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I can't take it anymore

D

DanielQ

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 2, 2008
57
0
I've had the iphone for over a month. I loved it, but then...

I moved off to college. I'm in a city with a metropolitan area of over 325,000, yet ATT has lousy coverage where I live. Some places all bars, but half the time no service. It's unbearable.

What are my options? I love my iphone, but I fear I'll have to replace it with something else from a different carrier.

Should I get a new phone? If so, which one comes the closest to the iphone?

If not, can I unlock it for a different carrier?

Thanks!
 
No just keep the phone and admire it without using it. Isn't it a no brainer. If you don't have service why would you keep it.
 
eplchamps0304 said:
No just keep the phone and admire it without using it. Isn't it a no brainer. If you don't have service why would you keep it.
Click to expand...

An iPhone without phone service would be an iPod touch -- still very useful as a multi-media portable entertainment device. ;)
 
DanielQ said:
I've had the iphone for over a month. I loved it, but then...

I moved off to college. I'm in a city with a metropolitan area of over 325,000, yet ATT has lousy coverage where I live. Some places all bars, but half the time no service. It's unbearable.

What are my options? I love my iphone, but I fear I'll have to replace it with something else from a different carrier.

Should I get a new phone? If so, which one comes the closest to the iphone?

If not, can I unlock it for a different carrier?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Compare with other phones and see if they fare better. The iPhone is known to be a little shifty signal-wise. This goes for both 3G, Edge and WiFi. I have an iPod Touch that always gives me all bars on WiFi, but on the iPhone 3G it's only one or two. And on my old 3G phone (SonyEricsson P1i) I always had all bars on Edge and 3G, but on the iPhone I get 4 bars max on Edge and 1-2 on 3G. If this is the best they could do with the new plastic housing, I dread to think what the old metal housing would have been like in my neighborhood...
 
I have to ask: is AT&T really that bad? I'm on Rogers in Canada and I've NEVER had a dropped call, NEVER had slow 3G on Safari, NEVER had no service (and I've been all over Canada with my phone). Honestly, is the AT&T network just garbage or what?
 
DanielQ said:
I've had the iphone for over a month. I loved it, but then...

I moved off to college. I'm in a city with a metropolitan area of over 325,000, yet ATT has lousy coverage where I live. Some places all bars, but half the time no service. It's unbearable.

What are my options? I love my iphone, but I fear I'll have to replace it with something else from a different carrier.

Should I get a new phone? If so, which one comes the closest to the iphone?

If not, can I unlock it for a different carrier?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You haven't given enough details. Is your phone set to use 3G? If so, you may find Edge gives better results. You haven't mentioned the town, but you may simply be subject to poor signal in the areas you frequent (geographic or manmade) and the town otherwise has good coverage. In some cities AT&T leases towers from another carrier and are not able to provide the full range of services.
 
PNutts said:
You haven't given enough details. Is your phone set to use 3G? If so, you may find Edge gives better results. You haven't mentioned the town, but you may simply be subject to poor signal in the areas you frequent (geographic or manmade) and the town otherwise has good coverage. In some cities AT&T leases towers from another carrier and are not able to provide the full range of services.
Click to expand...

No, my city doesn't have 3G. It's Peoria, Illinois.

Honestly, it doesn't matter if the city gets good coverage just not the places I frequent.... since I'm frequently the places, I need it to work. Apparently ATT doesn't do that lease thing around me, unfortunately. Constantly having no service and dropped calls.
 
I didn't have coverage at my college for about 3 months last year. I called up AT&T and reported 'problem making or receiving calls" and complained about no service.

Not to say anything I did expedited the process, but my area got a new tower and now it's 5 bar heaven!
 
DanielQ said:
No, my city doesn't have 3G. It's Peoria, Illinois.

Honestly, it doesn't matter if the city gets good coverage just not the places I frequent.... since I'm frequently the places, I need it to work. Apparently ATT doesn't do that lease thing around me, unfortunately. Constantly having no service and dropped calls.
Click to expand...

I have you turned of 3G? Not saying it will work but it might help.
 
milani said:
I have to ask: is AT&T really that bad? I'm on Rogers in Canada and I've NEVER had a dropped call, NEVER had slow 3G on Safari, NEVER had no service (and I've been all over Canada with my phone). Honestly, is the AT&T network just garbage or what?
Click to expand...

It depends on where you are. In my area, AT&T's 2.5G service is crap, but the 3G is really good. That was the main reason I didn't get the original iPhone. Two dropped calls on 3G and fast data for me all throughout SoCal.
 
DanielQ said:
Yeah, tried. Doesn't seem to help, and I don't have 3G here anyway.

If I have to switch back to Verizon, what's the best iphone-like phone? Hah.
Click to expand...

Ever consider a VOIP app?

Seriously though, you're better off jailbreaking and unlocking with T-Mobile. No phone can come close. If you don't mind waiting, the Blackberry Thunder (touchscreen) should come out soon, but I have a feeling it'll suck.
 
Mykbibby said:
Ever consider a VOIP app?

Seriously though, you're better off jailbreaking and unlocking with T-Mobile. No phone can come close. If you don't mind waiting, the Blackberry Thunder (touchscreen) should come out soon, but I have a feeling it'll suck.
Click to expand...

I would unlock it but the iPhone 3G hasn't been unlocked yet, right? Plus wouldn't I have to pay the difference for the cost of the iPhone if I cancel my contract with ATT?
 
You could cancel your contract and incur the $175 fee. However, right now you could probably make up the cost of the phone and the ETF by selling it on ebay or craigslist if you want.

I would wait to see if the upcoming software update does anything about your reception.
 
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