 | Replies : 786 - Last Post : Aug 13, 2008 12:35 PM by: Brett L | |
|---|
|
|---|
Posts: 233
Registered: May 1, 2002 |
| | iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 10:50 AM | | |
This thread is a continuation of iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone, which has been locked. The thread was too long and some browsers were timing out. The above link goes back to the original thread.
Thank you.
Apple Discussions Hosts
PM G5, iMac, iPods Mac OS X (10.5) Mac OS 9.2.2
|
|
 |
Posts: 1
From: Naples, Florida
Registered: Jul 26, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 10:52 AM  in response to: Nubz N. | | |
While in Washington DC, all calls were dropped after a second or two. When I turned 3G off, no problems.
MBP 17" Mac OS X (10.5.4)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 40
From: spain
Registered: Oct 8, 2007 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 12, 2008 1:21 PM in response to: FloridaFlash | | |
I too have this problem. I will be on a call and it will just drop the connection! If I turn 3g off I NEVER have this problem but with 3g enabled it constantly happens.
SORT IT OUT APPLE!!! I have a two yr old nokia that has 3g and does not drop out atall!!
If it helps I am running 2.0.1 and am in Spain.
My 2 1st gen iPhones work without a problem!
Mac Book Pro, iBook G3 ,iMac G5, Apple TV, Ipod 40GB, 2x iPhone 8GB, 1 iPhone 3g 16bg Mac OS X (10.5.4)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 1
From: Phoenix, Az
Registered: Aug 12, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 12, 2008 5:54 PM in response to: Tim in Spain | | |
Does Apple have a formal complaint process online or by email?
This forum is helpful I'm sure...would love to blast Apple customer care even if it's a futile effort.
HP Windows Vista
|
|
|
|
Posts: 11
Registered: Feb 13, 2007 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 12, 2008 6:18 PM in response to: FloridaFlash | | |
Hi... I don't think it's the iPhone problem. The more people joining in the 3G network makes the 3G coverage shrinks down. For example, if 1 tower covers up to 15 miles in radius & only 1 user using the network it's fine, but if 1000 users in the network (especially most people using 3G for data connection)... the coverage can be shrunk to 2 miles radius.
MacBook Black Mac OS X (10.4.11) 17", 20" & 24" iMac Intel, iPod Video & Touch, iPhone, Airport Extreme BT
|
|
|
|
Posts: 1
From: Chicago
Registered: Aug 12, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 12, 2008 8:32 PM in response to: BeeMac | | |
im sorry but you are completely wrong, the reason that some 3G iPhones users are believed to be experiencing a less than satisfactory time using there phones has to do with a immature chipset. The good thing about this is that apple can fix this with a new software update
MB "13 Mac OS X (10.5.4)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 115
From: SoCal (HiDesert)
Registered: Jun 20, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 12, 2008 8:50 PM in response to: macgenius101 | | |
Most writers (here and elsewhere) have suggested that a software update will not fix a defective radio chipset. Instead, there seems to be a belief that if the problem is the radio chipset, only a physical replacement of the chipset can cure the illness.
May I ask what leads you to conclude a software update can resolve the problem?
Mac Book Mac OS X (10.5.3) POS PC w/Vista
|
|
|
|
Posts: 10
From: USA
Registered: Sep 11, 2007 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 13, 2008 8:26 AM in response to: HeloCaptain | | |
I suspect that most writers on this forum, even if they are experiencing problems, would have no way to tell if it is a chipset or software based problem. People get hysterical when they experience a problem and sometimes jump to the worst case scenario. How anyone here would be able to tell that a problem is a result of a chipset is beyond me.
Also, the device does have firmware and potentially an update to the firmware could have an impact on the unit.
Really, given all of the factors involved, new device, recently updated software, new network deployment, networks under stress and users who are unfamiliar with this sort of experience could easily result in a circumstance where people believe that the device is defective when it is not.
The real test would be to carry another 3G device on the same network and to really use it, test in under the same conditions. Just looking at the bars on the other device is not necessarily and indicator of the network quality. You'd want to make a call or use data. For all we know the network is bad for both device and the iPhone is just better at indicating that the network is not reliable, so its giving you inconsistent bars. Who knows.
I am not trying to discount that people are having problems, I just can't figure how a user of the device would isolate it to a chipset without doing real testing and really some hardware diagnostics.
