iPhone 4 signal issue with no bars

I agree with the statement that it is not just ATT if he had an issue in UK on Orange that would show it's a switching issue with 3G regardless of the carrier. And the fact that history with our old iPhones operating on the 3.0 OS without issue, or this particular issue, would indicate it's OS or new hardware compatability with 3G. So the question is hardware or software not a glitch either because this is from 4 weeks in on 4.0 OS and new phone replacements have not resolved it either. Unknowns are, what is ATT doing behind the scenes and do Apple 3G engineers know about this already? Do they make an open source phone OS? That could prove to be an interesting experiment during times like this.

Good point. My guess is that the iPhone 4/iOS4 is possibly a bit more advanced, or simply more sensitive.

The way I see it is simple. We're either going to be happy with our phones or we're going to return them. I didn't jump on the bandwagon until last year, ended up getting a 3G the same month the 3GS were released.
We ARE early adopters, and I'm sure by the time the new iPhone is released next year, a lot of these issues will have been adressed.
Am I happy with my second iPhone 4? Absolutely. The little 3G to Edge switcheroo isn't going to bother me enough to send it back.
Granted, if something major pops up, it's going right back to AT&T..lol

Message was edited by: Solarya, because sometimes my fingers just don't work.

The positive attitude was helping but regardless now I have to make another Genius appointment, during my 3G troubleshooting, I've been playing with the camera on my "new" replacement iPhone 4 and noticed it doesn't work. Everytime I try to activate the font facing camera it freezes all cameras and will not work unless I reboot. I've tried all the recommendations with no luck. I may reactivate my old 3G, not upgrade to IOS 4 and wait for the storm of disapointment to blow over. What a nightmare. Serenity now!

One thing I haven't seen anyone mention is mine is low to no bars at home showing network not 3G or edge. And this started on my 3GS phone before I installed the ios4 update on it. Apple and AT&T thought it might be the battery so they gave me a new phone. I still had the same problem and when I did the ios4 upgrade had hoped it would help to no avail and was again blaming the phone. I thought for sure when I got the iphone4 that all would right itself. Not !! AT&T is blaming the towers in the area calling it "degraded". This has been going on since like march that I have been calling them every couple weeks in hopes of soon seeing improvement. But back to the reason for this post is to say I have the network icon now and only 2 bars.... No wait 1 bar... Oh ok now 2 again. I have lived here 7 years and for the first 6 1/2 always had 5 bars. I want that good service back I had before. I also compare side by side other AT&T customers standing right beside me with other brands of phones that have 5 bars while I always have less then 3. I wonder how many calls I miss when I am home watching tv and unknowingly have no bars. I am almost always on network when I am home. It isn't any different when I am out and about on 3G and I very rarely ever see edge. I am in eastern Pa. AT&T isn't trying to pass the buck and is saying they see problems in my area. The idea someone else had about phones being more sensitive might be something to think about been though common sense would say then it should be a stronger signal. But if the tower is outdated then can they communicate? And what about the idea that these phones are now 4g and trying to work on 3G technology. Just like when I upgraded my home network from a G router to an N. The technology of the computers weren't playing well in the sandbox together and I had to fool the computer into thinking it was still talking to the G router. Just a thought.....

Message was edited by: kimbra8

I've been thinking the same thing. Does anyone know if I take his one (iphone4) back will I be able to still buy a 3GS in white in 32g? I need the 32g that my old white one wasn't. It was only a 16g. I know they have to still have them somewhere even though they aren't actively selling them on their site

@ kimbra8

It's still 3G, that hasn't switched. But this is the 4th Generation iPhone, hence the iPhone 4.

When I'm at home on 3G/wireless, I usually get 1-2 bars in my home. I don't have a clue why.
Funny thing is, I NEVER had these issues when we were with Suncom, who was bought by AT&T, then Cingular, then back to AT&T.. or however that went years ago.
I've literally been with the same company for 12 years, never switched carriers, went through all the changes with them, all the takeovers and name changes.
Never have I had such horrible reception as I have in the past year.

Oh so I have been mislead that they are switching to 4g?? I too have been with them since like 1993 when they were cellular one here and had been happy with the fact I have never had any reception issues until earlier this year. The knowledgable techs I have talked to at AT&T have said to keep calling every two weeks and asking them to take a "snapshot" of a 10 mile radius for them to send to whomever they send such things to. Some techs act like they don't know what I'm talking about and say they see no problems in my area but the less lazy more knowledgable ones say they see the towers are having issues. They call it "degraded". Maybe someday we will be happy again with our company that we have been so loyal too. Oh yeah. Another thing that has been brought up is.... With so many new customers due to them haveing the iPhones now the system isn't able to keep up with the demand. Just another thought to throw into the speculation

Kimbra,

Don't confuse number of bars with usuable signal strength. And if you recall, iOS 4.0.1 was released to recalculate the real signal strength as Apple admitted they were using a flawed algorithm. No two phones manufacturers evidently use the same algorithm, so when you're standing next to another phone on the AT&T network and they show 5 bars and you show 3 doesn't mean the other phone has a better signal. It's just a graphical representation and doesn't really mean anything. You admit you live in an area notoriously known for a weaker signal. That's exclusively and AT&T issue. If anything the iP4 was engineered to work on a reduced signal. This has been my experience as I've been able to make and receive calls on my iP4 in places I could not on my 3G. If you are having a significantly reduced signal at home and AT&T admits the signal is degraded in your area, I think you should ask AT&T for a free micro-cell for your home. It's like a mini cell tower in your own home and would solve your low signal issues at home. You'd just have to remember to turn Cell Data off when at home as from what I've read it interferes with micro-cells.

