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Reset network settings and wow, way better reception now

I don't want to jump to any conclusions but...

Im one of the people who restored from their old 3GS backup when setting up the new iphone 4, and at my house where my old 3GS was getting about 1 bar of service, the new iphone was getting about the same, thinking it was the reception issues everyone was complaining about, i didn't bother to think anything was Wrong..

Tonight i reset network settings and wow, now i have full service everywhere in my house, i still have the same lowering of service when i hold the one spot, but now the overall signal has improved drastically.

I hope others do this as well if they have low signal even without holding the spot that loses service.. Either that or set it up as a new phone when you get it, apple should Really tell people that there might be some issues when restoring from backup..

iOS 4

Posted on Jun 26, 2010 8:25 PM

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15 replies

Jun 26, 2010 10:16 PM in response to Alan Van Ryzin

My theory to explain this improvement after a network reset is the reconnection to the cell network prompts the phone to select 2G rather than 3G. IIRC the carrier wave of the 2G signal is a lower frequency, and therefore penetrates buildings (and other solid objects, like hands) far better than the higher frequency 3G carrier wave. And this would explain the improvement in connection strength and reduction in interference from people's hands. People are reporting different results because they will depend on the strength of the 2G signal where they are.

If this is true then it suggests that there are multiple issues at work here:

1. The external antenna is affected by contact with the human body (this not only sounds plausible, but likely to me). This issue is removed by fitting a case.

2. That covering the antenna with your hand, even when a case sits between the two, will cause a weak signal (spuriously reported as five bars) to apparently drop off dramatically.

3. That the phone is not prompt enough when choosing to drop the 3G network in favour of switching to 2G.

The first issue is not what I'd consider a fault, it's a poor design choice that anyone with a basic understanding should have considered (let alone a professional engineer).

The second issue isn't a fault either - it's physics and it affects any communication over RF waves.

The third issue is a fault, and something that is easily rectified. The phone needs to be less reluctant to keep trying to establish/maintain a 3G connection, particularly for voice calls. 3G voice calls offer little or no real benefit most of the time anyway and voice data is particularly unforgiving of lost packets, so a borderline 3G connection is going to make your call quality pretty poor. Data over a borderline 3G connection is less of an issue. Data sent over TCP/IP that never arrives can be resent. It will slow the connection down, but it will probably still be a lot faster than GPRS or EDGE.

I think that be tweaking the levels at which iPhone chooses to switch from one network to another will alleviate most if not all of these problems for the majority of users.

Jun 27, 2010 8:18 AM in response to Alan Van Ryzin

Since the 3G came out there has always been a lag in switching from 3G to Edge. When it first came out 2 years ago that was the biggest complaint, dropped calls due to the lag in switching.

I have an old 2G rubber case I am using until my bumper arrives on Tuesday or Wednesday, and there is no loss of signal at all. Without it, my bars drop from 5 to 1 or none in about 30 seconds. I seem to be actually be getting a better signal with my 4 than I did with my 3G in my house. We are about a half mile from the nearest tower.

Jul 6, 2010 8:38 AM in response to Alan Van Ryzin

I was in high hopes for this as I saw it posted on TUAW originally. I received a negative effect. I used to not have a large issue with the signal drop (couldn't always due it on command), but now I can make the signal drop just by applying my pinky to the little black strip. It was not that easy before, which now makes me curious to what the REAL issue is?

Reset network settings and wow, way better reception now

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