iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued

+The person then told me to reset the iPhone by holding the key at the top right edge of the phone and the HOME key down until the phone switched itself off (ignoring the slide to power down option). The phone then rebooted itself and after a few minutes of No Service on 3G I _now have what seems like 3 stable bars of signal with 3G enabled_+

Mm... sounds interesting. Will give it a try!

But then the phone has rebooted so much after applications crashed I am rather dubious 🙂

Nice new thread,same old nasty problem overhere, very bad 3G reception,I have to stand almost on the antenna to get 5 bars.
I live less then a half mile away form a 3G mast,still don't get 5 bars,only one in the house, 2 or 3 outside.

Sorry,but it's for sure a iphone issue,which I hope will be resolved with a 2.1 update.

just tried this. doesn't change a bit. still half a bar of reception, i.e. -107 dB.

Geez.

Hi Doug,

Quick question for you. I am planning on heading over the the AT&T store today to get the SIM card swapped (I verified that I have the older SIM Model in my iPhone). Aside from the actual swap and ensuring the it is mapped properly to my account, do I need to do anything else? Wipe the iPhone out and restore or start from scratch or just leave as is?

Thanks much!

Brian

Update

Having tried the O2 method of reset, my phone lost it's 3 bars when I ventured out of my house and went round the corner. So out and about I had to revert back to 3G off, back in my flat however I do now get 3 bars of 3G, which seem to be more stable than the 1-3 bars when it's turned off.

It is worth reiterating the following for some who regard this as a just a carrier or a SIM card issue.

A 3G iPhone cannot make or receive calls in the basement of an apartment building on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. A Nokia 3G phone (showing full signal strength) makes and receives calls without a problem in the same location at the same time. The Nokia phone calls the 3G iPhone and the iPhone goes straight to voicemail. At the same place and time, the 3G iPhone will not make or receive a call when 3G is enabled on it. Toggling 3G on and off makes no difference.

Next step; removing the SIM card from the 3G iPhone (it was the 4022 kind), the Nokia phone works without a problem as before in that it can make and receive calls using the 3G IPhone card.

Stepping outside into broad daylight, both phones function. 5 calls are placed by each phone to the other. One call is not received by the 3G iPhone in that it goes straight to voicemeail. At all times the Nokia phone shows full bar/signal strenght. The 3G iPhone shows 1 bar (briefly showed 2 bars) in 10 minuites period, when outside.

I am convinced the problem has NOTHING to do with the carrier. Apple owns this issue; software or hardware. The problem exists on all carriers in all coutries as evidenced from this discussion group is to be believed.

Yes, 3G coverage is not as broad or as deep as GSM coverage, but unless the signal is optimal, the iPhone struggles to connect and mainatian signal strength. No other 3G phone has the same proble as Apples 3G iPhone.

Hopefully, Apple is close to resolving this matter with a firmware update.

Another reason why turning off 3G is not an option: When you use EDGE all your calls will be directed to your mailbox while browsing.

Meaning: You can't browse the internet and make a phone call at the same time.

source:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1976?locale=en_CA

I have to turn it off anyway, otherwise half of my calls would get dropped.

Just picked up my 3G on Saturday. One bar or 'no network' at my house, although the ATT coverage map shows best 3G, best Edge, so I guess I can add to the list.

I'm considering returning the phone and waiting a month or two in case it is a phone hardware problem not correctable by firmware.

BTW, just read an article in Forbes about 3G power amplifier chips for cell phones - right now they are made of gallium arsenide as silicon chips cannot handle the necessary power without melting. Here is a quote from Forbes 7/21/08 (the article is about a chip designer from Black Sands corp, they'll probably have the first silicon 3G power amp chip available soon):

Making power amps from silicon would add brains to brute force. A gallium arsenide chip ***** batter life because it uses the same amount of power to reach a cell tower that's 30 feet away as it does to reach one a mile away. It is so sensitive that it often loses the connection when a user walks begind a building or turns away from a window.

With a silicon power amp, engineers can teach the phone to switch networks when the user travels from the U.S. to India or moves from Verizon to T-Mobile. Raw silicon is also much cheaper: $45 and falling for a wafer that makes thousands of chips, *** opposed to $400 for a wafer of gallium arsenide, whose cost has been flat for 25 years."

