AT&T Takes the Phone out of iPhone

Columnist Digs Into Problems With Her iPhone's Service, Asks Readers for Input

(CNET)  This story was written by CNET's Elinor Mills

Three weeks ago, I got a call on a friend's iPhone while in the middle of a desert; cell phone coverage had come to Burning Man. By contrast, several calls I made last night to my parents from my San Francisco apartment were dropped and a subsequent connection became garbled.

That happens daily when I try to converse on my first-generation iPhone in my apartment and in certain other neighborhoods. I've come to anticipate that if I can even make a call it's likely to be short-lived or poor quality.

Frustrated by the numerous interrupted calls, I decided to try to find out why my iPhone service is so poor that it's easier to have a Web video conference over AIM with my boyfriend because neither of us can use our iPhones (his is 3G) reliably inside either of our homes.

This is not a new problem. AT&T was criticized when traffic from attendees at the South By Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, overwhelmed the network earlier this year. And there were widespread complaints about dropped calls and spotty service after the launch of the iPhone 3G a year ago.

I wondered why, a year later, the service still seemed unreliable. I called AT&T (on my reliable landline at work) to find out. AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel blamed the problem on the increasing amount of data traffic iPhone users are creating, which CNET News and others wrote about earlier this month.

"We lead the industry in smart phones," he said. "As a result, we are having to stay ahead of what is incredible and increasing demand for wireless data services."

I wanted to know specifically why my problems haven't been resolved nearly one-and-a-half years after getting my iPhone and why my voice reception would be impacted by data traffic on a different network. "Well, it wouldn't," Siegel conceded.

Other factors are at play, though, such as proximity to a cell tower, the thickness of walls in the building and amount of demand on the network at the time, according to Siegel.

Asked what AT&T is doing to address the reception problems, Siegel said the company is rolling out 850 MHz frequency, which penetrates walls better than the higher frequency 1900MHz band; adding 2,000 cell towers to increase coverage; beefing up its back-haul capacity that connects the cell towers to the Internet; spending as much as $18 billion this year to upgrade its wireless and broadband networks; and moving to the LTE, or 4G, network standard known next year.

"We recognize unique challenges have been posed by all of these smart devices being increasingly used by more and more people and I think we are on the forefront of architecting our network to continue to stay ahead of the demands that those devices place on our network," he said.

Despite listing the improvements AT&T plans to make, Siegel kept insisting that there was no story here; that my concerns and the many comments on the Apple iPhone forums about reception problems and dropped calls was not newsworthy.

While I do have friends who report no problems with their iPhone reception, many of my friends have complaints. I did an informal survey of friends on Facebook and learned that people suffer from dropped calls, as well as inaccessible voice mail and delayed voice messages. Also, I am not alone in being forced to cut back on talking on the phone as a result of the reception problems. Here are some examples of the responses I got:

"As soon as I move and do not have an ATT bundle, I am throwing the iphone, and ATT in the trash," wrote a San Francisco friend using a first-generation iPhone.

"When i first got my iPhone (July 2007), i had fine coverage. In the past nine months or so, something changed. Now i have *horrible* reception in my neighborhood, especially in my apartment, and most especially in my bedroom. My phone virtually never rings there, and i almost never get voicemails or text messages until somewhere between 2 minutes and 2 hours after the communication went through," wrote another first-generation Bay Area iPhone user on Facebook.

"Terrible in SF. Probably 1 out of 3 calls gets dropped," wrote a 3G iPhone user.

"I've come to use it as a portable computer and a phone only in emergencies. I hardly talk on the phone anymore," another Bay Area friend who has a 3G iPhone told me.

"My (3G iPhone) won't work inside my house. I'm thinking about selling my house and finding a new one. Until then, I just use the forwarding feature, but it's a pain. And yeah, it means I tend to talk on the iPhone less. It's definitely a problem with my line o' work, although I'm trying to use Google Voice to solve the problem, too," wrote a friend in Arizona.

Siegel was not amused.

"So you are actively asking folks to submit their experiences? Sorry, but you and I have a basic disagreement about why you are doing this story. What is the news here beyond what others have covered?" he wrote in an e-mail.

