Signal strength?

I tried holding the phone by the edges the way you described the signal stays at a full 5 bars and I get great download speeds. I tested for about 30 minutes and the signal did not change. I then "cupped" the phone in the palm of my hand and within 20 seconds it dropped down to 1 bar then switched to edge. After another 30 seconds or so I lost the Edge connection and the phone displayed an "o". I then changed back to holding it by the edges and it immediately went back to a full 5 bars and 3G.

"What do you lose when you turn off 3G?"

The most important feature you loose when you turn 3G off is that the phone will not multitask. In other words, you can surf the net OR talk on the phone, but not both at the same time (which you can do when using the 3G network).

this really bad! i had acouple of bars in my house on my old 4gig iphone... and now can't get any calls AT ALL from my house.
I am thinking of taking it back, I can't not be able to get calls from inside my house.
Tom

Man, that's bad news Tom. If I were you I would definitely take it back- at least try another to see if it is any better. There's no use having one if you can't use it in your own home.

I turned off 3G because im at home and i have wifi.
But my Edge is really fluctuating. Sitting at this desk, i get 4 bars to 1 bar at times.
I had this same problem with my old blackberry. But most of the time i get the best signal in my area.

Too much fluctuating. I wonder if i put a little bit of scotch tape on the SIM, i would get better bars

Ditto! This *****!!

Same issue here, the signal does seem suspect. I work in Manhattan, where the signal should be pretty much top notch everywhere, and it would go to "no signal" and lose 3G connectivity. Upgraded from the 2G and although it used EDGE all the time, I never experienced "no signal" anywhere around NY before.

Edit: Could this be the same firmware issue as the 3G had at launch?

What IS the return policy for those who purchase an iPhone and don't get acceptable coverage? I once went with Sprint for a mobile phone, got horrible service in my area, and was able to return it within 30 days... any such program for AT&T iPhones? WHEN WILL APPLE LET VERIZON JOIN THE MONOPOLY?

AntonioMX5 wrote:
+"If I leave my phone on the desk I get a full 5 bars. When I put the phone in the palm of my hand the bars start to drop to 4, 3, 2, 1 then it will switch to EDGE. When I put the phone down it immediately goes to a full 5 bars."+

I'm guessing this is a design/hardware problem where Apple used a less powerful/less sensitive radio antenna to reduce power consumption to extend battery life (maybe also somewhat to conserve space or reduce costs).

How to test this beyond seeing the signal drop when you pick the phone up off the desk?

Try holding the iPhone 3G S differently - instead of "cupping" the phone to view it as a PDA device with one's hand covering nearly the entire back of the phone (with palm pressed against its back), try instead to use just 3 fingertips, holding on to the edges of the phone, centered around it's middle, with your palm positioned off/away from the back of the phone.

My wife and I have new 3G S iPhones. I noticed the same thing with both her 16GB and my 32GB. Good signal on a desk, bad to no signal when we hold the phone. Holding the phone by my fingertips does not seem to help. As much as AT&T are charging us, I shouldn't have to hold the phone in a "special" way just to get a decent signal. The signal strength is all over the place when I am holding the phone still and not moving around the house. Of course AT&T says the coverage in our area should be very good.

We are new to AT&T and iPhones. If this issue isn't fixed before our 30 days are up, both the phones are going back.

Solution:

Ok, same deal. Two new 3GS (had two 2G that worked perfectly) whose bars go haywire. 5bars, 4bars, no service, 5 bars again -- all day long no matter where.

I placed 3 small pieces of scotch tape on the back of the sim card, making sure to flatten them out well. So far, I've had 5 bars. I told Apple about my problem and they three-wayed me with AT&T and requested they send me new sim cards. Still waiting for those, but hopefully the scotch tape keeps this fixed until then.