How to test iphone reception ?

[fredzrez]

Hello


I plan to get my first iphone in a couple of weeks.

I have no idea how the coverage / reception will be at my home.

Was wondering if anyone know of any checks or tests that I can do to tell what type of voice coverage I will get in my home.

I was thinking of inviting friends over and seeing how many bars of signal reception they get. Is this accurate. Or should I use my friends iphone and place a few calls from my home. How to check for dropouts.

What is the biggest problem that people have, dropped calls?


Using a friends iphone should I make a call from my home, calling my cell phone (non iphone) and just leave the two phones down for 15-30 minutes and see if the call gets dropped.

I want to avoid being disappointed if I purchase a iphone 4 and get home and have bad service.

My location is just South of sfo off 101 on the Burlingame San Mateo border

Any help of ideas is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[tasslehawf]

I am guessing you don't currently have AT&T?

You have 30 days to return the phone if the reception thing doesn't work out.

 

[Hydrocity]

Using a friends old iPhone might not be as accurate becuase the new iPhone is supposed to have a much better antena system. I dont no about ATT, but Im from Canada, and if I recall I think my carrier had a 'heat map of coverage'. You just type your address and it will show how good the reception is around your home.

Might wanna explore the ATT website and see if they have a similar feature.

 

[tahoeroscoe]

at&t has a coverage map (google it) that is generally pretty accurate, at least in my area it is.

You're in the bay area so unless you live in a really weird spot you should be fine.

 

[jkozlow3]

You're in the bay area so unless you live in a really weird spot you should be fine.

I thought the bay area was one of the worst for AT&T?

I was in NYC 2 weeks ago and while I had a full signal most times (and no problems with data), I dropped most of the calls I was on if they lasted long enough. It was ridiculous. I thought SF was just as bad based off of everything I've read?

There are lots of foreign tourists in these two high density cities, most of which roam on AT&T's towers (since almost no one else in the world can roam on Sprint or Verizon's towers) which certainly doesn't help the situation.

My advice to the OP: Yes, the iPhone 4 may have a slightly stronger signal than the previous 3G/3GS models (remains to be seen at this point). I would still have a friend with an iPhone try a few lengthy calls from your house before taking the plunge. Even if the reported signal strength is good, that doesn't mean that the towers won't have trouble dealing with bandwidth and cause you to drop calls frequently like what I experienced in NYC. I really don't think my problem was with the iPhone's reception but rather the towers failing to deal with all the bandwidth demand. Anyway, better safe than sorry.

Or as someone else pointed out, try it and return within 30 days if you hate AT&T.