Weak signal, battery drain, running hot....

I have had 2 new 3G S phones. First one had bad signal issues. Second one was worse. Both seem to search for signal frequently. Also, having the phones sitting on a table not being used, the signal is 3 bars and bounces to 1 then 4 then 2 and all over the place. Makes no sense. Same places my 3G showed full/4 bars, these phones show 2/1 bar.

I also experience on the first phone, the heat issue. Not sure what that was about but not good. Second phone, have not played with much as I am not happy with the quality of the phones. It's a real turn off.

Try this: download an app called "MemoryInfo." It will show you which programs are running - remember Apple's core processes can continue to run in the background.

I've noticed that I get noticeably better battery life if I force-quit Safari. (Bring the program up. Hold down the power button until the "swipe to turn off" message appears, then hold the Home button until the program quits.) I also get a big jump in available memory when I do that. I'm wondering if Safari is having... issues.

currently at 1h 46m usage, 19h 1m standby, battery = 67%.

A faster processor and more RAM means more energy consumption and added heat.
Which probably explains why your phones are very hot and why the batteries are draining real quick.
Heat makes batteries lose their charge faster.
Im amazed that Apple said even with the faster processor and more RAM, their battery life improved but in most customer experiences...its not proving to be true.

Same here with the 3GS. I just got through from a full-charge today morning at 8AM and hit 20% at 6PM with WiFi on, 3G off, Bluetooth on, Location on with lower than half brightness (with automatic brightness on).

I have now turned Location off, Bluetooth off, 3G off and am going to leave WiFi on to see where I get to.

When I use my iPhone on the battery it gets hot and drains the battery in a few hours . I allready removed a GPS app and disabled the 3G network, did a restore but nothing helps ! The phone also cannot find my Airport extreme station wich is clearly visible on my colleague's 3G !

I have the same problems - gets hot, battery doesn't last, and reception is bad. I may go back to my 1st gen iPhone.

My battery life seems to be getting better...

I have an issue with the 3G and Edge issue as well as right next to my wireless router, I get no service (Netgear Wireless N)...but at my friends house on his Wireless N Apple router, I have NO issues all over his house (Still have the 3G and Edge issue though).

Not sure...It's kind of annoying but I'm hoping that a firmware update will alleviate the issues..whenever that is.

Picked up my new 3GS yesterday in downtown San Francisco; signal and speed were OK--not blazing, but 2-3 strong bars. When I took it home to Berkeley (just across the bay from SF), I could barely get any signal at all. Just pulling Safari up took several minutes and YouTube and mail were impossible. I've heard people complain about AT&T for years, but always thought they meant the pricing structure, the roaming plans, lack of response for problems, etc. If I had known that signal strength--or lack of--was going to be a problem, I would not have bought this precious iPhone 3GS. How can AT&T get away with such criminally shoddy coverage--especially in a tech-savvy place like SF Bay Area? I'm totally gob-smacked that so many people have put up with this crappy signal strength for so long!

@Bozzart: Are you still getting poor reception? Did you return the phone? I just moved to Berkeley and am considering an upgrade to the 3GS. I have a first-gen iPhone. But if I can't get 3G speeds then I might even switch carriers here, since my AT&T contract is up. Is the AT&T coverage better/worse in different Berkeley neighborhoods? Thanks in advance!

I have had all three iPhone version and when I first got the 3GS is was the worst of all of them as far as battery charge went. When I first synced the 3GS to my iMac I did a restore backup from my previous iPhone. I took it to Apple Store to ask about battery charge problems I was having and the genius suggested that I select New iPhone after a complete restore. Since then my 3GS battery has been great, much better than any of the earlier versions.

no heat issues, no reception issues, no dropped calls and I am getting almost 2 days of standby with 3-4 hours of usage, so no battery issues

Might as well add myself to the list of signal problems.

I have the 3GS and I am new to AT&T. It happens in many areas in my house, in my drive way, at work and other outdoors locations all of which AT&T claim to be "best" service coverage. The spot that's the worst is on my lowest floor, but it's only a few feet below ground.

Anyway, it will show 5 bars of 3G. Then when I start using it the signal will drop slowly, one bar at a time, to 1 bar of 3G. Then sometimes it will go to 1 bar of Edge and once it dropped to 1 bar with a circle icon next to the AT&T logo. Occasionally it will go up a bar and on rare instances it will return to 5 bars of 3G. Oddly enough it works best at my office, my desk there is in the center of a building that is a half city block wide and is covered in granite.

At home standing in front of my bay window I can actually see the AT&T tower and I have the 5 bars of 3g to 1 bar of edge drop over time.

I'd love to wait for a fix, but I can't use the features I'm paying for at home. So it's going back unlesss AT&T is willing to extend my "remorse" period until Apple fixes this problem.

I also noticed the battery is draining MUCH faster than Apple claims on their web site. And if I leave the phone on and idle it is warm to the touch.

@ ANGIOMAN- I am curious to know if this resolved your issues or not. You noted you would let us know 🙂

I have noticed my 3GS experiencing very poor signal strength as compared to my wife's 3G. It appears to be worse when I am holding the phone. If I lay it down or hold it by my thumb and finger from the top and bottom of the phone (back of phone not covered by my hand) signal strength seems a lot better. Holding it and surfing the net over wifi, my signal bars will start dropping, then start searching for a signal, then go to no service as long as I'm holding. After laying it down, service will be restored.

This behavior leads me to believe it is something with the phone and that a software upgrade will not fix the problem.