AT&T fails again... iPhone's visual voicemail goes down

Gary Whitta · (07-20-2009, 07:07 PM)

According to Gizmodo:

http://gizmodo.com/5318552/the-iphon...-is-it-for-you

I'm just going to use this as an excuse to vent yet again about AT&T. The iPhone is an incredible piece of hardware unacceptably shackled to and hamstrung by the broken pile of shit that is AT&T's so-called "service". How they have the gall to charge me $100 a month for a service in which I frequently drop calls, miss calls, have spotty service, unreliable data coverage and poor call quality just makes me sick. And when you call to complain it all just disappears into a black hole of apathy. Did you know AT&T doesn't even *have* a complaints department? I found that little gem out last time I called.

I really don't want to go through the hassle of jailbreaking/unlocking my iPhone onto another carrier because I'd still have to pay the AT&T cancelation fee (and I'd lose visual voicemail which would defeat the point of the article above) so I guess I'm stuck with them until they fix their service. But I swear, if it wasn't for the iPhone I'd have jumped ship long ago. It's the only reason I signed with them in the first place. It's a testament to the amazing quality of that device that it keeps me putting up with this shit.

maliedoo · (07-20-2009, 07:11 PM)

lol @ apple & at&t

andycapps · (07-20-2009, 07:11 PM)

What's weird is that if the Iphone is such an amazing device I'm wondering why I never have any missed calls or dropped calls on my Blackberry 2. I was told that they fixed the dropped calls issue after the Iphone 3G came out, but according to you and others it's still pretty rampant. All I know is that I've never had the issues you've had on ATT's service, so maybe it's the Iphone itself.

Phobophile · (07-20-2009, 07:12 PM)

Originally Posted by andycapps:

What's weird is that if the Iphone is such an amazing device I'm wondering why I never have any missed calls or dropped calls on my Blackberry 2. I was told that they fixed the dropped calls issue after the Iphone 3G came out, but according to you and others it's still pretty rampant. All I know is that I've never had the issues you've had on ATT's service, so maybe it's the Iphone itself.

Well you live in Ohio and Gary lives in California. Service quality for each carrier can fluctuate from region to region.

farfromfinished · (07-20-2009, 07:14 PM)

And still no MMS. Or Tethering.

entrement · (07-20-2009, 07:14 PM)

Originally Posted by Phobophile:

Well you live in Ohio and Gary lives in California. Service quality for each carrier can fluctuate from region to region.

Yeah, I heard that AT&T service in the bay area especially is dreadful.

Gary Whitta · (07-20-2009, 07:15 PM)

Originally Posted by andycapps:

What's weird is that if the Iphone is such an amazing device I'm wondering why I never have any missed calls or dropped calls on my Blackberry 2. I was told that they fixed the dropped calls issue after the Iphone 3G came out, but according to you and others it's still pretty rampant. All I know is that I've never had the issues you've had on ATT's service, so maybe it's the Iphone itself.

Seems to be different for everyone. You should listen to Howard Stern bitch about all his dropped calls and shitty service since he got an AT&T Blackerry Bold. And he's in fucking Manhattan, which should be the most saturated coverage area in the country

rnwd · (07-20-2009, 07:15 PM)

The service is terrible. I switched from T-Mobile which is by no means a quality provider with it's own issues as far as coverage, but I rarely dropped calls. It's a maddening regularity with AT&T.

Gary Whitta · (07-20-2009, 07:16 PM)

Originally Posted by entrement:

Yeah, I heard that AT&T service in the bay area especially is dreadful.

Yeah, I mean who needs good coverage there? It's not like we have a lot of high-tech professionals out here or anything.

omg rite · (07-20-2009, 07:16 PM)

So uh, how much longer until Verizon and T-Mobile can have it?

Phobophile · (07-20-2009, 07:17 PM)

Originally Posted by rnwd:

The service is terrible. I switched from T-Mobile which is by no means a quality provider with it's own issues as far as coverage, but I rarely dropped calls. It's a maddening regularity with AT&T.

