Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

At&t (service) really that bad? Could other carriers do better?

eezing

eezing

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 29, 2008
377
3
1. Do you think At&t's network is really as bad as media outlets claim it to be?

2. Do you think any other carrier is up to Par as far as network infrastructure for the iPhone?

3. If the iPhone were made available for Verizon, would you switch carriers?

My answer:

1. No I don't think it's that bad. Yes, At&t suffered growing pains through the three iterations of the iPhone, but as of today the network overall appears fairly solid. I also think that At&t took a lot of flack for Apple's shortcomings in the hardware optimization department. It's quite difficult to narrow down problems to the device or network if there is no other devices in comparison.

2. Nope. I don't think any other U.S. carrier has what it takes to compete with At&t's network service for the iPhone... experience is key.

3. Again, experience is key. I've already endured the growing pains, don't wanna do it again.

What do you think....
 
I've been very pleased with AT&T. They've been no better or worse then verizon
 
Ive never once had an issue with Att in my area, even out in the middle of nowhere i was still getting 3g. The graphs they show while true are misleading. You look at the 3g ATT maps and all the metropolitan areas are covered. The people in rural areas are less likely to be using blackberries/iphones so theres really no need for 3g coverage out in those areas.
 
i agree. Verizon doesnt have that many phones in its lineup that intensely use data like the iPhone does, so who really knows how their network would hold up....

AT&T in my area is great. I have barely ever had a problem with the network. And i do like to talk and surf, so no, i wont be going to Verizon if i had the choice.
 
It all depends where you live, in my experience its been fine, and there is noticeably more coverage than when I first got my phone. I use edge less and less, and the speed is great.
 
I've had more failed calls / dropped calls with AT&T and my iPhone than I did with Verizon and some cheap LG phone... Definitely could use some improvements to the network... strange because I live in Los Angeles too, you'd think AT&T would have it on lockdown.
 
I agree as well. I'm very pleased with my AT&T service. Up to just a short time ago, Verizon service in my area was almost nonexistent. AT&T has done quite well here, and just short of a year ago, they turned on 3G. We are quite some distance from Chicago and it was quite a pleasure. Just prior to 3G, Verizon finally entered our area and several people switched. A friend of mine complained because AT&T wouldn't work that well in the basement of her home. Go figure!! I've been with Cellular One, Cell One, Cingular and now AT&T in this area since the early 90's. I have a family plan with 4 phones, two of them are iPhones. We are all quite satisfied.:D
 
Part of the iPhone's reception problems are caused by the phone itself. But, AT&T's network is overloaded in places.

There are times where I am right next to another person using AT&T, and they can be talking on the phone where my call will fail. Also, in some lecture halls at my university, the person next to me can send/receive texts and I cannot. Maybe their call is the "limit" for the network, but I'm pretty sure the iPhone doesn't have the most reliable wireless radios inside.

That being said, I *would* leave AT&T for Verizon because Verizon does have better coverage.
 
On my trip back to Columbus from Edge-land. The switch from 3G to EDGE brought my phone to 1 bar and killed my podcast stream and it wouldn't resume. Obviously can't download most podcasts OTA so I was pretty much screwed to continue listening.

Next, I'm listening to another podcast and it drops as well. Only this time I have 5 bars of EDGE. I try replaying it, but it just sits there trying to load the podcast...EDGE is not that slow.

Nope AT&T still blows
 
xcrunner said:
On my trip back to Columbus from Edge-land. The switch from 3G to EDGE brought my phone to 1 bar and killed my podcast stream and it wouldn't resume. Obviously can't download most podcasts OTA so I was pretty much screwed to continue listening.

Next, I'm listening to another podcast and it drops as well. Only this time I have 5 bars of EDGE. I try replaying it, but it just sits there trying to load the podcast...EDGE is not that slow.

Nope AT&T still blows
Click to expand...

I have no issues in the entire Columbus area.
 
xcrunner said:
On my trip back to Columbus from Edge-land. The switch from 3G to EDGE brought my phone to 1 bar and killed my podcast stream and it wouldn't resume. Obviously can't download most podcasts OTA so I was pretty much screwed to continue listening.

Next, I'm listening to another podcast and it drops as well. Only this time I have 5 bars of EDGE. I try replaying it, but it just sits there trying to load the podcast...EDGE is not that slow.

Nope AT&T still blows
Click to expand...

Oh yes, edge IS that slow. Ive tried to use my phone on EDGE with full bars and nothing functions. The iPhone is pretty much useless on EDGE, especially if you're trying to stream something!
 
1. No - from my experience (1st Gen iPhone to 3GS) AT&T has done very well..I have had great service. Big cities, small cities, out in the boondocks of middle of no where.....AT&T service was always available. Could they improve? Sure. I think we all could say that AT&T could improve, I believe that they are attempting to improve service and keep up with demand, however it seems they are a little overwhelmed. I would like to see them capitalize more on the Apple / AT&T partnership.

