Terrible signal problem in iPhone 3GS

I have experienced a similar problem. I upgraded from the original iPhone to a 3GS. At my work all my friends with 3G get 3G signal but mine reverts to Edge. I purchased a 3GS to improve speed but I spend all day long on Edge. Any clues anybody? What's the deal with 3GS?

some cases will block the signal to getting to the antenna on your phone. Also see this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wlSKr6gAmU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ0NkLqh3nU

Same exact thing is happening to me. I used to sit at home and have a full 3G signal with my 3G. Now I upgraded to the 3GS and I constantly have no signal or Edge signal. Come on Apple, I had my 3G for a year and lived at the same place and my signal was always full. Now I can't seem to get a 3G signal??? I do not use any case at all for my phone so that's not it. My girlfriend has my old 3G and it still has full signal at my house when my 3GS will say no signal!

So, instead of considering the fact that maybe you have a defective unit, and thereby running directly to your Apple Store for replacement, you are making a claim that there is some general problem with the iPhone 3GS. Well, sorry to tell you this, but I have exactly the same signal that I did with my 3G and 2G.

Your expectation is that Apple has a 100% perfect manufacturing process. That doesn't happen in any industry. Some infinitely small number of units are defective. Yours might be. Make an appointment with an Apple Genius, and I am certain your situation will be corrected with either a new phone or a determination that some other issue that can be easily rectified.

But, if you prefer to just complain, no one here is going to listen.

I have no signal issue, not does anyone I know.

Most iphone users have no issues at all.

There does seem to be an issue related to the 3GS, not my particular unit. Several of us who work in the same building got 3GS and all of us are on Edge while at work, while the 3G owners are on 3G sitting in the same location. This is no coincidence. Why do you take this so personally OrangeMarlin? We are just trying to find out if there is a problem with our handsets or with the model in general? sheesh!

Infinitely wrote:
There does seem to be an issue related to the 3GS, not my particular unit. Several of us who work in the same building got 3GS and all of us are on Edge while at work, while the 3G owners are on 3G sitting in the same location. This is no coincidence. Why do you take this so personally OrangeMarlin? We are just trying to find out if there is a problem with our handsets or with the model in general? sheesh!

Your conclusion is based on what valid statistical method? I don't take it personally, but I have a mission in life to end irrational conclusions based on anecdote and poor science. You should see what I write about alternative medicine, creationism, and other magic.

Based on what you just wrote, you are absolutely not trying to find out if there is a problem. Your statement begins with a conclusion, that is, "there is an issue related to the 3GS." That's a statement of fact unsupported by any evidence whatsoever. Is there an issue related to a few of the iPhones? Yes. Is it a user issue? I don't know. Is it a manufacturing issue? I have no evidence one way or another, but in my vast experience in manufacturing of critical devices (medical), which is life or death as opposed to the iPhone which is nothing, no process is 100% perfect. In addition, at a reasonable cost you cannot design in perfection.

So, you might have a problem. Or you might just be incompetent with your phone. I don't know. But instead of whining, please head to the Apple Store. I am convinced they can help you, one way or another.

You are kind of funny to me, am I allowed to state an opinion or are you also going to criticize that? Who is whinning? What is your problem? I didn't say that there is an issue with the 3GS, I said "There does seem to be an issue related to the 3GS". No, I didn't collect data, did not do any statistical analysis, although I am quite capable to do so. All I was trying to say without making any statements of fact is that it "seems" to be too much of a coincidence that so many of us who got the 3GS are on Edge and everyone on the old 3G are on 3G. That's all, no whining. I was trying to avoid a trip to the Apple store, that's all. I'll probably end up heading there one of these days.

First of all , please excuse me for my english.
However i totally agree with infenitely.
1) 1 person with a problem: is not an issue. 2 Persons: can be. Many persons (and in this forum seems to be this case) : is a problem. Many persons all around the world (this is my 5th forum this evening): is a statistical mess.
2) Production processes : is something that i don't want to ear. I paid for something that had to have some characteristcs and (actually) it has half of what it was supposed to have. (in italy I paid 619 € for a 16gb).
3) assistance: is not possible to spend 25 minutes calling the Italian Apple Phone Number (0,48 € per minute) and then the first time the call dropped and the second time the person told me "i'm afraid, i cannot help you, probably depends on you provider.." or some other stupid answers that shows the incompetence of this Apple Operator.

I'm using it since one week ago (previously i had an iphone 3g) and right now this is what happened to me:
a) if during a phone call i receive a Text Message or an email, sometimes the call drop, other times i start to ear a metallic rumor and i have to drop the call.
b) with any reason the phone switch from 3g to GPRS (i don't have edge): i can say with any reason because the other phone i'm using for work (nokia E71) in the same place "on the other side of the table" has a full 3g signal.
c) during the internet navigation, it freeze like if there is no signal and then i have to power off and then power on it to navigate again
d) many times during the day it "says" no phone signal - impossible to do phone calls" (mre or less translating the italian phrase), when the other phones (mine and of my colleagues) has no problem.

So is a statistical problem: the only thing i hope is to have the possibility to speak with someone of Apple Italia really expert that can help me on this trubles.

Excuse me again for my English

Ruggero

Hi, I've the same problem with my 3GS! The seller says is Apple responsability, Apple says that is Vodafone and the Vodafone says is Apple...

Anyone would like to ask me if I've tried to restore it? Consider that in my house we have 4 iPhones...

when it's not the signal strenght
when it's not the provider
when it's just the 3GS in opposite to 2 iPhones 3G (OS 3.0) and 2 iPhones 2G (OS 3.0 & 2.2.1)

hello... i suspect its an issue with the 3.0 os...

one thing you can try is to restore your iphone and setup as new...

this will cause you to loose your text messages, call logs, app data etc but if you sync your contacts, calendar, etc and make sure to copy out your photos etc you can restore them later.

if it continues to act up with a restore as a new phone i would be leaning toward there being an issue with that particular phone (return it for a new one)

be well!

If you are not trying to help with the problem then you have no reason to post here. You are the only one here that has done any whining at all. As many of us Apple veterans know it is far more likely to be a software issue than a hardware issue. By discussing it here we hope to bring more attention to the problem.

I am not sure that this is a 3GS issue. I have a 3G phone which, since the upgrade to 3.0 software, has had terrible problems with the O2 signal in the UK. With the 2.0 software I had a good signal in most of the areas in which I work, but since 3,0 the phone is constantly searching for the network. Nothing has happened to the phone apart from the software upgrade. 3.0 has introduced instability in network aquisition. This needs Apple to look carefully at the 3.0 software.