Powerbook G4 17, iPhone Mac OS X (10.4.10)
|
|
|
| 
Posts: 116
From: Switzerland
Registered: Jan 8, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 13, 2008 8:34 AM in response to: rosnow | | |
Well,
if you read the posts here you'll quickly see that many people, especially in Markets with mature, stable 3G networks have done just that. It's not about bars. It's about the iPhone having no network, dropped and failed calls and bad call quality where other 3G handsets have none of those issues on the same network, in the same location, at the same time.
One of my coworkers still has an iPhone 3G, his third, he rarely has any 3G service in our office and calls often go directly to voice mail, while my Nokia 6280 happily makes and receives calls on 3G, while displaying the full four bars of signal strength. and yes, we are using the same carrier.
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Windows XP Pro iPod 5.5g (80gb), MacBook Air
|
|
|
|
Posts: 272
From: Munich, Germany
Registered: Jul 15, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 13, 2008 8:38 AM in response to: rosnow | | |
The real test would be to carry another 3G device on the same network and to really use it, test in under the same conditions.
This is what some people HAVE done, in this thread and the original thread.
result: they could make phone calls with their Nokia/other device while their iPhone 3G showed no service.
It definitely isn't the network.
if it is the iPhone 3G hardware or firmware, this I don't know. but the fact that the signal keeps jumping up and down even when you move your hands around the phone suggests to me that this is an antenna issue.
I'm not an expert though and the most knowledgeable persons on this probably sit in cupertino. they just need to share their knowledge.
Mac Mini Dual Core; Apple Wireless Keyboard and Mouse iPain 3G
|
|
|
|
Posts: 11
From: Chicago
Registered: Aug 12, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 13, 2008 9:04 AM in response to: taltal | | |
My son has used an LG 3G phone for over a year and its works just great. It is not the network.
MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.11) iPhone 3G
|
|
|
| 
Posts: 909
From: UK
Registered: Mar 17, 2001 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 11:16 AM in response to: Nubz N. | | |
We have no 3G in my town or the town where I live. And the battety is almost completely drained within 12 hours even with light use.
Message was edited by: bilbo_baggins
Mac Pro 2.8Ghz 8-core / MacBook CD 2.0Ghz Mac OS X (10.5.4) 8GB RAM, GeForce 8800GT / 2GB RAM
|
|
|
| 
Posts: 145
Registered: Sep 13, 2006 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 12, 2008 12:00 PM in response to: bilbo_baggins | | |
If you are not using 3G, you should turn it off.
Settings -> General -> Network
In there you can deactivate 3G and save battery power.
Macbook Pro (Late 2006) Mac OS X (10.5.4) 2.33 GHz
|
|
|
|
Posts: 1
From: Los Angeles
Registered: Jul 26, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 12:16 PM in response to: Nubz N. | | |
Let me just go on record as another unsatisfied customer. I live in downtown Los Angeles, where 3G coverage is a given, and not only is the 3G wonky and unreliable, but oftentimes I'm struggling to even get decent edge support! Edge is absolutely worse on my new 3G than it ever was on my first generation iPhone. Adding insult to injury, I drop multiple calls every day, something that rarely happened before my "upgrade."
I'm going to call into apple care, not that I think that they can fix it, but rather just to have a record of my complaint. I
< Edited by Host >
iMac 24 / iPhone 3G Mac OS X (10.5.4)
|
|
|
| 
Posts: 673
From: Southern California
Registered: Apr 28, 2003 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 12:24 PM in response to: local branch | | |
Good luck with that Local. When the judge asks you why you kept a product that wasn't working for you when you were welcome to return it to either Apple or AT&T after a 14 day trial, I hope you've got a good answer. Hanging on to a phone just so you can be part of a possible future class action law suit makes great sense.
MacBook Pro 2.4 ghz, 4/500 GB, 23" Cinema HD Mac OS X (10.5.4) iPhone 3G 16 GB, iPod Nano 8 GB (3rd Gen), AppleTV 160 GB, Canon Cameras
|
|
|
|
Posts: 4
From: Washington DC
Registered: Jul 23, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 11, 2008 5:24 PM in response to: KBeat | | |
I really want to like this phone. Unfortunately, somebody is not telling the truth. Apple vs. AT&T.
Does it matter where the problem lies?
