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iPhone Can't Find AT&T


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iPhone Can't Find AT&T
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jdcfsu
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Florida
 
2010-01-12, 08:34

This problem just started on Wednesday of last week and is really starting to drive me insane. My iPhone has been loosing connection to AT&T in areas that have full 3G coverage. One minute I'll have full coverage, and the next the phone will say 'No Service' and not be able to find a tower, even though it hasn't moved. Reseting the network settings works on occasion, but it isn't a fix all solution. This is happening with other iPhone users in the same location as me.

Has anyone else noticed this problem? Is this an AT&T issue that I can't do anything about but complain to them? I'm really stuck and, after 10 years of trouble-free AT&T patron-ship, they've gotten on my last nerve.

90% of statistics can be made to say anything 50% of the time.
Website | Twitter
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El Gallo
Formerly “MumboJumbo”
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
 
2010-01-12, 11:11

Verizon's doubled their ETF's and is getting ready to demand minimum $10 a month dataplans on non-smart/multimedia phones. See if that doesn't get on your last nerve too.

Sorry about having no answer about the AT&T thing. I've heard of this issue cropping up with jailbreaking though. Are you all the way up to date?
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kieran
@kk@pennytucker.social
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
 
2010-01-12, 11:17

If it's happening to other iPhones around you, it's not really anything you can do.

I'd give them a call and tell them the issue. Most times when I've called, they've given me something. Not like a free month or anything, but a little something.

No more Twitter. It's Mastodon now.
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jdcfsu
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Florida
 
2010-01-12, 22:34

We figured out that, for some strange reason this issue was only happening while 3G was turned on. With it turned off we could connect to the tower and get full Edge service just fine.

I've since called AT&T to ask them what gives and the rep was very friendly and had not heard of this issue before and seemed baffled by it. He also seemed very concerned and perplexed when I told him it wasn't just my phone, but someone else's as well. We got to the point where he needed to bump it up to another level and call me back on a land line (which I don't have at home) so I need to wait and call back tomorrow.

I was very friendly with him and he was in turn with me, but he did say something very funny that I don't know was an intended joke or just came across as one:

He said he was going to look up to see if there were any reports of problems on towers in my area. After a minute he said, "I'm not seeing any problems on the network... well, at least not in florida." I felt like laughing. I wonder what his notes say for New York and San Francisco.

90% of statistics can be made to say anything 50% of the time.
Website | Twitter
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Kraetos
Lovable Bastard
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Boston-ish
 
2010-01-13, 13:25

Wow, this has been happening to me to, but I assumed it was related to me jailbreaking it last week.

God damn AT&T.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2010-01-13, 13:33

I experienced (and wrote about it here) a similar situation some months back. Where, out of the blue, my iPhone was dropping reception, showing "no service", getting no reception bars whatsoever, etc. All at once, and in places (like my house and the area around it) where it was always good before.

It took 2-3 calls to AT&T and they finally sent a tech out to do some readings, and they (supposedly) adjusted the tower near my neighborhood a bit. It got into this big week-long thing of back-and-forth phone calls and "okay, how's it working now?" stuff.

But, months later, things have been back like they were before. Even now, in the same room, I'll have 4-5 reception bars, and then, a few hours later 1 (or barely one). But I've not had the "no service" thing in a long time, so at least that got fixed.

Currently, for what it's worth, I'm showing four strong reception bars.

It just took me calling, explaining the situation a few times to different people and practically demanding something be looked into. I didn't want to be "handed off" or given any sort of "well, that's unfortunate...sorry we can't help" response (which was where things were heading with my first call).

If something sucks from the beginning, then you've got nothing to compare it to and it's just always been bad. But, in my case, my iPhone had worked really well throughout 2007 and 2008, so having it all work great, and then suddenly not (with no reason or explanation) was unacceptable to me.



I think they'd just tweaked the towers around me, and threw out different waves/coverage? I don't know, but things got straightened out eventually.
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remlemasi
Formerly “theelmerguy”
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Irvine, California
 
2010-01-13, 20:28

Something similar started happening to me a few months ago. It was sooooo frustrating:

-I first noticed it one day when I was using the speedtest.net app. It would start with full bars of 3G, then it would drop to one bar, then "No service," then it would come back with full bars of 3G after a minute or so of staring at the phone in disgust. This happened quite regularly with speedtest.app. I deduced that it happens when I request a large amount of data at once.

-A few weeks later it started happening to me when I tried to place calls. Whenever I tried to place a call, I would hold the phone up to my ear and hear no ringtone. I would look at the screen and see the infamous "Call Failed" screen. Then I would watch the full bars of 3G disappear to one and then to "No Service." After a minute or so, full bars would come back and then I would be able to place the call. This happened every time I hadn't used the phone for a while and tried to make my first call in a few hours. It was so bad. I happened to be in NYC when this started happening so maybe that was why, but when I got back to LA/Orange County, it started happening too.

-I deduced that it was due to my recent restore and subsequent jailbreak/unlock (for the tethering). The only thing is my phone was set up this same way before the restore and I didn't have this problem. I decided to restore again and set up as new phone this time. This particular problem hasn't appeared since...
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