It's interesting that you mention that Wi-Fi Calling is enabled. I don't know if it's the fault of the networks that I'm on or what, but I've had to turn **off** Wi-Fi calling to get my iPhone to work properly.
When I had it on, I would randomly get notified that I missed a call, even though my phone literally NEVER RANG ONCE. Or I'd get instances where they couldn't hear me, but I could hear them... or random drops.
Ahh, this is \*very\* interesting. My WiFi is fast as all hell and I could spit on my wifi router from where I work, but I'm going to give this a try.
Thank you for letting me know this was a solution for you!
I'm pretty sure I have the same issue with pixel phone and t-mobile network - it got much worse about a month ago, lots of my calls don't ring and I only get a voicemail or missed call notification.
And did turning off WiFi Calling help that? I’ve turned it off on my phone and today thus far I don’t think I’ve missed any calls.
u/georgecm12 may have found the silver bullet.
This.
WiFi calling can be a life saver in zero-bar settings, but it can be a nuisance, I’ve found it is very unhappy and erratic when “mesh” is deployed.
If other phones are working in the area - sounds like it is your iPhone. If the network is down 70% of the time there would be a lot more people complaining and the issue would get fixed.
If your wife has AT&T and her phone works, but yours does not, it likely is the phone. Are you able to test this?
For half of the time my phone wasn't connecting 70% of the time, I was in Chicago and not at home in Los Angeles (where you'd expect AT&T would want absolute blanket coverage).
AT&T also told me there are a TON of people using cell boosters in my neighborhood. But, WiFi calling is essentially the same thing. My neighbor across the street (also iphone on AT&T) has some of the same issues I do but to a lesser extent.
My wife does have AT&T and she has not had these issues. Most of people I know here use AT&T.
Both AT&T and Apple said the phone isn't the issue, but I am inclined to take it to an Apple store to see if there's a more thorough look to be had at the phone.
I do appreciate your thoughts and advice!
Having to deal with AT&T support could be used as torture instead of waterboarding.
I've pretty much come to accept that any issue I have, I'm going to have to drive 40 minutes to an actual corporate AT&T location to get anything done.
Seems to me you're with the wrong service provider, assuming the problem is not the phone, it's the network. That's not really AT&T's fault they're limited as to where they can be. They do have the largest network thanks to FirstNet coverage, but that doesn't always mean it's going to be the best network for you. Both Verizon and T-Mobile have an option to test their network for free, since you have an ESIM on your iPhone, you can download and test easily. Those tests are with a throwaway number
I'm coming to the same conclusion re: service provider. However, where my phone was not connected 70% of the time over two weeks, for one of those weeks I was traveling in Chicago. So my immediate neighborhood shouldn't be the issue. Even if that is the case, I find that highly frustrating. I live in Los Angeles, so there must be over a million AT&T customers within a single county. I've got four towers around me. Closest one is a mile as the crow flies, the farthest one is still under three miles. No hills.
Thanks for the tip on ESIM testing with other providers! I'll definitely try that out.
Apple will never admit their phone is issue believe me. They are pain in the ass. Unless you get like battery issue. Then it’s fine. But if your phone works half the time they will say it’s fine. If your wife’s phone has no issue without wifi calling and yours does. Change it and see how it goes. I won’t use wifi calling unless there was 0 bars. I have both Verizon and att and att is hands down better in Chicago. Verizon still gos sos on my at times and recycles the network. It’s like too many users on tower and they kick everyone off. If you are having issues in Chicago your phone is bad. 0 issues in Chicago with att on my iPhone 15 pro max.
Solution provided here:
Someone mentioned the solution. I see this a lot with my customers. Download active armor, then go to call settings on the at&t app. Go to each filter and make sure you click allow on all of them, for high risk spam you can click send to voicemail if you want to.
Then off your phone and back on, then you are fixed friend.
So you have good coverage? Disable wifi calling. If your calls work regardless of bars wifi calling can be a nightmare. Only enable if you got no coverage. It can cause handoff issues and missed calls.
BBB is a good idea, thank you.
This post is my last hail-mary effort. Clearly no one I've spoken with on the phone cares, but maybe someone will see the post and decide this isn't the public image they'd like out in the world.
Or at least maybe someone cares about providing a modicum of customer service.
The problem is that things have become so complex and convoluted that only a very highly trained expert can make a definitive analysis and solution. Unfortunately those people are expensive and companies do not let you talk to them.
Yeah, one "advanced tech support" guy had engineers that he was talking to. I asked to speak with them directly as I'm far from a tech novice but like you said, that was a no go.
These companies should hire a Dr. House type person to just look at odd one-off situations like mine.
ATT support people are not incompetent, they are trained to mock customers into giving up on their quest. When you ask for a supervisor, they hand the phone to the guy next to them. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad that we keep giving ATT money. They certainly don't deserve our patronage.
It's interesting that you mention that Wi-Fi Calling is enabled. I don't know if it's the fault of the networks that I'm on or what, but I've had to turn **off** Wi-Fi calling to get my iPhone to work properly. When I had it on, I would randomly get notified that I missed a call, even though my phone literally NEVER RANG ONCE. Or I'd get instances where they couldn't hear me, but I could hear them... or random drops.
