I’ve discovered that is all I need to say now after I re-call someone I just got disconnected from when using my iPhone.
Sad.
The best mobile device in the world is quickly becoming the most distrusted piece of technology in my life. I didn’t realize it until today when I stopped to think that I now:
- Schedule conference calls around when I’ll be near a land-line
- Preface important calls with “… I’m on an iPhone, so if we get disconnected, I’ll call back.”
- Interrupt people who call my cell to ask if I can call them back from another line
- Often use the phrase “Sorry, iPhone” to explain I got cut off
Its been YEARS since I did any of those things consistently. Cell phone technology has been pretty dang good for the last few years and call quality and reliability reached a point where it didn’t really matter what phone I was using – the cell phone was nearly as good as a land line. But the iPhone is quickly undoing that.
Now… I’ve been an iPhone user since day one. Literally. It seems that this problem has become much worse in the last 30 days. Which prompted me to wonder: what changed?
- iPhone software update
- Enabling push notifications on EchoFon (a Twitter app)
- Notes Traveler
I disabled #2. I’ll roll back to the previous version to address #1 if #2 doesn’t fix it. And I sure as heck hope that #3 has nothing to do with any of this. Because “I heart Traveler.”
Tags: iphone, traveler, why we got disconnected from that call
November 12th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I want to start with that I am from Sweden so I don’t have full knowledge about how things are in the US but what I can gather from blogs and twitter the disconnect problems seems to be more of an issue in the US than it is here in Sweden. I dont think I get disconnected more with the Iphone than any other phone I owned and can’t say I heard that others had noticed that much of a difference either.
Could it be that the iphone is worse at handing over the call between 3G and 2G and that it is spotty 3G that triggers the problem? (I have generally very good 3G coverage)
And about roll back to previous version of iPhone software, as far as I am aware rolling back the software wont rollback the baseband and as I understand it the baseband does most of the talking on the cell network.
November 12th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
I’m also pretty sure it has to do with a combination of iPhone and telcom provider. I hardly ever get disconnected. I got a 2nd gen iPhone (3G) myself, but I’ve heard that a 3GS has better reception.
So don’t just blame it one the iPhone. AT&T might be the bigger culprit.
November 13th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Possibly… I’ve had the first, 2nd and now 3GS versions of the iPhone, all with AT&T. My 3GS has been noticeably worse in the last ~30 days. Up until then, I actually raved to others about how good of a phone I thought it was.
Comparing notes with other iPhone users (friends, family, etc.) others have reported worse service lately too (which could point to AT&T issues) with one exception … the user on the original iPhone. Still rock-solid there.
November 13th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Which iPhone do you have? I still have a 1st Gen that I’ve had nearly 2 years now and I hardly ever get disconnected unless I’m in a known area with bad coverage (like where my office is…). Maybe it’s something with the newer models? I am on latest firmware and use Traveler. I have Echofon free, so no push there for me.
November 13th, 2009 at 10:50 am
What city are you in? I know ATT is doing allot of upgrades, wonder if that has an affect…..
In Houston it really is pretty good, plus we have the new 850mhz band which penetrates buildings allot better, but only on the 3GS. Also we have the new 7.2 mps 3g service as well.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
@Chris – I have the 3GS. I think the 1st gen. had the best reception, but have no “proof” of that whatsoever.
@Mark – Minneapolis. I’ve got some trips coming up to other areas (including Houston) so I’m anxious to see how it performs there!