I live in the Phoenix metro area and will be switching back to Verizon this week. I am a big fan of Apple, but the ATT service here is very disappointing. I get several dropped calls a day, and being a physician, those dropped calls can be potentially be a life-or-death matter. Perhaps when Apple switches to Verizon will I be an iPhone user again.
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.
So, how is your phone service with iphone? Mine sucks!
- Thread starter fourthtunz
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The service here is outstanding.
3G isn't exactly blazing fast but I don't have a problem with dropped calls here in Okie land.
3G isn't exactly blazing fast but I don't have a problem with dropped calls here in Okie land.
iPhone service, etc.
I don't get why people determine that they have a "P.O.S. phone" simply because the CARRIER can't provide good coverage in their particular area?
I have a LOT of iPhone issues at my work too, but it's entirely due to AT&T's unwillingness to put up a tower around here. We're always on fringe reception from towers located miles away. Long before anyone here started using iPhones, we had the SAME issues with Motorola Razrs, Nokia flip-phones and HORRIBLY WORSE issues with a Palm Treo 650.
As soon as I drive a few miles away from here, my iPhone works pretty well.
I thought AT&T gave you 30 days to try out any phone you purchased from their stores, so you had a window of time to return it and cancel a contract without paying a penalty? Maybe that's the smart way to buy iPhones if you're worried about the coverage?
I don't get why people determine that they have a "P.O.S. phone" simply because the CARRIER can't provide good coverage in their particular area?
I have a LOT of iPhone issues at my work too, but it's entirely due to AT&T's unwillingness to put up a tower around here. We're always on fringe reception from towers located miles away. Long before anyone here started using iPhones, we had the SAME issues with Motorola Razrs, Nokia flip-phones and HORRIBLY WORSE issues with a Palm Treo 650.
As soon as I drive a few miles away from here, my iPhone works pretty well.
I thought AT&T gave you 30 days to try out any phone you purchased from their stores, so you had a window of time to return it and cancel a contract without paying a penalty? Maybe that's the smart way to buy iPhones if you're worried about the coverage?
inside my house it sucks but it works if I put the phone down away from me. Everywhere else I go it's excellent.
iPhone reception
Actually, you'll come across this same behavior with all types of cellphones, in the right situations.
Your body acts like an extension of the antenna of the phone when you're holding it. (That's one reason you'll actually see it printed in the instruction manuals for some phones that you need to make sure to hold it in your hand a specific way when using it.)
If you've ever played around with antennas before on home stereos and such, you might have noticed that simply making the antenna wire longer doesn't always improve reception. Just as often, it makes it much worse than what it was. Same deal with cellphones. The radio waves are a certain diameter around for a given frequency they're broadcast at. An "ideal" antenna is supposed to be either the same length as the full diameter of one of those waves, or an even division of it.
Obviously, there's some leeway with all of this. (Otherwise, you'd have to have a different length of antenna for each radio station or TV channel you wanted to watch!) But the point here is, when your iPhone is receiving a relatively weak signal, it might be managing to receive a few bars of signal, sitting on your desk in the right place. But by picking it up to use it, you make its internal antenna sub-optimal, and then that weak signal just doesn't come in too well anymore (so down to 1 bar).
With better signal strength, your act of holding the phone doesn't put enough of a "dent" in the reception to really register as "fewer bars"....
Actually, you'll come across this same behavior with all types of cellphones, in the right situations.
Your body acts like an extension of the antenna of the phone when you're holding it. (That's one reason you'll actually see it printed in the instruction manuals for some phones that you need to make sure to hold it in your hand a specific way when using it.)
If you've ever played around with antennas before on home stereos and such, you might have noticed that simply making the antenna wire longer doesn't always improve reception. Just as often, it makes it much worse than what it was. Same deal with cellphones. The radio waves are a certain diameter around for a given frequency they're broadcast at. An "ideal" antenna is supposed to be either the same length as the full diameter of one of those waves, or an even division of it.
Obviously, there's some leeway with all of this. (Otherwise, you'd have to have a different length of antenna for each radio station or TV channel you wanted to watch!) But the point here is, when your iPhone is receiving a relatively weak signal, it might be managing to receive a few bars of signal, sitting on your desk in the right place. But by picking it up to use it, you make its internal antenna sub-optimal, and then that weak signal just doesn't come in too well anymore (so down to 1 bar).
With better signal strength, your act of holding the phone doesn't put enough of a "dent" in the reception to really register as "fewer bars"....
I used the original iPhone in Asia unlocked and it wouldn't get a signal where even the cheapest phones had one. Sometimes I could even be in site of the tower and still had only one bar and it would sporadically go to no signal.
To communicate I had to resort to writing texts and waiting until the signal went up and sending them or emails. I would just pray web pages loaded when I browsed before it went back down to no signal. That being said sporadic web was better than nothing for me.
I know this could have been a hardware issue with the phone but the 3G one i have is the same and my roommate's is too. I use a locked iPhone in the UK and it doesn't get signal where other phones do. I am just outside of London so not exactly the boondocks.
Some people don't seem to have any problems but every iPhone I have encountered has bad reception. If you get an iPhone just cross your fingers and pray it works well. It seems there is no rhyme or reason to if it gets good reception or not.
It seems like the chip gets stuck thinking or something like that. Often times if you disable it and put it back on I find you get reception. Sometimes putting it into airplane mode works other times you have to completely shut it down. While this works at times it is frustrating to have to do and is not 100% guaranteed to work. I would say about half the time i restart it I find there is signal after it searches for a few minutes.
If your life depends on having a reliable phone I can't recommend the iPhone. Everything else about the phone is great.
To communicate I had to resort to writing texts and waiting until the signal went up and sending them or emails. I would just pray web pages loaded when I browsed before it went back down to no signal. That being said sporadic web was better than nothing for me.
I know this could have been a hardware issue with the phone but the 3G one i have is the same and my roommate's is too. I use a locked iPhone in the UK and it doesn't get signal where other phones do. I am just outside of London so not exactly the boondocks.
Some people don't seem to have any problems but every iPhone I have encountered has bad reception. If you get an iPhone just cross your fingers and pray it works well. It seems there is no rhyme or reason to if it gets good reception or not.
It seems like the chip gets stuck thinking or something like that. Often times if you disable it and put it back on I find you get reception. Sometimes putting it into airplane mode works other times you have to completely shut it down. While this works at times it is frustrating to have to do and is not 100% guaranteed to work. I would say about half the time i restart it I find there is signal after it searches for a few minutes.
If your life depends on having a reliable phone I can't recommend the iPhone. Everything else about the phone is great.
Reception is spotty but I still love the iphone
I have a suspicion that att has some kind of sleep mode for their towers and if you're aren't using your phone the line kind of sleeps.
I've been in my house and missed calls because it only has one tower.
I find that shutting it off and then turning it back on does help you get more towers but it can go from one to four in a blink.
Anyone remember the name of the iphone case with the built in antenna?
Maybe one of those would help?
I don't see any reason to upgrade to the new phone though, more money for phone/data service and I don't get 3g where I am.
I have a suspicion that att has some kind of sleep mode for their towers and if you're aren't using your phone the line kind of sleeps.
I've been in my house and missed calls because it only has one tower.
I find that shutting it off and then turning it back on does help you get more towers but it can go from one to four in a blink.
Anyone remember the name of the iphone case with the built in antenna?
Maybe one of those would help?
I don't see any reason to upgrade to the new phone though, more money for phone/data service and I don't get 3g where I am.