AT&T Downgrading Original iPhone 2G Service
Still got that original iPhone 2G running on AT&T? Get ready to suffer, luddite! Gizmodo reports on OFB’s findings:
Timothy Butler over at OFB did some sleuthing and found that AT&T is downgrading its EDGE/2G service to the weaker 1900 MHz band. Their response to those with newly-lousy service? Buy a new phone.
Specifically, the weaker band means less bars in less places, like inside homes and offices and, out of the way regions — like maybe where you are?
Additionally, this leads TiPb to wonder what will happen to iPhone 3G users in 2G-only areas? Will AT&T leave the 850 band for them until 3G rolls in? And what about users switching to 2G to save battery life? Will it now come at the expense of their signal? How about it, AT&T?
January 3rd, 2009 at 7:43 pm
That should be illegal!!!
January 3rd, 2009 at 7:49 pm
You should be illagal
January 3rd, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Just switched to 3G. It was well worth it to me to get away from the suckage that is GSM. I love my iphone, but i dearly wish they’d rolled it out on EV-DO, or even on 1xRTT; we wouldn’t be having this problem with the CDMAOne roadmap.
January 3rd, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Wooooow. Blackberry onwers are going to get crapped on unless try havethe bold
January 3rd, 2009 at 8:15 pm
I am gonna be furious, heck, I already am…
January 3rd, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Illegal tactics to get people tomove from EDGE to 3G. I was thinking about getting an iPhone 3G and giving my wife the 2G but with this I might have to rethink all this entirely. Maybe unlock my iPhone and go back to T-Mobile. I see this possibly backfiring depending on how bad the service gets. There are those on ATT just god the iPhone and will leAve in a heartbeat once their contract is up. This is a possible breach of contract.
January 3rd, 2009 at 8:46 pm
I signed up for the 2G service on Day 1. The service I signed up for is about to degrade? What if your cable/sat carrier just decided to dump a bunch of channels? What if your cell service decided to lower your minutes?
I signed up for Service A. I don’t want Service Not-Quite-A - for the same price!
January 3rd, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Is there any contract-breaking here, since Edge will still exist but without a clear definition of how fast Edge is supposed to be in the agreement?
January 3rd, 2009 at 9:45 pm
This is not cool. Why should the consumers have to suffer? People who don’t live in a 3G area have to deal with EDGE and if that isn’t as fast as it should be then there will be complaints…LOTS of complaints.
January 3rd, 2009 at 9:56 pm
@Steve it’s not about speed, it’s about getting the reliable service you signed up for.
It’s no different from cable companies degreasing the amount of channels you get in a particular package but still charging you the same price. Just to get you to spend even more money on a “better package” that only adds 3 channels you do watch and 15 you don’t.
AT&T wants that $30.00 for data and $20.00 for SMS. And SMS costs them absolutely nothing. It’s data so it should be free. These kind of tactics should not go without question nor should consumers just shrug it off as “that’s just business”. If this is just true then AT&T is no better than any other business that is trying to squeeze more money out of it’s customers who don’t have it.
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:10 pm
@Wyatt:
I was by no means defending AT&T… I was just referring to the legalities that they’re attorneys could possibly argue..
And cable companies DO drop channels to get people to upgrade… and, unfortunetly, they get away with it. That’s all Im saying.
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:35 pm
This is unbelievable. I just switched to the 3G iPhone but does this mean that in my home when the phone switches to EDGE I will now get even less of a signal???? How can they justify this without a solid 3G network. On Verizon I had no difficulty getting a STRONG broadband signal in my house, now that I have a 3G phone I see it teeter back to EDGE more than I care to see with the additional money I am paying to get 3G data service.
I also use AT&T for my dataConnect service on my laptop. I am assuming this means my signal for that will be denigrated as well if it falls back to EDGE instead of 3G.
ANother reason to HATE AT&T.
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:36 pm
So what happens in places like Vermont that are just now getting the iPhone? Here’s your new 3G, oh, by the way, you service will suck even worse than when you were with Unicell.