These chips will likely be in all 3G phones by next year, the article states. So, it looks like we'll be upgrading again soon to get better 3G service with the power consumption of 2G.

Here is a link to the full article:
http://www.forbes.com/technology/forbes/2008/0721/048b.html

John F

taltal wrote:
Another reason why turning off 3G is not an option: When you use EDGE all your calls will be directed to your mailbox while browsing.

Meaning: You can't browse the internet and make a phone call at the same time.

source:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1976?locale=en_CA

I have to turn it off anyway, otherwise half of my calls would get dropped.

I don't believe that's correct (and not really what the support page says, it just says you can't use voice and data at the same time on 2G). My understanding is that when on the 2G network (EDGE) you cannot hold a conversation at the same time you browse the internet. However, if you are simply browsing the internet and someone calls you, the call should come through on your phone.

Just tested my own theory about data/voice while on 2G and it seems like a call will go to voicemail if the phone is actively downloading a page, but if you're just viewing a page the call will come through.

Message was edited by: Park S.

Factory: 88
Production year: 2008
Production week: 28 (July)
Production number: 18595 (within this week)
71234O4022 SIM card

I'm becoming convinced that my issues are, to a great extent, caused by AT&T. Although I live in what their coverage map calls a "best" area, the spreadsheet reveals that the closest tower to my house is 3 miles away. Rarely can I get 3G here at home - even outside. On the other hand, yesterday I drove up to Seattle, and when I checked I almost always had 4 or 5 bars on 3G.

I'm thinking that the coverage maps might show "future" or "planned" coverage as well as current coverage.

That being said, I am not happy with the no-service lag when the phone switches from 3G to 2G. It seems like that could be much more graceful. On 2G, I haven't had much of a problem with dropped calls, but the voice quality is not as good as it was on my old phone (an old Motorola PEBL on T-Mobile). So I think that Apple is at least partially to blame, perhaps for the wimpiness of the antennae.

I love the phone otherwise, and I'm willing to hang around for awhile to see if Apple and AT&T can get this fixed.

(edited to add) If T-Mobile ever gets the iPhone, I would jump ship in a heartbeat and pay good money to do so.

Message was edited by: jabecker

Hello Brian928,

Brian928 wrote:
Hi Doug,

Quick question for you. I am planning on heading over the the AT&T store today to get the SIM card swapped (I verified that I have the older SIM Model in my iPhone). Aside from the actual swap and ensuring the it is mapped properly to my account, do I need to do anything else? Wipe the iPhone out and restore or start from scratch or just leave as is?

Thanks much!

Brian

You know Brian, we erased all of the data and restored our phones to "new". That helped a bunch! But what really made the difference (being able to hold the 3G signal) was the SIM swap and update. It probably would not hurt to erase and set it up as new. FYI... this will take at least an hour to do. Make sure everything it backed up first!

*At the AT&T store, make sure you:*

1. Get a new SIM card -- this SIM card (contact side #) 71234O4022 worked for us and others
2. Have the AT&T rep erase any old iPhone info on your account
3. Make sure they Re-Register your iPhone on the AT&T network
4. Make sure the AT&T rep has your *New 3G IMEI Number* updated on your account

+Your IMEI number can be found on your box and under Settings > General > About+

Check your 3G reception before going in, and when you are leaving. FYI... sometimes it takes up to 30 minutes for the update to hit your phone (I was told).

_*GOOD LUCK!!!!*_

Thanks,
Doug

It seems to me that some people blame AT&T and others blame Apple.

Has anyone determined which phone issues would point to one or the other companies?

For instance: In an earlier post, a user who was in Seattle stated that he called tech support at ATT. His signal was weak because his phone was latching onto a signal in Tacoma. If he phone was powered well enough to latch onto a tower 30 miles away (Metric translation: a mast 48.28 Km away) then it is difficult to blame Apple, since ATT should be responsible for switching customers from one cell to the next.

What kind of symptoms in the phone would lead one to place blame on Apple? If the phone isn't getting a signal at all? Surely, the Genius Bar techs or someone out there has to have some ideas, and maybe an algorithm to decide which problem you have.

