Apple Genius says 30 percent iPhone call drop rate is average in New York
By Donald Melanson 
posted September 30th 2009 12:29PM
posted September 30th 2009 12:29PM
To be sure, a certain number of dropped calls are to be expected when you're dealing with the wonders of cellular communication, but some phones do seem to fare worse then others when paired with certain carriers in particularly congested regions. Apparently fed up with such problems in New York, Gizmodo reader Manoj decided to stop by an Apple Store to see if something might be wrong with his iPhone -- this, after apparently being assured by AT&T that everything was all right on its end. After a few tests, the Apple Genius determined that Manoj's phone was dropping 22 percent of its calls, which turns out to actually be "excellent" compared to most iPhone users in the New York area, where a dropped call rate of 30 percent is said to be average -- according to the dude at the store, anyhow. The Genius further went on to confirm that the phone was indeed "fully functional," and that the problem is "consistent with the service provided by AT&T." So, nothing to worry about, folks -- everything is "normal."
[Thanks, Canis]
[Thanks, Canis]
Apple needs to switch to Verizon. Badly.
When people keep buying iPhones regardless- why should they?
So Mike can get an iPhone is why.
It's not the network, it's the iPhone. If it were the network then ALL AT&T would drop 30% of calls.
Why not have it on both carriers. Gives people choice and distributes the load better.
Not ALL AT&T, just locally in New York.
@xeno
if thats the case then why does the iphone work properly on non american carriers?
I also definitely think it has more to do with WHERE you are. I've been using an iPhone for over a year in SF and now in Sacramento, and have maybe had 3 or 4 dropped calls during that period. But neither city is anywhere as close to congested as NY. No one else I know with an iPhone around here seems to drop alot of calls either, but many of my friends in LA seem to drop them on the reg. Makes me think it has much more to do with ATT in big cities than either the iPhone itself, or ATT at large. I do agree that they should really update their network though; ~30% dropped calls for any paying customer is nonsense.
@ cocoviper
"When people keep buying iPhones regardless- why should they?"
the same answer can be used when asking why AT&T doesn't "fix" their network, i'm sure.
and when Verizon decides to support the iphone's technology that might be possible. but Apple ain't gonna change what they do to fit anyone else, be it the phone or computers or software, just cause those anyone's want it.
and right now Verizon technologically can't support the phone.
as for the folks saying that if it was ATT all phones would have suck service. not true. the level of service is dependent on tower coverage. in some areas they have dozens so the service is awesome. in others, like New York, they have quite a few but not a lot, so the service is decent but not great and spotty in some places. In areas like the midwest, they have almost none and decent service is about 20-30% of the time. which is why companies like Sprint do well in their areas
@iroq d. mullet
Agreed.
This repeated blog tendency to say "Look! Att is outrageously bad, so let's all keep paying them!" is ridiculous.
Money talks guys.
As someone who is living in NYC, this is about right. What's worse than the dropped calls is the impossible-to-connect to 3G network. There is a 1/3 chance I can connect to the internet in manhattan, downtown or east village especially. I am so tired of this crap I ordered a Pre over the weekend and will be dropping the iPhone shortly. I'm sure the iPhone is great elsewhere, but it basically an iTouch with some calling features on AT&T in NYC.
Here's a pic of AT&T's "more bars" and what 3G looks like in downtown NYC:
http://twitpic.com/jjni8
Why would anyone use Verizon when Sprint costs so much less? $70/month on Sprint costs $165/month on Verizon for ONE PHONE. Verizon only has "the network" because their ad says so, and it's been saying it so long, you people somehow agree with it for no reason at all.
In San Diego, I often have experience dropped call with iPhone AT&T.
Before read this article, I guess complex iPhone OS problem.
iPhone really need competitor networks for customer.
Looking at the number of "better" phones being released now,
thru the 1st of the year.........
I can't seriously believe the iphone will continue to be
a top shelf product.
I've never had a call dropped on Rogers in Canada with my iPhone 3GS. Rogers also had MMS and tethering activated at the launch and there's not been problems. AT&T clearly sucks as other international networks are more like Rogers. (Not to say that Rogers is a champ though - we're locked into 3 year contracts, for example, in Canada).
I guess that's the price of greatness.
"I'd like to just pay 70% of my bill this month AT&T".... yeah I can see that going over real smooth on the phone.
Why is it ok if they deliver a fraction of the service but still expect the entire price for the advertised and undelivered portion?
VERIZON! PLEASE make a phone that is a "case" for the iPod touch. Even if the integration between the two halves is not perfect, I'd still buy it.
It really can be the phone. I upgraded from a original Blackjack to an Epix and I haven't dropped a call since in my apartment. Generally I think AT&T's coverage is great. Many times my friends with Verizon have no signal, and I have 2-3 bars. And it's very rare I completely lose a signal.
I think AT&T needs to switch to Verizon! :D
iPhone is great phone but doesn't do the basic stuff like make calls. it barely got MMS
Not all phones in NY on AT&T have 30% dropped call rate. It certainly has to do with i-phone too along with AT&T.
