Tagged: Sprint

Glitch Causing iPhone 5 to Ignore Wi-Fi Connections and Use Cellular Data Instead

Wi-Fi icon

You’ve heard about Apple Maps and Scuffgate, but the iPhone 5’s real problems so far have revolved around boring old Wi-Fi. Today it’s been confirmed that the Verizon iPhone 5 is suffering from a strange software glitch that is causing the iPhone 5 to ignore some Wi-Fi connections and instead use cellular data.

Frustrated customers are reporting a surprise jump in cellular data usage despite being connected to Wi-Fi networks most of the time. In some cases, customers have been billed for data overages. This forum thread and numerous others at Apple’s discussion boards are quickly growing in size with user complaints.

Both Apple and Verizon have confirmed the error involves the iPhone 5 ignoring Wi-Fi connections, and Apple has released an update to fix the problem. Click here for the official support page for installing the update. Verizon released a statement to The Loop saying customers will ultimately not be charged for the data usage.

The issue, however, may not be limited to Verizon customers. Glenn Fleishman from TidBits has published reports from AT&T and Sprint users who are experiencing Wi-Fi/cellular data-usage issues as well. AT&T and Sprint have not yet commented.

Strangely enough, in a beta version of iOS 6, Apple briefly included a new feature called “Wi-Fi Plus Cellular” in the iPhone’s settings that, when turned on, would revert to cellular data usage when Wi-Fi performance was poor. That toggle was eventually removed from the final version of iOS 6. However, it seems that this is exactly the problem that customers are experiencing.

For customers wanting to quickly and easily check on their monthly data usage, check out our handy tip here.

iPhone Tip: How to Check Monthly Data Usage for Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint By Dialing a Number

Now that the iPhone has LTE, your monthly data cap can be used up much, much quicker. It’s now more important than ever to be able to track exactly how much data you’ve used up so far during the month. You can check your monthly data usage fairly easy. Just dial one of the numbers below, and you’ll receive a free text message back with your data usage:

  • Verizon dial #DATA (#3282)
  • AT&T: dial *DATA# (*3282#)
  • Sprint: dial *4

You might event want to create an iPhone contact so you’ll not have to remember the number in the future.

Below is a screenshot of my data usage just after a few days of AT&T LTE usage on my new iPhone 5. Sheesh! That’s about what I’d use in a month on 3G.

Data usage iPhone text-message from AT&T WIreless

Tip: Check Your iPhone 5 Verizon, AT&T, & Sprint Subsidized-Pricing Upgrade Eligibility, All In One Place

Apple Store Wireless Carrier Upgrade Eligibility Tool

Apple’s iPhone Eligibility Tool is a handy all-in-one place to check if you’re eligible for subsidized “upgrade” pricing for the iPhone 5 from all of the big 3 carriers: Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint. It’s fast and easy.

Just select your current carrier, then enter your number, zip code, last 4 digits of your social security number, and billing password (if you have one). It will show what the price of each iPhone iPhone 5.

ATT Upgrade Fields at Apple

iPhone 5 pricing for me

My last iPhone was the iPhone 4, bought at launch, so I’m good to go. $399 64GB Black AT&T iPhone 5, here I come. Wahhh!

iPhone 5: Check out the 4G LTE Maps for Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint Before Making a Buying Decision

If you’re planning on buying an iPhone 5 for its expected superfast 4G LTE compatibility, your choice of carrier will be important for taking advantage of those 4G speeds. Below are the 4G LTE maps for Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint, pulled from the carrier’s official websites at the time of this writing (September 10, 2012). Of course, the process of choosing a carrier should include weighing other factors, but if you’re hardcore into 4G LTE and speed, speed, speed, the maps below should help.

Verizon LTE Map

Verizon LTE 4G Map

Green dots = 4G LTE.

Verizon: Verizon has the biggest LTE footprint by far of the big 3 carriers. It is available in 371 cities across the US with around 30 more coming by the end of 2012. Click here for Verizon’s official page for its LTE map. On Verizon’s LTE map page, you can enter in specific addresses or zip codes to find if you’re covered by LTE.

AT&T LTE Map

Orange dots = 4G LTE. Yellow = coming soon.

AT&T Wireless: AT&T comes in a distant second with only 53 markets with LTE coverage. It plans to to add on 40 more markets by the end of 2012, bringing the total to around 90. Compare this to Verizon’s 400 total planned markets by the same time, and it’s not very impressive, but keep in mind AT&T does have that HSPA+ 3G network, which is faster than Verizon’s 3G. AT&T’s official LTE map is a bit harder to find. You’ll need to go to their Network page and click on the Coverage tab toward the bottom. A list of cities can be found here.

Sprint LTE Map

Orange dots = 4G LTE.

Sprint: Sprint has a mere 19 markets that offer 4G LTE. Sprint bet on another 4G technology called WiMAX, which is available in around 70 markets but will not be compatible with the iPhone 5. Sprint’s network map can be found here, just make sure to select 4G LTE and not 4G WiMAX. Sprint just announced that they plan on adding 100 more markets by the end of 2013.