Maybe I should pose that question to all the iPhone users who can't make a basic phone call with their phones much of the time.

Siegel said he would look into my particular situation. I hope he does and if so, I'll let you know what I find out.

While I can't speak for other parts of the country, there do seem to be problems in San Francisco at least. This is significant given the high percentage of iPhone users in the area.

What's your experience?

E-mail Elinor

[tkivey]

I switched to Sprint from AT&T 7 months ago, I now have more options then I did with AT&T and my bill is 35.00 less. I also have a data plan that is 15.00 not the 49.99 that AT&T is ripping people with. We all need to remember we have the power, quite using AT&T and they will go bankrupt and go away. As for Apple they just rip people on evrything they make,Phones,MP3 Players, and Laptops. "A fool and and his money soon part".

[brianbwb-2009]

I told you suckers when it first came out that the iPhone was an overpriced toy, but people like Mr. Larry Magid and other so-called "tech journalists" were all aglow about how wonderful it was.

What's this I'm reading now, some of you Apple fanz are unhappy with your new toy, and you are stuck with a contract?

Well boys and girls, and the chupas in between, here is a tip, keep a log of dropped calls and service interruptions for a couple months, if it gets to the point where you cannot use the phone for a significant percentage of the time, like say 30%, then your contract is no longer valid, as the company cannot honor it's part of the agreement. If they sue you, they will lose, and have to pay your attorney.

Next time, stay clear of those way-too-expensive Mac toys, and wait until the next new thing has been thoroughly debugged.

If you are going to be a guinea pig, remember, even guinea pigs at least get fed by those who use them.

[caeric]

All cell companies have spotty rececption in some areas, even if their maps claim otherwise. I've been gong back and forth with Verizon ever since I moved in May to an area that apparently has very little coverage, even though their maps indicate it shouldn't be a problem. One of their tech people finally admitted last week that they knew about the problem and were trying to get another tower in - by the *end of next year*. He was nice, and the first honest one of the bunch, which I much appreciated. The others had me switch out my phone, reprogram it, have it tested, etc., when they all had access to information about this area being a problem.

They could have just told me that up front, but then the reception problems give me an out on the contract, which they don't like letting people know. I'm not yet sure if I'll switch, because I don't know of any cell company that has good service here, but I am looking.

I can somewhat understand the problems here though - this is a rural area, commonly seen as afterthoughts to these companies. San Francisco though? There shouldn't be any problems in the middle of a city.

[basher501]

There's a reason I never purchased an iPhone, it was because ATT's network reputation was lousy; great phone lousy network. It seems like a carrot and stick sales method in which the iPhone early adopters got stuck with paying for ATT's network upgrade. What a mess things must be at ATT. In the last 3 or 4 years I have never heard one person say anything positive about ATT's wireless service. If I were Steve Jobs and the folks at Apple I would hang my head in shame for creating such a great phone and sticking the new users with such lousy wireless service. Apple could have sold a boatload more phones if they had worked a deal with Verizon. I just feel bad for users who bought the iPhones in good faith and then got stuck with having to pay ATT for their crappy service for the respective contract period. I guess those of us who like new technology should go slow when new products are released; in the case of the iPhone haste definitely resulted in waste (and I'll bet ATT is laughing all the way to the bank).

[thomderr1]

I'll stay with my Sprint/Nextel Blackberry. The coverage is great and reception fine.

[HereinDC]

I love my iPhone but only for non-work email and phone calls. I love the fact that I don't have to carry a phone, planner and ipod. But for reliability in phone calls and emails I use my blackberry on verizon. Because of the dropped calls, bad reception and delayed voice mails, I will not use my iPhone for work purposes.

[perivision]

I have used the iphone since it first came out, and had spotty service in the beginning. At around OS version 2.2, it got better, but OS 3.0 has returned to the phone back to its spotty level. 3.1 is worse given battery life issues. I've blogged about this I don't know how many times, even wrote a post for reducing dropped calls. http://www.perivision.net/wordpress/?p=1662
Odds are, once the service contract is done, AND if service does not improve, I will move on to something else.