Technically, if AT&T has a contract to provide 3G service for your Iphone 3g and your Iphone 3G does pick up the 3g where you are supposed to be able to receive it then that is a breach of contract.
We ALL signed an agreement to pay $30 per month for 3G in the advertised areas. PERIOD.
Failure to receive 3G in the advertised areas is a breach of contract and forfeits the contract. PERIOD.
Now if you want to get technical and play the blame game...fine the iphone may have a wimpy antennae compared to other phones. However, AT&T is responsible for compensating for a wimpy antennae by having a better 3G network.
In the end both Apple and AT&T will lose. Basically, I call AT&T everyday to remind them that this is a breach of contract and that whenever I want I can LEGALLY walk away..
Apple will lose me as a customer and you since we understand how quality control has taken a back seat to the profit machine that wall street demands.
I suppose some solutions to remedy this problem:
1) Drop Data plan down to $20 with free Texting
2) Recall all 3 million Iphone 3Gs.
3) Give us all back $199 or $299 like last year.
4) Fix the software thats is buggier than VISTA! (See what happens when you poke fun at Microsoft!)
Iphone 3G Black 16gb Windows Vista
|
|
|
|
Posts: 161
From: Washington DC
Registered: Jun 14, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 12, 2008 2:37 AM in response to: wheezerdoc | | |
Technically, if AT&T has a contract to provide 3G service for your Iphone 3g and your Iphone 3G does pick up the 3g where you are supposed to be able to receive it then that is a breach of contract.
Problem is if you read the fine print there is language -- somewhere -- that says, basically, that it is a best-effort service. No operator can guarantee coverage 100% because of the statistical nature or signal propagation. They can make it better, though.
Thinkpad X61s Windows XP Pro iPod nano 4 GB Buying an iPhone (not an early adopter)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 3
From: leicester U.K
Registered: Aug 12, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 12, 2008 7:29 PM in response to: local branch | | |
ive had some teething problems since i bought my white 16 gig iphone from the apple store in birmingham uk, the small but annoying glitches eg freezing and typing lag seem to of improved since the latest update in fact i get no dropped calls and can get a good signal on 3g 99% of the time, i upgraded my old 2.5g iphone so now have the black 1 too. could it be that 3g is still in its infancy in the U.S ? i think we will see more hardware fixes very soon the os on i phone needs some tidying up which is dissappointing for an apple product.
macbook pro 15" Mac OS X (10.5.4) x2 16 gig iphone 3g white and black airport extreme
|
|
|
| 
Posts: 510
From: Northern CA
Registered: Apr 30, 2005 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 12:21 PM in response to: Nubz N. | | |
Hello All,
This morning, while driving around checking my 3G coverage, (I drove approx. a 10-15 mile radius) here are my 3G signal strength results. Someone ask me to post these:
-53 to -81
I am actually so glad that my name is off the post! I was getting a lot of nasty comments being said about me for starting the thread. Which was to be expected. But for all of those people, please read this:
While in college earning my Bachelor Degree in Computer Science... I was busy writing a label software program (that was eventually sold through Computerland - nationwide) that was written on the original Apple II. Since then... I have owned an Apple II+, IIe, the original Macintosh, a IIGS, Macintosh SE30, Mac Classic, (3) Macintosh Quadra 900's, Newton Message Pad 2000, (2) Power Macintosh G3's, (5) original iMacs, the original iPod, PowerBook G4, more iPods (lost count), (7) iMac's (intel), (4) original iPhone's and now (3) iPhone 3G's. While working for a world-wide printer manufacturer, I cemented the relationship between my employer and Apple. For those who remember the original launch of the iMac's... they were sold in different colors... well one printer manufacturer had printers to match!
The only "Windows" running in our home are on our iMac's. Its important that my kids are versed on both platforms. So, I am very loyal to Apple, and have been for 31 years! This should clear up any ideas that I am not an Apple (loyal Apple) user, supporter, etc.
Last, until everyone gets a 3G signal (in 3G coverage areas of course)... keep posting... hints, tips, suggestions, experiences, etc. I am really believing that this is more of an AT&T issue, than an Apple issue. Again, I know many will disagree. But as I mentioned on my original thread, I believe that AT&T and other carriers (World-Wide) over exaggerated the extent of 3G coverage area(s) at least in the U.S.
Thanks,
Doug
Mac OS X (10.5.4)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 272
From: Munich, Germany
Registered: Jul 15, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 1:26 PM in response to: Doug Clements | | |
Thanks, Doug.
