[tokumei]

Is anyone else having problems with at&t call quality? I started off with a Pearl and returned it because calls (on my end at least) sounded hallow and permeated with static. I returned the Pearl for an 8130 and I'm still having the problem. I'm on the East coast at the moment (Jersey) with full signal EDGE and I'm having a hard time understanding why I'm having the problem. Before getting the BB I had the iPhone with no call problems at all.

Which brings me back to my question - is anyone else having the same problem? Is it something inherent to BB and I need to live with it or could my BB just be bad or does at&t just kind of stink in this department?

Thank you for helping!

[skippy126]

Originally Posted by tokumei

Is anyone else having problems with at&t call quality? I started off with a Pearl and returned it because calls (on my end at least) sounded hallow and permeated with static. I returned the Pearl for an 8130 and I'm still having the problem. I'm on the East coast at the moment (Jersey) with full signal EDGE and I'm having a hard time understanding why I'm having the problem. Before getting the BB I had the iPhone with no call problems at all.

Which brings me back to my question - is anyone else having the same problem? Is it something inherent to BB and I need to live with it or could my BB just be bad or does at&t just kind of stink in this department?

Thank you for helping!

I've had similar problems with AT&T. Cingular had great call quality (at least in my area) and never really had connection/internet problems...but since they switched/merged to AT&T, I think their quality has gone way down hill. Since they switched, I've been having a whole bunch of dropped calls and very loud static that will only go away with me ending the call. I also noticed I have to restart my phone (or turn wireless on/off) a lot more to reconnect to the network...as though I've been kicked off, yet it still shows EDGE. Go figure. I've been tempted to switch to T-Mobile, but I'm not convinced that their coverage is comparable in my area (Milwaukee, WI).

[walds11]

My call quality is fine, but I have been having the EDGE problem as you describe when using data.

[JoelDF]

Call quality has been barely OK to really spotty in my area ever since AT&T took over from Cingular.

And it's not the BB. Me and my wife's previous phones were Motorolas and the calls were great when we first got them while it was all still Cingular. Then Katrina hit us (or near us) causing all kinds of problems, then it got better. Then the AT&T-takeover hit us causing new problems. I'd hear myself echo back at me at full volume a half second after I'd say something. Really irritating. Finally that stopped, but overall sound quality was lacking and service is spotty all over town even though all the service maps show all of Baton Rouge in dark orange.

When we got our BB Pearls, the call quality stayed pretty much the same. So, I blame the network.

[TBOLTRAM]

Some of this can be cell tower transceiver issues. If issue is limited to one area this may be the first thing to suspect and report. Call someone with a CDMA phone and determine if the issue is same, worst or better. Call someone on a landline and determine if issue is same, worst or better. Finally call someone on TMobile and determine if issue is same, worst or better. This will give you a database to determine where problem may be coming from. If service is lousy everywhere you go and with all three cases then you may want to change carriers. If issue is only with one case or one area then you know what to tell the folks at at&t.

[tokumei]

Thank you for all the help, I really appreciate it.

I too thought that the problem might just be one area so I've been trying the phone(s) as I've been going around New York and New Jersey. Unfortunately it was horrible static no matter where I went and no matter who I called. The only calls I didn't try was to someone on a CDMA network because I don't know anyone. We also found out there was a horrible lag time in the calls. I thought people were just talking slow to me. I stood far outside the car while I talked to my husband on both his T-Mobile and At&t phones and he said it was like watching a bad Godzilla movie the way he could watch my mouth move and then the sound would come much later.

I'm going to guess Cingular/ At&t is going through some serious pains since the change. I had no trouble with them on any of my Moto phones until I got a 3G one and then it was terrible. I was getting the echo, static, and dropped calls. Sometimes the connection would be so bad I'd have to call the person I was trying to talk to back 2 - 3 times before it would be ok enough to have a conversation. Like I said before, the iPhone though seemed perfectly fine as far as calls. It just didn't do everything that I needed done and I hated that darned touch screen.

I'm hoping its not the BB but my experience with them is somewhat limited. The only one I had before was an 87xx (I don't remember the exact model) on Verizon. I think calls there were pretty good and it was always fast that I can remember. What made me give it up was that I could get text messages my husband would send me on Cingular but it would take forever for him to get mine. Mms was a bit of a nightmare too. So unless I can convince him to convert I don't know that Verizon is an option. I read here a lot that they cripple their phones but I don't know quite what people mean by that. I've also read other people elsewhere call Verizon the devil too. My next stop in the meantime is probably going to be a T-Mobile store. Their coverage is spotty though and they don't seem to work when you're close to the middle of nowhere (which I unfortunately am a decent amount of time).

