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iPhone problem and the beginning of the end

J

JPS

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 22, 2007
207
0
My problem is that I live on a fringe area of AT&T coverage. In my home office I have zero phone reception; upstairs I have a bar if I'm lucky. Out on the street--nothing.

Unless the new phone is designed to pull in signals a lot more effectively, I may be forced to go to Verizon and, true Apple fan and user as I am, pick up a Blackberry. My main concern is how well or ill it is to sync the BB with my MacBook. Can anyone here break ranks and discuss this issue with a potential renegade (again, unless Apple has redesigned a better antenna).
 
JPS said:
My problem is that I live on a fringe area of AT&T coverage. In my home office I have zero phone reception; upstairs I have a bar if I'm lucky. Out on the street--nothing.

Unless the new phone is designed to pull in signals a lot more effectively, I may be forced to go to Verizon and, true Apple fan and user as I am, pick up a Blackberry. My main concern is how well or ill it is to sync the BB with my MacBook. Can anyone here break ranks and discuss this issue with a potential renegade (again, unless Apple has redesigned a better antenna).
Click to expand...

One of the reasons the new iPhone has a plastic back is to improve signal strength - apparently Apple have spent a lot of time optimizing the aerials to maximize the signal. Whether it will be enough or not is another matter, but I'd recommend waiting a couple of weeks until the launch to see if they really have made a big difference
 
if those reception issues are with the current iphone, you may be in luck, as the new iphone has the plastic back which improves reception
you may be able to buy and see, and if there still is no network, take it back

Phil A seems to have beaten me!
 
Well, then, I can come out of mourning! I would of course far prefer an iPhone, and I will wait and buy and see. I know there's a 30-day return period.

Thanks for the heads-up!
 
Had a BB Pearl and it would not do ANYTHING with my MacBook. Its software is Windows only (unless there is a way, I did not try hard at all to get it to work FYI, others may have had a better experience, but I hated mine.)
 
JPS said:
My main concern is how well or ill it is to sync the BB with my MacBook. Can anyone here break ranks and discuss this issue with a potential renegade (again, unless Apple has redesigned a better antenna).
Click to expand...

I feel your pain, b/c I'm in the same boat but I've got 2-3 bars in my house, and sometimes "No Service" pops up. Same situation with Sprint, VZ, Alltel, MetroPCS and just about every other carrier that exists in my neighborhood. At the top of the hill at the end of my street = full bars, my driveway 2-3 bars and about the same in my house. At least you have an alternative carrier(s), while I'm hoping the 3G iPhone and it's plastic backing will produce better reception. Though the reception has been better with AT&T v. Sprint, I can at least leave the iPhone in the same part of the house and use my BT with more consistency than before. Sorry, no comment on the BB thing...
 
Another option (albeit somewhat expensive) is to get a 3G cell repeater. I think they go for around $300. You say you can get SOME limited signal there, so with the repeater, it picks up that signal and then repeats (think like a Wifi Router does) so you have great signal all around your home.

Just an option...
 
I live in San Diego and have full strength 95% of the time. I spent this last week with family in San Bernardino County. There I had 1 bar and had to use the landline most of the time. I hope the new iPhone gets better reception so when I do go to my parents house, I will be able to use my mobile phone.
 
Auzburner said:
Had a BB Pearl and it would not do ANYTHING with my MacBook. Its software is Windows only (unless there is a way, I did not try hard at all to get it to work FYI, others may have had a better experience, but I hated mine.)
Click to expand...
You didn't try very hard with your BB did you? Choose PocketMac at this Blackberry link (hint: It's the first software listed. ;) ) for free software. You can find download links for PocketMac's mac-synchronization software at Blackberry site, Apple site, here in these forums, pretty well anywhere. You can also purchase Missing Sync for $40. They both work - I feel Missing Sync has more functionality.

Windows only - riiiight! :rolleyes:
 
This isn't in deep country, by any means. Twenty-odd miles north of Boston. And I really don't want to spend the money and go through the hassle of installing any extra devices in the home.
 
There's also a chance that while AT&T's 2G coverage in your house kind of sucks at the moment, AT&T's 3G network may cover your house better. The iPhone 3G should be able to use whichever network is the strongest.
 
aristobrat said:
There's also a chance that while AT&T's 2G coverage in your house kind of sucks at the moment, AT&T's 3G network may cover your house better. The iPhone 3G should be able to use whichever network is the strongest.
Click to expand...

But from what I understand, 3G has no bearing on telephone reception; and at home I of course have a wireless network to cover data transfers.

Or am I mistaken about 3G...?
 
JPS said:
This isn't in deep country, by any means. Twenty-odd miles north of Boston. And I really don't want to spend the money and go through the hassle of installing any extra devices in the home.
Click to expand...

Yep, I agree. The AT&T coverage map shows Dark Orange at the top of my street and Light Orange (moderate coverage) around my house. 3G isn't any better. I live next to the water and in the middle of a dip/valley, so it's always been moderate coverage. Oh well, my next house will be determined by my 3G iPhone coverage map! LOL :p
 
SFStateStudent said:
Yep, I agree. The AT&T coverage map shows Dark Orange at the top of my street and Light Orange (moderate coverage) around my house. 3G isn't any better. I live next to the water and in the middle of a dip/valley, so it's always been moderate coverage. Oh well, my next house will be determined by my 3G iPhone coverage map! LOL :p
Click to expand...

Ah, but the question remains: does 3G affect phone performance?
 
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