Those are really good values. What a pity your reset didn't work for me.
I've checked again, and even outside I get values in the range of 80-95 db. And dropped calls, not only within buildings.
Enjoy the phone.
|
|
|
|
Posts: 8
From: Ohio
Registered: Jul 7, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 2:38 PM in response to: Doug Clements | | |
Doug, you don't have to explain yourself to anyone, or justify your comments based on your experience. Many of us are having the same issues. If you hadn't created this thread, others would have done it (myself included).
imac Mac OS X (10.5.4)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 510
From: Northern CA
Registered: Apr 30, 2005 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 3:44 PM in response to: NobdyFrmNowhere | | |
Hello NobdyFrmNowhere,
Thanks!
Doug
Mac OS X (10.5.4)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 510
From: Northern CA
Registered: Apr 30, 2005 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 8:03 PM in response to: Doug Clements | | |
Hello,
Someone else wanted to know the throughput speed I was getting.
I use the http://i.dslr.net/tinyspeedtest.html speed test.
My 3G signal strength reading was -55 with 1143 kbps
Have a good week-end!
Doug
Mac OS X (10.5.4)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 2
From: Florida
Registered: Aug 2, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 2, 2008 6:12 PM in response to: Doug Clements | | |
I think that I know a possible culprit for these connection issues with the 3G iPhone. I have had constant connection issues with my 3G iPhone. Constantly switching between No Service, 1 bar, 5 bars etc.
I found this article: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2342?viewlocale=en_US
It is possible that the magnet in my phone carrying case is causing the network interference. I have already replaced my iPhone 3G once through Apple Care, changed my SIM Card 3 times, Restored my phone multiple times and talked with AT&T & Apple technical support. In fact, AT&T is having their engineers look into the issue in my local area (which is not a 3G area). I am having decent luck thus far (an hr or two) with not using the magnetic case. It is possible that if the magnet in the case is causing the issue. In that case even if you removed the iPhone from the case the issue could still persist until a reboot (Home + sleep/wake) is performed.
I will post back with the information this week after the engineers test out the local network. The crazy thing is that my 2G iPhone has never had an issue. Even last week when my 3G iPhone was in it's cardboard coffin the 2G iPhone worked flawlessly. Again, read the support document above and check and see if you have a case that uses a magnet. It is possible it would only effect the 3G iPhone and not the 2G iPhone even though it is possible.
Mac OS X (10.5.4)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 69
Registered: Apr 5, 2002 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 5, 2008 6:05 AM in response to: Doug Clements | | |
I am on a 3G-only carrier in Australia and have to pay to use EDGE as it is considered roaming.
I have been using this 3G-only carrier since April 2003.
The iPhone 3G drops calls where my old phone (Nokia N95) would work fine.
MacBook Pro 2.2GHz Mac OS X (10.5.4) iPhone 3G
|
|
|
| 
Posts: 61
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Apr 27, 2007 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 11, 2008 10:27 PM in response to: Doug Clements | | |
Last, until everyone gets a 3G signal (in 3G coverage areas of course)... keep posting... hints, tips, suggestions, experiences, etc. I am really believing that this is more of an AT&T issue, than an Apple issue. Again, I know many will disagree. But as I mentioned on my original thread, I believe that AT&T and other carriers (World-Wide) over exaggerated the extent of 3G coverage area(s) at least in the U.S.
I'm in Sydney, on the Vodafone network, and I can't tell you how many times I get the "No Network" display on my phone simply because iPhone 3G can't handle switching from GPRS to 3G.
Apple, PLEASE, fix this problem. How many calls do we have to miss - and customers you lose - before you do something about it?
Al
Aluminium iMac Intel Core Duo Mac OS X (10.5.4) 40GB Apple TV, iPhone 3G Black 16GB
|
|
|
|
Posts: 2
From: Seattle
Registered: Nov 2, 2007 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 13, 2008 9:46 AM in response to: Doug Clements | | |
Doug's comments have seemed to be getting a lot of flack back and forth from both Apple and posts herein. I must say, so far, I think he "might" be on to something! I tried the following (yesterday), as Doug suggested, and thus far (the verdict is still out) things are working much much better on my 16gb black iPhone.
