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Verizon iPhone 5 Will Not Offer Simultaneous Voice and Data [Update: It Was A Hardware Decision]
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Just checked mine, it's great!
Seriously, when will people learn that coverage is an area specific issue.
I kind of thought this might be the case when Apple announced the single LTE chip to take care of data and voice during the press conference.
From Wikipedia on LTE:
As far as I understand from this you'd need either a second LTE chip or a fallback to something like GSM to handle both at the same time. Not a problem for GSM based carriers, big problem for CDMA based carriers. It's the same issue with a new layer.
From Wikipedia on LTE:
As far as I understand from this you'd need either a second LTE chip or a fallback to something like GSM to handle both at the same time. Not a problem for GSM based carriers, big problem for CDMA based carriers. It's the same issue with a new layer.
I was using Turn by Turn directions last week and was talking to my wife at the same time and the navigation was still working. It would play an audible sound and display the nav direction on the screen so it's obviously caching the latest directions that it has retrieved.
It'd probably only be an issue if directions need to be recalculated.
On another note Verizon really needs to handle this correctly from a PR perspective. They have supported simultaneous LTE data and CDMA voice for over a year and a half. The iPhone 5 not having this would be on Apple. Verizon needs to make this clear to customers.
Good points. HSPDA+ on iPhone5 (HSPDA on iPhone4S and below -on GSM model). I see some specs where the CDMA iPhone5 will have HSPA+ (not HSPDA+) and DC-HSPDA. Interesting.
Quick FYI on another interesting fact:
Verizon and Sprint only support CDMA rev.A, which does NOT support simultaneous voice & data.
Unlike other CDMA carriers in other parts of the world (e.g. Japan), these two US carriers have chosen NOT to upgrade their network to CDMA rev.B, which DOES support sim voice/data, in order to focus on LTE.
Food for thought...
Verizon and Sprint only support CDMA rev.A, which does NOT support simultaneous voice & data.
Unlike other CDMA carriers in other parts of the world (e.g. Japan), these two US carriers have chosen NOT to upgrade their network to CDMA rev.B, which DOES support sim voice/data, in order to focus on LTE.
Food for thought...
Here is an article saying the exact opposite with Verizon tech support
http://www.businessinsider.com/verizon-iphone-5-data-voice-4g-lte-2012-9
EDIT:
I take that back - if you scroll down and look at the comments, you'll find one from verizon tech support.
Damn - this just ruined the whole thing for me. How many times have you been on the phone talking about work and the client says "did you just get the email I sent you?" On the iPhone 5 you won't be able to be productive while on a call - that's not very "magical"
http://www.businessinsider.com/verizon-iphone-5-data-voice-4g-lte-2012-9
EDIT:
I take that back - if you scroll down and look at the comments, you'll find one from verizon tech support.
Damn - this just ruined the whole thing for me. How many times have you been on the phone talking about work and the client says "did you just get the email I sent you?" On the iPhone 5 you won't be able to be productive while on a call - that's not very "magical"
This is surprising because the limitation used to be CDMA technology used on Verizon phones, and people were expecting that LTE would solve the problem as it has with many Android phones.
This is definitely something I was not expecting, and could push me to just waiting for the Droid Razr Maxx HD.
No, it is not something that you need or use every day. BUT, it is one of those things where when you do need it, it can be one of the most annoying things ever.
This is definitely something I was not expecting, and could push me to just waiting for the Droid Razr Maxx HD.
No, it is not something that you need or use every day. BUT, it is one of those things where when you do need it, it can be one of the most annoying things ever.
Not surprising
It's a little disappointing, but not much of a surprise.
Current CDMA/LTE phones have two modems. The iPhone 5 has one.
At some point, it's conceivable that they may offer VoLTE, which may open the door to simultaneous data and voice, but absent that, the modem's only going to be able to do one thing at a time.
It's a little disappointing, but not much of a surprise.
Current CDMA/LTE phones have two modems. The iPhone 5 has one.
At some point, it's conceivable that they may offer VoLTE, which may open the door to simultaneous data and voice, but absent that, the modem's only going to be able to do one thing at a time.
For those on AT&T, who think this is a dealbreaker - how many times have you actually used voice and data at the same time?
I've been on CDMA carriers pretty much forever (with the exception of a brief fling with T-Mobile and an unlocked iPhone...which can't do simultaneous voice and data either) and I have only run into problems with this ONCE. That's more than four years of having smartphones.
I don't doubt that some people need this occasionally but it's seriously a non-issue for almost everyone. I wouldn't rule Verizon out just for this. I also wouldn't assume that a Verizon rep about knows what they're talking about either.
I've been on CDMA carriers pretty much forever (with the exception of a brief fling with T-Mobile and an unlocked iPhone...which can't do simultaneous voice and data either) and I have only run into problems with this ONCE. That's more than four years of having smartphones.
I don't doubt that some people need this occasionally but it's seriously a non-issue for almost everyone. I wouldn't rule Verizon out just for this. I also wouldn't assume that a Verizon rep about knows what they're talking about either.
On the positive side, I guess only having one radio active at a time will conserve battery life. I am disappointed with this since I've told several family and friends that an LTE iPhone on Verizon will most assuredly do simultaneous voice and data. Guess I counted my chickens a little too soon. . .
Hey, FWIW, I live in VA's largest city, where Verizon has been selling LTE for coming up on a year (next month).
