Over the weekend I noticed something odd going on with my iPhone: It was working! That is to say I actually had signal in the SoMa district of San Francisco, which is something that I had basically given up on long ago. But it was working, and it was actually solid 3G service. Still, I chalked it up to a fluke. I had been screwed over by AT&T too many times to get my hopes up. Maybe everyone in SoMa was just out of town, I thought.
But a few more days passed as people started telling me they were noticing the same thing. It would go in and out at certain times, but for the most part, AT&T’s network actually seemed to be working in the area. Were we all going crazy? No, says AT&T, who I contacted today to see what was going on that my service was actually working. “Improvements are underway,” is what I was told by a representative of the company after he asked around.
“Most of this is 850 MHz spectrum being added.” That is inline with recent reports about upgrades for AT&T GSM network. But those upgrades were scheduled to start in Atlanta first. As I said, I’m in San Francisco. I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up (most of all mine), but it looks like AT&T may actually be taking the steps necessary to get its network working in the areas where service is particularly bad.
I’m told that this upgrade process (at least in San Francisco) will be continuing over the coming weeks. When that’s complete, AT&T is offering to give us a walk through of the big changes they’re making to improve the network that we rip at just about every chance we get (which I think is fair, given what we pay for the service). I’m cautiously optimistic on this. Has anyone else been noticing better service on their iPhones or any other AT&T device? Let us know in the comments.
I’m surprised that selling a mobile signal booster isn’t a big business already due to the iPhone. Glad that AT&T is picking up. When I drove to Vegas, I only dropped once in the desert. A+
I think the main thing that’s stopping those is that they don’t work
It is. I mean, I got one (zBoost). I love my iPhone, but AT&T sucks. I needed a booster to get calls and voice mail notifications in San Diego -ya know, because we’re so rural here with just 3.5 million people.
Stevoreveo- you are very funny. Thanks for giving me a laugh!
Yes, its so pathetic that boosters are needed to receive calls and notifications because of AT&T coverage problems. Hope they keep their promises at least this time.
This is a pathetic attempt to put pressure on Arrington to get rid of the G2 and return humbled to the Apple Core. Keep up the good work.
heh. he already dumped the G2, he’s on his 2nd Android phone.
I didn’t dump anything. I’m just testing out the Hero for a week.
dumped.
Choice? What’s that?
Heck, if I weren’t so attached to my iPhone, I’d be all over the Hero. Let us know your thoughts about it after you use it for a bit. Who knows, if AT&T continues to fail their customer-base, I just might have to give it a try.
amazing..when you have choice in form factor….
“Improvements are underway,” is what I was told by a representative of the company after he asked around.”
I can just imagine that conversation.
“Hey, gotta guy on the line here says he has signal. What’s up with that?”
“Ahh, probably a fluke, just em him improvements are underway. Keep it ambiguous so no one can pin us down on the network working.”
as i said, i’m cautiously optimistic based on what i’ve seen so far. they’re promising more details when the updates are complete. we’ll see.
I admit during you and Arrington’s rants back and forth I did notice you mentioned some sources saying things were going to be improving? Let the belly bumps in the cubicles begin!
good eye.
i am getting 4-5 bars 3G finally in my house!running speed tests every hr!2.0mbps!WOOOTTTTT!i don’t have to walk 0.5 miles away from my house to make a call!yes yes yes!
I live a few blocks from Wrigley Field in one of Chicago’s most popular neighborhoods. I had T-Mobile for over 7 years with no problems at all. Since switching to AT&T to get an iPhone 3Gs dropped calls have become a regular occurrence and worst yet I don’t have service in my place. I don’t mean bad service, I mean no service at all. I literally have to go on my front deck to make calls. Pathetic…
Yeah, same boat here, T-Mobile 7 years no problems. Switch to AT&T to get an iPhone and NO SERVICE at my home. Got a zBoost (the expensive one to support iPhone), mounted the antenna on my roof to bring in a signal and problem solved. Trouble is that it really shouldn’t be this way.
