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Apple acknowledges iPhone 3G reception issues

"those-in-the-know at Apple think it will take several months for a fix to be developed"

Seriously?! I'm missing calls all day at work and when I do catch them they usually drop. I'm going to have to endure this for "several months?"
 
yrsonicdeath said:
"those-in-the-know at Apple think it will take several months for a fix to be developed"

Seriously?! I'm missing calls all day at work and when I do catch them they usually drop. I'm going to have to endure this for "several months?"
Click to expand...

Turn off 3G at work, then.

I know that's not a *GREAT* solution, but it's better to get calls than not, no?

The thing about reception is that a problem can be caused by one of about a million issues. (Give or take.) Apple is probably working a good half-dozen issues that they can fix, but many proplems are out of their hands. That's just the way radio signals work. I expect REAL fixes will come once they start building their own chips in future iPhones.

So even once these fixes come out, there are still going to be problems and people saying "it didn't work!" No, it DID fix some problems, it just didn't fix yours. It's going to be a long year...
 
yrsonicdeath said:
"those-in-the-know at Apple think it will take several months for a fix to be developed"

Seriously?! I'm missing calls all day at work and when I do catch them they usually drop. I'm going to have to endure this for "several months?"
Click to expand...

Seriosuly, there are other phones put there. There is no need to put up with this since this is a problem for you.
 
I hope my language does not offend anyone, but after 2.0.2, my 3G iphone is retarded.

Dropped calls 3 times in a row in a location with 3 3G bars and never dropped calls before.

I have to hard reset to get email.

Still have SMS and contacts lag.

POS
 
Last night, I tried enabling 3G for the first time since the update. I was in my family room where I had been getting a little 3G signal (1-2 bars) before. Last night, I got "No Service" on the display, in spite of having full-strength on EDGE. I switched 3G off again as I don't really need it most of the time anyway. I would sure be nice to get it all working, though.

I don't know if the latest update played a role in my loss of 3G or if it's just coincidence.
 
it wasn't really a fix at all. the chipset is the problem and until that is resolved, all of us will suffer the 3g signal issues.

the 2.0.2 patch only adjusted how the chipset reacts to a 3g signal. for instance, if during 2.0.1, you had 0, 1 or 2 bars of 3g, then the phone would struggle to maintain that signal before dropping to edge.

now, with 2.0.2, if your phone picks up 0, 1 or 2 bars of 3g, the phone software will immediately switch you over to edge, rather than risk struggling to maintain a weak 3g reception.

this mean, if you DO get a 3g reception on your phone, you will pretty much only see it when it's at 3, 4 or 5 bars....thus, you THINK the 2.0.2 patch worked...when really, it didn't.

the 2.0.2 software did 2 things:

1. help your battery life by not forcing your phone to try and maintain a weak 3g signal all the time

2. trick you into thinking the patch fixed the 3g reception when it really didn't

it's all hardware related. i doubt a recall will be made since that's a huge no-no for a company, so expect to be stuck with this "performance" until you get the next version of the iphone or the hardware is fixed in this current version.
 
This update did not correct my 3G issues.

But I do give many thanks to AT&T after I generated a trouble ticket with them. I've received two follow-up phone calls from them (with 3G off, of course 🙄) and they continue to give me updates.

I love Apple products, but this has been a real disappointment. I really regret upgrading to 3G from my original iPhone.
 
justiny said:
This update did not correct my 3G issues.

But I do give many thanks to AT&T after I generated a trouble ticket with them. I've received two follow-up phone calls from them (with 3G off, of course 🙄) and they continue to give me updates.

I love Apple products, but this has been a real disappointment. I really regret upgrading to 3G from my original iPhone.
Click to expand...

My buddy still has his original iPhone and laughs at me every time i complain to him about mine..

When i do get adequate 3G service the web browsing is great.. What angers me is when i get no service in areas blanketed with 3G coverage.
 
While i am not one of the folks who suffer from a weak 3G signal, i definitely do have some issues with it...most of the time here at home (SF Bay Area) i get between 2-4 3G bars, but intermittently i will lose 3G entirely and it will drop to Edge...only to switch back to 3G seconds later. While this isn't a big deal for me, it is annoying when it does this in the middle of web browsing or using AIM, as it will take 10+ seconds for the connection to re-establish. For the most part though, it is more of an annoyance than a problem for me.

What i am really, really, REALLY hoping is that this is not actually a HARDWARE issue as has been speculated before...because if it is, Apple will never come out and actually admit this (3+ million iPhone recall, anyone? not likely.) and most of the early adopters of the iPhone 3G (like myself) will pretty much have to rely on firmware updates that will try to "fix" this issue, which in reality might actually not be fixable at all. But knock on wood...
 
My problem is that a few weeks ago I didn't have these problems and I'm not sure what happened. It's frustrating because I switched providers and dropped a lot of money to get the iphone. My fiance has one also and even with 5 bars of 3G Safari says it cannot connect and doesn't load any webpages.
 
WhySoSerious said:
it wasn't really a fix at all. the chipset is the problem and until that is resolved, all of us will suffer the 3g signal issues.

the 2.0.2 patch only adjusted how the chipset reacts to a 3g signal. for instance, if during 2.0.1, you had 0, 1 or 2 bars of 3g, then the phone would struggle to maintain that signal before dropping to edge.

now, with 2.0.2, if your phone picks up 0, 1 or 2 bars of 3g, the phone software will immediately switch you over to edge, rather than risk struggling to maintain a weak 3g reception.

this mean, if you DO get a 3g reception on your phone, you will pretty much only see it when it's at 3, 4 or 5 bars....thus, you THINK the 2.0.2 patch worked...when really, it didn't.

the 2.0.2 software did 2 things:

1. help your battery life by not forcing your phone to try and maintain a weak 3g signal all the time

2. trick you into thinking the patch fixed the 3g reception when it really didn't

it's all hardware related. i doubt a recall will be made since that's a huge no-no for a company, so expect to be stuck with this "performance" until you get the next version of the iphone or the hardware is fixed in this current version.
Click to expand...