I honestly think the problem doesn't lie with how weak the 3G signal strength is in your area. EVERYBODY can't be the victim of suddenly degraded 3G towers in their area.

When I tested my iPhone 4's sim card in my 3GS, it never attempted to use the 3G signal as it was too weak and therefore stayed with a much stronger Edge signal.

The iPhone 4's antenna is stronger so attempts to use the weaker 3G signal in my area.

It's the time delay in switching to the Edge that causes the problem.

I'm sure it's easily fixed via a software update which can fix the "Searching" loop (which in my case, lasts about 3 mins).

I'm pretty convinced that this is the problem that most people in this topic are experiencing. It makes total sense.

Howdy everyone! I believe this is my first time making a post on the official Apple forums but thought perhaps I could share my experience and get some help as well. I just upgraded to the iPhone 4 Monday before last (8/2) and the phone was great. Then it started having a couple of problems...nothing major...but enough to cause some concerns. The phone would heat up a bit internally now and then even though it was in cool climates and was never left in the car or hot temperatures. The issues with it heating up started getting more frequent so I decided to call Apple about it. Even though I had a full 5 bars of 3G service, I kept getting disconnected. I tried again....this time I could hear the tech specialist crisp and clearly....but she couldn't hear me at all. She said, "Hello? Hello? Customer, if you can hear me, call us back at 1-800 MY-APPL." I was talking...very loudly I may add...but she couldn't hear me. So I decided I'd go to the genius bar and get this straightened out. I explained everything that happened to the Genius employee and he said it's not out of the ordinary for the phone to get a little warm with heavy usage. He ran some diagnostics and said, "Would you like to swap out the phone?" I told him, "Yeah, if you don't mind....just to be on the safe side." So he said "We'll go ahead and get you a new phone." He brings a brand new one out (not in box but still wrapped in the protective covers Apple puts on there...not a smudge or scratch on the phone)...I signed the papers and we activated it and I was on my way. So I didn't return home for a couple hours, yet I was still using the phone. I was making calls fairly frequently. It never dropped, and we could hear each other very clearly. However, once I got home and placed some test calls, it dropped both test calls almost immediately. I tried it again after entering in my voice mail password and this time it held fairly steady. But I can still tell that the service (at least where I am right now) is having a lot more trouble than my last iPhone 4. I love the phone...but I am a bit confused as to why one iPhone 4 same model....both serial numbers starting with the same digit....would vary so greatly.

Has anyone tried to buy a 3GS 32 g? They are only showing the 8g for sale now and I'm thinking I want to go back to the 3GS for awhile. I sold mine right away thinking I was loving the new one but now want to go back for awhile till all the stuff is straightened out. Has anyone tried to buy a 3GS white 32g? They have to still have some. I'm sure they didn't throw them away when they stopped putting them on the website since they want everyone to buy the 4. I only have a few days left till my 30 days is up.

I'm having the same issue. Signal goes to "_ _ _ _ AT&T 3G" resulting in no voice, voicemail, or SMS/MMS. 3G data works just fine. Can browse the net, check email, and the like. Soft reset, hard reset, and pulling the sim fix the issue (temporarily). Sometimes it happens multiple times in one day while other times I'll go a day or two w/o any issues. My wife's 3GS doesn't exhibit this behavior and is running the same IOS version.

Oddly enough...I was (relatively) in the middle of nowhere ME for a few days and didn't experience the problem once. I think y'all are on to something with the issue being related to the new iPhone and 3G. It just puzzles me that my wife's 3GS doesn't exhibit the issue...

FYI...my iPhone 4 is running IOS 4.0.2.

- Chris

Ive just upgraded to iphone 4 after having iphone 3g with never having any signal problems on 02.With iphone 4 its always on no signal,searching or if it ever does have a signal (WHICH)is very rare its only ever goes on 1 or 2 bars.And this isnt with even touching the iphone AND its in a case.Love the fone but paid £615 for it an cant even text,may just get rid after always saying will never have any fone but an iphone after having iphone 3g but need a fone that gets a signal

Stopped by the Genius Bar today. I gave the Genius a quick rundown on the issue (including screenshots). He immediately replaced my iPhone w/o hesitation. He said if the problem continues to get a new sim card from AT&T. If after getting a new sim still doesn't resolve the issue he'd replace my phone again.

- Chris

Well, this is me on my third iPhone 4 (second one wouldn't vibrate). This phone is still picking up the very weak 3G signal in my area and dropping to "Searching" when trying to switch to Edge.

I tried a new sim, and still got exactly the same problem.

I explained all this to the Apple Store Genius and told him a replacement iPhone was not the solution. I'm convinced it's a software problem.

I highlighted this thread to him and he told me to email it to the Customer Feedback form which I've done.

Fingers crossed someone is reading this and doing something about it.