Original iPhone vs. iPhone 3Gs: reception, dropped calls and call volume

I made the change from the Original- 2G, to the 3Gs. While I didn't feel that I had excessive amounts of dropped calls/etc. with the old phone.. With the 3Gs I have a very good record - Have had the phone for almost a month & maybe a couple of dropped calls & that is good for my area ( a lot of rural areas with bad cell reception). I feel that the signal strength is a little stronger in far off places - while it is one the edge network it seems to have a extra bar or two where it was 1 - 0 bars of service...

On the Call volume - I was pleasantly surprised the 3Gs is plenty loud - Ringer volume, call - though speaker & speaker- phone... My original was horrible - I just got used to it - Mostly 'cause I blew out my ears 25 yrs ago - I figured it was my fault not the phone - but the 3Gs is great. I always had to get some shrill ringtone just hear it ring ( especially in my noisy pickup) but I can hear the 3Gs fine & can actually take it off full volume...

I hope this helps...

I went from the original to the 3gs - had no problems with the original and have had no problems with the 3gs.

I upgraded from the original to the 3G back in November. Never had many problems until very recently. Now, I drop at least 3 calls a day. I love the phone, but this is getting out of hand.

I made the change from the 2G which ended up overheating on a iHome clock radio which we will leave for a different thread. Anyhow with the 3Gs I have noticed significant degradation of service. I happened to go to an area that was outside of the normal city limits. In a place where I would get service and Edge on the 2G I got the "no service" on the 3Gs. Not even a bar....... I was with others that had standard phones with the same carrier and they were able to text and even place calls. Amazing! There was also a 2G user present and we set the phones side by side. His phone had 2 bars and Edge and he was able to check email and surf websites with ease. I can't speak for 3G iPhone, because he was not present.

All this aside, I still gave the phone a chance. I turned off 3G service and gave that a try. The outcome was still the same. I was still shut out of the world. I should have just put it on airplane mode and called it a vacation. Some people wish they had that excuse.

Here's is another thing. For those that expect to use a compass, google maps, or any GPS features, try to do it without cell service. You will not even be able to find your way out of a paper bag.

Apple feel free to contact me if you want some input. Let's add features! Not take them away!

Having recently upgraded from an original iphone (remind me, why are we calling that a "2G" iphone, again?) while on long-term travel, I am not really in a position to compare the reception and the dropped call rate yet.

But I have noticed a wonderful improvement in the call volume (both in the handset and especially in the speaker). I have yet to try the included headset, but I suspect it's the same as before.

Strangely enough, I swear I can even hear myself better when I'm using on the new phone.

EDGE is based off of 2G technology. 2G is second generation wireless technology. 1st generation iPhones work only on EDGE. 3G or 3Gs work on the newer third generation wireless technology when available. The newer phones are also backward compatible.

Ditto! No difference.

brand new iphone 3Gs dropping calls like crazy in orange co, ca. also, screen freezing for extended periods and won't allow me to reset it. my original iphone hardly ever dropped calls, rarely froze. after an exasperating week, i took it back to the mac store at fashion island. with a smile upon her face, the manager of the store declared, "we ran a diagnostic and it's not dropping calls... also, our diagnostic determined it's not freezing up." so, when she said she wouldn't swap it for another iphone, i simply returned it for a full refund because my 2 week return period had not expired. amazing. astonishing customer relations.

We've (myself, 2 boys & a daughter in law) have had a collection of all 3 iPhones and I honestly felt the 2G reception on the 3G iPhone was slightly better than the original iPhone. No discernible difference between the 3G & 3Gs.

At least i'm not the only one with these thoughts.

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,39029453,49303754,00.htm?s_cid=96

BTW, I did have an Apple genius exchange my phone for a newer one "out of courtesy". My phone when checked never showed dropped calls, but it varies from iphone to iphone is what he told me. Go figure! Now, I get reception in some areas that I did not before, but now I just receive voicemail from people who said that the phone never rang on either end.

I live in NYC, I had the iPhone 2G, worked fine. I moved up to the 3G, worked fine until software 3.0. when 3.1 came out, nightmare. Upgraded to 3Gs, nightmare but faster. Volume is much better on 3Gs but the service in NYC is just horrible. anywhere south of say 50th street and you pretty much have to turn 3G off if you want the phone to work. Forget downtown, dropped calls are about 90% with 3G. Most of my calls downtown go straight to voicemail. text messages usually take 4-5 attempts to send. Outside of NYC is much better. I would stick with your 2G until this gets sorted.