Good point.  Why are we being charged for something that does not work?  Because we are under contract?  Just curious.  I do use the Mark-The-Spot quite a bit (as I have been told by AT&T reps time and time again), but it doesn't help me get a data connection.  Since it requires a data and GPS connection it also doesn't seem to work very well from what I can tell, ...since I have been using it and I still have had the same continuing problem over a significant period of time.

I have always defended AT&T in the past and I have been a customer since before the Cingular merger, but this problem is totally unacceptable on every level and I wish I could switch providers.  Now.

Can anyone offer me any advice/information?  Thanks.

Same problem here.. I just relocated from Houston to Chicago and work at the Willis tower .(Sears) I have a Iphone 4 and when I walk out of the building and disconnect from Wi-FI to 3G my phone just spins. It gets annoying when I get on the train and watch all of the people with Verizon and sprint just surfing away and I cant check simple things like e-mail. 

Another thread focused on the Chicago Downtown Data problem (just trying to keep the info centralized). Funny, the response from an AT&T employee (not "representing the views of AT&T") posting on the thread basically said 'hey why don't you just cancel your plan and sell your phone to cover your ETF'. Gotta love it when your own employees say stuff like that.

http://forums.att.com/t5/Network-Coverage/AT-amp-T-needs-to-fix-its-data-network-in-Chicago-pronto/t...

Yeah, it's a huge problem.  Here are links to two other threads.  No data for me...

http://forums.att.com/t5/Network-Coverage/CHICAGO-LOOP-DOWNTOWN-Data-and-Coverage-Issues-Thread/m-p/...

http://forums.att.com/t5/Network-Coverage/AT-amp-T-needs-to-fix-its-data-network-in-Chicago-pronto/m...

I talked with someone from customer service about this on friday and pointed them to this thread and let them know of the issues i am having with as well.  I was told i would be called yesterday for an update, but not surprisingly, no call about it.

Really frustrating.

I work in the loop, and also have been having data issues.  While I wasn't able to really figure out what the problem was, I had this app on my iPhone that showed me network info, specifically which DNS servers I was using.  And whenever I noticed I didn't have data a service, if I checked the app, it said I didn't have any DNS servers listed.  

Either way, as of yesterday, Monday, 1/30, data speeds/connections have been flying.  It's like a switch was flipped or something.  Even here at work on the 25th floor, I'm getting decent reception and 3G service.

I, likewise, have been having data/coverage issues where I work in the Loop.  But as of yesterday 1/30, service has been so much better.  Almost like a switch was flipped, and it works now.

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eabando wrote:

I, likewise, have been having data/coverage issues where I work in the Loop.  But as of yesterday 1/30, service has been so much better.  Almost like a switch was flipped, and it works now.

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That's good news - anyone else in the thread notice a difference yesterday?

Unless .05Mbps down and .14Mbps up is considered 3g quality, then im going to say now.

Still not able to get service in the north loop, wacker & clark area.

Also, i got a call back from Algeria P. in customer support who says there is no known issue.  This baffles me since we have responses from ATT in this thread, i sent her the URL to this thread saying people have reported problems, yet she says nothing is wrong?

Not much improvement at Madison & Dearborn.  However, I have noticed some improvement in other parts of the Loop.

No improvement at Madison & Dearborn.  Still a data dead-zone as of 1/31/2012.

Still getting zero service. I have to screen shots of Safari's "Cannot load page..." Facebook's "No internet connection" and Twitter's "Error Loading Tweets" to prove it out

Jackson and Canal still. Tried power cycling and resetting settings etc.

I am experiecing the same thing. I went to the AT&T store on state street. They told me it is known issue. They also told me that the issue might be because of they trying to upgrade from 3g to 4g LTE and they can not do anything about it.They adviced me to either go to Apple store(I have iphone 4 ) or call the customer service.

AT&T customer service is worse than there coverage in the loop area. They transfered me to 5 departments and finally opened a case file. I was supposed get a call back within 72 hrs, Its just 24 hrs since I called . Also after I was transfered 3rd time I started writing there name and unique identification number of custome care persons so that I can follow with them.  I do not have much hopes though. I am just waiting for my contract to end and switch to some other provider.

Why is ATT service so bad in Chicago. I drop practically every call. I just switched to ATT and am very dissapointed in the coverage. This is a major metropoletin area and I have heard nothing but horrible reviews about the ATT coverage. Just check these independent reviews.

http://www.cellreception.com/coverage/il/chicago/page1.html

I

Well, i just got off the phone with one of their network operations techs who had been investigating the issue for me. He said its a known issue but the problem is capacity. There was a huge spike in usage after 1/1/12 and since then they are trying to get new nodes/towers up to handle the traffic. He said it should be fixed by first quarter of this year. So i guess in 2 months well have to see if this stupidity is going on.

