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

I'm on the North Shore of Mass, finding exactly the same problem as Frank does, with my first generation iPhone running 2.00. AT&T tells me I should have three bars. Right next door is a college where everyone has a cellphone, and I assume many there have iPhones. Yet I waver between no service and half a bar.

You know what's interesting... I was at Fenway Park in Boston yesterday. I had full bars on 3G, completely max'd signal as far as the phone was concerned. And with all of that signal, I could not get to a single web site or even send a text message. I kept getting errors sending data as well as timeout errors when trying to hit a web site.

Turning off 3G and invoking EDGE solved it to some degree but as so many posters across this thread have rightfully expressed, that is not a viable solution especially when we pay a premium (in the States) for 3G service.

PS - And Doug, thank you VERY much for that thorough response to my SIM card replacement question. I'll bring the text with me to the AT&T store after work today. I'll post results tonight or tomorrow AM.

heidelberghero wrote:
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?

It is NOT the network. Why? Many sites report that another phone on the same carrier be it AT&T or Orange, have faster connections.

Yesterday I also tested some phones at AT&T and the iPhone was slower and showed less bars than another 3G phone, so again, it is not the provider.

I think the screws on the bottom, new sim removal tool, and non soldered battery should be clues and in my opinion, I think that it is a under power antenna to keep battery life to a full day whereas a stronger antenna would bring the iPhone to the same as other phone devices.

Mark my word, this will be addressed as it was pointed out this isn't a few hundred bad batteries, but millions paying for a new phone not living up to its potential and probably can with a simple tweak, extra battery, and be done with it. Until new 3G chips come out, we're going to have a fix, but it will cost us in battery and will have to charge it whenever possible..

In the US, where we live, something will have to be done as we're getting charged $10.00 for something we are not getting which is un fair under the consumer protection act.

Also, look at other 3G phones (which I did yesterday) same service provider (ATT) and the phone was heavier (bigger battery) so if its fixed expect about 1/3 of batter life if not more to go poof which would be fine with me.

Also consider and ponder why they are trying to push for FREE WI-FI. Still, GPS needs to work and 3G needs to work as advertised, we do have (in the US) rights you know.

I can't understand the logic behind this situation. Why would Apple ship a million plus defective devices knowing that the number 1 reason people buy a phone is to make and receive calls? It makes no sense whatsoever. Was there no "testing" done on these units before they shipped to make sure they actually could do that? Another thing, why won't Apple acknowledge this issue if they really know there's a problem?

Saving an hour or 2 of battery life to sacrifice signal strength seems like a really poor way to go about this.

I have to say, where I'm at, the 3G signal is pretty good. On my Moto Razr V9 I usually get 4 to 5 bars. On the iPhone 3G I get 1 or 2. Having said that, I can still make and receive calls, no dropped calls to this point either.

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Same problem exists in Australia. I use Telstra. Great data reception. Phone calls are another thing. At home I have to use my wife's Motorola to make a call. Surely Apple tested the iPhone before shipment.

My comment is simple, while I love the phone and all the cool things I am ready to return it SINCE NEITHER APPLE OR ATT are publicly acknowledging the problems with BAD connectivity issues (both voice and data).

If they were to acknowledge and give a ray of hope I might reconsider returning it but I am not going to be a bigger sucker by being stuck in an expensive two year agreement with a sub-par carrier and a phone that is clearly flawed.

It will be returned an day 29 and I will stand in the same line I did to pick it up. Come on Apple and ATT!

Other phones (3G) work perfectly on the same carrier in the same location where the 3G iPhione fails to perfrom adequately. Poster after poster in (_insert city or country here_) have asserted that the 3G iPhones drops calls, fails to secure or maintain a strong enough 3G signal for calls, is slow, and provides less data throughput than competetive phones unless. Yes, here in the US, I have no doubt that the AT&T network could be enhanced but that doesnt explain why other 3G phones are working fine.

It's getting quite ridiculous. The killer app for a phone is still the one that lets you connect to the network make & receive calls. All the other apps in the App Store are nice but how about a phone that actually works as advertised?

Like some others who have posted here, I expect this issue to be resolved at the expense of a significant hit to battery life. But how much longer before Apple responds?

