Strange WiFi problem on iPhone 3G after 3.0 update

the first-gen (2G) iPhones didn't recieve a baseband upgrade with 3.0, just us 3G users ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhoneOS_versionhistory)

So I'm also not sure if the downgraded 2G adds something for us 3G owners
I had a negative freezer test as well, I tested it twice. First time it went in there for 6 minutes, today I tried 10 minutes but then the water-sensor started to get on my conscience.

The number of 3G phones who CAN do a downgrade is really low (5.08 was only used in the first bunch of 3G phones) so I doubt anyone here can perform the requested tests.. seems like we'll just have to wait (although I'm still looking for a solution every day for almost a month now)

an update:
my wifi is working for almost an hour now. I havn't had wifi for a month so I was quite surpised! I already told you that I downgraded my 3G from 3.0 to 2.0.2 a week ago, without results. The baseband (4.26) wasn't downgraded in the progress so I still have this baseband version. Yesterday, I 'upgraded' with shift+restore to 2.2.1 but wifi wasn't there. Today, wifi appeared! Very strange that it took a couple of days for wifi to appear, but then again: it took a couple of days for wifi to disappear as well

The wifi still acts strange though, it drops out frequently and I have a very bad wifi reception but it beats having no wifi at all. I can't explain this and honestly I don't expect wifi to last for longer than a couple of days.. I'll keep you updated

How do you downgrade modem firmware version?
Fuzzyband did not work. It says "you're ready for ultrasnow"?
Bootloader version 05.09, baseband version 04.26.08, OS 3.0.
I think problem will be solved if i can change bbv back to 02.30.03.

I signed up for an iPhone contract last week, set it up today and Wifi was working fine and I had a list of all the neighbours Wifi connections to choose from, as well as my own. After playing around for a while I finally accepted the "new update for iPhone" message, which upgraded me to 3.0.1.

Ever since that moment, Wifi has not worked, by not worked...I mean I get the error "could not scan for wireless networks" and it doesn't find mine right next to me, or the neighbours ones as it used to.

@b46xy : u cant downgrade if u have bl 5.09. only 5.08.

@rbrt : this is great news! tho youre the only one this happened to. can u give some more details: what was ur wifi status before? no reception at all? gray? and what was your freezer test? also - why do u think u needed 2 installations of 2.2.1?

and for the rest of us - im reading more and more about ppl who put the iphone in the freezer for about 1 hour (some guy put it for 3) - and then they say the wifi resotres PERMENANTLY. now i know this ruins the warranty, but if some of u have no warranty anyway, that can be a nice thing to test.

Also : do any of u remember that their iphone got hot just before this happened? for me i used gps for like 40 mins and it i remember it being noticibly hot, not very hot. yours too?

Message was edited by: yonido

@bx46 I didn't downgrade my baseband, and yonido is right, you'd need 5.08 for that which only very few iPhones do have

@yonido, I havn't had wifi for a month. I've tried everything before: restore network settings, restore completely, iTunes restore you name it. I still had the wifi option (wasn't grayed out) and I had a mac adres for both wireless and bluetooth in my 'about' menu. My iPhone didn't detect any networks

I've tried the freezertest twice, both without results. That second freezertest was 10 hours ago so I doubt that fixed it. I wonder if putting it in the freezer can really fix it, and I also wonder if this wil turn your waterindicators red (in headphone jack and at connector)

I used 2 steps for downgrading, using a dutch forum called iPhoneClub.nl. Both steps required certain thirdpartysoftware. You can find the forum here; first post is in english describing the required steps. You don't need to look further than step E
http://www.iphoneclub.nl/forum/f18/iphone-internet/f21/gprs-edge-umts-hsdpa-wi-f i-tethering/38775-geen-slecht-signaal-connectie-fixed.html

My iPhone never got hot actually, I still think that's a 3Gs issue. Sometimes after calling a long time it gets warm, but nothing more

Let me know if you need anything. I still want to find out what causes this
by the way: the reception is really poor! I'm sitting next to my AP and I'm recieving 40% signal strength, if I walk out my room I'll lose connection. I still think this is baseband related, 2.2.1 is just handeling it better or something

OK, I came back because of a big trouble : my wifi worked for an hour yesterday, like rbrt86 ! The only test I made : change auto-lock setting to "never" ... Just after, I could see all networks around me and I could connect to my own. One hour after, iPhone disconnected. But now, I can see networks for few seconds when I awake it. Very strange I think ...
So, it confirms this thing : it is not an hardware failure. It is a software issue. Apple must find a patch or an update for this issue.

