Saturday, June 18, 2011

iPhone, 3G, edge, or ? Symbols

I have been in some remote areas where I used to have data but don't sometimes late at night. I have wondered about maintenance but still scratching my head?

Last night I drove for two hours before I got back into it and I drive the same boring route Dallas to El Paso,TX.

On AT&T I've been seeing a very small circle where E or 3G would be. What's this?
I've got hooked on that stitcher app and it really helps the miles go by.

Apple iPhone ATTApple iPhone ATT

That symbol is GPRS which is a level below Edge. Here is what Apple says about GPRS:

*General Packet Radio Service:* A high-speed packet data service implemented as the data component of the GSM network. GPRS speeds are roughly equivalent to that of a home 56k dial-up Internet connection; users should expect between 20-40 kbit/s down and 10-20 kbit/s up depending on signal strength. This info from Apple Support page: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2106

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Thanks, any idea why I used to see edge and now don't? I'll be making the trip again tonight so I'll see. The gsm won't support stitcher. I'll try some other apps and see.

Oh and edge supports stitcher fine I suppose because it's basically audio content.

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It could be that they are having equipment problems. Use this app to report it to them the next time you go that way. Tell them you have GPRS instead of Edge.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/at-t-mark-the-spot/id338307313?mt=8

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The one who described the round icon.

Mark the Spot is an excellent app that gives AT&T the information to fix those no signal spots, if enough people have the problem.

The reason you don't see the Edge signal is that it may be in a shadow or no signal spot, like a valley below the signal or a lowered freeway (think Los Angeles), or the canyons of New York City.

I only have a basic knowledge of this part. GSM is a radio transmission type. Edge and 3G are ways to send data within GSM.

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