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rscrocker's profile

Teacher

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1 Message

Tuesday, September 15th, 2015 10:05 PM

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Coverage Getting Worse

Over the past couple years, I have noticed that AT&T coverage has been dropping.  I have multiple phones in my family that are experiencing the drop in signal strength.  At my home (zipcode 84093, Sandy, Utah), what used to be 5-bars is now 1-2 bars with calls dropping voice. At work (zipcode 84047, Midvale, Utah), signal strength varies betweem 1-4 bars.  It is getting tiresome apologizing for my poor signal when my calls are breaking up or simply drop.

 

Is AT&T reducing its coverage?  Or is AT&T not serving their towers?  My friends with other carriers tell me how good their coverage is.

 

Community Support

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15.2K Messages

9 years ago

Hi there! @rscrocker Thanks for posting your concerns. Looking at those areas, we do have locations in and around them that may have limited service available.

 

While AT&T is licensed to cover a particular area, there may be spots within that area that have little or no coverage.

 

There are several reasons why coverage may not exist in a given area:

Zoning laws restricting towers

Issues where the surrounding terrain does not make a tower feasible

Not enough traffic in that area to support the cost of a tower

When deciding where to place a tower, it is imperative that the maximum number of possible customers are affected to keep our cost of service low.

 

One thing I’d recommend you try, is reporting low coverage areas with the AT&T Mark the Spot app.

 

Mark the Spot is a quick and easy to use app enabling you to provide network user experiences from your smartphone directly to AT&T. We use the issues you report to optimize and enhance our network to provide you with a great 4G network experience.

 

For more information on the app and steps to get it on your smartphone, please visit us at http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB111577&cv=820

 

We also have the AT&T Microcell available that will help alleviate that low signal in the home.

For more information and availability please go to www.att.com/att/microcell/

 

Hope this helps!

Charise

Teacher

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4 Messages

8 years ago

You are correct rscrocker! AT&T coverage has been steadily declining since 2009, and sharply declining in 2015-2016.
T-mobile customers have noticed the same thing because T-mobile and AT&T use the same towers.

However, it is being done deliberately to force people to buy new phones over and over, after they break them in frustration. I learned this from a former AT&T employee. Might sound like a joke, but it's not. By 2016, we would expect to have fully reliable, clear phone service everywhere, but we actually have nothing remotely close to that.

Most of us remember that phone reception used to work circa 2001-2009 just fine, for the most part.

Currently 50% of people in Madison do not have what would qualify as phone service. This is because AT&T and T-mobile dominate the market here.

Having no phone service leads to massive disadvantages such as missed appointments, unemployment and even death.

[Per Guidelines:  Keep it Relevant and Appropriate].. They are also defrauding entire other industries who depend on customers having phone service. 






















Mentor

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8 Messages

8 years ago

In Sonora, CA zip 95370 I have noticed a SIGNIFICANT reduction in signal strength. I love how the official AT&T reply failed to address the DECREASE in signal strength and instead just mention how some areas will have low service. Yep, we know that there are dead pockets, thanks for nothing. What we WANT TO KNOW is why areas where we have had 4-5 bars all of the sudden have 1-2 bars.

 

So AT&T rep, why don't you answer the question that was asked instead of giving a irrelevant standard response that does not apply to the issue.

Tutor

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1 Message

8 years ago

I'm in Forked River, New Jersey (08731) and drive 100 miles a day to and from work. I literally drive from one side of the state to the complete other and have noticed a significant DECREASE in service strength in areas where it was otherwise good...fair at worst. Today on the way home, as a matter of fact, I kept an eye on my phone...I had one bar - ONE - for a distance of almost 10 miles. I had been on a phone call, and the other end said I was breaking up...this is an area where I've previously had no problems. I work in the State Capital, and 3 bars is the best I see...and this is 10 floors up in the air. I don't know what the heck is going on here, but I know I'm not losing it. I've been a customer for 18 years, and I'm well aware of the dead spots - these AREN'T dead spots.

Tutor

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1 Message

7 years ago

Not only is the coverage worst but the customer service is unrecognizable from the friendly,helpful 2009 through 2014 customer service. It was one of the reasons I stayed, even when the service for the first iPhones was horrible. Customer service bent over backwards to help solve a problem or find a work around solution. Now the rude, ignorant people who handle customer service are a disgrace. I would rather talk to a machine than deal with the offensive "I could care less" attitude of those I have interacted with over the past two years. As soon as my granddaughter's contract expires I'm moving to Verizon.

Tutor

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1 Message

7 years ago

I work in SLC and have also noticed a precipitous and measurable drop in cell tower connectivity. I chose at&t a few years ago for their wide coverage and high mobile data speeds. I find many dead spots now and slow data to be the norm. At home in Spanish Fork I no longer get coverage and have to use the new wifi calling Android feature. I'm definitely switching away when my latest contract is up. It's beyond disappointing. I'm trying to warn my entire corporation to discontinue at&t support.

Tutor

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1 Message

7 years ago

I too am having the same issues. Areas in Pennsylvania such as Lehighton, Mahonning, tannerville, and New Ringgold used to have superior service. Now I find myself not being able to make calls or just having poor service overall. ATT insists they are improving and will do everything except admit something is wrong. This issue is being shared by many other people I know and those on my plan. How can service be declining? I am so fed up. Luckily the five phones on my plan are owned as it may be time to switch to Verizon. Never thought I'd say that but I am fed up also.

Mentor

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8 Messages

7 years ago

Everyone who has posted here be sure to hit the "me too" button. right now there are "only" 3 people who have this issue. maybe if we get those numbers up ATT will actually pay attention to what is clearly a nationwide decline in service. I'm STILL getting poor service (1 bar) where I used to get 4-5 bars.

Tutor

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1 Message

7 years ago

I live in Fort Worth, TX. I've noticed the same thing over the past year or so. I'm in the 76244 zip code and now I'm treated to 1-2 bars everywhere! Sucks! And that lame response from the at&t rep was terrible! She never answered/addressed the question! We can't all be wrong. Is hate to switch to Verizon because of their arcaic CDMA network that prevents you from talking and texting at the same time or just multitasking. At&t use a GSM network which I've always recommended to customers as an Apple Genius.

Tutor

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1 Message

7 years ago

At least in Texas, this is part of the problem: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-politics/2017/05/18/bill-improve-cellphone-service-texas-cost-cities-millions-officials-say

 

Dial down the power, make it a misery to use the very thing you can't seem to live without these days and see what we all start screaming about. The bill will make it so we pay more property taxes or local sales taxes to make up for the shortfalls in local budgets caused by the companies, we already pay handsomely to provide us with a service that use to work just fine, needing a "break" in the fees that they pay. Translation: they pay less to offer us a service that we still pay the same or more for, while we end up paying more elsewhere (in taxes) in addition. However, if they don't get this break in cost, it sounds as if we'll have poor and worse cell coverage forever.

In 14 years of owning my house I've gone from 5 bars and $850/yr in property taxes, to having to use Apple Network wifi to make calls at home because I get one or less bars and paying $1700/yr in taxes. 100% change in both taxes (up) and coverage (down). 

Somewhere we the consumers are going to end up paying either way, in loss of revenue or as someone earlier pointed out, perhaps in loss of life or property - or - more taxes. What is the answer?

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