AT&T releases Mark the Spot, a network failure reporting tool

Wow AT&T confirms what Verizon has been saying all along.

iPhone=Misfit toy

Let me get this straight I pay AT&T a monthly fee for use of their cellular services (voice and data), and I have to do their job as well? Maybe I am the one that is crazy. I’ll pass on that one.

What AT&T can’t do the “Can you hear me now?” thing like Verizon did and actually test their network themselves? Ma Bell lives on….I had Cingular for two years and dropped it when my contract was up because I had so much trouble with coverage….

Lucky for me, I don’t have any drop zone’s. Yet. But what are the chances, that AT&T(which I suspect was behind limiting iPhones ability to send/receive pics) will actually address the issue? Because of an app?

AT&T is just interested in taking your money. Period.
As for the iPhone being a misfit toy…try Blackberry for that label. Our branch office manager has now replaced his ‘new’ blackberry 3 times, since taking it out of the box. That means, he’s returned a brand new blackberry 3 times to get one ‘out of the box’ that works flawlessly.

I’ve NEVER had my iPhone go down. Nor have I been compelled to buy the new one because it has video and sends pics. Sorry, but the BB’s gotten worse.

By the way, its not just about ‘can you hear me now’ tests. Verizon PAID up front to have their network installed, which means theyve invested for coverage in areas where there aren’t any people; which means there is a service going out somewhere, where there is no one receiving it AND no one paying for it. AT&T asking for specific coverage areas, allows them to expand service where its needed, ensuring that the service is being used, and by extension, its bringing in money. When you look at the business side of it, Verizon is banking that you don’t know this, so they hope their ‘map for that’ can help them combat the iPhone. Sorry…no dice. Got my iPhone, downloading podcasts from universitys. All Verizon’s got is a clown who ‘looks’ like a nerd…but coverage that’s useful to only a herd of cows. Personally, I don’t care if I can get a signal in bum-fuck-Arizona. I don’t go to bum-fuck-Arizona, nor will I have an inclination to.
Bottom-line, Verizon’s commercials are cute, but they’ll be behind the 8ball ’til they get a product someone wants.

AT&T has been doing this for a long time under the Network Incident Tracker; a tool used by employees to map out areas where customers report service drops/problems. The iphone app simply puts this tool into the hands of a great number of their smartphone users. I’ve personally seen, being a rep, where these trackers have resulted in the advancement of towers and service in an area. The incident tracker is a great tool, and now can be used by customers at locations of interest to AT&T.

So everyone claims AT&T ins’t listening and now they listen and this is the reaction? Poor Poor Souls -

Can’t wait for Verizon to get a million or so REAL smartphones on their network… can not wait.. You red lovers will be singing a different tune AND i wish there was a way for AT&T and Sprint to keep YOU form being on thier network.. How do you like that?

What makes you think AT&T didn’t? Simulations aren’t always right, you know.

I don’t get how this gets a negative reaction, people seem to have no problem complaining to sales reps about their service, but when there’s actually a tool that would get that to a person that could actually do something about it everyone throws a fit.

I don’t get people sometimes.

I am such a fool. I thought if I bought an iphone, the newest & best mobile phone Apple has to offer at this time, it would magically speed from one task to another. It does, but 3G cannot perform without a consistently, strong signal! I have a strong signal 50% of the time! I can’t count on it to get the work done on time! What a bummer. Only in America.

@cellphone reivew,

thank you for making me laugh I need that today

Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).

Honestly Im shock ATT is launching this app. They really must love class action lawsuits. Sooner rater than latter class action lawsuit dirtbags , I mean attorneys will subpoena this data and show how really bogus and fictional there coverage maps are and win massive judgments against them. LOL ATT needs to fire the legal staff if they green lighted this app because I think they just allowed the company to commit financial suicide

This seems like a very smart, useful application to me. I know that in certain areas, especially on my college campus, AT&T coverage just doesn’t cut it. There are dead zones all over the campus, so much so that many students, so long as they don’t possess the iPhone, switch over to Verizon upon arrival. This “Mark the Spot” app for the iPhone will not only help AT&T identify dead service zones in which they can correct their service, but it will also give AT&T subscribers a sense of contribution. Many AT&T customers feel upset about the lack of service in certain areas, but by giving the customers a chance to change AT&T’s coverage and help the network provide more areas with service, I can easily see subscribers improving their opinions of the provider. Hopefully AT&T will actually listen to the feedback the network receives through this application, even if they’re overwhelmed with a “flood of submissions” as the article suggests.

If a user is reporting a dead zone, how exactly does this app collect location data if it was in a dead zone?

And glad they now have an app for this!@

This is worth checking out I think, not that it’s the final word. Maybe it is more of an Apple thing after all….: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/business/13digi.html?_r=1&ref=business

Wonderful!!!! What a smart piece of shit is this.
When I do not have any Sort of Service – how in the hell this will work? I have been using my iPhone for last 3 months and at my home and neighborhood we have NO – absolutely NO Service. Makes me wonder – that I have to create a Case each time that I move into a covered area which is like 2 miles away.
AT&T Coverage – sucks in my area – but when it works it is fine. The way to read their coverage Map is as follows -
Best – yeah you have the service and OK.
Good – Get no Data service – but rarely the calls will go but have NOISE or cant hear.
Moderate – forget about this zone – Nothing works and the phone start to search for network or says No Service.

Mind you – once you do sign the contract for 2 years – it does not matter – they use all excuses saying that they have in the contract “Service Coverage is not guaranteed”. I have been arguing with them for 3 months and would not budge to give me credit.
So I am going to make full use of this service and pump in Case after case so they get the attention and pay off this contract. I am going to cancel all other AT&T services at home(land line, Internet/DSL).

AT&T coverage is my area (zip code 23430, Smithfield VA) is basically non-existent. I have reported this numerous times over the last 2.5 years I have owned an iPhone.

I just got an email from an AT&T rep that said “I understand your frustrations with not having service and how it is hindering your work and personal life. AT&T is working on fixing coverage in a lot of large areas, but unfortunately not Smithsfield. I know the customer service representative suggested turning off your 3G because there is no 3G coverage in your area, and although it is inconvenient, it might help. Another step you can take is downloading an application called “mark the spot” on your iPhone. When you have a dropped call, no coverage etc., open this application and report it to AT&T. It will use your current location to report this incident.”

Ridiculous. When I have no service, I launch an app to tell them, but can’t because it says “Application Temporarily Unavailable, Please Try Later”, because I have no service! The app should simply store the location and submit it when service comes back into play (or when the app is re-launched if closed).

Come on Verizon, get in the game.

Having an iPhone on the AT&T network is kind of like having a new Ferrari on the back of a car carrier that has a flat. Great machine, and you can enjoy some of its features and beauty, but you can’t do what its primary function is intended to perform because you’re stuck where you are.

on my phone i cannot update my games it said it has been diaable and i called and went to att store and also went on website and they do not give us any service to what is wrong when my contract is up I WILL NOT HAVE ANOTHER THING FROM APPLE SORRY SERVICE

Funny because i go to college just outside of NYC and i get full service on the real network with Verizon. you know whats even more funny, when i drive into the city i still have full service unlike yourself who has no 3g coverage because AT&T cant handle major cities. no its pretty sad that you cant get service in the biggest city in the world. But then again you make idiotic iphone fanboy commets and think anyone cares that you love the iphone so much. why dont you grow up and have an intellectual argument because no one likes arguing with a 2 year old.

new york city is not the biggest city in the world.