While waiting patiently (well, sort of) for the new update, I found this really helpful review and tests of 4.1 on the 3G phone. Three pages of good info:
Yes you can keep the numbers permanent in field test mode. When exiting just hold the home button down a few seconds like you would to force close an app.
Now you can simply toggle between numbers or bars with a simple touch.
The only catch is that this toggle feature is permanent (even between firmware updates) unless you go to Settings and Reset All.
I was running 4.0.1 and after disabling Spotlight it was somewhat usable. It was nowhere as fast as 3.1.3, but I could get things done on the phone after short waits.
After updating to 4.1 it's a disaster. I miss calls, because the phone doesn't register that I swipe to pick up. Sometimes the texting app fails to launch. Other apps fail to launch or crash all the time. It can take half a minute from I start swiping across the screen till it switches to screen 2/3/4 (app screens).
Having messed around some more, I've managed to get a usable iPhone again.
I deleted a lot of apps and all my photos. That didn't make much of a difference. Then I did a "reset all settings". After that the phone was almost back to regular speed. It's not quite 3.x level, but it's something I can at least live with.
I don't know a lot about this, but suspect it is the same thing. You aren't actually dialing a phone number. It is just working within the phone's OS as far as I can tell.
Did you try it?
I've followed the instructions to make it permanent and really like this additional detail.
Oh, almost forgot. The forum stripped off the asterisks (stars) you need to includes so, to make sure this gets through, I'll substitute the word (star) for the star key:
(star)3001#12345#(star) then press the call button.
Good - I was ticked off when I saw the actual asterisks didn't show up in my original post.
I made mine permanent:
Hold the top button until the option power down slider appears.
Then press and hold the home button at the bottom until the regular screen comes back. You shouldn't have to use that phone number code anymore and, as I understand it, once you do a backup, you'll keep it any time you restore from that backup.
Not sure what to do if you want to get rid of it permanently. Someone thought that entering the code again would do it (if so, I assume you go through the same steps to make that permanent).
Meanwhile, you can just tap the numbers to get the bars back. Tap again to get the numbers to return. Pretty nice, in my opinion. Especially if in a area with really poor reception. Instead of seeing one bar, which could be anything between -107 and -121, you can tell how close you are to the lower limit. That would let you know if you need to take extra care to avoid losing the call.
NP, thanks for the Stars... I googled for permanent, worked great.
I hope this will show at the lake where I get a rogers signal but cant quite make a call (made one successfully) so I can see if theres a good spot for an antenna! 🙂
now to remember the -113 limit for 3G (as they say)
I spent some time last night applying iOS 4.1 to my phone and I have to say that is a VAST improvement over the 4.01 disaster I had last month. After 3 days of just unacceptable use I downgraded back down to 3.1.3 and in the process lost all of my contacts.
I have had 4.1 on my phone for 24 hours now and I have to say it is even faster than it was right out of the box when I bought it last year. I'll reserve full judgment for a few more days but I am extremely glad to have my threaded email feature back.
I have not seen any improvements with 4.1. Opening text, ipod, camera, etc takes forever. Usually I can count up to 15-20 before the app actually opens up and is usable. I used to love my iphone...now it is just so frustrating.
Speaking only for myself I learned the hard way with 4.0.1 and I have NO intention of updating right now. I have a speedy iPhone 3G running 3.1.3 and intend to stay here until this whole nonsense sorts itself out.
