How To Connect To EDGE/GRPS

It should do it automatically. Is there a blue "E" in the upper left?

If you cannot see the blue E logo this may mean that you are not in a EDGE upgraded area, following discussions i have had with O2 this afternoon in regards to this what they are saying is that the iphone unlike other phones does not go for the fastest available connection in an area but chooses its data connection based on the strenght of the signal, so whilst you may be in an EDGE active area it might be on a Cell antenna that is a long way off so a weak signal which the GPRS signal is going to be stronger and therefore the iPhone defaults to GPRS.

Not ideal but if thats they way it works thats the way it works, eventually the number of EDGE upgraded Cell sites will increase in the mean time WiFi ftw!

i just got my iphone recently too and have no clue about the grps/edge capabilities.

I dont live out in the country or anything, i live in a fairly built up area and iv also been into town centres with my iPhone and never noticed this blue E symbol. iv only been able to web browse/send emails etc with an available WiFi connection (if i can find a decent unlocked one)

so is the iPhone meant to be able to still work in more remote areas, just as a normal mobile would via gprs?

as im finding this the main flaw of the iPhone at the moment, all its great features seem to rely on an internet connection. so offline im left a bit disappointed with the phone.

I have also not been able to connect to edge - only my wireless home broadband. Is there something we are forgetting to do or O2 haven't enables??

im also having problems with connecting to egdge/gprs, which is irritating seems that most of the features relay on some form of internet connection. Have you been able to sort out this problems since posting your problem??

Ok i had the same problem so i switched off wifi in settings and then the blue square popped up.
Then switch it back on
Sounds weird i know but just try it.

Eht EDGE icon will only appear if you are not connected to WiFi. You will never see both at once.

Less than 30% of the UK has EDGE enabled on O2, so the chances of everyone getting it is very very slim, even those that find it have found the signals to be low.

I have to say that I'm really pleased with the iPhone, its features are fantastic and I'm glad to have bought it on Friday. But as with everyone else in this forum I've not managed to get on the internet, be it wifi, edge or gprs. Not one of those functions has worked for me. And according to o2's website I'm in an area of high coverage.

I probably still would have bought the iPhone even if it weren't web enabled, but I am annoyed with o2 and Apple for marketing this revolutionary device which can do so much, and offering tariffs which sound too good to be true (unlimited data usage) but not making it clear before purchase exactly what the internet facilities will be like. It's unprofessional, disappointing and basically, false marketing.

EDGE, WiFi and GPRS actually work for the overwhelming majority of iPhone users, but they don't post messages on a help forum because they don't need help. Even the ones who are having trouble usually get it working in short order once the difficulties are identified.

If you are in a known EDGE coverage area but you don't see an "E" or a "fan" icon to the right of the carrier name then call O2 and verify that they have enabled EDGE on your account. As the iPhone is new to them also they may not have their act together. If you do see the E (or even if you don't) tap the Safari icon and enter a well known web address (yahoo.com, google.com, etc) See what the error message is (if you get one) and post it here.

The best way to test WiFi is to go to a known hot spot. Apple stores are always a good choice, but anyone else who advertises free WiFi is also a good choice. Once there tap the "Settings" icon and choose WiFi. Make sure it is on, and wait a few seconds. You should see a list of available connections. If you are in a free hotspot you should see at least one network name, and not see a lock next to the network name. Tap the network name abd it should connect in a few seconds. If you tap the arrow you should see the network parameters; these were automatically assigned by the hot spot. Sometimes a hotspot requires you to sign in; to check, press the Home button, then tap Safari. Enter a web address you know: google.com, yahoo.com, etc. If the site requires login their home page will display instead of the URL you entered. If either this happens or you get to the URL then your WiFi is working.

If you have your own wireless network you can use that, of course; to make it easy temporarily turn off encryption using the router's "control panel", which you can get to through your web browser, usually at http://192.168.1.1 (but check your manual for your router).

Let us know the results and we should be able to get your Internet access working straightaway.

Well after being a bit frustrated with the internet aspect over the weekend (but still amazingly happy with the phone overall), I woke up with the intention of calling o2 today to see if there was anything they could do. However I thought I would try the age old thing of turning the phone off and on again (it's been on since activation so figured worth a shot). I turn it on and what do I see but an 'E' next to the o2 signal bar, and am up and running on the net! How weird! Now I love the phone even more as it's doing what it says on the box. I take back my somewhat blunt comments from last night too 😀

Could I ask you how you are finding performance using the net via EDGE? Is it worth the trouble or is it to too slow to make it worthwhile? Thanks.

I had the same issue, on Friday I could connect via Edge no problem. I set up my MiFi connecting and since then I couldn't connect with anything other than WiFi. Switched the phone off then on again and now I can connect via edge and gprs.

I hope this don't happen after every wifi connection

It's alright actually, it's not exactly broadband, but then not as slow as the old gprs. It depends what sort of things you're using it for. Checking news, emails etc would be fine. Also the youtube application finds and downloads videos pretty quickly. Quite happy!

No problems with wi-fi, but I see a blue square instead of an 'e' - is this the same thing as edge?