UK 02 (poor signal strength/reception problems)

I have an iPhone. It is beautiful but I cannot get a full signal at home. Nor can I get a decent Wifi signal at the Cloud hotspots mentioned unless I am standing 3 meters from my home network.

Outdoors and in dense urban commercial places, it is wonderful at 5 bars and Edge works quicker than I thought.

I selected o2 network on my old Sharp Vodafone and it picked up almost full to full o2 signal.

It is the handset. It is not the static in the sim. Apple have a history of correcting first generation products after they launch to iron out the glitches but maybe not on this scale requiring this amount of corporate organisation with themselves and o2.

I hope they take less time and not do too much damage to their reputation. These things happen and they cannot predict. Testing can never be complete. The risks in business are there. It is not deliberate but...

They have to admit their handset needs a tweak. It is a great product and I hope they do sort it out because they have always done when the pressure of the hype has been less.

Apple is not stupid, on the contrary. Justify the premium though please!

Hi Sorry to upset you. I did say that it was a great piece of kit, when I said that apple was selling a product that is not doing it's job. I meant that this is fist and foremost a PHONE. But with no signal then it's just an ipod.

Regards Bobby. (Glad to here you have no problems with your phone)

My blackberry switches off its radio's when the battery is getting low. Can't say I have noticed this behaviour in my iPhone as I don't have it long enough....

So in the cradle you have signal, and when charged you take it out and it looses it's signal?

yes that's right! The only time I have a full signal is when it's charging on the cradle crazy I know. When off the cradle 2 or 3 bars is the most. My mum stays in the next street and her o2 signal is perfect(not an iphone)
it's the only thing bugging me about the phone, overall I love it.

necbob wrote:
Hi Sorry to upset you. I did say that it was a great piece of kit, when I said that apple was selling a product that is not doing it's job. I meant that this is fist and foremost a PHONE. But with no signal then it's just an ipod.

Regards Bobby. (Glad to here you have no problems with your phone)

You did not upset me at all. I fully appreciate how frustrating it is when you have signal problems, but in the cases described it is obviously a faulty device that need to be exchanged...That stuff happens and it could potentially lead to a conclusion on poor quality control. But considering that there are so many handsets in use without problems I don't think you can conclude they are all faulty.

As you probably know the nature of internet forums is that people come together who have a problem, not those who don't hence you see a heavy representation towards the defects, although some are not defects like people standing to close to a mast which is worse than being away from it....

I've run into the same problems with reception as those above so emailed O2, here's their reseponse:

Thanks for emailing us and I'm sorry you're having problems with network coverage on your iPhone.

We don't have a reported fault with the coverage of iPhone. Your area shows standard coverage on our online coverage predictor. However, the map does show a prediction of coverage rather than a true measurement. The geographical and structural features aren't taken into account so the actual coverage experience can vary.

We're always expanding our network and it's only through feedback such as yours that we can find out where our customers' needs are greatest.

To check the coverage, please click the following link:

http://www.webmap.o2.co.uk/

Please call us on 08706 003 009 for help in this matter. Lines are open Monday to Friday 08:00 to 09:00pm, Saturday and Sunday 08:00am to 08:00pm. Calls from O2 Pay Monthly mobile phones are free of charge.

You'll be asked to provide us with the following information:

a) mobile number affected
b) alternative daytime contact number
c) phone make and model
d) time and date the fault occurred

Please also have the answers to the following questions:

a) Is the fault temporary or continuous?
b) How long has the fault been occurring?
c) What error message is seen?
d) What error message is heard for example, 3 rising tones?

I appreciate your patience with this matter. If there's anything else we can do for you, please reply to this email.

Please visit our online Help Centre at:

http://www.o2.co.uk/help

Important - When you email us please provide: your date of birth, postcode and mobile number as it helps us answer your query faster.

Id say the problems are with the iphone.

Some phones are more sensertive and lock onto the slighest whiff of a signal (nokia phones are good at this) and others need to be right on top of a tower to get a single bar!

Id also say it was something to do with battery life on the iphone. The iphone is power hungry so maybe apple aint got the balance between phone / radio performance and battery life quite right!

The only way to get anything done about it is if people that have poor signal problems is to take your phone back and get it replaced. The more phones they get back, the sooner they will do something to fix the problem. Emails and complaints are fine, they can be put in a folder, high handset return numbers cant be so easy to hide under the rug.

My iphone (only had it less than one day) wouldnt even ring if i phoned it from my landline.

The fact the signal was naff was one of the reasons I took my iphone back and canceled it, I couldnt see myself being happy tied to something for 18months and paying for it for something that wouldnt even ring when I tried calling it from my landline.

02 is fine in my area as is tmobile and orange, so I ruled out networks and put the problems down to the iphone.

Further to my previous message - I have just been to the o2 store and they replaced my iPhone. Signal strength now perfect!!

I've only ever had one occasion where the signal was lost in an area where I would expect to have no problems, other than that my iPhone usually has between 3 to 5 bars of signal strength. Sitting in work I currently have 5 bars shown.

I have also noticed that if at 3 bars and plugged into the power cable that the signal will increase but I am not having signal issues that are causing me any worry in the Glasgow area.

Catch 22 for me, I'm afraid.

I've never had O2, and I don't know anyone who has it. This means that I don't know whether the O2 signal I'm getting on my iPhone is acceptable or not.

I am glad to say that in Bournemouth I have 3 - 5 bar signal and fast edge connection - at home it is not so good due to the 2ft thick walls of the house but the wi-fi I have solves that problem. I had a dreadfal start with the phone - could activate it fo 3 days but since then all seems well - infact the more I use the edge and wi-fi the better it works.

It may be that the Apple phone at 3 bars is measuring the same stregth as other phones. Having had several phones from Motorala that ate batteries trying to get a signal this phone works very well, very impresseed with battery life so far.

Well lets see if CPW are as keen to give me another iPhone 😮

Still no joy with the phone today, did a reinstall of the phones software no luck 😟

Just noticed a very strange thing, if the phone isn't in my hand but on say the desktop. It shows 5 bars! As soon as I pick the phone up and hold it upright the signal falls down to 1 bar?

Anyone else noticed this?

Message was edited by: Squigles

i;ve noticed exactly the same as you squigles.
I'm gonna take my phone back to carphone warehouse and get it changed, see if its any better. everyone is right on this thread we need to keep this going so hopefully apple will take some action and rectify the problem

Well going by O2's own coverage map, I'm supposed to have a signal that will allow video calls !!

202 is an O2 phone number then?

I take it the new one will replace the old one or is there a re-registering process to follow?