iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
This thread is a continuation of [iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1602608] and [iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1632695], which have been locked. The threads were too long and some browsers were timing out. The above links go back to the original threads.
Hi Vandozza, I've been following your posts all over the place. Don't you dare let Optus shaft you like that. If they've actually said there's a "chip problem" then they owe it to you to give you a working replacement or a full refund. This would be separate from their Coverage guarantee. I would like to see Optus reasoning in writing. Out of interest, is your iPhone unlocked? Have you tried a Telstra NextG prepaid sim to compare signal strength/signal to noise ratio? I was playing with a friend's Telstra iPhone and they have had NO issues at all with reception/dropped calls etc. 5 bars ALL THE TIME. I checked the dbm values everywhere, and they sat at -71. There doesn't seem to be an issue with the 850 Mhz networks and the Infineon chipset (i.e. Telstra NextG and Rogers Canada).
- i've been considering moving to Telstra, however if i can't get out of the Optus contract then that idea is out. also moving to telstra seems like a "band-aid" fix, as the phone is probably still just as broken, it's just not showing symptoms cause of telstra's stronger network. (and i shouldn't have to change networks just to get the iPhone to work properly!)
- as i said, this Optus refusing iPhone returns under coverage guarantee report, is coming to me from someone else (via whirlpool.) they asked the Optus tech if a new phone might help. the optus tech said "no, probably not" or something to that effect. i'm sure i could get a replacement handset, but something tells me that it won't help much. (also there is talk that you can only get 3 replacement handsets for the length of your contract, so i'd best wait till i hear the problem is "fixed")
- my iPhone is not unlocked. i submitted the request the day of purchase. during troubleshooting with an optus tech (singtel-singapore) he said he had cancelled my unlock request as "using the iphone on a network it is not designed for may break the iphone..." seriously. i have not gotten around to submitting another unlock request as i thought this phone was going back.
- as for the 850mhz networks, rogers, telstra. my feeling is that the stronger network masks the problem, but it still might be present. several telstra users have reported problems similar to voda/optus users, and these people live in fringe/country areas (however very few telstra users overall have reported problems.)
I agree with you. Telstra's data pricing is the most expensive in the universe - no joke! Browse Plus packs haha $59 on top of your plan costs for I think I like the Optus Timeless plan $129/mo with 3Gb or the Virgin $100/mo with 5GB, but with all this talk of 3G reception issues on the weaker 2100Mhz/1900 Mhz networks I think I'll wait it out.
The most interesting bit of information I've found about this entire issue worldwide, is that there have been iPhone owners who have received replacements that work flawlessly, and there are others that are adamant that they have had no issues whatsoever. This is on AT&T, O2, Optus etc. This leads me to believe there is definitely a "bad batch", maybe Infineon have quality control issues, or there are faulty antennas.
The one that sticks in my mind is the guy from London who took his iPhone in to the Regent St store and it was only getting 3 bars next to the store's "reference" display iPhone getting 5 bars. He got a replacement on the spot and it worked flawlessly. 5 bars, no dropped calls, full dbm.
if i get "stuck" with this phone, and the optus contract, then yes definitely i'll be trying to swap it for another.
a rumour on another site was that the antenna design has changed since the wk31 models.
i don't know if it's bad batches, or all of the phones, but i won't give up till i'm happy with it 🙂
tried to return my phone once, but it's a 5hour round trip to do so. after optus promised that allphones would exchange it, with a magical "optus reference number," i get to allphones and they deny the 1-1 exchange, tell me they need to send the iphone off, and to pick it up in 30 days... i asked them to use my "optus reference number" and allphones told me that i didnt exist... lol
This appears to be a common thread across several posts with the same root cause, poor 3G performance. I noticed that when I have 1 bar when on 3G this jumps to 5 bars when using data (ie email or browser)? I assume that this is when the HSDPA part of 3G starts, when the data is complete the signal indicator jumps back down to 1 bar, or loses service if I am unlucky. The problem appears to be a switching problem between 3G & GSM/EDGE/GPRS, on other phones I have owned the 3G signal does vary in the same location but will switch back to 2G, on the iphone it appears to take several seconds to switch back to 2G which causes the connection to drop and no service to appear. Would assume this will be made worse for those in 3G fringe reception areas, for people in strong 3G areas the problem might not be noticed. The workaround for now is too switch off 3G and use 2G until Apple come up with a firmware fix (or the networks improve the 3G coverage). I hope it can be fixed using firmware if not there are going to be a lot of unhappy customers!
Oh and not joking about Telstra's network, it's unbeatable. This iPhone had full reception/-71dbm in a concrete bunker/lift shaft. You're on the South Coast right? I've seen the Optus coverage maps - a sea of yellow 3G HSDPA. Real world with the iPhone - I think other 3G phones would have better reception, going by what everyone is saying. Note that the iPhone didn't get the Telstra blue tick cf. Nokia N95
In my office I have to turn 3G off to get reception, Once turned off, I get 5 bars of EDGE. The strange thing is I still cannot make a reliable call, TXT messaging is fine. There is some kind of interferance that drops the call. I had the same problem with my Blackberry Curve. This morning, I turned 3G off and could not get an EDGE signal. I enabled / disabled airplane mode and was able to get 5 bars of EDGE.
I made a movie of my connection problems. You see my iphone 3g on the right having mayor problems, and you see the iphone 3g of my colleague on the left havinf no problem at all.
Actually, I just noticed a post earlier. Someone has a build 31 iPhone that is experiencing issues. I think there are multiple issues going on. Carrrier related as well as hardware / software issues.
