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.
"Sitting here with an iphone and a Nokia N80 side by side, both on O2...ZERO or occassionally 1 bar on 3G network for the iphone (-101db) compared to the full seven or so bars on the N80"
I have a similar finding comparing the Nokia E51 on the O2 3G network, 5 bars on the Nokia and no dropped connections while the iphone stuggles to get 1 bar of 3G reception in the same area, its either 1 bar or switches over to GPRS. Not very useful when you purchased the product to use it for its data capabilities. This was a week 29 product, complained to O2 and got a replacement iphone (now week 32) but no difference. Rang apple tech support and got nowhere, denied any knowledge of a 3G problem on the iphone and ignored comparing product signal strength. They blamed the network O2 as the root cause. Still believe that all iphones have weak receiver sensitivity when using 3G but are OK when using 2G, it just depends on the coverage you have, so unlikely this will ever be fixed usnig firmware, they might just fool people by adding some bars to the same signal levels.
Let me begin by saying I LOVE my iPhone. Had a 2G from the third day of release. I was totally happy with it - until I dropped it on July 26th and cracked the screen. Given the repair cost, I bit the bullet and "upgraded" to a 3G. What a mistake.
Sure, 3G is faster ... but only when it works. I live in the NYC metro area and 3G coverage is pretty ubiquitous. The first problem I had was with the accelerometer getting stuck in the landscape mode. That seemed to "magically" get better - but still occurs once every few days (instead of once every few hours.) I can live with that.
Then came the first 2.0 firmware upgrade ... and my reception problems started. I had AT LEAST 3 or 4 bars of 3G everywhere. Home, work, my favorite hangouts, everywhere. Suddenly (after the first firmware upgrade) I usually got 1 bar - or No Service - and was lucky to get two. 2.02 didn't help a single bit.
Nearby ATT 3G devices (including my wife's 3G non-iPhone) are working spectacularly. Full bars of service, etc.. This is NOT a network issue, but an iPhone problem.
Again, I LOVE my iPhone (loved my 2G more) but these dropped calls are a nightmare. The phone is all but unusable!
I'm not a whiner, I'm a regular guy (a 42 year-old IT professional) but really, APPLE HAS GOT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. (They must monitor these forums, right?)
Jobs has really done it now!! The poor 3G reception on iPhone's world-wide has put a damper on the iPhone. What a let down!! Maybe Jobs should ask Bill for some help!! Or maybe, just maybe, he is trying what Bill does – getting the world to test the product as all MicroSoft users know.
I've also heard that there's a hardware problem with the iPhone 3G - something about the antennae not connecting to the something?? If that is the case, then there will be a total recall. Something Jobs cannot afford!! My view is that there is a hardware issue that Apple are trying to fix with software patches to avoid the recall, hence the upgrade to Version 2.02. They’re trying to fix hardware problems with software and we all know that is not possible!! And 2.02 did not work for anyone, world-wide!!
I think Apple are in deep Poo and have already lost market confidence...
I have a feeling, like others, this isn't entirely Apple's fault. My iPhone said I was in a 3G area with "5 bars", and I couldn't connect to Yahoo.com, Google.com, etc... Not one site I tried would open up except wireless.att.com. I find this very suspicious. AT&T's site came up in seconds. Trying google, yahoo and others again, they still wouldn't load. Again, the AT&T site loaded up fine. I think maybe we might also have an issue with bandwidth throttling.
I would have to agree with you. I am in NYC and I have noticed my bars changed daily and this is with my phone sitting on my desk in the same spot, at some points it even said I had no service In the heart of midtown which is basicly unheard of. I have noticed the internet being especially slow between 10-2:30pm every outside of those times I seem to be on the go, but during I can are cannot to interest without using my wifi. I think part of the issue is AT&T not being able to support 3G surge within peak times which in return gives us little to no connection, makes you wonder what exactly are we paying and additional $10 for per month for this data plan versus the previous 2G phones.
To all those here who are saying the problem must be with the phone, how do you explain the vast majority of users who are having absolutely no 3G problems whatsoever?
Here in Portugal I'm not aware of any 3G issues at all with the iPhone 3G, I've had no issues and have excellent data speeds and I can say the same for the other iPhone 3G owners I know, including 2 people in the UK on O2. I follow the local tech forums and there have been no reports of 3G reception issues here at all.
Since there many people who have no issues at all (including some people posting here who are in the US with ATT) the problem simply cannot be exclusively the fault of the phone. Some of the problem
must be related to network issues. It's quite possible that the nature of the way the iPhone 3G interacts with the networks is exposing bugs and/or weaknesses in network infrastructures that weren't visible or significant before.
curveball wrote:
my guess is that 90 % do not know about the difference between GSM/edge vs 3g..so they dont know that they have issues
It doesn't matter what you know about GSM/Edge/3G, if you're getting a lot of dropped calls you will know you have issues! Even so, the vast majority of iPhone 3G users have no issues at all.
...but if you turn 3g OFF, you dont have dropped calls
i have read posts like yours (in sweden), they have been convinced in the beginning that there is no wrong with the phone, after a while though they have changed their minds..
i think different countries have different coverage and if you are in a stronghold in the city like you (and me if i go 2 blocks from my house)you
maybe will not notice not.
try go outside lisbon but keep inside the 3g map and you will know
the phone has bad reception, read swisskiltbear posts
Has anyone noticed that the new software update 2.0.2 actually has more problems with 3G connection than the previous software? I had few problems with the previous version, but after the update the 3G connection works only 5% of the time in the same locations that it used to work >90% of the time. How can I go back to 2.0.1?
I did the below video, and I know for a fact its not the networks fault, there is no way and i have tested this so many times I thought I would do a video. I will record over the next few week some more issues I have noticed, the 3g bars seem to jump from 1 bar to full and then drop back to 1 again, this suggests its a hardware fault not software, remember software only tells the hardware what to do and im sure apple has done the best they can in this regard, It seems that apple dont do tweaks to something that should work, I tweak my car for better fuel echonomy but it doesent mean that the engine stops and starts when it feels like it.
I don't think that software could possibly effect reception unless the reviver is not doing as it should.
Because if the majority of users were having the kinds of problems reported here I can guarantee you the reports on these forums and others would be much, much worse.
@curveball:
I have used my iPhone outside Lisbon and all over Portugal, loading GPS maps whilst driving on the motorway, on the beach, all over the place and have never had a problem, and I get good 3G coverage pretty much everywhere.