Did you guys test out the service before signing a contract (you have 30 days to return it w/o the ETF – have to pay minutes and restocking). If so, why did you switch if ATT service is so bad for you? I tried an iPhone back in March and the service was awful. Back it went and I stayed with Sprint. I heard in May that ATT had upgraded Austin, so when the 3GS came out, I tried it again (walked in and bought one with a new number – no porting yet). After 2 weeks, it worked very well – as good as or better than Sprint for me at my home office – and then I ported my number.
I don’t understand why people buy a phone on a new carrier and then keep it if it does not work.
Sad to say, but I’m addicted to the iPhone…
did you ever stop to consider if it was perhaps the iphone and not the wireless service?
the at&t bashing of late is really petty – makes me wonder if there is some personal grudge of some kind. never had a problem with customer service or service itself. you can’t win if you’re a mobile carrier.
It is AT&T’s service in my case. No other carrier has problems in my area except AT&T. I had T-Mobile for 7 or so years, since they were Voicestream… never experienced problems like I have with AT&T. And I do think you can win as a mobile carrier… it’s just that they’re not doing a good job at or attempting to win sometimes.
Sometimes you switch to a carrier, and then you move a few months later, after your 30 days are up. So while you had good service at one time, you suddenly end up with no service at all in your home. At least, that’s what happened to me.
I had very weak, but at least existent service, for the first couple of months at my new place in West Portal, SF. Then, it suddenly dropped to nothing almost all the time. No improvements yet at the house, though at the main street in my neighborhood (West Portal Ave) it has gotten far better in recent weeks.
I just switched phones from the BB curve to the iPhone and am still with the same carrier- AT&T. The Curve worked perfectly. I now get dropped calls constantly (when I have bars for service that is). I do agree….I am not willing to pin the blame on AT&T as fast as some of the rest of you. I think it’s the PHONE.
Smart move on AT&T’s part. By boosting coverage to SOMA hipsters, they can count on the torrent of rabid blogs, tweets, and Facebook postings will slow to a mere trickle.
that thought had crossed my mind as well. though i’ve talked to a few people outside of SoMa with similar experiences also.
Now if we could just get them to remove that pesky room that plugs our calls into the NSA…
http://www.indy...29/18482483.php
Hoping for a signal in my house over by Mt. Davidson. Calls on my iPhone at home would be great.
Seriously, if AT&T used marketing budget to upgrade the network throughout a few major metro areas to handle the crushing need for speed of iPhone users, it’d probably be orders of magnitude more effective for them than advertising.
I have not any problems with the AT&T network with a Blackberry 8700/Curve and later an iPhone 3G in SOMA for close to three years now. Must be good chakras, karma or something along those lines.
MG what are your favorite spots for lunch in the SOMA. I noticed a tweet from you about Chaat Cafe once.
heh, i’m not giving up all my soma secret spots
actually, i’m new to the neighborhood, don’t have too many yet
Damn, I will have to continue sticking to the same old ones.
Basil Thai (8th and Folsom), Naan N’ Chutney (3rd and Bryant) and Grand Pu Bah (Thai) are decent.
Didn’t know they were planning on stuff in Atlanta. I guess that’s why I can hold a conversation inside my house without it dropping now. I used to have to turn off 3G inside my house to maintain a solid signal. It’s still iffy, but at least it’s improving.
Today was good for me, I think I only dropped 6 calls. Yes, I did actually count them.
AT&T, if your listening 3 were in the concord, ca area, one was on 680 between Benicia and Cordelia, and the last two were on 80 near Truxel in the Sacramento area.
I wonder if they’d approve an app that automatically detected when you dropped a call, and took the GPS location and put it on a map to see. Imagine that “Holy Fuck” moment when the CEO saw that beauty. I’d like to time lapse the dots appearing with God Bless America playing.
No background apps remember. So you’d have to load an app an log the drop. I think the roads are hazzardous enough with people talking on the phone while driving not to mention logging a dropped call while driving
My understanding is that they do log when a call is dropped. I just don’t think they do anything about it.
I kind of miss how my old HTC would act like I hung up… I’m getting annoyed by the “call failed” notification…
Oh they were listening all right.
I’ve had the same issues on 80 near Truxel. There’s also a dead spot on 5 in that general area.
HAH. reminds me of my “Twitter Suffers Minor Period Of Uptime” post
http://www.tech...time-overnight/
one that will live on forever.