Thanks. That was helpful and explains why before I could always get a weak 3G signal and now I get no signal.

And yeah, it's sobering but you're probably right about being stuck with this for as long as I have the phone. I'm really considering taking mine back at this point. I've lost quite a bit of faith in Apple....
 
fsmac10 said:
Thanks. That was helpful and explains why before I could always get a weak 3G signal and now I get no signal.

And yeah, it's sobering but you're probably right about being stuck with this for as long as I have the phone. I'm really considering taking mine back at this point. I've lost quite a bit of faith in Apple....
Click to expand...

Do you just take it to the apple store even if you got it at an AT&T store or what?
 
jcde7ago said:
What i am really, really, REALLY hoping is that this is not actually a HARDWARE issue as has been speculated before...because if it is, Apple will never come out and actually admit this (3+ million iPhone recall, anyone? not likely.) and most of the early adopters of the iPhone 3G (like myself) will pretty much have to rely on firmware updates that will try to "fix" this issue, which in reality might actually not be fixable at all. But knock on wood...
Click to expand...

Why wouldnt they issue a recall?? Wouldn't that be the best thing for them to do simply to save face?
 
yrsonicdeath said:
Do you just take it to the apple store even if you got it at an AT&T store or what?
Click to expand...

If you got it at AT&T I would take it back to AT&T. That's my guess if you're looking for a refund. Apple might do it to though I don't know about this but if you would need a different type of phone as a replacement, AT&T is where you'd end up anyway so...
 
i have a feeling that the chipset will be resolved sometime in the next few months. since the iphone warranty lasts for a full year, then i would think everyone that has the old chipset can take it into an apple store for a replacement (as the old chipset would be deemed 'defective').
 
Small White Car said:
Turn off 3G at work, then.
Click to expand...

This is not an acceptable solution. Correct me if I'm wrong but if your phone is using Edge for data (pulling in emails, browsing the web, whatever), won't any calls that come in during an active Edge data connection go directly to voicemail?
 
jableskg said:
Why wouldnt they issue a recall?? Wouldn't that be the best thing for them to do simply to save face?
Click to expand...

This is the sort of issue that roughly 10-20% of users really notice and complain about. Others may be affected, but they don't really understand the technology behind the phone and don't pay much attention to the "E" and the "3G" up at the top of the phone.

A recall would get EVERYONE's attention and generate a LOT of bad publicity.

So what's worse...1 in 5 customers being somewhat dissatisfied for a year or so, or having 100% of your customers realize you screwed up?

There's no easy answer there, both seem like bad choices, huh? I'm not advocating one over the other, I'm just saying that either approach makes sense to me, so I wouldn't be surprised if you never see a recall.
 
fsmac10 said:
Thanks. That was helpful and explains why before I could always get a weak 3G signal and now I get no signal.

And yeah, it's sobering but you're probably right about being stuck with this for as long as I have the phone. I'm really considering taking mine back at this point. I've lost quite a bit of faith in Apple....
Click to expand...

I don't know if I can believe that. At home I always get between 0-2 bars. Before the update I always had 0-1 bar and the iPhone eventually changed to Edge. Now it works better but not great.
In other locations I found out that the iPhone doesn't switch all the time between 3G and Edge. If the signal isn't good then the iPhone changes to Edge and stays there unless the 3G becomes strong again. 2 bars don't make my iPhone change to Edge...
 
psywzrd said:
This is not an acceptable solution. Correct me if I'm wrong but if your phone is using Edge for data (pulling in emails, browsing the web, whatever), won't any calls that come in during an active Edge data connection go directly to voicemail?
Click to expand...

Look, he has 3 choices here:

1) Have a phone that NEVER gets calls at work.

2) Have a phone that works exactly like the version 1 phone while at work.

3) Return it.

He is currently living with #1. I suggested #2. I suspect he knows about #3 and doesn't need to be told.

What, exactly, are you suggesting? He should live with #1? That's not very acceptable either. I'm not sure what point you're trying to make.
 
psywzrd said:
This is not an acceptable solution. Correct me if I'm wrong but if your phone is using Edge for data (pulling in emails, browsing the web, whatever), won't any calls that come in during an active Edge data connection go directly to voicemail?
Click to expand...

Being on EDGE should not affect you receiving a phone call. Just like it doesn't on the 1st Gen.
 
Small White Car said:
Apple is probably working a good half-dozen issues that they can fix, but many proplems are out of their hands. That's just the way radio signals work.
Click to expand...
Apple are phone n00bs, it's as simple as that. They can blame it on hardware and radio signals all they want, but these issues are non-issues with phones from other manufacturers. The iPhone is my 3rd 3G phone. Here's a brief history:

July 2006-Oct 2007 SonyEricsson M600i - one or two dropped calls in 15 months
Oct 2007-Aug 2008: SonyEricsson P1i - zero dropped calls in 10 months
Aug 2008-?? iPhone 3G: - 7 dropped calls in 2 days (I'm on day 3)
 
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