Dropped Calls on the iPhone 3G

Question

Dropped Calls on the iPhone 3G

During my morning and evening commute, I am usually on the phone. I travel the same route every day. With the original iPhone I rarely experienced dropped calls during my commute. Now with the 3G iPhone, I cannot travel my morning/evening commute route without dropping my calls, sometimes more than once during the 15 minute commute. Checking the ATT coverage map shows that the location that I drop my calls is an area that has no 3G coverage, which is surrounded by an area of full 3G coverage. In other words, I drop calls when I travel from a 3G coverage area into an area of no 3G coverage. The problem is that the iPhone refuses to hand off the call from 3G to GSM. When the phone does switch to GSM the signal is very good, but the call has already been dropped.

I understand that there are many people complaining about 3G reception. When I bought the iPhone 3G, I knew that 3G coverage would not be perfect, and I can accept that. The coverage will only get better with time. What I cannot accept is the iPhone 3g's inability to hand off a call to GSM when the 3G signal gets too weak to hold the call. After all folks, this thing is supposed to be a phone first, right?

Anyone else have a similar experience with dropped calls?

PowerBook G4 (15-inch FW800), Mac OS X (10.5.4)

Posted on Jul 23, 2008 6:25 PM

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Answer 1

JMF

Level 3

776 points

Jul 23, 2008 6:34 PM in response to Randy Metzger

Disable 3G if all you are doing is talking. When you need the faster speed for Internet or Mail, turn it back on. This way you will be on EDGE and it should help remedy your dropped calls.

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Answer 2

newrat

Level 1

10 points

Jul 23, 2008 6:35 PM in response to Randy Metzger

The 3G signal problem threads are full of similar complaints. From posts, It appears that the iPhone is slow in switching from 3G to GSM (if it does it at all) when 3G signal strenght is weak to warrant GSM (asuming its stronger) Apparently this affects ALL 3G iPhones, and not just those 3G iPhones with reported signal strength problems.

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Answer 3

Jul 23, 2008 6:36 PM in response to Randy Metzger

Absolutely, there's a handshaking issue in the 3G to Edge transition where the radio appears to just drop the connection completely. It's more common than not latelt. Although ehrn the phone is on 3G, the quality is great, crisp and there is no apparent call deterioration to lead you to believe it is about to drop...

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Answer 4

Jul 23, 2008 8:33 PM in response to JMF

Give me a break. You have to joking. There is no way I'm going to turn on and off 3G just so I can make calls without dropping them. The phone is supposed to do that for me.

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Answer 5

JMF

Level 3

776 points

Jul 23, 2008 8:42 PM in response to Randy Metzger

Then sit here and b ** about it like a baby. I really don't care.

Message was edited by: JMF

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Answer 6

MacManRN

Level 1

49 points

Jul 23, 2008 8:51 PM in response to JMF

That kind of attitude is uncalled for. Yes, turning off 3G is technically a "solution" to the problem, but certainly not ideal. The man paid for a phone with 3G stamped to its back, and he is paying extra money each month for a 3G data plan. Your lack of compassion is appaling.

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Answer 7

lithivm

Level 1

0 points

Jul 24, 2008 7:16 AM in response to BrulesThe1

I agree with person complaining. I'm getting dropped every time I move. My older iPhone had great reception this thing is worst than a razr...

So we're paying an extra $15 a month extra compared to the older plan and get can barely use it without glitches... and you recommend shutting of 3G to make calls?

Its also slower in terms of the interface it hick-ups when switching apps, Safari crashes more often than the previous release. It clear that Apple/ATT didnt test this enough and really only care about selling product.

I'm almost cancelling my account... and going back to WM6

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Answer 8

Jul 24, 2008 7:21 AM in response to Randy Metzger

I ran a rather thorough side-by-side check with a Nokia E61 in
several spots.
There are cases where Nokia shows full signal and the iphone has one
single bar.
Most notably, this happens in the building where I work, which is IN
FRONT of the Vodafone headquarters (I guarantee that the signal is
indeed very strong).
Same story on the most covered highway of the country, where I
normally have confcalls that last 200Km (140miles) without a glitch .
There is clearly a hardware issue.