The SF Mission is still a complete dead zone. Hipsters have phones too damnit!
that will be the true test. in my experience no place has worse service than the mission. i may have to do some field work (go to a bar) to check it out this week.
You guys are on burrito-crack. I’ve never had issues in the Mission… Though the rest of SF is pretty terrible.
I’m a European who stays with friends regularly in the neighbourhood of Valencia and 16th St and AT&T’s abysmal there – not just 3G, but also GSM.
I’m not using an iPhone, and I never had drop-outs in rural São Paulo state in Brazil (or in Europe outside of the mountains in Romania), so I have to assume it’s not the phone that’s to blame.
AT&T is just rubbish, and needs to pick up their game before it’s too late.
It is universally understood that 3G, Edge, AND regular AT&T service is abysmal in the Mission.
I’ve lived here for two years now with a Blackberry Pearl first and iPhone 3G now and I have nearly lost my job due to so many dropped conference calls—on both phones. I’ve had to start conducting my WFH on Skype.
Service better improve soon before my contract is up next year or I’m going Android.
No, it’s still completely horrible in the Mission… I went to the AT&T store nearby to complain and they basically said, “I know…. it’s pretty crappy huh?”
Of course, full bars in the Mission AT&T store…
I think carriers should be chosen on their established service. I wouldn’t get ATT because they have so many service complaints. Just like I wouldn’t get Sprint, with so many customer service complaints.
Sure, I haven’t had an iPhone (along with the bill) for a notable amount of time …but when it comes to contracts, I refuse to sign with idiots.
Hype should come after service and quality.
At sxsw last year, there were so many iPhone’s that ATT had to bring in reinforcements (how? who knows) to get service up & running to meet the demand.
And here in LA all my friends w/iPhones are constantly bitching or I learn first hand thru dropped convos had bad ATT is.
So it leads me to think, what was APPLE thinking by letting ATT be the sole carrier of their magnificent creation. Or, who was in bed with whom and got paid what?
I agree w. Josh et al. re: ATT service and I am totally frustrated because I would LOVE to own an iPhone with all its cool killer apps…but what good are killer apps without decent & continuous service.
I disagree with Josh as I do have Sprint, for 15 years now and the connectivity has never been an issue and customer service has been (in my humble experience) terrific as well.
My former ’state of the art’ Palm Treo is on its last legs and I am not convinced the Pre is the way to go (plus even my small female fingers find it difficult to tap away on its recessed keyboard) and the Blackberry is well, a blackberry.
So I say all this to say, why can’t we choose service based on service, and not the exclusivity of the handset? I want an iPhone, but I want to be able to use it more.
iTouch is awesome. No recurring contract and no dropped calls. Wifi when available. All the cool killer app’s and none of the disappointment.
What was Apple thinking? They were thinking that they wanted to put a phone that didn’t suck on the market, and exclusivity was the only way they could accomplish that. Even with a promise of exclusivity, they still got turned down by other carriers.
How soon people forget. Two years ago, EVERY phone on the market sucked monkey snot. The carriers were the main reason for that.
wait. is that really your iphone wallpaper?
says the guy with the MG Siegler ringtone.
its just creepy.
MG, I concur – is that what you think you look like? Someone should do a study on the facial features people think they have.
Service is pretty much a pile here in the Mission. Funny that actually providing a service as advertised is newsworthy. I do think they have failed and cannot wait to switch.
and yet in the Haight this weekend I still hardly get a bar of service. What’s up with that?
seriously, it’s the worst. no signal in my flat. prior to that AT&T had a local roaming agreement with T-Mobile and I got a decent signal, but the day that arrangement was effectively done, No Service.
I just came out of a Visual Voice mail black out in the Western NY area for about 2 weeks. This doesn’t even count earlier in the year when I lost Visual Voice mail for over a month as well. I can say that at least in my general area which covers Buffalo, and the Niagara Falls metropolitan areas 3G coverage is pretty good, but other services associated with AT&T are spotty at best. I also still think AT&T sucks when compared to Verizon.
I work across the AT&T store (That is where I got my iPhone) on Fremont St, one of the higher floors. I have at the most one short bar on my iPhone at anytime. I haven’t seen any improvements yet.