Im sorry, but im not going to pay for data service i cant use. This is 100% unacceptable.

asros wrote:

Hmmm, that doesn't explain the whole year of 2011, where my service in the downtown area has been almost unusable.  It's nice that they at least gave you some sort of explanation though...I guess...

We should all show up at an AT&T store in the Loop on the same day/week.  Not neccessarily at the same time.  Who's with me?

Bring pics of data speeds on your phone, printed copies of this thread, and any other evidence you can think of.  Make sure to get the names and ID #'s to those who you speak to and make sure they open some sort of oficial complaint that can be followed up on.

Well, i just got off the phone with social media customer service, who is not charging me for data service for the next 2 months while they work this out.  I would encourage all of you to call in, reference this thread and request the same.

Since the network ops guy told me that the estimated completion date is end of first quarter of this year (aka 4/1), if its still not working by then, it may be time to try to cancel the account and not pay the ETF since they arent providing service.

Anyone else have any luck?  I find the social media (twitter for me) customer service folks are much more responsive than phone.

Hey asros,

                 Good to know that some body got some response from AT&T. I had two complains open and response was there is no network issue in Chicago area. It might be covarage issue but they cant do anything about it.  Also what is social media customer service and which number do you call it for ?

Hey all...

I know this is a frustrating situation and I am sorry that you're experiencing network issues in the downtown Chicago area. 

I don't have any new information, but I did want to touch base to let you know I'm still listening and have made the right folks aware of this thread and your feedback. 

You can always keep an eye on the Network News site: www.att.com/networknews to get the latest news on network enhancements. 

Jamileh,

We appreciate you monitoring this thread, and would definitely appreciate if you kept us updated going forward as well.

I speak for myself, however I believe that the general consensus is this; yes we are extremely frustrated by the fact we aren’t receiving data service in downtown Chicago. The larger issue is that we feel that, not only is nothing is being done to remedy the issue, but AT&T completely refuses to acknowledge the issue at all! Reviewing the posts (from those of us that are vocal enough to post) your customer service teams have not been briefed on any existing issue in Chicago. I started this thread in December but as noted, this has been on ongoing issue since SEPTEMBER!! That’s getting close to 6 months! I personally have to call and spend over an hour on the phone with AT&T each month just to get a measly credit for data services you are charging me for and not providing. Each time I end up talking with a snippy individual who I have to haggle with and who apparently refuses to review call history. When issues are to be escalated to managers, your reps explain that we will get a call back from a manager, a call which never happens. Given my position within my company and my bill rate, all this hassle is this certainly no where near close to being worth my time, but I don’t like paying for something I am not receiving. I also reviewed the website you provided “www.att.com/networknews”, again there is not one mention of the data issue in Chicago. This is yet another indication that AT&T is simply ignoring the issue. It should also be noted that your coverage map lists downtown Chicago as in the “Best” coverage category; a clear misrepresentation of fact.  

Overall, I don’t understand, from an ethical standpoint, how you can keep customers in contracts and charge people for services not provided. I also don't understand how you can sign-up new customers without alerting them to the issue. Yes I’ve seen posts from AT&T employees stating that you can sell your phone and pay your ETF off with the 2nd hand sale value, however, that line of thinking is entirely missing the entire point. AT&T is supposed be a multi-national corporation who most likely spends multi-millions on customer service. I just wish the company would act like their customers were at least worth some level of consideration.  

Over 65 posts in mutiple threads all related to the same issue... yet zero improvement or an actual reaction from AT&T itself. 

JackSai52

Thanks to everyone for all of the information provided in this thread.  This is clearly a consistent problem, but as the last post has acknowledged, no update has come from AT&T.

Here is my most recent update in trying to get 3G data service to work properly.  I went to the AT&T store on Madison at Dearborn last week.  The woman which greeted me at the door told me that there was absolutely nothing that they could do for me at the store and referred me to the customer service phone line.  So I called it.

The woman was not rude, but not polite.  Pretty business like, which I actually appreciated.  She asked how often I turned off my phone... "not very often at all" I replied.  I guess you need to turn your phone off for at least 60 seconds at least twice a week (per her recommendation).  So I started turning it off at night now.  She asked what software I was using (specific to the numerals and letters in parentheses listed in "Gernal Settings" > "About")... "I have 5.0.1 (9A405)"  ... she said I should upgrade to 5.0.1 (9A406), which I didn't know existed, or what it was ...beyond 5.0.1 of course.  She then told me I needed to delete all extraneous and uneeded text messages and emails and also make sure I wasn't running too many apps.  I have now complied and started killing my apps multiple times a day.

