CHICAGO LOOP / DOWNTOWN - Data and Coverage Issues Thread

[jacksai52]

Fellow co-workers and I have faced significant issues with data service in the Chicago Loop / Downtown area for the last THREE MONTHS. Specifically I work on Jackson St between Wacker and Canal (across from Union Station). I know other people are having issues as well and I’ve faced data / coverage problems in other parts of the loop. Below are a summary of identified issues:

-No data coverage, despite 3G logo and 4-5 bars of network coverage.

-Extremely slow data rates at times when data Is in fact working.

-Inconsistencies in data services (data goes in/out)

-No network coverage near Wacker / Wasbash when crossing the EL into from the Merchandise Mart stop to Washington and Wells.

Up until September, data services were working pretty well in our area. I’ve spoken multiple times with ATT customer care regarding the issue.  They assume it’s a hardware/software/user issue and after 40 minutes of forced “trouble shooting”, they finally admit that there is a known problem in Chicago and that they have a multitude of cases. This happens each time I call and it appears that the individual ignores the notes under my account. Once the Chicago issue is admitted, they explain that there is no resolution end date in sight and there are no notes indicating the issue is being worked on. This is completely unacceptable.

Please add on to this message if you are having similar or additional issues and perhaps we can convince AT&T to provide us the service that we are all paying for. You should also demand a credit for your data services, which so far they have graciously provided to me. Either way, we need our data/coverage issues resolved.

Jacksai52

Me - Running iPhone 4 – Software 4.3.2

Coworker 1 – Running iPhone 4 – Software 5.0.0

Coworker 2 – Running iPhone 4s – Software 5.0.1

[jofallon763]

The same for me in the west loop, near the Ogilvie Transportation Center. 4 or 5 bars of signal, but no usable internet connection, most all of the time. The notion of being able to use 2 gigs of data in a month is funny.

[mmike17]

I have the EXACT same problem.  I work at Madison/Dearborn.  Data coverage stopped working at most times about early November 2011 I think (could have been a little earlier).  It's totally hit or miss data-wise, but mostly miss.

This is highly frustrating.  I went to the AT&T store at Wells and Monroe and they tried a few things with my phone (iPhone 4s, latest software v5) that seemed to make it work (albeit slowly --by changing my app settings no less?) for a bit, but now it's just back to the same old thing.

I live in West Town/East Ukranian Village.  This problem does not persist at my home near Ashland/Chicago, but problem does start just east of Ashland as I near the Loop.  Data used to work fine in the Blue Line, but no more.  Doesn't seem to work anywhere I go in the Loop in downtown Chicago most days.

Anyone else have expereince with this, or have contacted AT&T about this problem?

Thanks! -- mmike17

[mmike17]

Bump for email when someone replies.... I am frustrated.

[Wild Banchi ACE - Professor]

I may plan on moving to Chicago from Michigan in a few years, and I really hope that the service there isn't as horrid as some people report it to be. I will stay with AT&T for as long as possible, but coverage issues might be a dealbreaker for me.

[jacksai52]

Was working downtown a bit over the holidays. Data seemed to work decent (still not great). Today now that everyone in the buildng/surrounding area is back at work, Data is awful / not working at all yet again. This makes it seem as though there are not enough towers / heavy congestion in west loop.

Also updated my phone, now on an iPhone 4 running 5.01

-Jacksai52

[mmike17]

I had the exact same expereince.  On off days, data works fine in the Loop, on Mondays like today, there is basically no connection.  I have no WiFi net work in my office, so I am totally out of luck.  Hard to beleive that AT&T has this many problems where so many of its users live and work.  It's a disgrace.  Wish I had switched over to Verizon or Sprint when I got the 4Gs.

[bbeetham]

Hi all -

I got the AT&T 4s about a month ago as it got the best reviews for coverage in the Chicago loop, which is where I work.  Normally I have four bars, sometimes five in the loop, but my data speeds are extremely slow.  For example, getting to the app store, downloading apps or updates, checking facebook, using the map for directions, using safari, basically anything that uses data takes forever to load even though I have an excellent signal.  I've tested it in and outside of my office around the loop.  Does anyone else have this issue?  It's really upsetting as my 3gs was better than my 4s at this point.  

[bbeetham]

...and when I say "forever to load" .. I mean if they load at all. Sometimes I get an error message saying there's no signal even though I have four bars.