[birdwriter]

I wanted an IPhone, but heard lots of negatives about AT&T service. Got a T-Mobile MyTouch (the new 3G Google phone) instead. It is absolutely amazing! So far, good service from T-Mobile. Love the phone and all the available apps...highly recommended!

[photolex]

Waaaaa! How narcissistic can one generation be? You can make a connection to someone on the other side of the world with a little box that fits in the palm of your hand! I have great coverage with ATT. With the exception of one problem I had on my bill...which I fixed by going online...I've never had a problem with them. So again...WAAAAAA!

[bajajohn1]

At&T is known for bad service and bad treatment of its employees.

[amfury]

Since my office has an employee discount for at&t my husband and I switched from Verizon about 3 months ago. I'm definitely not impressed with the service...we have dropped calls and poor quality calls often. I have to find an area in my apartment that has reception prior to placing a call!

[taxchurches]

It's a cell phone. Who cares?

And the iPhone is the dumbest thing ever. Who wants all that crap on one device? What happens when you lose it or it breaks?

I wouldn't have a cell if my job didn't force it on me. I've never used the camera, much less any of the other useless junk they cram onto the thing.

And while we're on the subject, why do you think they call it "Twitter?"

[lileoj]

I sold my 3GS becuase of all the dropped calls I got. My new phone with Sprint has NO dropped calls whatsoever. I love it.

[lileoj]

Oh and it is a PALM PRE =)

[reick2]

Dallas, TX area - drop calls all the time on my iphone 3G. Frequently just force it to EDGE. Prior to that I had a Samsung Blackjack - dropped calls all the time on 3G, no problem on EDGE. Wife has a Pantech DUO - drops calls all the time on 3G, can't force it to EDGE.

Underlying, common thread?? AT&T's 3G network was, and is unstable. They claim it is the fastest 3G out there, but speed and reliability are two separate matters. And they certainly fall short in the latter.

[jxknowles]

Maybe they took out those payphones too soon? Where will the iPhone users go to make calls?

[ajapierce]

Personally speaking, i would never recommend anyone getting the 1st release of any product until 6 months later when it's proven that i works good, or has a fix for it. In this case, software updates would be the issue here.

Secondaly, i think Apple was stupid on it's part to make an exclusive deal with just AT&T. I don't have anything personal against AT&T, but i can bet you if you were able to use your iPhone on Verizon Wireless out there in San Francisco you would be having a much better time using and enjoying the phone service.

Third, i miss the good old days with the Analog cell phones, the calls were clear as a landline, but now that all carriers are using Digital, it's awful listening to anyone. Add on top of that having to use speaker phone, bluetooth wireless head sets/speaker phones and the phone calls get even worse.

I hope when they start rolling out the 850MHz services that it will get better penetration into buildings, but also deal with the poor phone call quality.

[lileoj]

Huhuhuh. He said penetration.....huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh.......

[Darcy-IA]

(Oh my. The process to sign up to be able to leave a comment is a total PITB. It's a wonder CBS gets any comments at all. I must really have something I want to say!)

First gen iPhone user here. Got it about 5 weeks after it was released. Had a great experience that fall, winter.. until about June. They tried to blame Iowa's month of tornadoes, maybe even the leaves on the trees...

C'mon leaves???

The phone hasn't worked as a phone since then. I am stuck with an expensive mini-computer and no phone. I can't make calls from my own house - a bummer since I work from home. And I can't really blame congested air waves... I live in a rural area. Unless the soybeans now have cell phones.

I had people come to the house to check it out. No resolution.

IPhone is a great machine. Too bad the phone part doesn't work. I can now twitter my messages, or email them, but can't speak with anyone.

- Darcy in IA
(my 2 yr contract is now up. I am thinking of going with a Pre.)

[GraysonBuzz]

Yes, leaves can make a big difference in coverage levels. Especially for 1900 MHz signal, the leaves can cause a significant attenuation. If you are near the edge of coverage, the difference in such a location can be noticeable. I used to worked in market engineering for a non-AT&T carrier and we could chart degradation in network performance that correlated with leaves coming out in the spring and falling off in the fall. It is a real effect.