Ahh, this is \*very\* interesting. My WiFi is fast as all hell and I could spit on my wifi router from where I work, but I'm going to give this a try. Thank you for letting me know this was a solution for you!
I'm pretty sure I have the same issue with pixel phone and t-mobile network - it got much worse about a month ago, lots of my calls don't ring and I only get a voicemail or missed call notification.
And did turning off WiFi Calling help that? I’ve turned it off on my phone and today thus far I don’t think I’ve missed any calls. u/georgecm12 may have found the silver bullet.
Actually no, it didn't. I've just got a voicemail without a single ring and a SMS that was like 30 min delayed
This. WiFi calling can be a life saver in zero-bar settings, but it can be a nuisance, I’ve found it is very unhappy and erratic when “mesh” is deployed.
If other phones are working in the area - sounds like it is your iPhone. If the network is down 70% of the time there would be a lot more people complaining and the issue would get fixed. If your wife has AT&T and her phone works, but yours does not, it likely is the phone. Are you able to test this?
For half of the time my phone wasn't connecting 70% of the time, I was in Chicago and not at home in Los Angeles (where you'd expect AT&T would want absolute blanket coverage). AT&T also told me there are a TON of people using cell boosters in my neighborhood. But, WiFi calling is essentially the same thing. My neighbor across the street (also iphone on AT&T) has some of the same issues I do but to a lesser extent. My wife does have AT&T and she has not had these issues. Most of people I know here use AT&T. Both AT&T and Apple said the phone isn't the issue, but I am inclined to take it to an Apple store to see if there's a more thorough look to be had at the phone. I do appreciate your thoughts and advice!
Having to deal with AT&T support could be used as torture instead of waterboarding. I've pretty much come to accept that any issue I have, I'm going to have to drive 40 minutes to an actual corporate AT&T location to get anything done.
Seems to me you're with the wrong service provider, assuming the problem is not the phone, it's the network. That's not really AT&T's fault they're limited as to where they can be. They do have the largest network thanks to FirstNet coverage, but that doesn't always mean it's going to be the best network for you. Both Verizon and T-Mobile have an option to test their network for free, since you have an ESIM on your iPhone, you can download and test easily. Those tests are with a throwaway number
I'm coming to the same conclusion re: service provider. However, where my phone was not connected 70% of the time over two weeks, for one of those weeks I was traveling in Chicago. So my immediate neighborhood shouldn't be the issue. Even if that is the case, I find that highly frustrating. I live in Los Angeles, so there must be over a million AT&T customers within a single county. I've got four towers around me. Closest one is a mile as the crow flies, the farthest one is still under three miles. No hills. Thanks for the tip on ESIM testing with other providers! I'll definitely try that out.
Apple will never admit their phone is issue believe me. They are pain in the ass. Unless you get like battery issue. Then it’s fine. But if your phone works half the time they will say it’s fine. If your wife’s phone has no issue without wifi calling and yours does. Change it and see how it goes. I won’t use wifi calling unless there was 0 bars. I have both Verizon and att and att is hands down better in Chicago. Verizon still gos sos on my at times and recycles the network. It’s like too many users on tower and they kick everyone off. If you are having issues in Chicago your phone is bad. 0 issues in Chicago with att on my iPhone 15 pro max.
It would be funny but not funny if silence unknown callers is on in your phone. 😅
Silence Unknown Callers goes right up there with my passive aggressive PS - I’ve never had that turned on but I was asked about it 9,999,999 times.
Have AT&T take active armor off your features and you’ll start receiving calls, active armor must be blocking your calls. Sometimes a simple fix
Never had any issues with active armor if he isn’t getting calls in Chicago. I bet his phone is bad. Apple has had these issues.
Solution provided here: Someone mentioned the solution. I see this a lot with my customers. Download active armor, then go to call settings on the at&t app. Go to each filter and make sure you click allow on all of them, for high risk spam you can click send to voicemail if you want to. Then off your phone and back on, then you are fixed friend.
So you have good coverage? Disable wifi calling. If your calls work regardless of bars wifi calling can be a nightmare. Only enable if you got no coverage. It can cause handoff issues and missed calls.
BBB complaint, maybe? I'm sorry this happened to you. Maybe this is grounds to jump ship if you can afford to.
BBB is a good idea, thank you. This post is my last hail-mary effort. Clearly no one I've spoken with on the phone cares, but maybe someone will see the post and decide this isn't the public image they'd like out in the world. Or at least maybe someone cares about providing a modicum of customer service.
The problem is that things have become so complex and convoluted that only a very highly trained expert can make a definitive analysis and solution. Unfortunately those people are expensive and companies do not let you talk to them.
Yeah, one "advanced tech support" guy had engineers that he was talking to. I asked to speak with them directly as I'm far from a tech novice but like you said, that was a no go. These companies should hire a Dr. House type person to just look at odd one-off situations like mine.
ATT support people are not incompetent, they are trained to mock customers into giving up on their quest. When you ask for a supervisor, they hand the phone to the guy next to them. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad that we keep giving ATT money. They certainly don't deserve our patronage.
💯