iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
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iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone, which has been locked. The thread was too long and some browsers were timing out. The above link goes back to the original thread.
Upgraded to 3G iPhone: no 3G reception. Called o2 and was told 3G coverage in my area was excellent. They told me as an existing iPhone customer I needed a 3G SIM card. o2 sent me the replacement SIM card and same problem: no reception (my Wife's Blackberry has 4 bar 3G reception in the same area).
Will try to change handset, but from what I read, this is a global issue and a problem with the iPhone on 3G. What's the problem here Apple, because it needs fixing fast.
I have resolved the problem I was having with my iPhone 3G's inability to hand-off weak 3G calls to GSM, with subsequent dropped calls. Please see the following thread for the resolution to my problem:
New customer, came from Sprint, live IN THE MIDDLE of San Francisco — AT&T Claims Good 3G and Voice coverage.
Horrible Coverage — no 3G within a couple hundered yards of my home (where I work), barely any edge, dropped voice calls, etc.... the usual complaints. Good coverage in other random areas, but not much 3g regardless of where I'm at.
Called AT&T, in the beginning, they told me I should be receiving a good 3g signal, as well as consistent voice. Throughout the multiple calls to AT&T, the story became "we can't guarantee reception" and "you live close to an area with spotty coverage" (this meant the 2nd darkest shade of voice coverage on their map)... they also told me I lived within 3 miles of an area with no coverage — yeah, it's called the frickin ocean, San Francisco's only 7 miles across!
Hand-in-hand with these calls to AT&T, I had multiple conversations with Apple — who immediately concurred it could be a hardware issue. After having replaced my SIM card and phone (very prompt, no-questions-asked service), I find that my reception is exactly the same.... I can't have a conversation on the phone near my home, which leads me to the conclusion that in my area (San Francisco), AT&T's coverage maps dramatically misrepresent the areas that they provide service to, the type of service provided, and the quality/reliability of that service. In my normal routine, I'm able to use 3G about 20% of the time — so why am I paying for it 100% of the time?
Granted, AT&T did give me 500 minutes for my trouble, since they're rollover, maybe I'll actually be able to use them before my contract runs out!
same problems here in portland, OR. the att map shows 3G coverage everywhere but my iphone only gets one bar, had dropped so many calls and way too many call failed!!!
I have tried everything including new sim and still crappy signal. I may be forced to return it before August 11.
I really like the phone but the service is horrible.
I'll be heading back day after tomorrow with mine for a return .... Just for the record I love the device and was even on the fence as of today then I heard the words come out of my mouth "I get good speed over my wifi" which begs the question why not take a seat and use the computer .... other then that I only get 3G on 1 stretch of road within 10 miles of my place. Thats not good enough. I'll be back after some time but I'm done with being an "early adopter". At some point Apple will wake up and ditch AT&T exclusivity. At the end of the day its about making and receiving calls with reliability and not dropping cutting out or whatever term you want to put on it whilst trying to do your business. Unfortunately this has been lost in the world of Monkey Ball Music and Videos. I wish all of you the best in finding your solution(s) whether they are in hardware or software.
Tough decision. I made it last week. I had to really tell myself I need a reliable phone first, so back to Verizon I went. If mine had only been a 3g problem, I might have toughed it out for awhile longer but mine was not holding a EDGE signal. Lots of dropped calls, NO SERVICE and calls straight into voicemail. Went through all the hoops and even exchanged the phone and same old same old.
Love the phone but need it to work as a phone.....
After much frustration, I believe I have figured out that there are two separate issues going on here for many AT&T customers:
1) When I bought the iPhone 3G, the guy at the AT&T store told me to go home, open it up, and put in the old SIM card from my blackberry, which is a few years old. I did that, and phone calls with 3G were nearly impossible. I didn't think the SIM card was the issue, but I thought I would try. Went to the AT&T store today, turned on 3G, dialed and the call failed right in front of them. I told the AT&T rep that I was told to use my old SIM card. He said "that's the problem, it won't work with the old SIM card." He took out my SIM and said "wow, this isn't even a 3G SIM card! This phone will be working perfectly for you."
I left the store and made some calls. Yes, I MADE SOME CALLS! That was quite an accomplishment for me with 3G on. Definite improvement.
2) Even with the proper SIM card, while the phone is now usable, the signal fluctuates drastically even around San Francisco, and often goes back to EDGE. So I think there is a reception issue, and I did have one dropped call this afternoon (never happens with 3G off). However, at least it's now usable with 3G on.
Bottom line: AT&T customers using an old SIM, go get a new SIM right away! You should be able to use the phone with 3G on. However, don't expect perfection. There is a reception issue that needs to be worked out.
Something else I've noticed about bars: The number of bars may vary (on a single iPhone) even at a fixed dBm reading. Perhaps there's a smoothing algorithm, or the bars show aggregate strength and dBm is for a single tower, who knows. But it seems clear there's more going on than meets the eye, making comparisons based on bars even less valid IMHO.
I still have funky service at home. When out, there are places I can get great signal, but it usually drops off to near-nothing after a (suburban) block or two.
Second phone, fourth SIM (tried two on each, all the newest type), all other steps taken. Calls are still dropped fairly frequently regardless of network.
When I hold the phone, reported 3G dBm usually drops by anywhere from 14 to 20 dBm (if it even got high enough for such a drop in the first place). Yowza. I can often get a bump up if I point the bottom of the phone in the direction of a known tower, 4/5 of a mile away with minimal obstructions. Does that sound normal? Given the logarithmic scale involved, that's an astonishing loss of signal for something as simple as holding the phone in one's hand and is not what I expected. I swear I'm not made of metal, despite my years of blasting Iron Maiden.
Any insights on that? I mean, from teardowns it seems the antenna is at the bottom of the phone, but the degree seems way out of whack.
I was planning on being patient and just waiting it out, but that's proving a little difficult right now. Thanks!
Well, I don't know what switch AT&T pushed today, but I've gone from no 3G within 1 mile of my house to full 5 bar 3G IN my house. I didn't do anything but complain yesterday. They said nothing was wrong with the network, but obviously something was. Hope this isn't temporary.
Just out of curiosity what was this update supposed to fix?
Just did the update about half hour ago. In the half hour I fired the phone up right after I unplugged it from my mac and I had FULL bars of 3G sitting in my house!!!! And then they went away and never came back. I lost service for a couple minutes, then it found edge for a bit with full signal then went back to 3g. The transition seemed smooth but still only showing 1 to 2 bars of 3G where i'm at. I wanna know why it would spike to 5 bars of 3G and hold it for a few and then go away. Haven't tested it for all the crashing I was having from Safari but I just thought I would share what I got going on so far. With the new update, still planning on returning it before the 11th.
