Firm Tests iPhone 3G Antenna, Says It's OK

MacRumors · Aug 25, 2008, 01:41 PM

Swedish website Götesborgs-Posten is reporting that tests of the iPhone's antenna are "completely normal," which may go to counteract suspicions that ongoing connectivity issues are due to the iPhone's antenna.

The test was conducted by Bluetest, a small company that sells test chambers for wireless devices with small antennas, and the results were compared to a Sony Ericsson P1 and a Nokia N73. The bottom line of the tests were that the iPhone was on-par with the other phones.

Testing was only done with one iPhone so it does not eliminate the possibility of a manufacturing defect, however the author notes that before the test the iPhone had been registering lower 3G bars than the Nokia model and would be more apt to switch to the EDGE network; symptoms common amongst users with the connectivity issue.

BusinessWeek (and later a memo from Steve Jobs) has previously reported that the issue was to be fixed via a software update. Since then, iPhone Software 2.0.2 has been released claiming to fix the problem, though users have still reported the issue.

Article Link

MacTheSpoon · Aug 25, 2008, 01:56 PM

This is very good news. Sounds like there is no hardware design flaw. A bad batch of iPhones or a software bug is much less painful to deal with.

I was getting a little leery about pulling the trigger on a 3G iPhone but I feel reassured now.

io_burn · Aug 25, 2008, 01:58 PM

It's going to be hard to argue against independent testing like this.

wizard · Aug 25, 2008, 02:04 PM

My impression is that overall behaviour of my iphone got worst after the update to 2.0.2. The phone might actually be better but Safari and networking actually seem worst. Further I thought the random crashes in Mail where gone but that is still a mystery.

In anyevent back to the heart of this thread. I have to wonder how they tested the antenna or for that matter why people think it is a problem. Much of the behavioural problems I see have software written all over them.

Dave

bigmc6000 · Aug 25, 2008, 02:32 PM

I think what we need to focus on isn't that some people are still having problems but that some people no longer have problems. There's this addiction to negative media that's propogated since, well, before I was born (82) and we continue to do it. I'm not saying people should be happy Apple is trying but they should realize that with each revision the number of people affected by this bug gets smaller. In the world of mass production you're never going to be bug free - it's the correction of those bugs that separate one company from the next and 2.0.2 was a step in the right direction.

Personally I have problems here and there with Safari crashing but putting it in the context of a computer I find just as stable as my XP Pro box here at work (running only company approved software so the fact that it still crashes is kinda messed up in my opinion...)

naroola · Aug 25, 2008, 02:36 PM

I believe that 2.0.2 was released only to add support for the 20 or so countries where the iPhone launched this past friday. I don't think it did addressed any bugs or did anything else for that matter.

aristotle · Aug 25, 2008, 02:41 PM

I hate to say "I told you so" but I told you so Vandozza.

bradl · Aug 25, 2008, 02:42 PM

Just to play devil's advocate here, it would have been more feasible to perform this test with a number of phones made from various week's batches (say, one or two from weeks 27 through 34) to get better idea of if the antenna is the problem.

Yes, it could still be a chipset issue, but at least this could put the hardware outside of the chipset in the clear. Also, when was the 3G iPhone released in Sweden?

BL.

Small White Car · Aug 25, 2008, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradl

Just to play devil's advocate here, it would have been more feasible to perform this test with a number of phones made from various week's batches (say, one or two from weeks 27 through 34) to get better idea of if the antenna is the problem.

That would be nice, yes, but the main news here is that there's not a design flaw with the phone.

There may be bad batches. There may be bad software. There may lots of bad things that require an update or a partial-recall. But a message from Apple saying "oops, they're all bad! We did it wrong!" is looking less likely because of this news.

longofest · Aug 25, 2008, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naroola

I believe that 2.0.2 was released only to add support for the 20 or so countries where the iPhone launched this past friday. I don't think it did addressed any bugs or did anything else for that matter.

Apple said 2.0.2 "improves communication with 3G networks".

http://www.macrumors.com/2008/08/22/...test-firmware/

Ori · Aug 25, 2008, 04:07 PM

So we still stand with it could be software, but it could also be the chipset. All we have eliminated is the Antenna. Don't get me wrong, thats a start! ;-)

DN7335 · Aug 25, 2008, 04:18 PM

So far I've seen no difference with the 2.0.2 update, my 3G still sucks balls...

manhattanboy · Aug 25, 2008, 04:20 PM

Well I for one am still having problems and if I could ever get out of work I would waste 10 hours at the Apple store to have it replaced.
I do not care what the issue is, there is NO EXCUSABLE REASON why >20% of my calls are "failed" calls. PERIOD.

manhattanboy · Aug 25, 2008, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DN7335

So far I've seen no difference with the 2.0.2 update, my 3G still sucks balls...

so does mine. My 3G also sucks balls

ARK · Aug 25, 2008, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manhattanboy

Well I for one am still having problems and if I could ever get out of work I would waste 10 hours at the Apple store to have it replaced.
I do not care what the issue is, there is NO EXCUSABLE REASON why >20% of my calls are "failed" calls. PERIOD.