I am convinced that with this many phones acting up, that there is fault on both sides, and it is difficult to blame one over the other on each issue.

Is there someone out there with the expertise to determine this? I am not a computer guy, I am a nurse. If the phone needs some morphine, I am your guy; this tech stuff is just a hobby (wallet wrenching passion).

Also, if you want to know where the towers are for ATT, scroll up to my last post (about 10-15 up the page) and there is an .xls at the link.

I live in Austin, TX, where I get a 3G signal about 20% of the time, 1-2 bars at best (the entire city shows to be 3G and my friend's Nokias have 3G almost all of the time).

This weekend I went to San Antonio (the soon-to-not-be world headquarters of AT&T) and lo-and-behold, my signal never left 5 bars of 3G the entire day. I had full reception on I-35 the entire way in and in downtown. The data speeds were amazing as well. I have EDGE 1/2 the time in Austin's downtown...

To others, this might seem that the Austin network is to blame, but not me. In San Antonio, where coverage is at least double what Austin has, seemingly, the iPhone 3G does fine. But when you go to Austin, where the coverage isn't as redundant, the iPhone 3G suffers when other phones do not.

This just shows me again that the phone has some serious issues with 3G. I am going to the Apple Store tonight to hopefully get a 3rd iPhone. Before I do, I will go to the AT&T store and swap out my SIM to see if that helps....

This also helps me understand why some report a great signal, while others do not. If I were an iPhone owner in San Antonio, I'd think people were crazy to think that it doesn't have good reception, even if my phone was faulty...

I find it odd that it's the SIM, unless the firmware in the phone is really messed up, or world-wide simultaneous carrier SIM issues occurred... It still looks to be an iPhone problem to me, but we'll see...

I'll keep the forum posted with my results tonight.

Message was edited by: dcdttu

I live in Wayland, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb. I just switched from Verizon to AT&T in order to get iPhone 3G's for both me and my wife. (AT&T has recently added a cell station in our town and a check of their coverage map showed "good" signal strength and blanket 3G coverage in our neighborhood. The AT&T rep confirmed this.) AT&T gave us cheapo loaner Nokia phones while our iPhones were on backorder. These Nokia phones got perfect voice reception at our house, I presume on the 2G Edge network, giving me a positive sense that the iPhone would also get good reception. My iPhones arrived at the AT&T store this past Friday, 3 days ago. The phones get almost no reception at our house. Signal strength alternates from 1 tick, to No Signal, with 3G turned ON as well as OFF in the Settings. I can get 2-3 ticks in the iPhone cradle that connects via USB to my home office computer, near the window. When I take the iPhone out of the cradle, however, and hold it next to the cradle, the signal strength dies. I conjecture that the USB cable attaching to the cradle serves as a mini-antenna booster. I also conclude, given that the cheapo Nokia phones worked just fine anywhere in our house (presumably on the Edge network, although I don't know that for sure), that the problem lies with the iPhone, not with AT&T's network. Some people have pointed their fingers at a possible weak antenna, which would explain poor reception. Others think Apple may have reduced radio power to save battery charge, although I'm not sure how that affects reception, as opposed to transmission, but maybe the two are entwined in some techical way. Nevertheless, it is quite clear that this is an Apple problem (granted, AT&T has dead zone issues, but my house is not a dead zone as evidenced by the cheapo Nokia loaner phones working quite well but my iPhones not with 3G turned ON or OFF). So, in the absence of Apple taking ownership of the problem (I'm sure there are lots of high level meetings and late night pizza runs in Cupertino right now, because this is a crisis situation), I will take the iPhones back to AT&T. If I knew, however, that Apple had a plan to make this right, then I would be willing to hold off on that precipitous decision. So, I'm willing to give it 2-3 more days, but if there is no public announcement from Apple, I'm returning the phones. Given the number of blogs popping up on this very issue, I suspect there might be hundreds of thousands of users who might be in the same boat, all weighing the decision to bail or not. For me personally, I'm not willing to take it on faith that my iPhone reception will improve of possible operating system upgrades, or SIM card replacements or unpromised product recalls. I need assurances from Apple. And I need them in the next couple of days.