2. No...I think AT&T is doing the best they can with trying to keep up with the demand the iPhone requires, I just hope they realize the power of the iPhone before its too late.

3. Verizon is just "wanting what they don't have" and even if Verizon "acquired" the iPhone and gave me free lifetime service, I would never switch!

Excellent questions eezing!
 
Bucknut said:
I have no issues in the entire Columbus area.
Click to expand...

I said on my way TO Columbus hence the mention of EDGE LAND (you know, since most of my 3 hr drive to the parents house is outside the 97% of the population apparently as it's EDGE). Also, you must not have been on OSU campus a few months ago before the new towers came up. Pathetic.

Of course I also can't keep a call longer then two minutes or so indoors in Hilliard, but that's another story.

Oh yes, edge IS that slow. Ive tried to use my phone on EDGE with full bars and nothing functions. The iPhone is pretty much useless on EDGE, especially if you're trying to stream something!
Click to expand...

It took unusually long to load...even for EDGE. And I've experienced some decent EDGE speeds on campus before.
 
I live in LA and it was pretty bad here for a while. For about 6 months, I could expect to drop 2-3 calls per day which was unacceptable... I seriously considered dropping or unlocking my iPhone until...

In the last 4 months or so, thing's have gotten noticeably better. What used to be 2-3 dropped calls per day is down to 3-4 per month - which I think is comparable to any cell carrier.

Other then that, AT&T has been just fine for my wife and I. My only complaint is that they charge separately for Data and Text Messages which is just retarded.

Alternatively, we've used Verizon for internet and have vowed never to do business with them again - their customer service is lousy and we've been double-billed on multiple occasions- one time we even paid the extra $40 because after 4 hours of arguing, it just wasn't worth it anymore.

I've also used T-Mobile in the past.... no complaints there either.
 
xcrunner said:
I said on my way TO Columbus hence the mention of EDGE LAND (you know, since most of my 3 hr drive to the parents house is outside the 97% of the population apparently as it's EDGE). Also, you must not have been on OSU campus a few months ago before the new towers came up. Pathetic.

Of course I also can't keep a call longer then two minutes or so indoors in Hilliard, but that's another story.
Click to expand...

Im currently a Junior at OSU and have had no issues ever on campus with the network, dunno.
 
Bucknut said:
Im currently a Junior at OSU and have had no issues ever on campus with the network, dunno.
Click to expand...

For a while (in the fall) around 1 or 2 I'd be unable to use streaming radio services such as slacker or the phone would downgrade to EDGE or no service if I tried to use the internet.

Home football games (at least early in the season, I skipped a few later on) were bad too. Spats between no service or excruciatingly slow EDGE. No 3G ever.

It works good on campus now so I doubt it's the phone.
 
Another thread about how great or poor AT&T's coverage is...
I usually don't bother posting to these, but just decided to this time.

AT&T in Los Angeles completely blows. Is this my opinion, yes. However, I have yet to meet a single person who is happy with their AT&T service in Los Angeles. I don't think I'm exaggerating. In my profession, I speak to several people about this issue everyday, and I honestly cannot recall anyone speaking favorably about their service.

For those of you who have no problems, great. I envy you (really, not sarcastic). You probably do not live in LA.
 
xcrunner said:
For a while (in the fall) around 1 or 2 I'd be unable to use streaming radio services such as slacker or the phone would downgrade to EDGE or no service if I tried to use the internet.

Home football games (at least early in the season, I skipped a few later on) were bad too. Spats between no service or excruciatingly slow EDGE. No 3G ever.

It works good on campus now so I doubt it's the phone.
Click to expand...

Ahh yeah i forgot about football games, yeah i cant get connections during football games, but I dont really need them then.
 
1. Do you think At&t's network is really as bad as media outlets claim it to be?

No I don't, I do think Verizon's network is better, but after that, there is tmobile and sprint, and At&t is better than them

2. Do you think any other carrier is up to Par as far as network infrastructure for the iPhone?

No way, Verizon does say they can handle the iPhone now which is true, since the majority of iPhone people are already on AT&T

But the best network for data is definitely AT&T


3. If the iPhone were made available for Verizon, would you switch carriers?

It depends, at&t and verizon have the same pricing, but at&t provides better discounts



I am happy with my AT&T coverage in my area, San Jose, CA

I can't say the same if I was in NY or LA, I heard AT&T is horrendous there, I definitely would not get the iPhone if I was only able to get 2/3 Bars max and Edge most of the time
 
Yes, AT&T has network issues. Coverage problems in rural areas, and congestion problems in urban areas. I think the iPhone is a culprit, but probably more in the sense that in pushing upgrades for data capacity to keep up with iPhone users, AT&T has neglected its voice network.

Even if the iPhone stays exclusive to AT&T, I think complaints about network quality are only going to increase in the near future. With more and more phones like the Pre, Droid, Nexus One, etc, data usage on all networks will probably be increasing exponentially in the next few years. The real lesson here IMO should be how utterly foolish and wasteful it is for us in the US to be building multiple competing, incompatible networks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back