bah, still looking for someone with a positive freezer test that fixed his iphone.

if both of you have negative freezer test than it might be really caused by some software issue, but i think ours might be plain hardware.

rbrt: 40% > 0% 🙂

Message was edited by: yonido

Well it's gone!
It worked fine this morning, until I connected to iTunes!!
I just thought: "let's put some apps on my phone manually, since I now have wifi again.." and after it synchronised 4 apps, my wifi was gone. I deleted those apps but wifi was still gone, it could no longer detect networks like before

Just a thought, but what if iTunes caused this? It would explain why it took a couple of days after the 3.0 update to fail, because I only sync once a week

update: I disconnected from iTunes, did a hard reset and now wifi's back. So I connected to iTunes again and tried installing the apps one by one. The first didn't affect my wifi, the second did (cocktails+, great app! but I'm certain that it could have been any random app). Then I did another hard reset without removing that app first and without removing my usb cable and wifi was still gone. So I disconnected the usb cable and performed a hardreset again. Guess what: wifi's back!

This is some weird **! :-P it goes beyond me

update2: wifi's now completely gone again. It disappeared constantly and a hard reset only worked for 1 minute. Removing that last app didn't help either and now my wifi has disappeared completely about 15 minutes after connecting to iTunes...

From my experience, Random == Harware

Hi

I just wanted to chime in and confirm that I have the exact same issues as described by many in this thread. I've been using my iPhone 3G 16 GB with 3.0 since the day it was released without any problems. My wifi dropped connection yesterday while I was downloading an app from the App Store. I had to turn Wifi on/off several times, turn the the phone on/off, reset the phone and the network settings to get the wifi back! However the wifi only stayed for a couple of minutes and now it seems impossible to get it back. I have tried everything: Flight mode, BT on/off, Wifi on/off, reset "network settings", manually entering network, reset phone (holding down home button + sleep/wake), draining battery to zero and I even did a complete restore in iTunes without no luck. The Wifi seems to have a MAC-adress(?) I updated to 3.0.1 as soon as it was released so maybe this issue has something to do with 3.0.1 rather than with 3.0?

(I have also reset my router and tried to turn on/off different settings. I have 2 macs at home with no Wifi issues. My network is unprotected with SSID broadcasting turned on! )

Come on everybody let's figure this thing out ASAP ; )

I have the same problem with my iPhone 3G, running 3.0 firmware. Suddenly I lost all wifi connections. It simply searches for routers and finds none, even when two feet away from a router. I heard about the freezer method and tried it. After a few hours in the fridge wifi worked perfectly again for about three days. After that it died again completely. I can still get wifi if I put it in the fridge, but the fix is now very short-lived.

As you will see if you look at other discussions of the issue, most people think it is a heat issue related to hardware/software interaction. Some phones were first affected with 3.0, but some had the problem already with 2.2.1. There is some hope that 3.1 may address the issue, but no one seems to know for sure. It seems pretty clear that 3.01 has not made any difference. It also seems to make no difference whether the phone is jailbroken or not.

Some people say they have had luck with draining the phone battery and then charging only via usb:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9902988#9902988
Unfortunately this didn't help me at all.

My phone is out of warranty and so I am basically out of luck. As far as I can tell from researching discussions on the issue, no software solutions (including a complete restart) help at all. The only hope is to have your phone replaced (if under warranty), buy one that has warranty time left and get AppleCare so that you can replace it if the problem occurs again, or wait for the miracle solution of 3.1.

Well, I had the same problem with my 3G 16GB, the only solution was downgrade the basehand and the firmware back to 2.2.1 Get tiered of waiting for another solution, and not be able to upgrade to the 3.0 version.

Sold my iPhone and bought the new 3GS 32GB, and until now everything is working fine. I'm just ****** off that Apple does not fix this problem.

Message was edited by: x marksthespotx

I think this problem will not be soleved even upgrate to FW3.1, because it's a hardware problem, my 3G occured it last week when I had used it well for one month after installed FW3.0, within this week, only one time, I put it into freezer 1 hour, it worked for only 3 minites -- can find WIFI signal.

x marksthespotx : plz provide more details.
- what was your exact wifi problem
- what was your freezer test result

thx