1) I restored the iPhone to a new phone. (With itunes 7.7.1 there is a bug which will keep popping back up and asking you if you want to restore from backup, even though you already have restored the phone back to its new settings. Be sure to click on the new phone option.) You can resync all your other stuff (music, contacts, etc) later. (I would back things up first just case)
2) I then went home, popped in the new SIM card (which I simply ordered from AT&T by mail, and I had it in 24hrs) reading with the 004, not the 003 ending digits. The SIM card in my iPhone which was purchased on July 12th one day after release, was different. I called AT&T and made sure that they had my IMEI number correct in the system for the new SIM card. They activated the SIM, and within a few minutes things were up and running (like 2 minutes, actually). I should note that in my apartment I was getting 3-4 bars of 3G, where before I was seeing 1-2 at best. Although, I'm not sure how reliable that is, because I AM STILL seeing it fluctuate significantly as I walk around the apartment, away from windows, etc.
3) I live in Seattle, downtown area, which is very well blanketed with the 3G network. I wasn't having as many problems with dropped calls, as others have described the assinine 20 or so dropped in 2 minutes, but I was having some frequent dropped calls. About 4-5 per week, or simply just "call failed" as I'd try to dial a number. What I was experiencing, that was more frustrating for me anyway, was data connection issues (which I've heard less about on this blog ,frankly). I was unable to connect reliably to my email, safari, maps-GPS, etc. I would literally be connected, writing an email, and then hit send, and for whatever reason it would act as if it was sent, the message would not go out, and I'd loose the message entirely. UGH! To get things working, I would have to do a hard reset to get 3G data connection, and the phone wouldn't even switch over to EDGE data. But of course WIFI worked fine at both work and in my apartment.
4) On taking the bus to work (15 minutes to the University of Washington) from downtown/Capitol Hill there is a dead spot on AT and T's network. It has always been a problem for me, with my old Sony Ericson, and my wife's Moto, as well. This morning however, after the restore, and the new SIM the phone switched out of 3G into EDGE while I was surfing the web, and then back to 3G once it was out of the deadspot. I've never seen my phone do this successfully before! So that was great news, or rather "encouraging". Also, since I have restored and added the new SIM, the cannot connect to internet problem is done. My phone has, seemlingly more total bars on average (although it def, still fluctuates from time to time), and is getting data, surfing, at much much better speeds.
5) I'm not sure that my problem is completely resolved. For one, I haven't made enough new calls today to confirm if the phone function is better (i.e. no call drops, and 3G-2.5EDGE switch over). But I can say, that as of 24hrs, this phone with a new SIM, and complete restore is working much nicer, and seems like the iPHONE I was promised.
6) Finally when on the phone with Apple Care (for an unrelated headphone/headset problem with my phone, which turned out to be a bad headset/mic...get a new one if it isn't working folks.), I should note that the man told me something very interesting. He said that the 2.0.1 update works best on some phones with a full restore, (new phone); And that layering the update on top of the old 2.0 won't solve bugs. This was very interesting to me, because when I updated to 0.1 I was shocked that I wasn't getting the "snappiness" that others were reporting. I am confident to say, my phone is snappier now, that I completely restored it.
All in all, I'm not 100% convinced that this is the problem; nor am I sold that this is the solution to the worldwide issues at hand. But I hope, as many do, that this is a network issue, or a Firmware update, and thus a quickly fixable problem. However, if you haven't tried what Doug suggested, I would give it a whirl. I will post in a few days to see how things go from here with my phone.
Good luck everyone! (AND Apple/AT&T, please tell us what is going on!!! We're paying high dollar for this product! Customer Service should be number 1, Give us at least, a heads up!)
MacBook Pro 2.2, 160HD-7200, Mac OS X (10.5) 16GB Black iPhone, 16GB iPOD Touch
|
|
|
|
Posts: 8
From: syracuse,ny
Registered: Sep 5, 2007 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 12:28 PM in response to: Nubz N. | | |
i live in syracuse, ny. my iPhone 3g suffers poorly in reception. I has a horrible time switching from edge to 3g. pretty much it will never auto connect to 3g unless i manually turn off 3g then turn it back on.
if it loses 3g signal after that it will never reconnect unless i manually turn it on/off again.
I have noticed overall with 3g on and off reception is horrible compared to my last iPhone.