Well your location says your underground. What do you expect being underground? HA! All kidding aside my 3G is great in Indianapolis. It must be your location.

rlmccormick · Aug 25, 2008, 05:07 PM

The antenna is an important but not the only piece of hardware in the RF signal chain. Just because the antenna has no issue does not mean that there is something going on with the rest of the hardware. I'd have to say that the antenna may have been the least likely piece of hardware to have the issue. We may still have a chipset issue on our hands ( pun intended

)

wizard · Aug 25, 2008, 05:14 PM

Really that is I suspect that my experience could be worst if I made use of IPhone as a cell phone alot. But that is not where my negative impressions come from as I use it as much as an internet appliance as anything else. There is does probably better than most things in the market but frankly does not meet my expectations of Apple. The random crashes in Mail are truly depressing as that really shouldn't be happening in what is a simple Mail app.

I suspect though that the big fix is coming in 2.1. I also suspect that that will mean developers having to generate new apps because of the suspicion that the problems are deep in libraries and other parts of the system. In other words I fear an API rework to correct some of the problems. I still revert tot he idea that the iPhone 2.0 was simply rushed to market to meet a management deadline with the traditional screwing the customers get in such situations.

Dave

wizard · Aug 25, 2008, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlmccormick

The antenna is an important but not the only piece of hardware in the RF signal chain. Just because the antenna has no issue does not mean that there is something going on with the rest of the hardware. I'd have to say that the antenna may have been the least likely piece of hardware to have the issue. We may still have a chipset issue on our hands ( pun intended

)

This is very much the case. The only thing here is that I believe the issue to be software and not hardware. A lot of that comes from the over all fell of IPhone 2.0 software. If one has as many software problems as 2.0 has in as many places there is good reason to believe it is also an issue in the baseband processing.

dave

emccus01 · Aug 25, 2008, 05:31 PM

My 3g performance went down after the update. I have run the diagnostic test ( type in *3001#12345#* ) and then dial and my numbers are decent in areas with 3g. My beef exists in the fact that I lose calls when traveling from an area with no 3g to an area with edge. The darn phone can't transfer my call. I drop to many calls on 3g and thus leave my phone on EDGE all the time. I am not happy with this. Hopefully they will provide a BETTER software update.

aristotle · Aug 25, 2008, 06:11 PM

Come on guys, the rest of the world is using the iphone use fine. Just accept the fact that AT&T currently sucks balls and put pressure on them to fix their issues.

It's not the chipset either.

bradl · Aug 25, 2008, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aristotle

Come on guys, the rest of the world is using the iphone use fine. Just accept the fact that AT&T currently sucks balls and put pressure on them to fix their issues.

It's not the chipset either.

Yet Vodafone, Telstra, Optus, O2, T-Mobile, and others are complaining of the same thing? It's more than just ATT's issue here. There is definitely something not right with the phone, regardless of the network it is on.

BL.

Oskee2001 · Aug 25, 2008, 07:38 PM

my iphone 3G is working fine, both before and after the update. However, the first gen iphone was more stable, so i'm hoping 2.1 will do the trick.

manhattanboy · Aug 25, 2008, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradl

Yet Vodafone, Telstra, Optus, O2, T-Mobile, and others are complaining of the same thing? It's more than just ATT's issue here. There is definitely something not right with the phone, regardless of the network it is on.

BL.

*3001#12345#*

just did the field test and noted that my Db's are around 100
which basically means that is probably the reason all my calls are dropping.
Jesus, this sucks balls.
I am going to the ATT store tomorrow to get a new SIM.

AlphaBob · Aug 25, 2008, 09:12 PM

I am on the fringe area I suspect. My receive signal level is around negative 93 dBm, which is pretty close to the noise floor (at around -105).

If I allow it to stay 3G Enabled, then it keeps switching between edge and 3G. For whatever reason that switch takes a long time in my case, and seems to crash Safari every time it happens.

The latest 2.0.2 update made NO difference to me with respect to 3G.

I'd say I am am between "3G Sucks Balls" and "3G isn't worth the money"

overcast · Aug 25, 2008, 11:12 PM

2.0.2 update made my 3G almost unusable. Most of the time, I get page timeouts and unable to connect. I'll be heading back to 2.0.1 tomorrow to see if it alleviates the issue, as I had zero problems when I was on that one.