[TBOLTRAM]

I was in Las Vegas last week on company business and my VZW 8830 worked great. Not to push VZW but if you are looking their network is one of the best.

Most of the engineers I was with use Sprint as that is the company standard and they had no problems either.

[JGBerry]

i think the main problem that you have is one of the most obvious...you have AT&T lol. there is a long standing debate over GSM vs CDMA but as much as people whine....CDMA call quality is superior to that over AT&T's GSM and CDMA is less likely to drop a call due to the CDMA technology.


To be fair...in areas where all companies provide coverage on a decent basis...Verizon always performs better. I say this...because whenever I say Verizon coverage is better and performs better, I always get an angry reply post from some random person out who lives out in bumble-ville or some area where for some odd reason verizon doesn't work at all and he claims that his service is better. So to make it fair...in markets where all services are provided...Verizon always comes out on top.

With that also said... I have T-Mobile and Verizon and I have actually never had any issues with T-Mobile's coverage as of yet, but I will say Verizon's call quality and performance are still better than anything I have ever used before. I've been with Verizon since the days of Bell Atlantic Mobile dating back to before Digital service was even around lol.

[Ryan8700]

Hahahaha yeah

[Shaun]

I have had a far different experience in my area (Ohio/Western & Central PA). I have a basic LG Clam phone on VZW and I get limited signal and I live close enough to a tower that I could throw the phone and hit the thing. When I travel between Cleveland, Cinnci and Pittsburg the signal is all over the map.

My wife and I have an account with, Cingular then, ATT now, and we have great signal nearly all the time. I have an 8700c and 8310, while she has a Razr v3xx, and my daughter has a basic Nokia... no issue on any of the phones. There has been 3 dropped calls in the past 6 months that I can remember.

When I first got the 8700c I had the issue with the phone not rolling to EDGE when it was available, and after a battery tug it has not happened since.

... and I have zero TMobile experience.

[JGBerry]

Originally Posted by shaun27612

I have had a far different experience in my area (Ohio/Western & Central PA). I have a basic LG Clam phone on VZW and I get limited signal and I live close enough to a tower that I could throw the phone and hit the thing. When I travel between Cleveland, Cinnci and Pittsburg the signal is all over the map.

My wife and I have an account with, Cingular then, ATT now, and we have great signal nearly all the time. I have an 8700c and 8310, while she has a Razr v3xx, and my daughter has a basic Nokia... no issue on any of the phones. There has been 3 dropped calls in the past 6 months that I can remember.

When I first got the 8700c I had the issue with the phone not rolling to EDGE when it was available, and after a battery tug it has not happened since.

... and I have zero TMobile experience.

The hit or miss signal with your Verizon LG clamshell phone is probably a device issue...some of those low-end LG phones are crap. I personally have a LG 8300 and it has superior call quality and coverage. signal is never spotty. I will standing behind Nokia until I die though...because my Nokia 5180 had the best call quality and durability of any phone I've ever owned. Unfortunately, Nokia has outsourced its CDMA line to Pantech...which blows in quality. whatever. I think Samsung is next in quality, then LG. Motorola definitely comes in last.

Anyways... back to your situation. I live in South Eastern Pennsylvnia and I will agree with you that Verizon can be spotty in central PA or western PA. I took a business trip to Cleveland and my call was dropped once while driving between 2 big mountain-like passes. But within a few seconds the signal came back. Pretty good for having been on the phone for almost 3 hours and driving through rural areas. I have faith in CDMA over GSM...and Verizon over AT&T. I never liked the way they place towers and they never seem to do a full analysis of the region. You would think that since GSM does not penetrate buildings as well at CDMA, that AT&T/Cingular would do a complete or even better survey analysis than Verizon would do...but no. In cell site after cell site, there could be little modifications that would greatly improve coverage. This is certainly not even including picking better locations...because I as well as everyone knows...getting a township to give the "go ahead" on a tower placement is like pulling teeth.

I just think Verizon is a better service overall...but there are so many factors that go into saying one is better than the other so it will be an argument with no end haha.

