The iPhone and AT&T Wireless: A match made in, well, not heaven?

While the iPhone itself might live up to its considerable hype--we’re still a few days shy of getting our hands on one--Apple’s exclusive deal with AT&T Wireless for cellular service could leave some users happy they can also use the phone to listen to music or watch YouTube clips.

That’s because for several years, AT&T Wireless--formerly known as Cingular--has been among the least satisfying service providers, according to Consumer Reports’ annual customer satisfaction surveys.

In fact, in our latest report, from January 2007, AT&T had  “middling to low” customer satisfaction, with static and busy circuits cited as widespread problems (as they’ve been in our previous surveys). Frequent service-related problems were compounded by the company’s relatively low marks for helpfulness in handling customer questions and complaints.

In addition, the iPhone will run on AT&T’s “2.5G” EDGE network, rather than one of the faster “3G” networks available from the major carriers, such as Verizon or Sprint’s EVDO, or even AT&T’s own UMTS/HSDPA network (Don’t worry about the acronyms. The upshot is that EDGE has much lower bandwidth than true 3G networks.). Reportedly, AT&T has been working to upgrade the Internet capabilities of some of its towers to ensure higher minimum data speeds than were originally reported.

And some journalists who received models of the phone in advance have said that AT&T’s  wireless service is a potential weak point. David Pogue of the New York Times' Technology section highlighted our survey findings while Walt Mossberg over at the Wall Street Journal's Personal Technology section has called it "a major drawback" for the sleek device.

(We expect to buy the iPhone on Friday--just like you would. After testing by our reporters and engineers, we'll report our findings here on the Blog as well as on ConsumerReports.org. In the meantime, check out our interactive guide to the iPhone.)

But the combination of slower network speeds and poor customer service might not bode well for early iPhone adopters (there are already rumors that a second-generation iPhone will be 3G-capable), especially since Apple’s deal with AT&T is a five-year exclusive. And AT&T’s just-announced service plans for the iPhone require a two-year commitment.

The good news is that the pricing plans, announced on Tuesday, appear to be competitive. Three versions will be offered, ranging from $60 to $100 per month, and there’s a one-time $36 activation fee. The basic $60 plan includes 450 minutes of voice time. An $80 step-up plan bumps voice time to 900 minutes.  The premium plan, priced at $100 a month, includes 1,350 minutes of talk time. All three include 200 text messages, unlimited data services, and “visual voicemail,” which lets you see the types of voicemail you’ve received and access them individually, rather than in the order in which they were received.

In addition, unused monthly minutes can be rolled over to the next month, and there are unlimited calls between mobile phones.

Comments

[majortom619]

The downfall is the AT&T service. At my second home in Santa Fe it is the most spotty reception I have ever had. Of course in metro areas it works adequately but waiting is the name of the game for internet and other related service. Calls also fail everywhere. Verizon is still the best service.

[Matt]

I forgot to pay my bill so got my service disconnected. Went thru the automated att phone system and paid up. My phone service went back up in 5 min or so. But did not get the browser working. The next day called att about it. An operator said on thier end everything looks right and should be working. I told her thier end is not fixing my browser problem. She had the gull to say I'd be charged $36.00 for reactivation. I ask how could you charge me for a re-activation thatis not complete. So I asked for her operator #, she said is there a reason for that? I responded: yes, I'm documenting the poor customer service interaction. She said hold on; and transferred me to an automated system.
I called Apple customer service next. Their agent assured me that she'll stay online while transferring me to att to resolve the issue. A new att operator after 10 min of trying to solve my issue and going back and forth with a tech support (real or imaginary) suggested that I should travel 4 miles away from where I was and try again. If still no service, then call them back. When I asked which direction, she responded the tech support says it does not matter. I told her "your tech support is giving you (me) a generic answer as I live 4 mailes away and this morning I did not have service either. She said nothing more they could do unless I traveled 4 miles. I thanked her and let her go.
Then the apple agent who was listening in the background suggested resetting my iphone and talked me through that. Well......I got my internet service back. I would have been really p....off if I had travelled 4 miles for nothing.

My recommendation: don't buy an I phone until apple contracts another carrier that knows how to take care of their customers instead of just taking their money and leaving them out in the cold.
Apple A+
AT&T F

[chet]

I love my iphone. No phone is like it. U know that high tech phone u see in the movies. Year 2045, well its here today. This is my 2nd phone. My cat got to the first one. I buy it again. Got to have one for about a week and u r hooked......