I love T-mobile's quality and their plans are always $10-20 cheaper than the competitions. It's a great service in metropolitan areas... but once you step into rural America more than 20 minutes away from an interstate or major highway, you're screwed.

Kuugrr · (07-20-2009, 07:18 PM)

The service is the one thing about the iPhone that I really, really hate. Honestly, why couldn't a better network have picked up the iPhone?

I mean, here we not only get dropped calls, but also texts that disappear into the ether and are never received.

andycapps · (07-20-2009, 07:18 PM)

Originally Posted by Gary Whitta:

Seems to be different for everyone. You should listen to Howard Stern bitch about all his dropped calls and shitty service since got an AT&T Blackerry Bold. And he's in fucking Manhattan, which should be the most saturated coverage area in the country

I wonder if it's not so much the saturation of service as it is how many people in that area are on the service. They probably just have so many Iphone users that it overwhelms their network..

And yeah, I live in Columbus, OH and we have 3G service all over the city and no dead spots that I've found. But yeah, I hear a lot of complaining from San Francisco based Iphone users.

entrement · (07-20-2009, 07:19 PM)

Originally Posted by Gary Whitta:

Yeah, I mean who needs good coverage there? It's not like we have a lot of high-tech professionals out here or anything.

I'm in Manhattan and it's terrible here as well. Data is absolutely dreadful, which sucks because stuff like Maps, being so useful in walkable, metro areas is sometimes not accessible.

Curious George · (07-20-2009, 07:19 PM)

I used to get a lot of dropped calls with the iPhone but not any longer for some reason. The lack of mms is at it's highest peak of annoyance right now though. And visual voicemail goes down? I thought they were just mini audio files stored to your phone? Ugh att...

Macam · (07-20-2009, 07:22 PM)

I got better service on the BART running full speed in San Francisco during WWDC than I did sitting by Fisherman's Wharf standing still. To say, at&t's service sucks in the Bay area is a huge understatement. It's bad enough here in Austin, but it was notably worse in SF.

azentium · (07-20-2009, 07:23 PM)

Originally Posted by omg rite:

So uh, how much longer until Verizon and T-Mobile can have it?

No sooner than 2010.

DaCocoBrova · 07:27 PM

I've had ATT for over 10 years and I can't complain. A lot of it has to do with the market you're in. The DC metro area is laced w/ 3G coverage.

I will say this though... The lack of MMS, and the way its handled (sending you a user/pass for a site that's not even iPhone compatible as it's flash based...and owned by Kodak last I checked) is just ass-backwards and I don't see why iPhone users haven't revolted by now.

Jonm1010 · (07-20-2009, 07:34 PM)

I hear all these horror stories about AT&T and many who think Sprint or Verizon are much better. But as a former sprint customer who recently left for AT&T(Iphone was better than the Pre) I have nothing but contempt for Sprint.

1.)Double charged every 4 months which led to a long drawn out customer service nightmare having to wait thirty minutes to get someone in India only to be told I needed to be transferred and half the time it took two or three attempts before it was corrected.

2.) An insurance claim that was supposed to cost $50 for a replacement, yet for 6 months, every billing cycle, i reached my limit the first couple days and had my service cut because for some reason they tried to charge the price of a new phone on my account. Which led to a similar but longer customer service debacle like above.

3.) Service was inconsistent. My own house would have perfect service for 4 days then no service for 3 days. WTF?

I've only had AT&T for three weeks but so far, so good. No dropped calls, no complaints. I realize to pay the same as I did with Sprint I have to forfeit the amount of minutes but rollover makes up for it a bit. But I just cant imagine as bad an experience as I had with Sprint.

Jugendstil · (07-20-2009, 07:34 PM)

I'm considering switching back to T-Mobile. While I love the iPhone, I hate AT&T's service. T-Mobile wasn't perfect, but at least they're cheap and I never had any serious issues with the service, unlike AT&T. I want an iPhone 3GS but I am loathe to sign another 2 year contract with AT&T. I'd rather get a cheap phone on T-Mo and use the money I save to just buy an iPod Touch. The US cellphone industry sucks.