With 3g on the phone many times will just get stuck at no service.
battery life is also so bad i can almost literally sit there and watch the battery level go down it goes down so fast. this is with bluetooth, location services and 3g turned off.
also the phone is terribly slow compared to last iPhone. say i load something as simple as contacts... i have to wait a few seconds for it to show up. everything i run on the phone seems this way.
very slow phone.
another issue, my apps half the time won't run unless i shut off the phone and restart. now they won't load period. time for a restore.
iphone Other OS iphone
|
|
|
|
Posts: 3
From: franklin square
Registered: Jul 31, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 31, 2008 6:04 AM in response to: gerard143 | | |
same problem here on long island.
Windows Vista
|
|
|
|
Posts: 26
From: New York
Registered: Jul 16, 2007 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 31, 2008 9:58 PM in response to: mrbill73 | | |
I am in Huntington with no problems at all. Manhattan and Nassau County as well.
macbook pro, macbooks, ibook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.10) iPhone, itouch, many ipods, apple tv
|
|
|
| 
Posts: 81
From: Texas
Registered: Sep 18, 2007 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 6, 2008 9:27 PM in response to: gerard143 | | |
gerard, i have the SAME exact problems as you are describing as far as having to manually turn on and off 3g for it to work. can we talk more into this somehow?
MacBook Mac OS X (10.5.4)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 510
From: Northern CA
Registered: Apr 30, 2005 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 12:46 PM in response to: Nubz N. | | |
In reply to Taltal,
hello doug,
the placebo effect: when you strongly believe something will help you, it will help you (even though the actual remedy has no effect).
I'm looking forward to your figures.
I did some testing today, outside, well covered area, and got up to -73 dBm with full bars. in buildings in immediately drops to minimum -91, but mostly -97 to -105, sometimes -113 dbm.
Thanks for explaining what Placebo is! I can happily report that myself, son or daughter do not suffer from this. Seeing is believing!
Have a great day! 
Doug
Mac OS X (10.5.4)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 3
From: Phoenix
Registered: Aug 6, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 6, 2008 8:41 PM in response to: Doug Clements | | |
I live in Phoenix area and just went from a Palm Treo 3G on AT&T to the iPhone. My wife has the Treo and side by side comparisions of the signal show the iPhone is not even close to the Treo. Most of the time the iPhone has no service while the Treo has 3-5 bars.
Change the sim card no effect Apple wants to replace the phone but says they have not had any issues reported with poor service. Guess they don't read their own boards. Anyway this is my first Apple experience and with all dur respect to those Apple die hards I am a little disappointed. The feature on the phone are great but if you can make or receive calls it is just an expensive iPod.
I will give them one more chanc with a new phone and then it is back to the Treo.
Having read a lot of the posting here and on other tredd and it is kind of hard to blame these issues on AT&T. Not that I like them, but while there maybe 1 million iPhones sold, there are many more millions on AT&T's network that seem to have good reception.
IBM Think Pad Windows Vista Iphone 3g
|
|
|
|
Posts: 62
Registered: Jan 17, 2006 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 12:47 PM in response to: Nubz N. | | |
I have the 3G, had it for about 3 weeks now. I have to say that when i get 3G service its great, I get it about 80% of the time. Whats annoying is I work in Times Square on the 33rd Floor of a building and the best I can get is edge. Come on ATT its Times Square! Besides that I do find that the service inconsistently switches to Edge. One day I will be at my apartment and Ill get 3g, then the next only edge. Are the cell towers are cars or something? Also the OS lags a bit, its better over all but not as responsive as 1.1.4. I am looking forward to improvements in 2.1.
Mac Pro 2.8Ghz Mac OS X (10.5.4) 16 GB RAM 820 GB internal 512 GB RAID & 2x 1TB RAIDs
|
|
|
|
Posts: 8
Registered: Sep 7, 2006 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 4:54 PM in response to: orbital318 | | |
hey!
I live and work in Sunset Park Brooklyn and am considering switching to ATT to get the iphone. Being a New Yorker, would you recommend switching? I know you don't get reception in time square, but how 'bout the service elsewhere?
g5 Mac OS X (10.4.5)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 138
From: NYC
Registered: Jul 18, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 8:47 PM in response to: orbital318 | | |
Whats annoying is I work in Times Square on the 33rd Floor of a building and the best I can get is edge. Come on ATT its Times Square! Besides that I do find that the service inconsistently switches to Edge. One day I will be at my apartment and Ill get 3g, then the next only edge. Are the cell towers are cars or something?
