AT&T service in Lakeview is horrible, especially when the Cubs are playing. AT&T claimed to be making changes but that doesn't seem to be happening. Over Market Days (August 1), I couldn't make a call or send a text at all on 3G. When I switched to 2G I could at least get a text out. I've had friends in the area now switch (downgrade) to 2G phones just in order to make calls. AT&T is the worst in Chicago.

I have ATT and service sucks in my apartment building. On average I get 2 bars. Even with that calls are incoherent all the time. Even going outside I get average of 2-3 bars and 4 if in a widely opened area. I wish cell serviced didn't suck this bad.

The reception in my apartment was really bad for a long time with AT&T, but a few months ago it got even worse. My phone is practically useless now - I rarely have any bars at all and it can take 6 hours or more for texts to come through at home. A lot of food deliveries turn around and go back to the restaurant because they can't get a call through to let me know they are at the door of my building! It is beyond frustrating and I'm looking for a new plan.

Major sections of the far north side of Chicago I get "No Service" for long stretches. I'll have voicemails not getting to my phone for hours. iPhone is great. ATT is pathetic. Don't they know when we are able to choose our own carriers that people will drop ATT in a heartbeat?

Service while standing still goes 3g->Edge->Nothing. Searching. Edge->3G. 2 minutes. Gone! Searching. Come on AT&T!

Until about two months ago, we had strong (edge, never 3g) reception in the area. Now it is terrible. I have virtually no service inside my building. Even when I go outside and it says I have 1 or 2 bars - it always cuts out within a couple of minutes. It's very disappointing that at >$100 / month in 2009, AT&T can't provide reception in the center of downtown Chicago.

ATT service here in Streeterville is simply awful. Even in areas with seemingly good reception I rountinely get dropped calls.

AT&T can bite me. Two minutes ago I had no reception at all on my iPhone, and now I have three bars. Usually it's around 2 bars, but never above 3. I get texts late and sometimes I can't even text with one little bar. Drop calls are frequent, if I can even get through! Now I gotta get a landline or wait until the contract's up and get another service, because I ain't going through this again, AT&T!

I have very few bars in my apartment and sound quality is suck. I don't know if this is because of iphone or ATT coverage. My friend told me that they cann't reach me when I am in my apartment. I alway have my phone turn on... but this is what they say. Sometimes I can pick up the call, but cannot communicate.

My family is on the AT&T family plan and are pretty locked in to our deal which is TERRIBLE because none of us get even the slightest big of reception whether we're in the house, in the middle of the street, in the garden or on the roof. It's the worst!

Great phone, awful reception. Constantly dealing with dropped calls. Reception bars go up-and-down like a rolling coaster and can't get any service at all during Cubs games. AT&T is brutal... .

If it weren't for the few random acts of divine intervention, I'd say I get ZERO reception with my first gen iphone within a 1 / 2 mile radius of my home. And I can only expect slightly better coverage elsewhere in the city. I love this device but am just waiting for the contract to expire. Everything was fine until about this time last year when they rolled out the 3G. Spent hours on the phone with tech support who opened a ticket only to close it later marking it as "resolved." In the time since, my wife and I have given AT&T roughly $1600. I will not be renewing my contract or buying another iphone unless Apple opens it up to other service providers. I've been with AT&T (Cingular) for nearly 10 years in three cities, including NYC. The coverage in Chicago is unbelievably horrible. I've had to get a home VOIP just to be able to make / receive calls at home -- that's not factored into the $$$ we're giving AT&T every month.

After trouble with AT&T (as documented by local media) service troubles (degraded service in the Lakeview area because of poor capacity), I decided to switch carriers. After reviewing the message here, I decided to give Sprint a try especially since they have the Palm Pre. EXCELLENT service from Sprint. I couldn't be happier.

WOW! With cell coverage this bad, I can't believe I'm in the 3rd largest city. Come on AT&T get your act together. I love my iPhone; however, with AT&T's horrible (understatement) coverage it's impossible to use my iPhone. I called AT&T about my coverage area and the representative on the phone dialed up the coverage map. He was shocked as he related the following... of the 4 towers within a mile of my location, 3 were severely degraded towers and the other was degraded. Notations by AT&T service technicians. How can AT&T be allowed to operate such a poor network. Someone (the FCC) needs to step in and review!

Wicker Park reception is TERRIBLE... I wish I wasn't such a big fan of my iPhone, and it's compatibility with my Macs at home / office. I'm ready to switch carriers. Come on, ATT, I live in a major city... get your act together!

Reception is good sound quality is very poor. Don't rely on Cricket service.

Reception is good but sound quality sucks with Cricket service. I work in downtown Chicago and will see all bars but voice sucks. Never go for Cricket phone again.

I used to have decent service. I've lived here for a year and a half and the last few months have been nothing but dropped calls and poor call quality. I gave up my blackberry for my Nokia 2610, and it did help a lot, but I still drop calls, and that's unheard of for a classic Nokia bar phone. It's definitely AT&T's inferior network, and not Nokia. The 2610 model is among the best for reception. I miss T-Mobile. Cheaper and better service.

I get good reception outside and generally all over Chicago. I can talk in the underground train stations but not when on a running train unless it is above ground. I get below average reception in my 1st floor apartment(3 flat). There are certain pockets where I can talk and others where I know I will loose the call. This happens even though I am constantly updating my phone (*228) to make sure the software et all is up to date. The other thing about Verizon is that it is EXPENSIVE and I'm not sure it's worth it. I pay $122 for two lines with no data and 250 text msg-1400 min, 9pm nights, and weekends. Seems like Sprint has better deals but maybe worse service? And T-Mobile is another consideration... .

tmobile is very convenient, especially the pricing. I think I only had dropped calls in the taste of chicago, because of too many people. anyways their service is great for my area. I always get 4 to 5 bars.