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

Well here we go again...

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What was deleted in your post a link to the recent Dow Jones article?

Hello Giuseppe1010,

No. The AM's are always deleting something of mine. They went into my profile and actually deleted my website info... <edited by host>

Not sure why... it has helped a lot of people, plus has some good tips! Its a very "pro" Apple site.

Thanks,
Doug

Hi Doug,


Yes, I have visited your site. Lots of good info. Thanks.

I'm on my third iPhone and still have reception issues.

I canceled my AT&T contract after the first two bad iphones. Then I decided to sign up with AT&T again after 2.1 to give it another try but still no luck with my current iphone.


I was thinking about canceling again and waiting a few months but I'm concerned if I'd still be eligible for the discount pricing since that would be the second time I'd cancel the contract. Any thought?

Thanks,
Giuseppe

Hey Giuseppe1010,

Sorry to hear about so many phones!

I would absolutely check with AT&T. They will be the ones who can answer your question.

Thanks,
Doug

A friend of mine was getting a lot of dropped calls with his iPhone 3G. He went and spoke with a Genius who said he had a 25% call drop rate. The Genius blamed it on AT&T towers and swapped out his phone anyway. I asked him for his serial number of his new phone which started with a 5K. I thought it was odd because all three of mine start with an 8. Or does this represent refurb?

I keep waiting and hoping for a fix. I may try another exchange to see what happens. So far the reception is still lousy. I can't believe that Apple is not fixing this issue but merely trying to mask it and keep the customer confused by showing more bars than there is signal. When you look at the logs it is shocking the number of crashes and problems with the phone and OS.

Well, I waited to give this new version some time and I must say, its great!

The 2.1 update fixed all my issues regarding reception and EDGE to 3G handoff. Great...

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razz, how long have you been using it? Have you looked at the log files? Finally, it is a big hassle to make an appointment and go to an Apple store and then have to argue that you are having issues and finally get them to agree to replace the phone. How many times would you like to engage in this exercise? I have gone in twice to get one replacement and I am considering another go around. If you live in a high signal strength area you won't see the problem. If you don't it will constantly plague you.

updated to 2.1firmware,still the same bad reception on 3g,1bar to 5bar then 1bar some time no service

razzz wrote:
Why don't you either return your phone and or work with Apple to resolve the issue rather than just beat this issue forever on this forum? All you're doing is adding to your frustration level and getting nothing resolved.

A lot of us on the forum have spoken to Apple and exchanged phones, I am on my third. Its seems its a bad thing in these discussion groups to blame Apple as to some people they can do no wrong, but I have placed a lot of money with this company (now in 18mth contract) and expect a solution. To date there is no solution. The local network operator deny there is a problem and Apple tech support deny there is a problem but a simple comparision between my iphone and a leading competitors indicate the iphone reciever is worse on the 3G band, hence inability to stay connected. The 2.1 "fix" was cosmetic, indicating some more bars for the same signal is a poor attempt to fool people. So I hope this thread continues until the so called Apple "it just works" experience applies to us, I am surprised that the thread has not been killed off as similar levels of complaints in the past have been locked down, wonder if they are using this to monitor feedback to fixes?

I am disappointed at the silence on this issue as I was in the process of being an apple convert following ipod usage, iphone then maybe a notebook / desktop but these are on hold pending iphone solutions.

Good luck with your 2.1 fixes and Happy iphoning..

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a) I can't return the phone, it's after the 2 weeks period we have here in Germany.
b) There is no Apple Store in Germany so it's not possible to arrange an appointment with a Genius.
c) if I return the phone they will send it in and I will be without a phone for a couple of weeks.
d) for most people, exchanging the phone or sending it in has not worked.

But I'll try to talk to my provider again this weekend.

tal

And once again:

The sensitivity of the touch screen is becoming a big problem.
The forth row of icons isnt reacting anymore. The problem just occurs
for the fourth row (in the 5x4 matrix of icons).
If I want to phone somebody, I cant press the "0", because it lies in the
fourth row.

It would be great if you (apple care) could fix the problem with an update.

Yes agreed. It's really wierd though - subjectively for me 3G is better under 2.1 or should I say works more often. But as before even in a excellent coverage area, 5 bars on my N95 and indeed 5 bars of 3G on the iPhone, sometimes inexplicably it will just not get any data. I have to turn off 3G and then it all works fine on 2G. It's not just resetting things either as if I turn 3G back on everything stops working again.

Clearly there is a serious problem still with the iPhone 3G, whether it's software or hardware I don't know nor care. I just want Apple to admit it and get it fixed.

AVRHack, thanks for sharing you experiences.

I have a question: are you sure you don't get any data on 3G?

With mine it just takes ages, and it works only when after some 20-30 seconds it switches automatically to 2G. Which I think is due to the fact that it doesn't get enough signal (though it shows 4-5 bars).

so maybe it's just a weak 3G reception though displaying 5 bars.