Phobophile · (07-20-2009, 07:39 PM)

Originally Posted by Jugendstil:

I'm considering switching back to T-Mobile. While I love the iPhone, I hate AT&T's service. T-Mobile wasn't perfect, but at least they're cheap and I never had any serious issues with the service, unlike AT&T. I want an iPhone 3GS but I am loathe to sign another 2 year contract with AT&T. I'd rather get a cheap phone on T-Mo and use the money I save to just buy an iPod Touch. The US cellphone industry sucks.

It's not just the cell industry, it's all telecommunications here. The infrastructure blows and no one wants to pay for upgrades. And you'd think with the proliferation of information technology that the prices would get cheaper but no, they're charging us a fucking quarter for each text message over quota for what? A few bytes of data.

gamerecks · (07-20-2009, 07:39 PM)

ATT is the best where I am.

No T-Mobile coverage
Shit US Cellular phones
Shoddy Sprint Coverage
Personal Terrible Verizon experience where I wont go back.

I have a Fuze and get pretty good reception.

LaneDS · (07-20-2009, 07:44 PM)

Yeah, I've had a large number of voicemails just appear without the phone actually ringing over the past few days, on top of texts not being received. Just outside of DC, for what it's worth.

I love the device dearly and rely on it heavily, but the service is just plain awful.

omg rite · (07-20-2009, 07:50 PM)

Originally Posted by azentium:

No sooner than 2010.

Oh, well that's really not that bad. That's next year. Maybe we'll see an announcement with the 4th version of the iPhone.

Struct09 · 08:02 PM

Is there any way to check voicemail on an iPhone without using visual voicemail? Such as calling your own number or something?

I've had the best luck with AT&T over the years in terms of service, it's too bad something like this had to happen. Some of us really rely on voicemail =/

EDIT: Just checked, you can call your own number to check voicemail.

SnakeXs · (07-20-2009, 07:51 PM)

Man switching to AT&T was something I was majorly apprehensive about when getting the 3GS, but I gotta say yet again my fears have been quelled. Service here in NYC/Queens has been pretty damn good, I haven't experience dropped, missed, or phantom calls or messages, and I just checked my VM right now having a friend call me and it appeared right away.

krypt0nian · (07-20-2009, 07:54 PM)

There is no good cell service in the US.

andycapps · (07-20-2009, 07:55 PM)

Originally Posted by krypt0nian:

There is no service in the US that someone won't find a reason to complain about, Iphone users just happen to be the majority and are very vocal.

Fixed.

Kletian · (07-20-2009, 07:58 PM)

Yeah my AT&T experience has been ace since I started using them back in 2003. No dropped calls, no signal issues, no anything. The only beef I have is that since this is my first smartphone, I don't have 3G ANYWHERE around here, and am stuck on their shittyass Edge network or any Wireless Router I happen to come across.

Edit: but again, everyone is going ot have that one cell service that works like a charm where they live, so the needless bitching about it is kinda getting old.

doubleEdit: and tethering is a non-issue for me personally, so I care fuckall about that.

HamPster PamPster · (07-20-2009, 07:58 PM)

So every cell phone provider sucks?

But which one sucks the least? I tried searching gaf last night but couldn't really find a good answer (since so much seems to depend on location) but I can't find a website that reviews the providers by area either - just a bunch of phone reviews.

krypt0nian · (07-20-2009, 07:59 PM)

Originally Posted by andycapps:

Fixed.

Totally agree.

That said I am experiencing the problem in the OP. HAve been for a week or so.

Proven · (07-20-2009, 08:03 PM)

Originally Posted by krypt0nian:

There is no good cell service in the US.