[Problem Reporter]

Its so unfortunate that we have to take AT&T service for iPhone activation. AT&T Customer service sucks, I had very bad experience with my land line 6 years ago then decided to stay away from it. iPhone really tempted me to put the bad experience behind and move forward with AT&T. iPhone is wonderful mobile. Time has changed but not the ATT at all. So ATT trying to make maximum money out of this iPhone deal. Its shame to ATT either they have to make money out deals like iPhone or cheating customers.

Almost a month ago I called ATT and talked sales rep to find out if I would get my monthly service discount as my employer has terms with ATT to provide discount on service. They have confirmed that I would get discount on monthly service charge but not on the phone equipment, they asked me to call them back to activate my discount account with FAN number, when I have my iPhone ready.
I got my iPhone and called ATT to activate (I knew it has to be done with iTunes but called them as I was told to), so ATT told me that they have to ship another temporary phone with SIM card and activate account with that phone before iPhone is activated. It sounded like typical ATT support (support team with no clue what they are doing).
Surprisingly I got a warning message while I was activating my iPhone I got a warning suggesting me that I would not receive any discount with iPhone account, so I stopped activation and called ATT again but they again confirmed that I can ignore that warning and move forward with the activation and I would get the discount, this time I asked them to make some notes on the account.
My iPhone is activate and I got sample bill after 15 days so I did not see any discount information and called ATT again to find out about my discount, she said this is just sample bill you would get the discount in your real bill.

Shockingly I got my first bill with no discount at all and called ATT again and talked for almost 1 and half Hour with support rep Stephanie Zapaat and her supervisor Lois Maris (Luis Maris). Yes it takes that long to make them understand that they messed up my account.
This supervisor Mr. Lois Maris is completely arrogant arguing about this, he agrees that there is note made by previous customer rep but he simply they were wrong and it should not be that way that’s it.
At his point I really do not know what to do with my account

[J]

Slow loading browser??? I don't believe that would be at&t's problem. Number one- it's not their browser. Number two- I have a blackberry through at&t (which is also not a 3g phone) and I have absolutely NO problems loading pages. And as far as service goes, NO problems there either!!! As for those who are going off of customer service and cellular service from years ago... you are outdated! At&t is number two in customer service and the service has greatly improved since being Cingular. Please check your facts before bashing!

[Craig]

Iphone-smhiphone, so what? If you don't like it then don't buy it. I love mine, my calls are fine, better than any existing land-line and the data are loaded quickly and pages turn quickly. I live in Portland, OR. My gripe is AT&T requiring an additional two-year agreement to own one. It wasn't AT&T who knocked the cost down! No benefit using them at all. Better the devil you know than the devil you don't. Each day I own this phone I find more I love about it.

[Mary]

Interesting comments.....regarding AT&T..they have been my phone company for local and long distance for 30 years. Regarding cell phone usage....we have tried the competition but found more problems with the phone and the coverage. We have had NO problems with AT&T coverage, dropped calls or other problems. As for the customer service...I've called and talked to an American without any problems. As fort he stores...if there is a problem with a sales clerk, speak to the manager, they will be happy to help. Don't bother with a Sprint store, they blame you for the problems and aren't helpful at all.

[Cindy]

I have had ATT for a very long time and I have never had any problems with it. I would never switch to any other company that is how well I Love ATT!!! I recently bought the iphone and yes I had to wait cuz it was sold out for several weeks (which I didn't mind). Once I finally got my hands on it I fell in love with it. It hears great, all the music it holds and all the options you have.

[Buj]

I think the iPhone is great...it satisfies 95%of my needs. I travel a lot, now I have net access every where I go...and its pretty convenient to have all these apple features while flying or waiting at the airport. I use the map feature a lot...my old treo with gps worked ok but the battery only lasted 45 min...iphone maps lasts for hours... Music plays for hours and I can watch an entire movie and still have lots of talk time... Its great not having to carry a camera and all the other gadgets...and...now I can track my stock portfolio on the fly...and know the weather at my destination...

[sashoi]

it's kind of funny that i'm ready all this while on my iphone, i dont know about anyone else but i love my phone and i never had bad service with cingular i been with them for 8 u
years, i guess it depends on where u live because when i purchaced my iphone they were more
than helpful, they even activated my phone for me so it was ready to use when i left the store

[jose martins]

I want to buy an iphone but my previous bad experiences with ATT are holding me back. I switched from ATT because of bad service a few years ago. At the time of the change I had a $15 credit. I asked for a refund but ATT refused to refund it because it was "a small amount and it cost them too much to process it". I was completely disgusted with ATT and told them that I would not do business with them again. I thought that they were dishonest! Reading the comments here, it appears that things have not changed for the better. I am surprised that Apple did not discover that ATT was a lousy company before entering into the deal with them. I can easily afford the $600 iphone price but forcing me to use ATT is asking way too much.

