would want a phone call to come through as is not available on EDGE data/voice. Looking for what others think!

Corey
 
Interesting... I'm in Phoenix and my phone is working fine on 3G... Maybe I'm not talking on it long enough... Browsing seems fine too.
 
Are they saying that 3G service is out temporarily or it is not available at all? Because what you are saying doesn't match what the coverage maps indicate (this could be because they are just about to release 3G service, don't live in the Phoenix area so I don't know).

And based on what ogdogg just said, what you are posting makes absolutely no sense.

So I guess the question is, are you having problems or are you just reporting what you have heard?
 
StoneColdSober said:
Are they saying that 3G service is out temporarily or it is not available at all? Because what you are saying doesn't match what the coverage maps indicate (this could be because they are just about to release 3G service, don't live in the Phoenix area so I don't know).

And based on what ogdogg just said, what you are posting makes absolutely no sense.

So I guess the question is, are you having problems or are you just reporting what you have heard?
Click to expand...

I should clarify a little, I apologize. AT&T can confirm there is full 3G data service, but currently no voice service. The online maps are only indicative of data services for the 3G network. They have stated they are hoping by late September to October there should be 3G voice services. From what I understand, if you have 3G on, you may connect to a tower using the edge voice service but they way the phone software works, they cannot handle this properly. The odd thing here is that a few weeks ago, 3G voice service was fully operable. Possibly they were testing this. All of this can be confirmed by Anthony at the Scottsdale, AZ AT&T store. The phone # there is:
3.
AT&T
17025 N SCOTTSDALE RD
SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85255

(480) 513-9199 3.06 Miles

They are advising everyone to turn off 3G. Maybe somebody want to call over there and find out exactly what they mean from a technical perspective. A tier 2 support rep explained to the store there are no active 3G voice towers within 25 miles.

I guess I am upset because they are stating to everyone 3G is available when in actuality only data is and if you have 3G on the phone activated for data, you will have almost every call drop. As well, they also stated that 99% of my calls are off of T-Mobile towers. Maybe someone can explain why this is happening when I am showing best coverage and even on edge many calls still drop.
Thanks for the help,
Corey
 
chisoxbull said:
I guess I am upset because they are stating to everyone 3G is available when in actuality only data is and if you have 3G on the phone activated for data, you will have almost every call drop. As well, they also stated that 99% of my calls are off of T-Mobile towers. Maybe someone can explain why this is happening when I am showing best coverage and even on edge many calls still drop.
Thanks for the help,
Corey
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about Scottsdale, but I can tell you that everything is working fine on the west side of town. Maybe all the stuck up teens with their noses in the air are blocking the 3G reception over in snobbsdale. :p
 
This thread is starting to smell fishy. If the OP was on the phone with upper tier tech support and conference calls with a store, then we don't need to call a local office for a technical perspective. Also, the rabid requests to call a specific AT&T store/person is odd.

Oh well. To each their own. If AT&T is leasing towers (like in my parent's small town) then all bets are off. I don't know who to thank for making some markets difficult/impossible for carriers to penetrate. Depending on the location, it is not possible for a carrier to walk into any town and start erecting towers.
 
I live in Phoenix and, although I do not have 3G service at my home, I've made calls while on 3G a number of times in other locations. In fact a few hours ago I was at a Petco in Ahwatukee (East Phoenix for those of you who don't live here) and had 2 bars deep inside the store. I had to look up a phone number on a website and then called that number and spoke on the phone for about 7 minutes or so. Again, all on 3G.

Not saying that the 3G service out here isn't sketchy but it does work for voice when it's available as far as I can tell.
 
rotobadger said:
I live in Phoenix and, although I do not have 3G service at my home, I've made calls while on 3G a number of times in other locations. In fact a few hours ago I was at a Petco in Ahwatukee (East Phoenix for those of you who don't live here) and had 2 bars deep inside the store. I had to look up a phone number on a website and then called that number and spoke on the phone for about 7 minutes or so. Again, all on 3G.

Not saying that the 3G service out here isn't sketchy but it does work for voice when it's available as far as I can tell.
Click to expand...

From what I understand, even though the phone says 3G, it means you could be receiving 3g data, 3g voice, or both combined. If you receive 3g data, and connect calls on edge, your phone would still say 3G and there really is no way for the average person to know you are on edge. They now have a sign up at the Scottsdale store telling people to turn off 3g on their iPhones. Why do they have this?
 
chisoxbull said:
From what I understand, even though the phone says 3G, it means you could be receiving 3g data, 3g voice, or both combined. If you receive 3g data, and connect calls on edge, your phone would still say 3G and there really is no way for the average person to know you are on edge. They now have a sign up at the Scottsdale store telling people to turn off 3g on their iPhones. Why do they have this?
Click to expand...

Pictures or it didn't happen.
 
chisoxbull said:
From what I understand, even though the phone says 3G, it means you could be receiving 3g data, 3g voice, or both combined. If you receive 3g data, and connect calls on edge, your phone would still say 3G and there really is no way for the average person to know you are on edge. They now have a sign up at the Scottsdale store telling people to turn off 3g on their iPhones. Why do they have this?
Click to expand...

Ok, I don't get it. I had 3G on. I looked up a website (and got very fast loading). I then dialed a phone number (with 3G still on mind you). I got through with no problem, talked for several minutes and hung up. Then proceeded to checkout with a chew toy for my new dog.

Why would AT&T tell me to turn off 3G? This makes absolutely no sense. We live in the fifth largest city in the United States. I think someone would have complained before now about no voice 3G.
 
StoneColdSober said:
Pictures or it didn't happen.
Click to expand...

Call the store. The phone # is posted above. AT&T says that even while on 3G data, you can still be on edge voice. That is how you can remain on the call. However, some 3G towers are being partially deployed and not ready for connectivity and thus all calls drop. Don't argue just because you are fine. Maybe others are not.
 
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