[designisaverb]

I live near the Clinton Green Line stop, and work at Lake & Lasalle, and I can tell you my commute to work is thru a complete dead zone.  No calls. No texts, and ZERO data.  It's very frustrating.    

I purchased a verizone iphone 4s as a trial.  The service was not great, but at least I had some service.  I'm thinking about switching.  I've spent numerous hours on the phone with AT&T.  And they can't offer an explanation, or even an acknowledgement, except there is a down tower.  Well.. I've been calling customer service frequently since May 2011, and that  SAME tower has been down for over 6 months.

Once I'm outside of the loop,  the my service experience is totally different.   The data is available and faster then Verizon. Feels like a slap in the face to someone who lives and works in the loop.

Download ROOT Metrics app.  It will confirm that there are significant dead zones near the metra rain stations.  

[mpossoff]

So you had a 3GS and it worked better? Interesting.

[bbeetham]

Yes, my 3gs on AT&T worked better as far as data speed then the 4s I got a month ago.

[mmike17]

Have you ben into any of the many AT&T stores in the Loop?  I was there once and they changed a bunch of setting to my phone and it really ended up improving nothing.  Very frustrated.  I want to go back there, but I don't know how to appraoch them correctly other than "Why the #^%%@ dies my phone not work???".

[junek8342]

I live in the western suburbs and commute to Michigan and the river for work.  Once I hit Union station/west loop 3G coverage becomes completely useless.  There are times I've disabled and made the switch to Edge, which sometimes works, so I can occasionally read  a news story or use the CTA Bus Tracker.  Once I get to the Mag mile area, 3G is sometimes better than useless, but is always useless during rush hours.  This has been going on for several months.  I've called AT&T a couple of times and I use the "mark the spot" tool, all to no result.  This lack of service from AT&T is completely unacceptable. 

I travel a fair bit for business and in the past few months have been to Palo Alto area, Austin, Atlanta area, New Orleans, Orlando, and Marco Island.  I've not had issue in any of these areas.  For commuting, when I really want data, I've resorted to carrying a USB modem from Clear and setting up a personal mobile hotspot via a Cradlepoint device.  My boyfriend and I are both actively looking at other providers who support the iPhone without having to resort to jailbreaking.   

iPhone 4

iOS 5.0.1

[socrpro192]

Same thing happens to me. Did you previously have the unlimted plan that they rolled over. AT&T is the worst.

[Wild Banchi ACE - Professor]

Are you using an Unlimited Data plan?

[bbeetham]

No, I'm not on the unlimited plan.  I'm on the 2GB plan.  Does it matter?

[Wild Banchi ACE - Professor]

Not especially. I was wondering if your were on the Unlimited plan, maybe you were getting slower data speeds due to throttling (caused because of using too much data at a fast rate for the month).

[jamois]

Absolutely having the same problem since I got the 4s.  5 bars, 3G signal, and I can't even open emails half the time.  Can't use Safari at all.  

My 3G had decent download speeds in my office at Michigan & Washington, and my co-worker - sitting six feet away - gets good bandwidth on his 3Gs.  I even had my 4s stolen shortly after I got it and had to switch back to my 3G, and went from having no bandwidth to having normal bandwidth again.  It went right back to nothing when I got my new replacement 4s.

The odd thing is that my problem seems to start around Michigan and South Water down to Michigan and Monroe, from Columbus to State.  If I walk out of the area I start to get bandwidth again.  I don't know if they've got an old transponder here that can't communicate with the dual-antenna system in the 4s or what, but it's absolutely awful.

I've run a bunch of tests with the SpeedTest app, and while it generally can't even get a ping returned from anywhere near my office, if I walk two blocks to State and Washington I can get about 1.5Mbits.  North of the river on Michigan I'm up to about 3 Mbits.  In my condo at Foster and Marine, I get 7 Mbits.  Bizarre.  AT&T needs to fix this.

[mandrsn1]

I used to have pretty poor coverage in the loop with my iPhone 3Gs.  I upgraded my phone to a Motorola Atrix last year and it is a ton better. Still drops data connection crossing the river on the brown line, but I can use data in my office (Wacker and Jackson) where it never worked well before.