I’m estatic to hear that somebody’s AT&T service is actually working, even if it’s not mine!
My AT&T service hasn’t been solid since the first iPhone, so my question is, when is the upgrade comin to New York????
My bad, meant to say ‘coming to..,’ not ‘comin to…’ Yes, it bothered me enough to post another comment:)
loser
How about they improve the coverage/signal quality in Cupertino. That might be a good place to improve as well.
its horrible in the mission. I walked the from 24th to 16th the other day and never got a page to download. AT&T is the WORST EVER!
I live in Potrero Hill and because I’m close to the 280 freeway I now have five bars on 3G throughout the house (it used to drop to two in the back). Virtually all of San Francisco is bad though, particularly the Avenues where I see Edge only.
I’ve had zero service in my condo in Chicago’s Museum Park neighborhood. I called last week and they said they were repairing towers and adding 4 new ones. In the last few days I’ve been getting a few bars for short periods of time. I’m hoping this is progress and not the best it will get. Still not able to make calls, but I remain optimistic!
For what it’s worth, other carriers are no better in my building.
Better service from AT&T, nope! Try much worse. As soon as the leaves came on the trees this summer I went from having 2-3 bars and 70% reliability to 0-1 bar and 30% reliability at home in Campbell. I wish I could get on board with your optimism! I guess I can pray for freezing rain!
I’m glad to report that AT&T signal is strong in Germany too. 5 bars all the time. Thanks to Tech Crunch network infrastructure
the only reason its working is because i live in Pa.and this morning we don’t have any bars,i think they just moved the satellite so that you would get reception.
The world doesn’t actually revolve around San Francisco. I’ve been listening to technophiles from that area whine and moan for years about AT&T and couldn’t figure out why. Finally, they explained it is because they can’t get a signal South of Market Street in SF. I’ve had an AT&T phone for probably 15 years. I get solid 3G where I live in a dinky North Central Florida town. I’ve gotten good coverage everywhere I’ve gone in Colorado. It works up and down the entire East coast. It works throughout rural Vermont and upstate New York. The only places I’ve had problems were the Smoky Mountains and one section of Williamstown, Massachusetts. The world isn’t SF.
amen brother. I am happy with ATT, get good signal just about anywhere I travel in the country. More importantly, I get to use my phone all over the world, and do. (Blackberry with International data, btw).
As to why Apple might partner with AT&T? Lets see, only US and Korea use CDMA, rest of world uses GSM. AT&T is only reasonable national GSM provider in US. So Apple had the choice of appealing to most customers in the US, or most in the world…tough call.
That and Verizon didn’t want the iPhone at first. AT&T was runner up.
You’re right. The world isn’t SF. But there are more iPhone users per square inch here than anywhere else on the planet, I’d venture to guess. All of whom are paying as much as you are for coverage we’re not getting. So yes, we have a right to complain.
The Bay Area is Apple’s home base. If AT&T can’t cover this part of the world, they’re dropping the ball.
“You’re right. The world isn’t SF. But there are more iPhone users per square inch here than anywhere else on the planet, I’d venture to guess.”
I seriously doubt that.
Actually, not only is that probably right, it’s probably also at the root of the issues in SF. Limited towers in the city, limited backhaul, and tons of heavy data users is not a recipe for a good user experience. Glad to hear they are working on it.
I seriously don’t. Was just on a full MUNI train on the commute home this evening and counted 7 iPhones around me. That was just the ones not in pockets, and not including mine. Frequent sight. My stop in New York a few weeks ago was a smaller sampling, granted, but I didn’t see many in the 3 boroughs I took the MTA through.
Would like to see an national iPhone density infographic. Love me some infographics.
btw I’m one of those idiots who got an iPhone 3GS yet kept it even though there was almost no service in my own house. Found this article while searching for am explanation of why I suddenly had 4 bars and 3G service here in Noe Valley of SF.
Hey,
I live in Holden, MA and just noticed this past week all bars and 3G at the house. I was lucky to get 1 or 2 bars and had to go outside to make a call.
I am glad.
Dave
MG you would be surprised how well ATT works in everywhere other than… CA. People in Detroit, Portland, and on the Oregon Coast are switch to ATT because their service is just so much better than the competition in those areas. I mean seriously… ATT has 3G on the Oregon Coast… small little towns. I think the bad rep just comes from crappy service where all you bloggers live.