AT&T alone is not the culprit, i-phone too is, but many people overlook blindly and blame just AT&T.
@Giroro - Wrong, my phone drops around 30% too and I live in the Bay Area. The iPhone is for #$%^ as a phone, and AT&T's network is just as bad.
@hary536
The reports of these problems in EU and other non-AT&T networks are a lot less frequent. This is an AT&T problem a majority of the time.
This is exactly why giving $100+/mo to ATT makes no sense...I have had Pre with Sprint since launch day and have never dropped a call! I do not understand how people put up with such atrocious ATT service.
The iPhone is the BEST PHONE I've ever had and quite frankly IMO it's the best phone out there right now.
For that reason alone I'll put up with AT&T and their shitty 3G service in NYC. Thankfully though I live in NC where it's flawless (at least in my area).
So to all the HATERS...KEEP HATING! Apple and the iPhone run shit and there's nothing you can do to stop it!
I made ~12 calls on my E71 (not x) on AT&T in Orange County, CA yesterday. 4 didn't go through, 6 of them dropped. I'm above the curve!
While everyone would tell you that I absolutely love my iPhone, I still get dropped calls at a rate that is far greater than any other phone I've ever owned- and this is in Cincinnati, OH, a town of less than a million people. There is *question* that if the iPhone were merely just a phone I would have beaten it to death after setting it on fire months ago- but like millions of other people, I just love playing with the damn thing so much I'm willing to forgive the 10 percent dropped call rate in order to continue using the phone. HAVING SAID THAT- as soon there is a viable network alternative, I'm dropping AT&T like a pistol-hot potato infected with H1N1.I would hope that AT&T is paying attention- but somehow I doubt it.
@Xeno Maybe its 30% on all AT&T phones in NYC. The iPhone is the only one to collect that info in a way that is accessible to the end user (VIA the manufacturer).
I'm pretty new to ATT and iPhone 3Gs. I'm in Ann Arbor and can't even make a call or a data connection on the 3G network today. Several calls to the local store and off-shore tech support = many attempts and diagnosing and fixes = apologies for "issues" with congestion on the network today... anybody else.
It's as if Candlejack was the new CEO of AT&
Is this across New York or mainly New York city? The city itself obstructs signals with all the tall buildings, terrain and geography will do that to any service provider.
And its been stated that every service provider has less than stellar service in certain areas. It can't be helped for the most part. I used to have a verizon phone that would drop calls all the time in a town that I frequented, with att I've never had the same issue in that area.
You know that somewhere people are having dropped calls at a rate like this with another phone on another network, but nobody makes a big fuss over it because it isn't with a popular device like the iphone.
In Australia, '3' network has an average drop rate around 1%.
Yo, didn't ATT/Cingular have the network with the fewest drop calls a few years back? I remember those commercials on tv.
The network probably can't handle MMS and calls from iPhone users now. gimpy!
This was a problem from day one on AT&T with my iPhone. MMS will make the problem worse but I still routinely drop 1/3rd of my calls.
Anyone know where to get ahold of that diagnostic software? Very curious to see what my call drop rate is!
found out the diagnostic software is called Behavior Scan. Anyone have a link? :)
@mac
by "found out," you mean "read the work authorization" like everyone else here?
yea, great detective work.
On top of that wheres a chart with all carriers in all cities
CDMA Please!
I would estimate that I have a below 10% drop rate on Sprint in Los Angeles on my HTC Diamond.
In AT&T's / Apple's defense, NYC probably has a lot of dead zones given that it's a concrete jungle, so to speak. That and there's probably tons of network traffic.
They're talking about NY state, not NYC. I have an iPhone 3G on AT&T and live in NYC and can honestly say in the past year I've had ZERO dropped calls. Before that I had a Motorola Slivr for several years and never had many dropped calls on that either.
Matt...I might not live in NYC, but here in Baltimore, service is excellent most of the time with AT&T. Then I went to NYC for just 1 day, never managed to connect to the cellular 3G network, and had a huge number of dropped or just not connected calls. I couldn't imagine living there full time with AT&T and this phone...
The Apple genius is located in NYC, how do I know. The memo is written on has a 212 area code, which is Manhattan. AT&T service in NYC and the surrounding suburbs has always been poor quality. My Verizon blackberry curve will always have1-2 bars more service than the AT&T version.
I also blam Apple for creating a amazing product that everyone wants but barely works like a normal cell phone, no MMS for the first 3 generations, really why, and dont blame AT&T all the other phones support it. No camera flash, But there is an app for fart noises.... great job Apple.
At least he looks cool when his calls are dropping!
The standard procedure is to carry on talking after the call is dropped so you dont look like a douche.
LMAO +1
Verizon would have been just as crushed by the 20M iphones on their service as ATT. Either way, it's sad and annoying for such a cool phone to have so many dropped calls.