Apple required us to sign up with AT&T. They chose AT&T. Apple owns this problem.

Besides other 3G phoneswork just fine on the AT&T network. I have first hand experience to support the numerous posters who claim likewise.

Its the 3G iPhone.

I am beginning to believe that the only way this gets fixed is if there is a mass return of iPhones and the mainstream media begins to run with the story with more knowledgeabbel articles.

In Chicago
Terrible 3G, one bar everywhere, no service in home or at work.
Terrible battery life.
I paid way to much to have walk out the store with my phone "working" for it not too. I might as well go unlock the old one and use it on a different network.

Sorry, I meant July, not Jan.

I went and got a new sim card today and called AT&T to update it in their system and had them push out the update, it DID NO GOOD! I also told them my problem and they understood my problem, I asked them if they've had this issue and she said oh yes, the complaints started rolling in soon as the iPhone launched. After we exhausted everything AT&T could do, which I had already done she transferred me to Apple, which all Apple asked me as if I swapped the sim card. The AT&T people have been amazing through all of this, amazing customer service, kind of makes me worried actually! lol

I have reset the phone, swapped the sim card, asked for the update from at&t and just now have finished wiping and reloading my iPhone. NONE of this worked! So don't go wasting a lot of your time. It is definitely an Apple problem and who knows what or when they will solve it. I think it's a defective 3g antenna and I don't know if a firmware update can fix a defective piece of hardware.

Also, the sounds are weak, I missed several phone calls and emails that I didn't hear when it was in my pocket and I was in a normal environment, and this was with the ringer and sounds at max, the speaker is also weak. The battery life is horrible. I barely used it today and when I left work I only had 10% of battery life left. So even if they do fix the 3g issue, there are several other serious issues to resolve.

Fortunately, it's a much shorter line to return it 😉 I returned mine a week after I got it. I had left T-Mobile, my BlackBerry Curve, and the very nice HotSpot@Home service. My beautiful iPhone was absolutely useless as a phone for the entire week. NO SERVICE message at my home 95% of the time, when I had three bars, 9 out of 10 calls would fail, and when I was finally able to make or receive a call, the other party couldn't hear me.

I was hoping iCall's VOIP software would save me from the problems, but it hasn't been released. So I returned to T-Mobile, am back on my Blackberry, and I'm waiting patiently(?) for all these problems to be fixed and for iCall to be released and hopefully close to the functionality of HotSpot@Home.

I miss my iPhone, but not as a phone, and I was NOT going to get stuck for two years with that huge monthly bill. I can see the class action suits coming for both ATT and Apple, but they only enrich the lawyers...

I too like JacobMac01 performed everything recommended by Doug today. I replaced the Sim Card, contacted AT&T to confirm IMEI numbers, had AT&T send the phone updates and performed the reset as advised by this forum to no avail. Reception is still horrible under 3G and dropping calls like crazy. I spend most of my day on the 405 in Southern California. I average 1 bar with an occasional glimpse of 4 to 5 bars for a split second with 3G on... and have NO SERVICE during the switching to EDGE. I kept my wife's new iPhone 3G with the original 3022 sim card to compare both units. They are both getting the same dismal reception and data rates etc.

AT&T is calling me back tomorrow to follow up on the update etc. I will see what other options they may suggest but it looks like I will be returning it pretty soon and just using my old iPhone.

Like others in this forum I agree it is getting quite ridiculous that we, the end user, have to try so many fixes to just have a working phone! I hope we hear something soon about this issue!

And people complain about Microsoft's RROD. Seriously, this is outrageous. I was getting great 3G the day I bought this thing and now I am lucky to get it at all. Not to mention, the battery life is the worst I have ever seen! Wow, T-mobile is sound very good again!

After reading the complaints about the 3G reception and the lack of call connectivity I have been paying attention to the bars I've been getting. Today I was out in Fontana, CA on business and happen to take a look at what I was getting and am happy to report that I had 5 Bars along with a solid 3G signal for a good part of the time I was there... In full disclosure this area is flat and it is Southern California home of the Cell Phone Tower. I tried a couple calls and they were clear and the internet was fast. Although this was an oddity it gives me hope that the theory that the network is overloaded and that once AT&T responds to the overload that the network will be more capable... Hopefully