ATT Reception: iPhone vs others

I have essentially flawless reception in the Boston metropolitan area. When I first got the phone I had a few days with less than par coverage, but it turned out to be due to network issues in the area, since then, almost always 5 bars.

I would say that its probably AT&T coverage in your area. Their maps found online aren't always accurate in showing reception. My parents live in the western mountains of Maine, and according to AT&T coverage map, one should have great reception there, in all reality, reception is pretty much nonexistent .

Today, driving down I270 here in the DC area I noticed that the numerous cell phone towers that in previous I could view at least the top 2/3 are no longer visible, at least in the Summer/Fall months.

I have been looking at these towers for 10 years and while the foliage was growing, I never had noticed that the cell towers were totally obscured from view.

By the way, in one case there were two towers of different design - point being probably two different service providers. While I could see the very tip to make the difference determination, the relay components were fully obscured.

Not sure whether the cell phone signal is reduced as a result of foliage, but maybe that is why a large number of people are complaining about signal strength.

I know that in Phoenix and other similar cities the foliage is not the issue. Been to those cities and the band of coverage of the towers is so narrow, it is amazing that any signal can be received.

Just my thoughts.

mikeab 🙂

had no problem so far in upstate NY!

I've always had ATT with a few different phones without any issue with signal. But with iPhone, for the first time in about 9 years of ATT service, I started getting dropped calls and sporadic signal strength variation without moving the phone around. I wouldn't care about the signal strength going from 5 to 0 and back to 5 for no reason, but it started getting on my nerve when calls are constantly dropped. I upgraded to 1.0.2 and haven't had a dropped call since. And the sporadic signal variation also stopped. I can't really say this is the same problem you're having as it also depends on ATT coverage in your area. But mine is definitely an iPhone problem & already reported to Apple.

You can perform a field test in your area by
dialing 3001#12345# then press CALL.
select cell info
the first result shows info of the tower your cell is using
-50 = strong
-100 = weak

the field test dial actually starts and ends with a "*" but somehow when I typed that it translated as "bold"

so STAR 3001 # 12345 # STAR (no space needed)

I've been with ATT/Cingular/Ameritech/ATT forever...at least 12 years.

I see zero difference between the iPhone or any other ATT phone I have ever owned. Where the service is good, the signal is just as strong on the iPhone as any other. Where the signal is weak, it's also weak on the iPhone.

There are a batch of iPhones out there that seem to drop calls even in strong signal areas. Those folks need to return their phones for repair or exchange, but most of them keep posting their signal strength problems online here.

I have not seen ANY difference with the iPhone either in the US or Internationally -- it works.

Note that there are areas of the US where there is very weak to poor ATT signal. Your not going to magically get a better signal on the iPhone.

I was a devoted sprint user but a couple of years ago switched over to AT&T/Cingular and absolutely hated it. The reception was terrible. The coverage at my house was terrible and it is not as if I am out in the country, I am in the outskirts of Dallas. The Nokia phone that my son had at that time and the Treo that I had caused all kinds of interference with our computer speakers, our satellite TV and all of our audio equipment. I switched back at that time to Sprint and swore I would never use AT&T/Cingular again.

Then....enter the iPhone. I thought long and hard for a couple of weeks before I bought it and I was prepared to bring it back if I experienced any of the same problems that I'd had previously because I'd really hated AT&T. Of course I will probably jinx myself now that I say this but my experience has been great. I have had none of the problems that I experienced before. My reception is great just about everywhere I go. I don't have the situation with the electronics interference that I hated when I had an AT&T phone before.

The only thing that I have noticed is that in situations where my Sprint signal may have been more forgiving, i.e. deep inside a building in a basement level, in the back of the baggage claim area at the airport, in heavily wooded areas in the country, etc., it seems that I lose my AT&T signal earlier than I would have lost my Sprint signal. However, in those cases I was getting a very low Sprint signal anyway, just enough to get a text message out but not necessarily sustain a phone call.

I had Cingular a while back with a RAZR and coverage was great in Albuquerque. Then about a year ago, the coverage suddenly got much worse. I did some research and it turns out that Cingular was sharing towers with T-Mobile and apparently this arrangement had ended. I switched to T-Mobile and I once again had "more bars in more places". Now I've gone back to AT&T because of the iPhone and coverage is not as good, but slightly better than it used to be. AT&T needs to invest in some towers around here!
When I DO have a good signal, I find that AT&T has far fewer dropped calls than T-mo. From what everyone tells me, Verizon has the best coverage for NM.

I, too, was hesitant before buying an iPhone. I had AT&T before the iPhone and constantly got very low signal and occasional dropped calls at home. With 1 bar at best, I didn't want to spend 600 bucks only to find out I can't talk on it in the house. Now, with the iPhone, I still get a solid 1 bar (sometimes 2). But in my case, the iPhone seems to hold that 1 bar better than my previous phone. I've had no dropped calls at the house. Yes, I still get that warbly sound every once in a while when the signal gets weak, but it seems to hang on and not drop the call.

I got the latest update and I still lose all my bars and dropped calls at times. It comes back in a matter of seconds but it is annoying. I am not sure if this is on ATT or Apple but I hope it gets resolved.

I switched from Verizon to at&t after a move from Philly to upstate NY a year ago and have been happy with at&t. I purchased the iphone about two weeks ago. Everything has been working well until today, Signal strenght has become very erratic, is not working in my office or house (worked beautifully yesterday). Since I am miles from an apple store I may need to return it to at&t and pay the restocking fee (which may work out to my favor considering todays $ drop).

I think my iPhone gets about the same reception as the Sony/Ericcson that it replaced. Unfortunately we live in a fringe area that does not have good cell service. I have been thinking of getting a signal repeater for the house.

About a year ago I had problems with coverage with my old Nokia. I called customer service repeatedly and eventually it cleared up. I bought the iphone and have had miserable coverage and numerous dropped calls. I've called customer service and they've mentioned that there is a tower being worked on nearby and also a new tower going in.

However, this has started happening at work now and I even had the entire phone lock up.

Interestingly, it is noticeably worse when the weather is overcast.

I'm thinking about taking it back to the Apple store as perhaps it was part of the bad batch but its quite a haul. Would it be worth it? Are they agreeable?

Thanks!