Z

[TishTash]

When people say CU is biased against Apple, and others say CU is biased TOWARDS Apple, I tend to think that Consumer Reports must be doing a damned good job.

[Kelly]

I purchased the iPhone, kept it one week and then returned it. I love Apple products and enjoyed the phone. There are a few things I would have liked to been different-the ability to customize ringtones and set up speed dial for instance. I had to go through several screens to just make a call. It locked up twice. The screen gets yucky easily since it is a touch screen and it attracts oil and dirt like crazy. Anyway, I didn't expect the first iPhone to be perfect and I can take the bad with the good. HOWEVER, AT&T
was a BITTER disappointment and that is why I returned the phone. I couldn't make calls so many times. Network overload. Dropped calls--many. Static. VERRRRY slow loading. Who wants unlimited internet when it takes forever to download a page???? I'll wait and purchase it again when AT&T isn't involved. By the way, forget customer service when you deal with AT&T. And when I returned the phone, the person at the counter was even rude. I paid cash and he refused to give me cash back. He asked me (before I knew what was going on) if I have a debit card and I said yes. Then he refused to give me cash stating they don't keep that kind of money around the store. Unbelievably rude.

[Jack Pacetti]

Apple has two free one-hour (beginning and advanced) workshops on the iphone. I took those workshops to see if it would be worthwhile to switch to AT&T and the iphone. I liked the new iphone interface/screen a lot, easy to use, etc. IMHO, the iphone will be better as software improves for it and AT&T can figure out how to use its many features. According to the people at Apple, you can't use a bluetooth keyboard with the iphone. WIFI is quite fast, but unless AT&T were to allow free use of the iphone connection at their many WIFI hotspot locations (Barnes and Noble, etc.)I don't see the point; when I'm in the office, I use land line phone and standard computer for internet access. The screen for typing was way too sensitive and can't be adjusted. The mapping feature was ok, but didn't include GPS with voice, which I can get for $10 a month from Verizon. The ipod feature is limited to 8GB, my ipod is 80GB, and I can't connect my ipod to the iphone to watch videos on the larger iphone screen. I can't use a spare battery; the battery can't be changed out, it can only be replaced at a repair facility. I'll wait for awhile and see how things work themselves out with the iphone.

[Mary]

If AT&T were the only phone company available I would choose to go without a phone! As a former (although they refuse to allow me to cancel my service) consumer of their long distance service, I caution anyone considering changing their wireless plan because you are entranced by the iPhone. AT&T's customer service is non-existent. All of their customer service calls are routed to a call center in India where salespeople with scripts routinely hang up on you, lie to you about assisting you and refuse to allow you to cancel service you are no longer using. They make Verizon look like a steal!

[DP]

Two weeks before the iPhone came out, I switched from Verizon to ATT. I wanted to have the same type of plan with them I had with Verizon, 1300 min, international calling, etc. No problem. During the following two weeks, no less than 7 times, when making a call I had a very bad connection, reminiscent of poor connections 20 years ago. I live in San Diego, we're not exactly backwater. Solution, hang up and redial. The phone goes on sale, I wait til Monday to check it out, and the Apple store is out of stock for a couple of days, so I'll wait. That night I make a call to Mexico. Not allowed. Huh? Call ATT and they tell me that new customers must wait 3 months or have A+ credit. Mine isn't; two months back to back being late on truck and credit card payments two years ago. The next morning I'm back with Verizon. I'll wait for a later generation and different carrier.

[Chuck]

Just curious... if these people have decided CR is so freaking obsolete, why are they "wasting their time" writing ad nauseum about how bad CR is??? Methinks something smells fishy there!

As a CR and CR.org subscriber, I've found the recommendations solid -- not always 100 percent perfect from my experience, but very, very solid. Keep up the good work, guys... And I bet these internet idiots keep reading (regardless of what they say).

[dsfeger]

Apple's first approached Verizon Wireless for the iPhone. VZW declined because Apple is so restrictively proprietary that VZW felt that they would be held "hostage" by Apple, hindering VZW's ability to address/resolve customer issues. iPhone problems, would, by extension, be the carrier's problems.