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Answer 9

taltal

Level 1

24 points

Jul 25, 2008 8:33 AM in response to Randy Metzger

switching off 3G is the only solution right now. it's also what most Apple store reps recommend:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1602608&tstart=0

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Answer 10

diago78

Level 1

0 points

Jul 26, 2008 6:13 PM in response to Randy Metzger

I also am not able to make a call using 3G. Had to turn it off completely to call 611 to find out if there is a network issue. After reading the "hoards" of other same complaints on many message boards it is now clear this is an APPLE problem not a network glitch.

Message was edited by: diago78

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Answer 11

Song002

Level 1

93 points

Jul 26, 2008 6:24 PM in response to MacManRN

I AGREE WITH YOU. Uncalled for. Why bother answering the second time at all, if one doesn't care.

I also have the same issue while on call and commuting from 3G areas to EDGE areas.

IT IS UNACCEPTABLE, especially while on business calls.

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Answer 12

Jul 26, 2008 6:26 PM in response to Randy Metzger

+Give me a break. You have to joking. There is no way I'm going to turn on and off 3G just so I can make calls without dropping them. The phone is supposed to do that for me.+

Exactly! Thats what you paid for and thats what you should get

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Answer 13

Aug 4, 2008 6:11 AM in response to Randy Metzger

I'm having a gazillion of problems right now with my 3G iPhone - and living in an area where it should be great reception. (Heck, I'm in Sweden, we're the land of Mobile telephones!) I've been using a 3G internet mobile modem from the same spot, and that has no problems when it comes to reception, while the iPhone 3G is having major issues.

I'm trying the turn the phone off and back on, but my clients are starting to think I'm rude when the calls keeps dropping. I try to call them back and I get like 2 seconds chance to say "my phone is odd!". Very frustrating!

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Answer 14

ibosie

Level 4

1,122 points

Aug 4, 2008 7:51 AM in response to Petra Hall

It's not so different in London either; I live and work in strong HSDPA signal areas and iPhone 3G is prone to drop calls. I contacted my service provider O2 about it (the call dropped while we were speaking) and O2 are sending me a new SIM but I think the problem is more likely to be software on the iPhone - well let's hope it doesn't turn out to be hardware.

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Answer 15

Aug 4, 2008 2:03 PM in response to Randy Metzger

Here is an update on my iPhone 3G and it's propensity to drop calls. This past Saturday, I made an appointment to see the Genius at my local Apple Store. I told him my story about my phone's inability to hand-off calls to the GSM network when the 3G signal was weak, and the subsequent dropped calls. He immediately asked if it was ok if they did a "Behavior Analysis" on my phone. I said go for it, so he plugged it into his Mac and in a few moments told me that I was having a little over 10% dropped calls. I told him that the 10% figure was probably artificially low, because I have had 3G turned off lately, so that I could conduct business uninterrupted while in my car. He said even 10% was high, so they would give me a new phone.

He removed my SIM card and opened a replacement unit, which was a "Service Exchange" unit (white box, no accessories or SIM card). I asked if it was brand new, and he insisted that it was because there has not been enough time since launch day to recondition and send out refurbished phones. He said eventually those would be refurbs though.

On my way home I decided to test the new phone, so I started a phone call while in 3G service and then drove home via the same route that I normally commute (which previously had always included 2-3 dropped calls during the 15 min commute). I was shocked that I did not drop the call the entire way home! Since then I have traveled the same route several times while on calls and still have not dropped a call. I have even watched my phone switch over to GSM while on a call!

So in my opinion, the problem was with the hardware (my original iPhone). I really feel that there are issues with either the 3G chip itself or the antenna. For those who care, here is the build info for my original iPhone and the replacement unit:

Original iPhone purchased on 7-11-08: Build week = 28
Replacement iPhone on 8-2-08: Build week = 30

So if you are having dropped calls and improper hand off from 3G to GSM, I would highly recommend that you do two things:

1) Leave your phone on 3G so that it can record as many dropped calls as possible in it's "Behavior" report. That way, the Genius will not be able to dispute your claim (conversely, you can't lie about numbers of dropped calls either).

2) Go get a replacement unit, and continue to do so until you get a good phone.

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