[bluetexan1]

I have the same problem 9a.m. to 5 p.m. I have no or extremely limited access to data despite 4-5 bars of 3G "coverage" indicated on my iPhone 4s.  My concern is what AT&T is doing to correct the problem?  There is no indication to suggesting remediation is moving forward.  I wonder if we shouldn't be given discounts for our inability to use data for more than 50% of our productive day. Is there a service contract violation here?

[jacksai52]

When I call in, I have to still go through the troubleshooting bull, but I always get the answer "new towers are expected to go up soon". I've been getting the exact same  response each month since I first called in September.

I'm simply amazed that no one from AT&T has responded to this thread. It's becoming very clear that AT&T is a company that doesn't care about their customers. They DO care about billing you for services you don't recieve though. Oh, that bill comes right on time each month.

Another thread with more people with data issues in the chicago loop:

http://forums.att.com/t5/Network-Coverage/iPhone-4s-coverage-in-chicago-loop-Do-the-data-speeds-suck...

[mmike17]

Agreed.  I should have switched to Verizon when I upgraded to the iPhone 4s.  I can't beleive that AT&T has this kind of DATA coverage in the Loop.  Of Chicago.  Downtown.  In the place thjat you think it would be the most important.  No data.

It's mind boggling.

I have noticed a minor improvement (I very occasionally get slow data) since the new year, but nothing that really quells my anger.

I hope that someone can post in here to provide some sort of information to aleviate the confusion on why our great phones don't work where we need them to -- and when the problem will be fixed.

[jamileh]

Hey folks, 

We are reading your comments and feedback about service in the Chicago Loop area (as well as other areas called out in the Network Coverage board). 

I'm sorry that I haven't responded earlier. 

There isn't anything I can say/do in this thread to make your service better but we do take your feedback directly to the right folks within AT&T to make sure it's heard. 

If you're not already using the "Mark the Spot" app, please download it and use it whenever you experience poor network coverage. The app is a great & easy way to report coverage issues. 

[samek]

Hi jamileh,

My iPhone 3GS which was working fine until today suddenly started cycling through 

Full bars -> low bars -> Searching -> no service

It's been doing this since this morning and I am not able to receive calls or texts. I did everything from resetting the phone, 

resetting the network, erase the phone and setting it up as new. I have 3G and cell data off. I just use my phone for texts and calls.

I just put the sim card into my old brick phone and it is doing the same.

My wife's iPhone 4 has 100% signal strenght.

Thanks!

Location: LakeView, Chicago

[DWC1 ACE - Professor]

Unfortunately the problem is all too common in a number of big cities with where there are lots of users hitting the network all at the same time.  The same thing happens in NYC, San Francisco, and DC all the time.  AT&T has too many data hungry users and not enough bandwidth to service all of them. 

[samek]

I am not using any data. The basic phone signal is cycling through. I tested this on different phones. The SIM card has also been replaced 3 times.

[jacksai52]

 Appreciate the comment Jami, but hopefully someone at AT&T will actually be able to tell us whats going on. A simple "sorry it doesn't work" is not acceptable when you are charging us for services you aren't able to provide. This is generating a significant amount of dissatisfied customers. I know 4 people alone on my office floor alone who have switched to Verizon / Sprint in the past 2 months. By the way it's gotten so bad that I can't even get an MMS out now.

Has anyone tried the "Mark The Spot" app? AT&T already knows there is a problem with data in the Chicago Loop (at least thats what they tell me on the phone after arguing that the issue is my handset for 30 minutes). Not sure how much the app will help... especially if it needs data service in order to transmit information! I will give it a try once I actually get some data to be able to download it.

Samek - Sounds like you have a different issue than what this thread is focused on. Our issue is not handset based and is focused on in the Loop. It sounds like yours is handset based, esp if your wife's phone gets coverage while in the same location as yours. I'd def recommend restoring your phone in itunes if you haven't tried that already. Best of luck to you. You also may want to go to an AT&T store and get a new sim chip.

[socrpro192]

I've called numerous times to ATT with no avail. Has everyone else in this forum been calling AT&T and complaining?  It seems they don't even know what the problem is. I need to switch to verizon.

[samek]

Thanks, jacksai52.

I am away in Arizona this week and my phone stopped having the signal through problem. This happens when I am home in Chicago in Lakeview

I will try and get a new SIM when I get back.