AT&T/Cingular was desperate enough to jump at the chance to sell the iPhone because they needed a way to try to hold off VZW. VZW's combo of coverage area, network quality (voice & data) and wireless broadband speed leaves AT&T in the dust. New customers have to contact AT&T & Apple separately in order to activate the IPhone, Both were dropping the ball in activating the iPhones the first weekend that they were available. Both were also pooh-poohing customer complaints regarding activations. Not to mention AT&T stores forcing\cajoling customers to buy iPhone accessories at the point of purchase.

See for yourself:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07032007/business/ibacklash_business_holly_m__sanders.htm

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/12668

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/06/customer-compla.html

Customers are paying an exorbitant amount for a wireless device and a highly restrictive 2 year contract.

The iPhone is also restricted by it's inability to wirelessly download data (music, video, etc.), inability to switch SIM cards and the integrated battery that cannot be changed.

The VZW and Sprint equipment offerings are less restrictive feature wise and just as good if not better. If people would actually compare the options & cost effectiveness side by side, the IPhone would be mediocre at best.

It's just the latest fad that's created by excellent marketing and shallow, bandwagon support from the media. Can you say...Cabbage Patch Doll, Tickle Me Elmo, XBox/Wii (take your pick)?

[Mikeleibo]

Whining by everyone - It is amazing - CR whines about AT&T and people with an obvious bias against CR whine that they're prejudiced against Apple.

While I've never had an Apple, I've never seen CR say anything that was anecdotally true based on the reports of many associates.

I have lots of experience searching for products that CR reviews and many of them are negative because the model they reviewed has become obsolete - but that is not CR's fault - they only negative I find is that they don't have a way of notifying us about the model obsolescence issue.

CR is not god - but it sure is better than not having it around.

If people want to trust biased sites that advertise the products that they review, one would hope wee had a way to take away their voter id cards.

[Alonzo Quixana]

This is just anecdotal, but my experience wth AT&T's plain vanila mobile service (my employer has a preferred provider deal with AT&T, so not my choice) has been mediocre. Dropped calls. Network busy messages. Static, poor call quality calls. Poor coverage, especially in lower Manhattan, JFK, SFO and South Beach, where I live most of time. Useless 411. Billing errors. Unhelpful customer service. Other than that, it's o,k,

My friends who have Verizon seem to have much better service. Interestingly, my phone works best in Argentina, Mexico and Brazil. Just wonder how AT&T will handle demands of iPhone.

[AMGoff]

How anyone still subscribes to Consumer Reports absolutely amazes me. Everything they review is done with a certain amount of bias. They've consistently shown themselves to be out of touch with mainstream America. Their opinions on the automotive industry are downright pathetic and their grasp on the tech industry is not that far behind. CR may have had it's niche a decade ago before the internet became ubiquitous but their time has definitely passed. I'll take the average of opinions from twenty Joe Americans before I would put an ounce of faith into Consumer Reports. It's really about time you close up shop guys.

[Mitch Pilchuk]

Here is my personal experience with consumer reports: Every-time I have had a good working relationship with something you guys reviewed, I found that my personal experience was the exact opposite of Consumer Reports.

So in my world, you guys aren't truthful in your 'review' of the subject.

I haven't read or relied on the information from your magazine in a decade.

I'm not defending ATT. I have them as a provider and they are as good as Verizon was when I had them in my area. Even the best wireless isn't all that good at this point in time. What we accept as good mobile telephony is still a far cry from the phone reliability of the old POTS (Plane old Telephone Service) days on copper.

[lrd]

Because of CR's distinct negative bias to Apple products in the past, I'd like to forewarn everyone reading this article that they should take it with a grain of salt. CR's not really as unbiased as they like you to believe.

[B.L.]

I'm a CR subscriber and follow their advice with religious fervor. I'm surprised at this article!

If you had waited just ONE DAY and TRIED the device, you could provide something more valuable than speculation and innuendo. Rather than hint that the phone might be this or that, by waiting a single day, you could review the actual features and performance of both the phone and the entire product. It is not just a phone, desipite the name.

Carrier choice is one aspect, but not the only aspect. I am surprised at your lack of a careful, thoughtful analysis of the entire product. Apple approached Verizon first, but was not able to get the control of the user experience that Cingular offered. I would like a review of that user experience, and not the carrier alone. Wait one more day, and then, perhaps a real review.

[Parity]

There's no confirmation of this "five year exclusive" agreement. USA Today printed that, without any attribution to a source, and others have repeated it but it's mere speculation. AT&T and Apple have only said "multiyear." If they are locked to AT&T for five years... I think that could be a big problem for iPhone adoption; I doubt Apple is that stupid. They've got iPhone 2's and iPhones Nano and who knows what in the pipeline. They're not going to stay married to AT&T for five years....