iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone
I have the same problem with 3G coverage. I am suppose to be in a strong 3G coverage area at home. I only have 1 bar. Traveling around town (Sacramento area) my 3G coverage changes dramatically. From 1 bar to full bars? Not sure if its working properly or not??? Anyhow, this was posted on Engadget. After they exchanged their iPhone the problem went away? Could it be true? Is it the netork or our iPhones? Lets all hope nothing is wrong with our iPhones!!!!
iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone
One of the more disturbing things coming out of the iPhone 3G launch is reports of suspiciously poor 3G reception and speeds. Specifically, I've seen several people report one bar - specifically, one bar - of 3G reception in areas where other devices report strong reception. (More complaints at Engadget.)
This may be a problem with a batch of iPhones, or with something in AT&T's network, though I've also seen someone reporting the problem on O2 in the UK. The first review iPhone we got had this problem - it would mysteriously drop from four bars of 3G to one for no apparent reason, while our Motorola RAZR2 V9 reported better reception. Then it would shoot back up to four bars for no apparent reason a few minutes later. That unit would also occasionally throw up an "invalid SIM" error, requiring a reboot. That phone also had hideously slow 3G data speeds in the 50 kbps-150 kbps range, so the missing bars weren't just a display issue; there was something wrong with the way the phone was hitting the network.
We exchanged that iPhone for a different unit and no longer had the problem. We took the new iPhone and carried it around comparing it to a Motorola V9, and the two phones connected roughly the same number of calls on the 3G network. The new unit also had much higher data speeds in the same locations - still not great, in the 300-400 kbps range, but at least reflecting 3G.
iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone
One of the more disturbing things coming out of the iPhone 3G launch is reports of suspiciously poor 3G reception and speeds. Specifically, I've seen several people report one bar - specifically, one bar - of 3G reception in areas where other devices report strong reception. (More complaints at Engadget.)
This may be a problem with a batch of iPhones, or with something in AT&T's network, though I've also seen someone reporting the problem on O2 in the UK. The first review iPhone we got had this problem - it would mysteriously drop from four bars of 3G to one for no apparent reason, while our Motorola RAZR2 V9 reported better reception. Then it would shoot back up to four bars for no apparent reason a few minutes later. That unit would also occasionally throw up an "invalid SIM" error, requiring a reboot. That phone also had hideously slow 3G data speeds in the 50 kbps-150 kbps range, so the missing bars weren't just a display issue; there was something wrong with the way the phone was hitting the network.
We exchanged that iPhone for a different unit and no longer had the problem. We took the new iPhone and carried it around comparing it to a Motorola V9, and the two phones connected roughly the same number of calls on the 3G network. The new unit also had much higher data speeds in the same locations - still not great, in the 300-400 kbps range, but at least reflecting 3G.