I work on 25th floor on Park Av near Grand Central and all at&t 3G phones I had (Blackjack, Blackberry) behave similarly as you describe. I think that high 2100 frequency that at&t uses for 3G is worse for building penetration and suffers more from reflecting from buildings and weather conditions than 850 band which is used for GSM/Edge.
Asus EeePC Other OS
|
|
|
|
Posts: 5
Registered: Feb 14, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 31, 2008 5:57 PM in response to: klopus | | |
I just want to vent!!! I am very disappointed with the iPhone 3G for one reason and only one reason!!! My RECEPTION *****!!! When I turn 3G off I get perfect receptions, but in the same room, when I have 3G on, it has one bar!!! I upgraded my old iPhone for the 3G iPhone thinking about how much faster its going to be when I am out and about!!! But no, I am stuck using Edge just so my reception doesn't drop!!!! sigh!!!!! I just hope either ATT or Apple come out with a fix quick because I, like many of you, am starting to regret my purchase..... Let alone starting my 2 year contract over!!!!
20" iMac Mac OS X (10.5.4)
|
|
|
| 
Posts: 836
Registered: Aug 7, 2005 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 31, 2008 6:05 PM in response to: scovarrubias22 | | |
when I turn 3G off I get perfect receptions, but in the same room, when I have 3G on, it has one bar!!!
Sorry to hear that
Do you get good 3G reception anywhere?
At home I get 1-2 bars, but everywhere else it seems like 3 -5 (and mostly 5...).
What firmware are you using? Have you tried a restore?
iMac 2.0 * Mini G4 * iBook * iPod Touch 2.0 * iPhone 3G 16GB* Blackberry 8120 * Mac OS X (10.5.4) from Apple II to now.....
|
|
|
|
Posts: 145
Registered: Sep 13, 2006 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 12, 2008 12:08 PM in response to: scovarrubias22 | | |
I'm getting very good reception here in Canada. So far I've used it in Ottawa and Montreal. I have good reception for the drive between the two cities as well.
So, I'm thinking that this might be an AT&T problem.
Macbook Pro (Late 2006) Mac OS X (10.5.4) 2.33 GHz
|
|
|
| 
Posts: 4
Registered: Sep 29, 2002 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 12, 2008 1:18 PM in response to: scovarrubias22 | | |
My iPhone 3G exhibits the same issue yours does: Great 2G reception, but awful 3G reception in the exact same place.
I don't know what the cause is, but It doesn't seem to be a network issue. EDGE and 3G are both being delivered by the same AT&T tower, using the same 850/1900 frequencies. An educated guess would be the iPhone 3G's antenna as the culprit. I'm hoping this can be addressed in a firmware update, as a hardware replacement is the worst-case scenario.
MacBook Pro 15" 2.5Ghz Mac OS X (10.5.4) iPhone 3G (16GB / white)
|
|
|
| 
Posts: 1
From: New York City
Registered: Aug 12, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 12, 2008 12:04 PM in response to: klopus | | |
I work in Rockefeller Center in NYC on the 19th floor and also live in NYC but no matter where I go, my iPhone 3G constantly switches between 3G and EDGE. It can't make up its mind and it's very annoying. AT&T's 3G network is horrible. It also wants to switch to Wi-Fi every chance it gets even though I turned "Ask to Join Networks" OFF. It's very frustrating. While walking down a street in NYC it tries to pick up EVERY Wi-Fi network it sees. This is ridiculous.
Dell Laptop Windows XP Pro
|
|
|
|
Posts: 2
From: columbus ohio
Registered: Jul 26, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 12:47 PM in response to: Nubz N. | | |
I would like to know when Apple or AT&T will address the issue formally and suggest what we consumers should do for the meantime until the issue is resolved and when we can expect a fix to the problem so many are suffering. I think for so many people to have spent so much time in line to buy a product that is not performing as everyone has been led to believe, we deserve some answers. I will not return my iphone, I love it, with or without 3g. I love it more when 3g is working, and that is one of the reasons I bought it, but even without 3g it is still a superior phone imho. What bother's me the most is the extra $10 AT&T is charging for something that is not functioning properly. If the fee were the same as the originally iphone, $20, I would not be so concerned for the time being, believing there must be a fix on the way. Is there? Hello, Apple, AT&T, are you listening? I know you are and I know you can hear us!
imac Mac OS X (10.5.4)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 64
Registered: May 1, 2005 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Aug 12, 2008 5:38 PM in response to: scotco | | |
Amen!
