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iphone 4 on orange 3g problem

hi i have had my iphone 4 for 3 weeks now i have the 3g set to on but i have never seen a 3g signal on the phone yet can any one tell me whats wrong ?
thanks
andy

macbook pro

Posted on Aug 2, 2010 1:30 PM

Reply
12 replies

Sep 8, 2010 1:57 AM in response to andyr26r

Hi, I've also recently switched to orange uk in the last 3 weeks and having problems with the 3G network. I do actually see the 3G icon in the status bar and I usually get 4 or 5 bars reception but nearly all of the time I cannot actually get any data transfer. I say nearly all the time because sometimes it does get through. I think it is intermittent.

I've been trying to work out if it is location related but so far there seems to be a lot of places it doesn't work and few where it does work consistently if any.

Orange customer services have updated my SIM card twice now and no difference. Also I would mark orange customer services quite low for technical understanding. One operator thought that I should be seeing the circle in the status bar, which everyone knows is for GPRS which is on the GSM network and not 3G.

Would be interesting to know if there are other people with the same problem.

Sep 8, 2010 2:54 AM in response to andyr26r

Hi Andy,

May I ask where in the UK are you based?

I'm also on Orange and here in London, 3G signal strength definitely varies and seems very inconsistent. For example, I normally get full bars on 3G in NW London where I reside but at work (SE London), I barely get 1 or 2 bars. I've also been in some towns that seem to be complete 3G 'deadspots'. However, I do find that voice call quality is better when on GPRS/Edge and most importantly, the so called 'death grip' seems to have very little effect on these networks.

For the reasons mentioned above, I tend to keep 3G disabled and only enable it when I need fast browser access and there's no wifi networks around that I can connect to. Doing this also helps reduce battery consumption.

Sep 10, 2010 3:30 AM in response to andyr26r

UPDATE: I've been on the phone to orange customer services several times over the last few days and at first got nowhere. They thought there may be an issue with the handset but the fact that I can get a connection in certain places means there's no issue with the handset.

It seems, as I suspected, that there is a "de-rated" cell tower nearby which is currently being "rehabilitated" and when I asked how long that would take I was told up to 31st October. So the issue is to do with data capacity on what may be a reduced capacity cell tower, although there must be several towers that are de-rated as the affected area that I travel in is quite large. As is stands the handset is virtually unusable for the purposes of internet usage which let's face it is the single most reason for having an iphone or any other smart phone. And waiting till the end of October is unacceptable. They would not issue me any form of compensation for the lack of connection which to me is a breach of the contract agreement.

I was also assured that at some point in October the t-mobile network would be merged with the orange network resulting in overall better coverage.

Is anyone else particularly in the Glasgow City area having similar problems?

Cheers
Innes

Sep 29, 2010 1:28 AM in response to mrphoney

I also live in Glasgow and I'm experiencing the same poor 3G response despite at least 3 bars of signal strength. Last weekend I went into the Apple store regarding this and they kindly gave me a brand new handset as they assumed this was a hardware fault and not a network issue. While I'm pleased to have a new phone, the 3G issues are still there. I also have to turn the 3G off to get online (particularly during the day in work in the city centre). Not good at all. I've been with Orange for 5+ years and never previously had this issue. I've had my iPhone since last December but these problems seem to have been getting worse for the past few months. Will the merger with T-Mobile improve things? Is their "de-rated" cell a valid excuse? Surely if this is ongoing then it's a breach of contract. Paying for a service you're not receiving isn't on.

Nov 7, 2010 3:30 AM in response to andyr26r

I have the same problem in manchester, find that putting the phone in flight mode and then back on resets the signal and its ok, but this is every time i want to go on an app, what this does is finds a mast that is of lower load and therefore faster connection, as told from apple. Contacted orange who after 4o mins on the phone said that where i live i am between 2 masts on heavy load therefor i keep getting dropped calls or no calls at all, even tho there coverage checker says i should get the best signal. He advised me to book a genius at an apple store which i have done to see if the fault is with the phone as i shouldn't have to reset the phone. Also advised me to keep the phone on 2g as the signal will be better but slower which seems stupid for an iphone user. Will get back when i have spoken to the apple store next saturday.

iphone 4 on orange 3g problem

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