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:56 pm
@Steve understood.
Just trying to state that consumers need to stand up and either complain to service provider or drop them entirely. Things are just way out of hand now.
@dc complain to AT&T directly. If enough people do so maybe they will get the message.
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:03 pm
They did a similar thing here in Australia, they actually closed our CDMA network altogether. People were allowed out of contracts, and handsets unlocked where they were otherwise not allowed.
January 4th, 2009 at 12:29 am
WHAT?? I NEVER get 3G service in this great state of Mississippi and the 2G service is awful already If it gets any worse I don’t know what I will do Thankfully they built a new tower pretty close to my house but else where it’s still bad
January 4th, 2009 at 12:42 am
Calm down everyone. This is not a move by AT&T to just screw 2G users. It’s about opening bandwidth for newer technlogies, i.e. 3G. In theory this should improve reception for most 3G users at the expense of the 2G users.
January 4th, 2009 at 4:44 am
This is terrible news for 2G users. It’s not really fair that their service has to suffer until they decide to upgrade to 3G. In addition to that, 3G isn’t available everywhere. I really hope AT&T at least upgrades the 3G service sufficently enough to fully persuade 2G owners to upgrade.
January 4th, 2009 at 6:47 am
I JUST got an iphone 2g. I’m not made of money, but really wanted one. I had to argue with the wife to spend the $20/mo on the edge dataplan. This is f’n BS. If they are going to do this, they should offer a 3g dataplan at the same rate as the 2g one.
January 4th, 2009 at 8:14 am
Huruph! I’ve just been enjoying BETTER reception in my area of western Maryland. I have a 2G iPhone and a Palm Treo Pro, so I can do either 2G or 3G. The simple fact is that I have no 3G in my county. This assumption on the part of AT&T that the urban portion of the market under 3G service is more worthy than us country folks is really annoying. Folks in the country need their cell phone reception to be at least equal to that available in the cities. Sometimes out here it’s a safety issue.
January 4th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Good news!
January 4th, 2009 at 9:39 am
2G users: in fairness you are paying less than 3G users so 3G users should get better service. There is no discrimination here.
January 4th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I have a 3g iPhone, but I live in a 2g area. Not fair
¡AT&T SUCKS!!¡¡
January 4th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
This is no different then when everyone was forced to GSM from TDMA. I think the same thing happened when GSM was taking over, the TDMA service was getting really bad, dropped calls, bad signals, etc.
January 4th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
I’ve been searching other forums about this. I’ve come to the conclusion that the only issue to fault AT&T on is that they should give folks effected by this decision a free 3G phone.
Other than that it’s not all that bad:
1) It will ONLY effect markets that are, or will soon move over to 3G, and only then where they want to add 3G to the 850 band.
2) As far as I can tell those in 850/1900Mhz 2G only markets will not be effected.
3) Many markets are already 1900Mhz only. If it’s deployed correctly it shouldn’t be a problem.
4) You all want faster networks…WTF are they supposed to do?
January 4th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Dong:
You just contradicted yourself pretty hardcore. “This isn’t AT&T trying to screw over 2G users” Then “In theory… 3G users gain speed at 2G users expense”.
Nice.
January 4th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I am afraid I am not going to be able to afford the 3G data rate as a College student, I am barely able to do my current data rate… plus, I already have sucky coverage in my area. Altough if I get really close to my oven I have really good reception…
@ Matt #25 - I don’t think it’s a matter of =faster rates, just good quality phone service. Data rate can be suplemented with Wifi as a lot of cities now offer wireless in the area along with the fact that AT&T offers free wifi to iPhone users… ahhh….maybe that’s that prompted them to do this…
January 4th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
What are you whining about?
If timing is right, the performance (including coverage) of the standard GSM/EDGE networks will not noticeably decrease. The reason to dedicate the 850 band to 3G is most certainly that, compared to 3G, the 2G network is underutilized.
What else could AT&T do?
