Could not activate EDGE

this is probably going to be my favorite iphone message: Could not activate EDGE. Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) is the technology that is used for transmitting internet traffic over the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) mobile phone network, so this message means that none of your apps on the iphone will be working, only the phone part will still work. the strange thing is that this repeatedly happened to me when being in an area with a very strong signal. due to the lack of any analytic tool more sophisticated than the five little bars in the top left corner of the screen, it is a bit hard to say what happens, but my guess is that in these cases, the problem is not a network connection problem, but some problem of at&t to properly handle the internet connection setup.

being an apple product, the message is all you get. and as always, when things go wrong, this approach of complete information hiding is less than ideal. there is no way to reset the failed connection attempt, which leaves you with a disconnected iphone even though you are sitting practically next to an at&t antenna. since you cannot do anything, you have to patiently wait for the iphone to retry, and this interval seems to be set to a fairly generous interval, i have had up to 1h of disconnectedness before things were working again.

from the very beginning, apple never thought that users should actually know what is going on or have any control over how things should be handled, arguing that this only confuses users and does not improve their ability to use a product. apple may have a point as long as things go well, but they are certainly wrong as soon as things go wrong. i hope that future editions of the iphone software will increase the users' control over their product beyond the ridiculous small number of settings and controls that are currently available.

Comments

Holy crap!
I just got that message and am completely disabled. This sucks. Tried power cycling several times, .. even wifi wont pick up.
JUST happened.

Hrm.. wonder if it will reset by morning..

This sucks. ATT & Apple should serriously get it together.

[Anonymous]

I am in Los Angeles and I find that the ATT Edge network is horrible. I love the iPhone, but this network is really bad.

I get the "could not activate Edge" message sometimes several times a day - I've called, and of course ATT has nothing useful to say about the issue.

[campbell]

I get that message consistently in certain areas of cincinnati. Full bars, but I guess my tower doesn't support edge. You mentioned wanting to force the iPhone to retry connecting... I use the 3rd party "Services" application to disable and re-enable edge... But it doesn't make a difference.

Sometimes when I re-enable I get a message that my network settings are corrupted, prompting me to choose a data provider from the available towers... But I think this is probably my app's fault, rather than apple or AT&T.

[DisplacedBadger]

This is very bad. ATT offers no help! I've been without the EDGE network today (20 Nov.) for over four (4) hours. This is unacceptable.

[Nate]

I live in Portland, OR and we've been without a stable EDGE signal for almost a week now, from right before Thanksgiving to this very moment. I've called AT&T and they were no help whatsoever.

[Visitor]

Another AT&T victim in Portland, OR. I have been without Edge use for nearly a week. But, I only had the Edge 'E' disappear Friday. I began getting the "Could not activate EDGE" message soon after. It is not sporadic. Edge is gone completely. And, no, this is not a hacked iPhone.

Same thing here in Columbus, OH. Full bars, but EDGE has been dead for 3 days now.

[Adam]

I'm on O2 (UK) and my iPhone has the E logo in the corner, plus 5 bars, and I've started getting the "Canould not activate EDGE" message this morning.

iPhone back to shop tomorrow if it persists (we're protected if something doesn't do what it says on the tin)

[Fernando]

Hello everybody, I have the same problem here in New Jersey, I bought the apple iphone 3 weeks ago, and this is the 2nd time this happens.I just got the message"Could not active EDGE". But i do have all the bars of signal, and the problem always appears when im in my house. Att network is horrible and it is suppose to be "the most reliable network". Im really disappointed of Att, the iphone is great but att sucks.

[satheesh krishnan]

I could not activate EDGE in my iphone the message is saying you are not subscribed to EDGE. pls send me the mail how to activate

[Jamerico00]

Houston Tx.. Been getting "Could .... Edge" for 3 days now.

[no edge in Austin]

same still months later in Austin, TX

AT&T sux the big one