I appreciate your insight...and maybe one of these days we'll pass each other on the PA Turnpike or I-80 hehe

[tokumei]

Vegas is small enough that pretty much no matter where you go in the valley now you've got a good signal on all networks. T-Mobile was the worst at one time with Sprint following close behind but now it seems like a pretty level playing field. It's still a little touch and go when you get too close to the mountains in the east. So I never worried too much about making a call there. But now I'm here on the east coast and at any given time I can be anywhere from New Hampshire to North Carolina so call quality has become something I look at now.

I will totally agree that CDMA does seem to have the best call quality. With a few exceptions. I still have a Verizon Razr that I like to keep in the car for 'just in case'. No matter where I've traveled I've always had some sort of full signal and calls have been clear. It will even work in hotel rooms where I'd have to go outside to use the At&t. But my husband is so attached to his Slvr and GSM in general because when we leave the country we have an easier time with the phones.

I think T-Mobile has a good signal in large cities and on the highway. I just worry about when we go to small cities and the country.

Since everyone has different criteria on what they need from a cell phone and/ or a cell provider choosing is difficult but if At&t is going to keep up with the static I don't know how I can keep them.

[JGBerry]

Originally Posted by tokumei

Vegas is small enough that pretty much no matter where you go in the valley now you've got a good signal on all networks. T-Mobile was the worst at one time with Sprint following close behind but now it seems like a pretty level playing field. It's still a little touch and go when you get too close to the mountains in the east. So I never worried too much about making a call there. But now I'm here on the east coast and at any given time I can be anywhere from New Hampshire to North Carolina so call quality has become something I look at now.

I will totally agree that CDMA does seem to have the best call quality. With a few exceptions. I still have a Verizon Razr that I like to keep in the car for 'just in case'. No matter where I've traveled I've always had some sort of full signal and calls have been clear. It will even work in hotel rooms where I'd have to go outside to use the At&t. But my husband is so attached to his Slvr and GSM in general because when we leave the country we have an easier time with the phones.

I think T-Mobile has a good signal in large cities and on the highway. I just worry about when we go to small cities and the country.

Since everyone has different criteria on what they need from a cell phone and/ or a cell provider choosing is difficult but if At&t is going to keep up with the static I don't know how I can keep them.

what do you mean static? is it just in one cell site or is it all over? are you sure it's not your device? does your husband have the same issues?

[ezrunner]

ATT mobility is a combining of the two companies that owned Cingular. Network hasn't changed. New name new logo new paint thats about it. oh they are slowly updating the entire network nationwide. which may be cause of issues, could be atmospheric. Go read up on radiowave propagation. that may help you understand how your signal is affected by almost everything!

But have been seeing some of these same issues in my area but that is because they are updating network to 3G finally!!!

and yes the iPhone I think is putting more of a burden on the network than was expected!!!

[barjohn]

I have both and I can say that while VZW is very good, the 8310 on AT&T has been excellent. Not just in my local area but I travel coast to coast and it has been outstanding on either coast and in between.

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by JGBerry

The hit or miss signal with your Verizon LG clamshell phone is probably a device issue...some of those low-end LG phones are crap.

This is LG #2, and the issue persists between devices.

To be clear I am not knocking VZW, while I have had service issues in my location, the Customer Service has been excellent. I just want to share a fair narrative of my experience between companies in my area.

[JGBerry]

Originally Posted by shaun27612

This is LG #2, and the issue persists between devices.

To be clear I am not knocking VZW, while I have had service issues in my location, the Customer Service has been excellent. I just want to share a fair narrative of my experience between companies in my area.

i'm not sure i understand what you mean when you say LG# 2? What are all of the Verizon phones that you have tried? I'm just curious...

[ezrunner]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8700/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

I think he means that it is his second LG phone

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by JGBerry

i'm not sure i understand what you mean when you say LG# 2? What are all of the Verizon phones that you have tried? I'm just curious...

Sorry for the confusion. "LG #2" means I had an LG VX3450 and had issues (described above), so I eventually moved to an LG VX8350, and I continue to have issues.

[JGBerry]

Originally Posted by shaun27612

Sorry for the confusion. "LG #2" means I had an LG VX3450 and had issues (described above), so I eventually moved to an LG VX8350, and I continue to have issues.

interesting...hmm...that's weird. i've never experienced static on my calls. weird... try another manufacturer. i recommend samsung (since verizon's nokia models are actually made by pantech now)