January 4th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
I’m not sure if I missed something but why are they doing that? Are 1900MhZ towers cheaper or is there another reason? It’s really hard for me to understand why they do that.
But even if they have a reason for doing that, it still sucks. Here in IOWA there is no 3G coverage at all. I still have to pay 15$ more. Now I’m paying 35$ for a dataplan and I don’t even get proper EDGE coverage? What the hell?
January 4th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
I think what some people are missing is that many of us are paying for the 3G plan, yet live in an area where there is no 3G. IMO, I’m already being screwed out of $10 a month paying for something that I cannot access, now the EDGE service I do have is going to get worse.
January 4th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
if you knew you lived in a non-3g area and you opted to get the iphone 3g knowing you couldn’t use what you’re paying for that is YOUR fault, not at&t’s. you would’ve been better of with a first gen iphone.
January 4th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
They don’t sell the first Gen’s anymore so I had to go with the 3G model.
January 5th, 2009 at 3:41 am
if your not happy with the decision then I suggest you pay the early termination(et) fee and go to another carrier. OH wait the money you would have to spend on your ET you could probably just save a few more pennies and get the 3G? I say this only because, what the heck are you going to do? are we going to all just stop paying are bills? Are we all going to support the 2G iphone owners and rally together and march down to AT&T’s headquarters and boycott there service? No this is a bend over and take it situation. Another example of people with the power and the resource that we all want need and use, just funneling us like cattle one way down the international acceptance highway. I mean I use my 3G iphone EVERYDAY like EVERYDAY. I use it for so much, and when people freak out about the cost of what I’m paying or what you could have to pay to use said device I rebuttal it with “I can’t even see my life without this device.” Basically they have us where it counts, the pockets. I choose the iphone for the browser and the overall ease of user interface. So basically the only other choice I have as a consumer for an consumer friendly device would be hypothetically a blackberry or even the G1(beta). So as a recap, it sucks. I hate this. I think its more or less the greatest form of overwhelming power going to a companies head and trying to force feed us a brick of crud. AT&T has teased us with the thought and premise of free wifi how many times before it actually became legit? I mean I understand a graphic designer or programmer had to come up with that page, but to unknowingly post it to the G.D. worldwide web like what was it 2 times before it became legit? Seriously…I hate so much about any and all of this, I see the lighter side I do. I don’t even want to have to read some goof try and be like “oh its for the betterment of the technology” well you know what like rene said I paid for service A I want service A provided to me not dumb down cheaper for the company but same cost to me for less data service A.
January 5th, 2009 at 8:54 am
FWIW, my reception is better in my 2G only hometown. I wonder if the switch has taken place?
January 5th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
This is horrible news. I’ve had my 2G and been happy with it (besides slow surfing on edge). Whenever someone asked me if I ever wanted to upgrade, I always told them that I essentially didn’t need 3G. But now I see that I will be forced to upgrade. Oh well.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
The problem is not that 2G users expect 3G speeds, it’s that they expect their phones to work as the previously did, since they are still paying for the service.
My phone no longer works in my house, and it’s ridiculous that AT&T expects me to continue paying $130/mo for a service they are no longer providing. A weak signal is one thing, but in the area where I live, which is the bay area, i shouldn’t be expected to uphold my side of the contract (paying for service), when AT&T is no longer actually providing me with this service.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
I smell a class action lawsuit brewing.
January 5th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
My iPhone 3g is now on Edge, Wtf?? It has never done this up to now…
January 5th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
i gotta tell ya, im in sacramento, ca and have not noticed any difference. has this gone into affect yet. i really dont want to get a 3g phone until att has better 3g coverage. my mother in laws 3g goes in and out here.
January 6th, 2009 at 9:59 am
class action. Who’s in?
January 6th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I’m in!!!
I bought my 2G phone after a lot of research. Apple and ATT both assured me that 3G was only rumors (Feb 2008), that in fact 3G if it were to come out would be at least several years off. So I bought. Only to find a few months later 3G comes out, AUHHHHHH!!!