I think it’s actually much worse in NYC, after spending a week there this summer. And it was awful in Vegas. LA was okay, Florida was rough too though.
Vegas is the worst! I had five drops in one 10-minute call! And very weak 3G signal everywhere!
As much as I sympathize with people that have shoddy cell service (I’ve had my fair share), it’s a bit unfair, I think, the assume that AT&T service is just “bad” in general.
I live in the Boston area and I have 0 problems with my iPhone getting service. Literally everywhere I go I have 4 or 5 bars.
The same applies to the Danbury, CT area and also NYC. I’ve been to Naples, FL and San Diego, CA without problems, too.
When I went on vacation from SF to Boston, I arrived to find 18 voicemails on my phone, some over a month old, that AT&T had never bothered to tell me about back home. So, yeah, service is much better (I think because of the lower density of iPhone users).
Still, I’m hoping the next iPhone comes with a chip that can handle all bands, all carriers.
AT&T 3G works fine in suburban Baltimore. ‘course, I didn’t drink the Apple Kool-Aid…
woks fyn
visit http://www.krazzed.com/ for high res wallzz
I have absolutely no complaints about ATT. I use their service in Sarasota, Tampa, Detroit, Minneapolis, and the wilds of Wisconsin. For the past year (as long as I have had it) it is flawless.
Bwahaha! Go Australia!
Only GPRS in my house (full signal, I sometimes pull 2 bars of 3G), but Optus never, NEVER drops a call. And only GPRS in my house doesn’t matter, because of WiFi. All cities on the East Coast of Australia are covered, if not by 3G, at least by a GPRS service.
And if you’ve got a Telstra iPhone (friends of mine do), it’s basically 3G, everywhere, full signal.
I’d be with Telstra apart from the fact that Optus is cheaper and will unlock on request if you’re on one of their post-paid contracts, instead of their pre-paid ones.
The iPhone is the only piece of tech where the world gets to laugh at the USA instead of it being the other way round.
(For those wondering, the whole of Aus is basically on the East Coast (I’ll count melbourne as east coast))
And as for New Zealand, it’s the best place in the world to have a mobile phone. You just never, ever, ever, ever drop out. They have towers at the top of ski fields for crying out loud! (Used a Vodafone SIM when I was there).
Network Improvements? What network improvements? AT&T needs to pay off the exclusive deal with Apple before they can afford network gear
I find it appalling that people who have the iphone and complain about their service yet seem to be ok paying for the service. It is like they care more about their phone than they care about the service but more importantly they are willing to put up with the crap. Amazing Consumer resistance or lack thereof.
When will people learn that if you don’t challenge.If I were to offer crappy service despite say a great product I bet I would loose all customers and or have to refund them their monies.
It just shows the average consumer is drinking the cool aid and is unwilling to make effective changes.
Stop the presses. In my bathroom I get 2 bars and in my bedroom I get 3.
Consider putting in a bidet.
LOL!
It’s selective areas, for sure…
Fulton @ 10th – still Edge only – one would think they would boost signal due to the amount of tourists at the DeYoung or the Academy, but no, it’s still bad.
Pine @ Octavia – 0 bars – it has been this way for years now. Every day on the way back home the connection drops in this location.
Crossing my fingers that this may change, though. There’s no way they’ll get people to pay for Tethering if the 3G network doesn’t work.
I agree with baba, and MG’s background image is still the best way for getting “more bars in more places” with AT&T.
I haven’t noticed improved service in Chicago , but I do know they need to improve it here. For one, the reception in general on the north/northwest side is bad. What really annoys me though are the pockets downtown in the loop (particularly near Millennium and Grant Parks) where data service does not work at all. I’ve confirmed with 3 other iPhone users that I’m not crazy, data service goes completely out around there even though the phone displays EDGE or 3G as available.
Recently I have been getting a good 3G signal at my office in Colorado Springs. Until a few days ago I could not get 3G in the office at all.
It is really nice when something good happens with AT&T.
In my office in downtown Denver I started getting 3G and full bars for the first time today. Sadly the call quality is still less than stellar. Hopefully I will find that the # of dropped calls has improved as well. Only time will tell.