Attached is a the level of Verizon LTE service I get at my house.
My Verizon 4s, at the same spot, gets 4 bars of their voice/3G service.
Point being, just because they have a city marked as "LTE" doesn't necessarily mean that the LTE coverage there is either as thorough (or reliable) as their voice/3G network.
After my experience with Verizon LTE, I'd wish YOU good luck. Hopefully your area is covered better than mine. I'm personally paying the ETF with Verizon and moving back to AT&T (for the iPhone 5). AT&T doesn't even have LTE here yet, but their 3G network clocks in faster than Verizon's LTE network does, where I live and work.
Attachments
This is opposite of what VZW Support was saying on twitter
On Twitter in response to this specific question about iPhone 5, @VZWSupport have replied multiple times that simultaenous voice + data is supported on any LTE phone.
It would be really nice if Apple would provide specific information on this.
Because I really, really want to leave AT&T. And voice + data simultaneous (not over Wifi of course) is one of the main reasons I haven't gone to Verizon yet.
On Twitter in response to this specific question about iPhone 5, @VZWSupport have replied multiple times that simultaenous voice + data is supported on any LTE phone.
It would be really nice if Apple would provide specific information on this.
Because I really, really want to leave AT&T. And voice + data simultaneous (not over Wifi of course) is one of the main reasons I haven't gone to Verizon yet.
Galaxy S3 does it.
What a joke.
The carriers artificially crippling yet another Apple product while supporting/promoting Apple's competition. What a f-n joke.
What a joke.
The carriers artificially crippling yet another Apple product while supporting/promoting Apple's competition. What a f-n joke.
Everybody has their own thing, but this is a deal breaker for me. Many times I'm running my business from my phone. Checking email, calendars, notes, email ect while I'm on the phone. Not being able to have data while talking just will not work. I have thought about switching, but it's a no with this issue.
Hey, I'm hating on ATT just as much as anyone..but this means much more to me than FaceTime over cellular.
Hey, I'm hating on ATT just as much as anyone..but this means much more to me than FaceTime over cellular.
Why the iPhone 5 on Verizon and Sprint won't juggle calls and data: It was Apple's de
Why the iPhone 5 on Verizon and Sprint won't juggle calls and data: It was Apple's decision.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/iphone-5-calls-data/
Why the iPhone 5 on Verizon and Sprint won't juggle calls and data: It was Apple's decision.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/iphone-5-calls-data/
The suspect that The Verge won't confirm it under NDA but they probably discovered the issue with their review unit Verizon iPhone 5 which really prompted the question.
This is the question I want answered. I experienced the exact same thing on first gen iPhone... and that would be a dealbreaker for me. If it interrupts the data connection to ring through -- that's all I care about.
Unfortunately, absent a statement from VZW on this specific topic, not sure we'll know until it's released.
Oh man, this is horrible news! Now we'll have to listen to more stupid AT&T ads that brag about this useless feature. And I use AT&T and think it's better than Verizon for my area (plus Verizon can be a scumbag when it comes to cable TV, which lowers my respect for them), so it's not like I'm trying to defend anyone.
After being with AT&T for several years, I switched to Verizon last year with the 4S release. I was very concerned about losing simultaneous voice+data but frankly, my voice calls on AT&T dropped so often that I often dropped the iPhone 4 into Edge-only mode just for stability of the voice calls. I'm a throwback I guess in that I routinely use 5000+ minutes of talk time per month easily.
That said, I've not really missed simultaneous voice+data on Verizon since I get rock-solid voice and I'm usually on WiFi even if that's just provided via my 4G MiFi device. So no biggie really.
However, like most of you, I'm really scratching my head why Apple wouldn't have designed to allow this. I'm also curious if the Verizon rep just has it wrong?
Even with the 4S on Verizon, if you are streaming, playing a game or whatever that is using data, it just pauses that app and rings the call straight through. Calls always get priority. I've never missed a call on Verizon due to data use and given that all voice calls travel via the CDMA side of the house I don't even think this is possible the way it is/was on AT&T.
Now the way Verizon handles call waiting and three-way calls on CDMA via the iPhone? That's freaking the most convoluted mess I've ever used. Just stupid.
Just because someone creates a name called "Verizon Technical Support" on a comments section does not, in fact, mean they are really Verizon Technical Support.
Hint: My feet really aren't all that big contextually speaking. Just sayin' ;-)
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Verizon has terrible customer service. Absolutely terrible. At least their Internet service is good if you are lucky enough to have FiOS in your area.
We called to report their DNS service being slow, and they said that we have to pay for premium support to do that. Then they reset our router and killed all of my port mappings, which did nothing. The FiOS cable control app on iOS and Android is a gimmick, and the only part of it that ever works is the "remote" mode, which only rarely works. And the FiOS cable box must have been hack-programmed in about an hour by some noob because it crashes all the time and has many glitches. They also spelled "search" as "seach" by accident.
Well, I am on AT&T but I'm not calling this a deal breaker. Mainly because I never had any intention of switching to Verizon. I'm happy with AT&T. I have great coverage, LTE in my area, and unlimited data.
I use this feature quite often. One notable example: I am with a dog rescue group and one of our foster parents called me in a panic with a veterinary emergency. She was in her car searching for the closest e-vet. I was able to get the details for her all the while staying on the phone and calming her down.
Granted, most times aren't a necessity, more of a convenience. But definitely something I wouldn't want to give up.