Now 2G is going to the way side??? I understand 3G users who bought want their 3G service, But the Ownis is on ATT to provide both 2G and 3G exceptionally!!! to say the customer should switch or suffer is OUTRAGEOUS!!!
If that CLass Action suit takes place I am defiantly in.
January 8th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Apple has turned into microsoft… A buch od sack-o-**** liars. Eveyone jailbreak your iphones and thell the lying mf’s to go to hell.
January 16th, 2009 at 11:00 am
I just contacted a friend that successfully sued DirecTV for millions. It was a class action suit and there are always ways around non arbitration clauses. Get ready ATT your getting ready to really have more bars in more places. Except it’s not going to be where you want them
January 21st, 2009 at 3:49 pm
I am looking at my iPhone now I am on the edge network and it says NO SERVICE. AT&T is changing edge towers to 3g to try and keep up with the demand that is why the Edge network is slowing down… Everyone needs to search 4g network I understand it will effect 3g phones ¬ in a good way.
January 24th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Boy I sure am glad I read this now. I was doing the search about who/where to get one and what service I can use the IPhone, and well, thank all you suckers for testing it out for me. I just wanted a good phone service, and I now know, I’m better off without the IPhone headache.
January 25th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
what a ****
February 5th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
I’ve been with ATT for about 10 years, and have always been happy with them - until now. I needed a new phone a year ago, and bought the 2G. They announce the 3G a few months after I got this phone, which was fine… I figured I’d let them work out the 3G kinks over the next year and then I’d upgrade when my contract was up. Not anymore… Verizon just won another customer.
I’d be fine if they start phasing out 2G when 4G comes out - but this is just ridiculous. And it’s not like the 2G service is just a little slower - google mobile won’t even load on my phone anymore. Calls are getting dropped all the time, and in the past 10 years I don’t think I’ve ever had a dropped call while I was in a decent service area.
It’s a $400 paperweight. ATT turned my iPhone into an iPod, and I get to pay them $100/month for service I can’t get. Data doesn’t work - glad I’m paying $20/month for nothing. Phone barely works anymore. And they think this is going to motivate me to stay with them and go to 3G??? Why, so they’ll screw me again in a few months when they announce 4G and decimate the 3G network?
February 12th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
call 1-800-331-0500, then call 1-800-331-0500 again. and again ask them to troubleshoot your phone over and over and over again. metrics talk. if the cost of handling 1,000,000 hours of 2G customer complaints gets high enough then a policy will change. it’s all about the $$. some bean counter figured the cost of upgrade vs 2G maintenance vs customer complaints and executives went for it. How may 2G users are out there? Call and have them troubleshoot you phone for an hour and then do it again. I spent 2 hours with them last night. They won’t fix it, but you can cost the company $72 an hour. i am paying the same rate per month as last month but now my phone is useless.
February 21st, 2009 at 12:12 am
Aha - this may explain my recent observation that I can’t get 2G anywhere since early Feb (Northern NJ). And also why the customer service tech had the gall to ask ” So if you still have 3G service, what’s the problem?” Wow. I mean Wow. Douchebags
March 9th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I lost my reliable data reception here in rhode island last Sunday. I thought it was no big deal until tuesday afternoon when I still could not get data reception. I called AT&T and they connected me with Apple support tech. Basically they told me what I already did, turn of iPhone then turn on iPhone, reset factory default, then they told me to turn of iPhone again and then on again. The Apple support tech told me to walk outside to see if I had any reception and I calmly replied “this is all a bunch oh chit and hung up the phone.” I now have tmobile.
April 24th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Mr. iScrewed type of people understand the marketing thing, technology that every human’s are utilizing throughout The World the only intelligent thing surviving on the planet to survive for the money on the earth Apple dosent provide file transfer facitity through Bluetooth & many other compliance are with the Apple iphone & it’s consumer but we can use this now many things still to be unravel.
If you cant understand that than what would be the latest thing in you means I & we.