Pretty much. anywhere where a bunch of phones will be together will suck balls. In NY if you're anywhere besides midtown/downtown Manhattan, my phone and internet works like a charm, but as soon as I get anywhere near a bunch of people, they just don't have enough coverage. Conventions, Times Square, Grand Central, Union Square, etc. The places I visit the most in Manhattan are the places with too many people. I've actually had times where I'd come out of a train and have to wait 15 minutes just for the phone to be able to reconnect to AT&T.

It's not completely AT&T's fault though. The proliferation of iPhones over any other smartphone to date has caused a massive jump in data usage overall. The only way to solve this would be a massive infrastructure rebuild (doesn't appear to be happening any time soon...) or for the iPhone to be legitimately opened up to other carriers so that the load can become spread out, and everyone will get much better service.

Gouty · (07-20-2009, 08:10 PM)

I’m continually surprised by how few people have tried Verizon. I’ve been with them for roughly 7 years now and I think they’re incredible. In that time I’ve lived in Missouri, Ohio, New York, Virginia and Florida and I’ve had a serviceable to great signal everywhere. That includes all the other places I’ve traveled to. Their prices are very reasonable. I guess the only thing I could say negative about them is their phone selection is a little lacking.

Meier · (07-20-2009, 08:11 PM)

Oh my god the service was so bad at Pitchfork. I couldn't get any service at all.. I'm freaking out about how it will be at Lolla. I never had any issues with Sprint/my Q. All I can imagine is that there are so many AT&T/iphone users in a relatively small space that you're just fucked because of it.

Chiggs · (07-20-2009, 08:12 PM)

Service in Denver, Colorado has been pretty exceptional so far. I've had one dropped call in the middle of a fierce thunderstorm.

omg rite · (07-20-2009, 08:13 PM)

Originally Posted by krypt0nian:

There is no good cell service in the US.

Eh? T-Mobile does me well. Can't remember ever having a dropped call.

LaneDS · (07-20-2009, 08:17 PM)

To add to my AT&T bitching above, I still have a cheap Verizon plan that I had prior to acquiring an iPhone in January. In the many year I used Verizon I had zero problems with them. Service was rock solid, never any issues with payments, and it's a lot cheaper than AT&T (granted, it was just a standard cell phone without a data plan, but still).

I can deal with spotty 3G coverage for the time being, as I think that's still fairly new and requires a bit of patience, but this whole missing texts/calls/voicemails business is just unacceptable on such an expensive plan/phone.

Raistlin · (07-20-2009, 08:21 PM)

Originally Posted by Gary Whitta:

According to Gizmodo:

http://gizmodo.com/5318552/the-iphon...-is-it-for-you

I'm just going to use this as an excuse to vent yet again about AT&T. The iPhone is an incredible piece of hardware unacceptably shackled to and hamstrung by the broken pile of shit that is AT&T's so-called "service". How they have the gall to charge me $100 a month for a service in which I frequently drop calls, miss calls, have spotty service, unreliable data coverage and poor call quality just makes me sick. And when you call to complain it all just disappears into a black hole of apathy. Did you know AT&T doesn't even *have* a complaints department? I found that little gem out last time I called.

I really don't want to go through the hassle of jailbreaking/unlocking my iPhone onto another carrier because I'd still have to pay the AT&T cancelation fee (and I'd lose visual voicemail which would defeat the point of the article above) so I guess I'm stuck with them until they fix their service. But I swear, if it wasn't for the iPhone I'd have jumped ship long ago. It's the only reason I signed with them in the first place. It's a testament to the amazing quality of that device that it keeps me putting up with this shit.

That sucks.

Fortunately for me, AT&T's service is great where I use it (Buffalo mostly, Chicago 'burbs part of the time). And actually, Verizon seems to be the crappier one in my area.

HomerSimpson-Man · (07-20-2009, 08:23 PM)

Cellular service is not uniform.

It literally varies from region to region, and I live close to the DC metro area so AT&T is perfectly fine for me.

And in no way is Verizon any cheaper, it's pretty much the same damn price if I had a phone with a data-plan except I get to use the ever so lovely (e.g. shitty) Verizon OS they are so keen to put on every single damn phone and most like gimped wi-fi-less smartphones.

