your experience with AT&T and WP7

[MarcMaiden]

Hello wpcentral users!

I'm trying to do a little research and see how AT&T's wireless service is for you on your WP7 device. I know AT&T gets a lot of crap for dropped calls and bad service.

I have been working for AT&T for about 8 months, and before that I used the original Moto Droid with Verizon.

When I started working for AT&T, I decided to give the Iphone a try because..well I figured I might as well. I was not very happy with the Iphone at all, and I experienced a couple dropped calls but nothing drastic (Iphone 3gs). As soon as the HTC Aria came out I switched to that, and from that I switched to the Captivate, and from the Captivate I switched to the Surround.

I feel like the Aria had better service over the captivate, and the surround has the best of all. however, I never had any dropped calls or issues with either device (aside from the Iphone)

I have a theory that the Iphone itself is the problem, but I want to see what you guys think. I have also notice most people with call issues in my store are either using an old phone, or an Iphone.


So how has your experience been? Did you have an Iphone before? How was that? You can choose more than one option in the poll.

 

[red grenadine]

I moved to a focus from an iphone 4. I haven't had a dropped call yet, unlike my iphone 4 experience. Can't really tell a difference re: reception quality though

 

[MarcMaiden]

probably should have added a "no change" option....cant edit polls can we?

 

[cortez.i#WP]

i'm using the Telstra HTC 7 Mozart - which only has the 850 3G band - and my reception experience has been consistent with my at&t nexus one (with both 3G bands), e.g., no dropped calls in areas with a good signal.

 

[ninjaap]

Yup. It definitely depends on the device. AT&T's bad reputation is a combination of a great VZW campaign and iPhone's bad antenna, since 1st gen. I say that, because my sister occasionally gets dropped calls with her iPhone when I never had a single one with my old Motorola Q9h. It happened even when we were in the same room. She would be down to 1 or 2 bars, my Q9h would be stable at 4. Then I went from Q9h to the HTC Fuze. That thing had antennagate issues of it's own. It was as bad as the iPhone. So yes, it's not just the iPhone that has the problem. But since the iPhone was the most used phone on AT&T's network, no one was willing to admit that their phone was a bad investment. It's much easier to blame AT&T. And AT&T took it up the ***, because it paid the bills.

My HTC Surround has yet to drop a call.

 

[L3vi]

I was super skeptical about switching to ATT for the Focus (its the only reason I switched) but so far reception has been strong, I haven't had a dropped call yet, even in areas with spotty coverage. Maybe I'm just getting lucky.

 

[action_efn_jackson]

I think different markets have different problems. As far as Tulsa goes I have never really had a bad service or dropped calls issue. I am very happy with ATT and would recommend them to anyone.

 

[Light Speed1]

i think a lot of people blame at&t for the iPhone's problems.

 

[IamNabil]

I have an iPhone 4 and a Focus. Sitting on my couch, I get 4 bars of 3g on the Focus, and at most 2 bars of GPRS. The Focus completely out-classes the iPhone 4 in reception.

 

[spitothec]

On AT&T, I've had three iPhones, four Blackberrys, a Captivate, and now a Focus. The only city I've ever had a problem in was Silver Spring, MD. I travel all over North America for work and it's pretty solid everywhere I go. It's only when I hit the outskirts of civilization that my coworkers with CDMA phones get better reception than me.. or when I'm in a basement. I've never noticed much of a difference between phones.. just cities.

 

[GP07]

I've been hearing that AT&T isn't anywhere near as bad on WP7 devices compared to that crappy designed iPhone4. AT&T gets too much unearned crap because people blame them for dropped calls and not the phone they have.

 

[ninjaap]

What annoys me though is when I'm at a sporting event (football stadium) or one of the busiest (during the holidays) mall in Las Vegas (Fashion Show Mall), it's next to impossible to get data connection. No dropped calls. Just can't get a data connection. But I would think that would be the case for any carrier - you got like 40K subscribers trying to access a couple 3G towers in one area.

T-Mobile has recently started a campaign against the iPhone 4 and it's Facetime limitation to wifi. Once again, iPhone, we appreciate you taking the network down with you. I really hope AT&T loses it's exclusivity soon so that everyone can see that the iPhone will perform the same way on any network.

 

[TiLoBrown]

I've had AT&T since before the double name switch, since high school actually, and I never once had a problem with service or dropped calls. Must be an iPhone thing.

 

[MarcMaiden]

I'm glad all of your service is good with WP7. It gets old when a customer comes into the store, starts bashing me because their service sucks....and they are holding an Iphone. I tell them if they want a phone that is better for calls and reliability, get a windows phone, but they usually ignore me and buy another iphone.


and world keeps spinning...

 

[karelj]

My story is pretty similar to Ninjaap. My previous phone was a Moto Q9h and I did not have the serious network issues as my friends did with their iphones.

 

[Rob41664]

I am also in Tulsa and have had no issues with the network except the 2 months I tried out an iphone. All my colleagues are starting to switch from the iphones to the Focus because they are dropping calls like crazy while my Focus just keep son going.

 

[tre-nitty]

I had a iphone 4 and had no problems whatsoever. I have the focus now and it's been a nightmare. I'm getting the phone replaced so we will see. Also ATT service is great, people just repeat bs that they heard about there service.

 

[1jaxstate1]

I had a iPhone 4 and I was experiencing the antenna issue. Data speeds would crawl and calls would drop. I've never had a problem with a phone data/calls in five years with AT&T. My iPhone 3G was great. My Focus hasn't had ANY dropped calls or data problems.

 

[lucazzo]

I'm going to sound like a suck up, but I'm being honest: I've never had a reason to switch from AT&T (been with them since it was Cingular in 2001).

My timeline over the last 4 years has been: BB Pearl, BB Bold 9700, Samsung Focus. Never went for an iPhone.

Dropped calls have never been an issue in the Boston area, reception's always good, and data transfers well. In LA and SF I have had problems with dropped calls on occasion, and data was extremely slow.

Customer service over the phone has never let me down, and sales associates at the stores have always been helpful. I can't say the same about "authorized retailers", but no biggie.

Really, I don't understand how AT&T consistently gets the worst ratins for customer satisfaction. Perhaps I'm lucky to live in an area that's serviced extremely well. Either way, I'm not looking to switch anytime soon.

 

[action_efn_jackson]

I have 2 more good things to say about ATT customer service. At my local store when my otter for my work BB Torch broke I just took it in. The agent typed in my #. Confirmed I purchased it. Walked over to the shelf grabbed a new otter and exchanged it for my broke one. He said if it happens again come see him and he'd fix me up.

Tonight same deal only this time it was the ATT brand Surround screen protectors. I went through all 3 in the pack trying to apply one that didn't leave bubbles or sloppy corners. I took it up there and politely told him I wasn't happy with my purchase. He pulled a pack from the shelf and tried himself without any more luck then I had. So he found one for a different phone that would work and put it on. Handed me the phone and said will this work. I was stoked!