Bottom line is, I didn't know (or anyone else?) I needed to do ALL this stuff.  Anyway, is my service better?  A little bit.  I probably get data about 20%-30% ofthe time now, and at varying speeds.  I take the Blue Line to work, and it sometimes works underground in the CTA too.  Still..... not even close enough to acceptable performance though.

AT&T:  What is the timing of the planned infrastructure improvements to the Chicago area, and specifically downtown, data network capabilities?

Thanks... Mike

Mike, glad to hear you're getting at least a little service now at least (though 20%-30% still doesn't seem like much at all ). Just for everyone's knowledge the 9A406 update was designed to fix no-sim / failed sim issues that existed in 9A405 for the iPhone4s. This shouldn't make a huge (or any) change in service quality (my co-worker has a 4s on 9A406). Also we cycle the power on the phone, reset the network settings, turn off/on wi-fi, turn off/on cellular data, close all apps, etc generally daily. I get service for about 10-15 minutes before the data service drops again. Helps if I need to get that one email out, but still, this is not service.

Bottom line is the more people we can get vocal on this topic, the more likely something will be done. If everyone can get their friends who have issues to post as well, it would definitely help the cause. Even if it's just the location and acknowledgment of the issue. Third largest city in America... in one of the most populous areas of the city? We should be able to max this thread.

Another one of my big questions is....

What's the point of the signal meter in the top left corner of my iPhone 4s?

It consistently displays 3, 4 or 5 bars of reception quality and the "3G" logo, despite the fact that I receive no data.  I downloaded the ROOT metrics app and it confirms that I am either not able to upload or download data, or both.  Yet, the AT&T signal meter on my home screen is showing me that everything is OK.

TO BE CLEAR.... My phone call quality and voice commmunication work FINE.  No problems there.  Regular text messages (not iMessage which is data based) work fine.  I have no real problem with dropped calls.

Data doesn't work.  I am going to call again today and tweet a link to this thread.  I encourage others to tweet a link to this thread as well in order to try to get AT&T Social Media's help on this.  There was an article that I read in the news that touted AT&T's Social Media help as "cutting edge" and widely effective.  They actually seach Facebook and Twitter for people having problems.  (Can someone from AT&T tell me if this is the case?)

AT&T:  Why does the reception meter not display any data that means anything?  Also, please see other question above.

Thank you,

Mike

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srp12 wrote:

Hey asros,

                 Good to know that some body got some response from AT&T. I had two complains open and response was there is no network issue in Chicago area. It might be covarage issue but they cant do anything about it.  Also what is social media customer service and which number do you call it for ?

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Social Media customer service is handled through the AT&T twitter accounts. @ATTCustomerCare is their twitter username.

---

mmike17 wrote:

Another one of my big questions is....

 

What's the point of the signal meter in the top left corner of my iPhone 4s?

 

It consistently displays 3, 4 or 5 bars of reception quality and the "3G" logo, despite the fact that I receive no data.  I downloaded the ROOT metrics app and it confirms that I am either not able to upload or download data, or both.  Yet, the AT&T signal meter on my home screen is showing me that everything is OK.

 

TO BE CLEAR.... My phone call quality and voice commmunication work FINE.  No problems there.  Regular text messages (not iMessage which is data based) work fine.  I have no real problem with dropped calls.

 

Data doesn't work.  I am going to call again today and tweet a link to this thread.  I encourage others to tweet a link to this thread as well in order to try to get AT&T Social Media's help on this.  There was an article that I read in the news that touted AT&T's Social Media help as "cutting edge" and widely effective.  They actually seach Facebook and Twitter for people having problems.  (Can someone from AT&T tell me if this is the case?)

 

AT&T:  Why does the reception meter not display any data that means anything?  Also, please see other question above.

 

Thank you,

 

Mike

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One thing i realized when i got AT&T to not charge me for feb or march data plans is that they basically said unless someone calls in and reports the issue, nothing will get done.  They dont view these forums as true incident reporting.

So posting here, while it lets us discuss our issues, apparently doesnt mean squat to the incident monitoring folks.

Another note. Here is what you are paying for with your messaging plan: 

Per AT&T's website:

Just an update,

Spoke with ATT Urgent Customer Care and the folks that handle their twitter feed. They were very polite and entirely understanding about the situation, however, they did not have any update or news as to when the data issue was going to be fixed. I've been getting 10-15% in/out data coverage for the past few days, but it's no where near the speeds needed for streaming music, icloud, instant message, etc.

I did clearly voice our frustrations, but they said that there was really nothing they could do about it.

I'll definitely admit that all this is truly making me reconsider my choice of service providers for when the iPhone5 comes out. I don't want to switch, but if this is what we can come to expect when it comes to service and customer service, I am going to have no choice. I'm sure I could get a kickback or something from verizon if I moved myself along with the other 15-20 people or so that are in our product and finance teams .