I still hate AT&T (and Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, etc). They all suck!
Cell phones destroy brain cells. I only use pay phones and home phones.
I’ve always wondered why the best “feature” sometimes of the iPhone is “Call Failed – Call Back?” on a nice green button. Shouldn’t be a feature to begin with, but I think Apple knew about the AT&T issues.
Funny how the “tech capital” of San Francisco can’t get reliable service. I live between Twin Peaks and the Haight and have to stop .5 mi from home to maintain a call if I’m driving….and get NOTHING down in the Haight for 2-3 blocks.
I hope nyc is in these plans of improvement. I use skype more for calling than I use my iPhone (from my apartment).
As my friend handed me his Verizon phone on Friday to make a call in a very popular part of Chicago, I had to wonder about having a cellular carrier at all. I probably could have gotten wireless in the bar or at on of the many restaurants around me.
“Get a real phone” was the response. With large swaths of Chicago seemingly with no service, I often have to agree. My Voice number is here!
i still can’t get shit for signal at Pivotal Labs on Market St. i know its all concrete and macs and servers and wires and all running up in der, but this is like the heart of the digital economy (no really, Pivotal IS where everything cool is built) and the service is so bad, no one can reliably use an iphone in the office. if you ever see people hanging out the windows, they’re not about to jump, just trying to get a damn signal.
I’m with Tommy. Oh, the irony of being at Pivotal Labs (the birthplace of so many Web companies) and having your iPhone be a useless hunk of metal. AT&T should put a cell tower on the roof.
I am the last person to normally defend AT&T but having actual service on my iPhone has never been a problem except for in San Fran. Good thing for me I live in Austin, TX, where other then at SXSW it works great. Yes, I hate many of the decisions they have made in the last 6 months but it seems to be a lot of the hate for the service itself comes just from the valley. Do you guys ever consider that maybe the majority of their users have good coverage and that you are the minority?
It’s much like the app store debacle. While hardcore iPhone users and developers have been rightfully pissed lately, the majority of users have no idea there is a reason to be upset.
My point is, I feel like posts like this are a bit of bullshit. You’ve got a title saying, “Wait, AT&T is working?!” like it’s been down for everyone who reads Techcrunch, then you go on to mention it’s working in ONE single district in San Fran where it’s normally got bad service.
Just not seeing why this is newsworthy or really even relevant.
Dude, you’re the minority. My own thousands of dropped calls aside, I was talking to a friend in LA who’s company switched from Verizon to AT&T. He’s not really plugged in on all this tech stuff and his frustration was summed up in one statement: “When I was with Verizon I can’t tell you the last time I have a dropped call. When those assholes switched us to AT&T I’ve gotten to the point in 2 weeks time that I won’t take calls on my phone because of so many dropped calls.”
Ignore him, he’s had too much Texas Moonshine!
AT&T service is deplorable in NYC.
yep, when i was there is was much worse than SF
What is odd is that just a month ago, it seemed as though 3G service here in SOMA got WORSE. Our whole staff (yes, all iPhones) were getting calls routed directly to voice mail-delayed of course.
Now we are actually getting full bars inside the office-the hell?
i noticed that too, mentioned it in this one
http://www.tech...dle-the-iphone/
Still bad 3G connection in Mission District in SF (19th & Valencia and surrounding area), totally frustrating.
yeah brian, mission is the worst for coverage in SF, i think.
I think you have never been in the Sunset District. In some areas there you’re pretty much lost without a landline phone..
+1
The AT&T Mission Deadzone starts just in between 18th & 19th at Dolores Park. Right in between my living room and bedroom. Good times.
I live in Twin Peaks and service there is flakey at best. I’ve not picked up a single call in the last 3 weeks that hasn’t dropped in the first 30 seconds. I’ll be amongst the first to swap to Verizon if iPhone comes to them.
In the Financial District in SF and I just noticed I have 3G too, which never is the case. Let’s hope this lasts…
Update- 3G has failed after 5 minutes of use. AT&T still sucks
ha
Like I mentioned above, the only areas where 3G is strong is along the freeway corridors. Everywhere else is “leading” Edge.