BothBarsOn · (07-20-2009, 08:24 PM)

At least you had VMM to begin with. O2 here in Ireland haven't quite found the time to implement it yet.

Still: commiserations.

Phobophile · (07-20-2009, 08:24 PM)

Originally Posted by Gouty:

I’m continually surprised by how few people have tried Verizon. I’ve been with them for roughly 7 years now and I think they’re incredible. In that time I’ve lived in Missouri, Ohio, New York, Virginia and Florida and I’ve had a serviceable to great signal everywhere. That includes all the other places I’ve traveled to. Their prices are very reasonable. I guess the only thing I could say negative about them is their phone selection is a little lacking.

Yeah I don't think their commercials are lying when they say they have the most customers over any other provider.

qcf x2 · (07-20-2009, 08:27 PM)

I think I've had, like, one dropped call in the past 4 years. And the circumstances were fairly understandable. I got the Iphone when it first released and I'd been with AT&T for about a year before then.

Call quality is good for me, my calls don't drop, I have no reason to call customer service. Lucky me.

Zenith · (07-20-2009, 08:29 PM)

People pay a $100 a month for a phone?

Alfarif · (07-20-2009, 08:31 PM)

Originally Posted by Gary Whitta:

According to Gizmodo:

http://gizmodo.com/5318552/the-iphon...-is-it-for-you

I'm just going to use this as an excuse to vent yet again about AT&T. The iPhone is an incredible piece of hardware unacceptably shackled to and hamstrung by the broken pile of shit that is AT&T's so-called "service". How they have the gall to charge me $100 a month for a service in which I frequently drop calls, miss calls, have spotty service, unreliable data coverage and poor call quality just makes me sick. And when you call to complain it all just disappears into a black hole of apathy. Did you know AT&T doesn't even *have* a complaints department? I found that little gem out last time I called.

I really don't want to go through the hassle of jailbreaking/unlocking my iPhone onto another carrier because I'd still have to pay the AT&T cancelation fee (and I'd lose visual voicemail which would defeat the point of the article above) so I guess I'm stuck with them until they fix their service. But I swear, if it wasn't for the iPhone I'd have jumped ship long ago. It's the only reason I signed with them in the first place. It's a testament to the amazing quality of that device that it keeps me putting up with this shit.

Visual voicemail has been fine for me. I get voicemail all the time, and it's been working perfectly.

Maybe it has something to do with the area someone is in? I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Gram Negative Cocci · (07-20-2009, 08:33 PM)

One more year to go with this shitball plan and I'm gone. iphone or not, I'm going back to verizon after this.

30 bucks for text messaging......lol

Hellsing321 · (07-20-2009, 08:34 PM)

AT&T service has been great for me where I live. Haven't experienced any dropped calls or lost/late messages. When I start getting out of the metro area service takes noticeable decline in quality though.

Struct09 · (07-20-2009, 08:35 PM)

Just tested my VVM in Seattle, WA and all appears OK. Hopefully it gets resolved soon for those having problems.

jonnybryce · (07-20-2009, 08:37 PM)

I'm all for hating on AT&T when it's fair, like MMS and tethering, but this is kind of silly. Sometimes services unexpectedly go down. It's happened to X-Box Live, it's happened to RIM, it's happened to all of Google. Gaf, too. This is such a non-issue. It's annoying to people who want their voicemail, but it doesn't warrant "AT&T sucks!" imo.

Originally Posted by Zenith:

People pay a $100 a month for a phone?

It's obviously worth it to them, and if they can afford it, then yes. People are willing to pay that for something they like.

FishSquared · (07-20-2009, 08:37 PM)

I have Verizon and I'm from Buffalo NY, And my friends have ATT&T.

Around here, Verizon has the best coverage.

It really just depends on where you live unfortunately. I want an iPhone....

Chumly · (07-20-2009, 08:38 PM)

Verizon>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>AT&T