OK I did the same test on mine and found I get 1 bar or barely any 3G service and then turn off 3G to get 5 bars of edge in the same exact location. I'm in the NY/NJ area with blue 3G coverage under the AT&T map.
I would like to know when Apple or AT&T will address the issue formally and suggest what we consumers should do for the meantime until the issue is resolved and when we can expect a fix to the problem so many are suffering. I think for so many people to have spent so much time in line to buy a product that is not performing as everyone has been led to believe, we deserve some answers. I will not return my iphone, I love it, with or without 3g. I love it more when 3g is working, and that is one of the reasons I bought it, but even without 3g it is still a superior phone imho. What bother's me the most is the extra $10 AT&T is charging for something that is not functioning properly. If the fee were the same as the originally iphone, $20, I would not be so concerned for the time being, believing there must be a fix on the way. Is there? Hello, Apple, AT&T, are you listening? I know you are and I know you can hear us!
everything under the un Mac OS X (10.5.4)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 5
From: Cleveland
Registered: Jul 25, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 12:56 PM in response to: Nubz N. | | |
I am on my second Iphone 3g and I am still having huge reception problems. The first and second phone are dropping 40-50% of my calls.
I spent 2 hours on the phone last night with both ATT and Apple support. We tried hard resets, turning the phone on and off, and a full restore with no improvement on the reception end. Both ATT and Apple denied that this was a widespread problem saying that my call was one of the first they heard of.
I took the phone back to the ATT store today and they replaced the sim card. That didn't really seem to have much of an effect. The guy also sent and update to my phone, he said that he was suprised that the ATT Tech Team didn't catch the fact that my phone hadn't been updated. I asked what the update was for and he told me that my phone wasn't made available to all the towers in the area. My home is in a Cleveland suburb and according to ATT should be getting great coverage. Right now my phone is showing 1 bar on the edge network.
Last thing - ATT tech support called back a few minutes ago and told me that they are having reports from all around the country about this issue. This is the first time that someone from either company has admitted to me that there is a problem.
dell Windows XP
|
|
|
|
Posts: 836
Registered: Aug 7, 2005 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 1:05 PM in response to: rhsnavy | | |
I am on my second Iphone 3g and I am still having huge reception problems_. The first and second phone are dropping 40-50% of my calls._
Last thing - ATT tech support called back a few minutes ago and told me that they are having reports from all around the country about this issue. This is the first time that someone from either company has admitted to me that there is a problem.
Wow.
iMac 2.0 * Mini G4 * iBook * iPod Touch 2.0 * Blackberry 8120 * Mac OS X (10.5.4)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 3
From: franklin square
Registered: Jul 31, 2008 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 30, 2008 10:41 PM in response to: rhsnavy | | |
i am on long island in south western nassau county in franklin square east of elmont new york. well i went to the att website to check the 3G in my area according to the map i was in very good 3g area. well since i have got the 3g i-phone i have not been able to use the 3g service at all because every time i use the the 3G connection my cell signal is 1 and if i am luck sometimes 2 bars. and the battery life while in 3g mode has been at best only 45 min with bluetooth location service and wifi turned off. so i called up apple support and after talking to the tech i was told that i would have to go back to at&t and get a new sim card. well after replacing the sim card i sill am having the same problem as i was haveing before the sim swap. i have verified 3g coverage in my area by using another non apple 3G phone and the 3G reception on the non apple phone is full bars with 3G fully working no problems..
on another note wondering if anyone has had any problems with wifi while using bluetooth headsets?? make a call and use my motorola h500 bluetooth headset and the wifi signal goes way. i am not able to get on to any website and use any web services till i end the call and turn off the headset it self. i can leave the bluetooth on on the iphone and theres no problemjust when i have the headset on that i am haveing this problem
Windows Vista
|
|
|
|
Posts: 120
Registered: Jul 19, 2007 |
| | Re: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone - Continued
Posted: Jul 26, 2008 1:07 PM in response to: Nubz N. | | |
I think the success of the iphone 3G is killing AT&T network. I noticed a change in service on 07/14 while using my blackberry curve. The service got terrible. By the way, I believe AT&T is suffering on edge and 3g
iPhone 3G
|
|
|
|