Aug 25, 2008, 02:04 PM	#4
wizard macrumors 65816 Join Date: May 2003	2.0.2, was it really a improvement overall. My impression is that overall behaviour of my iphone got worst after the update to 2.0.2. The phone might actually be better but Safari and networking actually seem worst. Further I thought the random crashes in Mail where gone but that is still a mystery. In anyevent back to the heart of this thread. I have to wonder how they tested the antenna or for that matter why people think it is a problem. Much of the behavioural problems I see have software written all over them. Dave

Aug 25, 2008, 02:36 PM	#6
naroola macrumors member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New York, NY	I believe that 2.0.2 was released only to add support for the 20 or so countries where the iPhone launched this past friday. I don't think it did addressed any bugs or did anything else for that matter. __________________  Aluminum iMac 24" 2.4GHz C2D 3GB \| Macbook Air 1.6GHz HDD AEBS \| Apple TV 40GB iPhone 3G 16GB Black \| iPod Shuffle-Orange

Aug 25, 2008, 04:20 PM	#13
manhattanboy macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2007	Well I for one am still having problems and if I could ever get out of work I would waste 10 hours at the Apple store to have it replaced. I do not care what the issue is, there is NO EXCUSABLE REASON why >20% of my calls are "failed" calls. PERIOD. __________________ Experimental iPhone ver. 2.1 with fully functional flash Next year's iMac 16-core 50gb ram MacBook Air Pro a thin laptop with actual power

Aug 25, 2008, 05:07 PM	#16
rlmccormick macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2008	Antenna? The antenna is an important but not the only piece of hardware in the RF signal chain. Just because the antenna has no issue does not mean that there is something going on with the rest of the hardware. I'd have to say that the antenna may have been the least likely piece of hardware to have the issue. We may still have a chipset issue on our hands ( pun intended )

Aug 25, 2008, 05:14 PM	#17
wizard macrumors 65816 Join Date: May 2003	I'm lucky I don't use the phone much for a phone ;) Really that is I suspect that my experience could be worst if I made use of IPhone as a cell phone alot. But that is not where my negative impressions come from as I use it as much as an internet appliance as anything else. There is does probably better than most things in the market but frankly does not meet my expectations of Apple. The random crashes in Mail are truly depressing as that really shouldn't be happening in what is a simple Mail app. I suspect though that the big fix is coming in 2.1. I also suspect that that will mean developers having to generate new apps because of the suspicion that the problems are deep in libraries and other parts of the system. In other words I fear an API rework to correct some of the problems. I still revert tot he idea that the iPhone 2.0 was simply rushed to market to meet a management deadline with the traditional screwing the customers get in such situations. Dave

Aug 25, 2008, 01:41 PM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Firm Tests iPhone 3G Antenna, Says It's OK Swedish website Götesborgs-Posten is reporting that tests of the iPhone's antenna are "completely normal," which may go to counteract suspicions that ongoing connectivity issues are due to the iPhone's antenna. The test was conducted by Bluetest, a small company that sells test chambers for wireless devices with small antennas, and the results were compared to a Sony Ericsson P1 and a Nokia N73. The bottom line of the tests were that the iPhone was on-par with the other phones. Testing was only done with one iPhone so it does not eliminate the possibility of a manufacturing defect, however the author notes that before the test the iPhone had been registering lower 3G bars than the Nokia model and would be more apt to switch to the EDGE network; symptoms common amongst users with the connectivity issue. BusinessWeek (and later a memo from Steve Jobs) has previously reported that the issue was to be fixed via a software update. Since then, iPhone Software 2.0.2 has been released claiming to fix the problem, though users have still reported the issue. Article Link

Aug 25, 2008, 01:56 PM	#2
MacTheSpoon macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2006	This is very good news. Sounds like there is no hardware design flaw. A bad batch of iPhones or a software bug is much less painful to deal with. I was getting a little leery about pulling the trigger on a 3G iPhone but I feel reassured now.

Aug 25, 2008, 01:58 PM	#3
io_burn macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Naperville, IL	It's going to be hard to argue against independent testing like this.

Aug 25, 2008, 02:32 PM	#5
bigmc6000 macrumors 6502a Join Date: May 2006	I think what we need to focus on isn't that some people are still having problems but that some people no longer have problems. There's this addiction to negative media that's propogated since, well, before I was born (82) and we continue to do it. I'm not saying people should be happy Apple is trying but they should realize that with each revision the number of people affected by this bug gets smaller. In the world of mass production you're never going to be bug free - it's the correction of those bugs that separate one company from the next and 2.0.2 was a step in the right direction. Personally I have problems here and there with Safari crashing but putting it in the context of a computer I find just as stable as my XP Pro box here at work (running only company approved software so the fact that it still crashes is kinda messed up in my opinion...)

Aug 25, 2008, 02:41 PM	#7
aristotle macrumors 6502a Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Canada	I hate to say "I told you so" but I told you so Vandozza.

Aug 25, 2008, 02:42 PM	#8
bradl macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jun 2008	Just to play devil's advocate here, it would have been more feasible to perform this test with a number of phones made from various week's batches (say, one or two from weeks 27 through 34) to get better idea of if the antenna is the problem. Yes, it could still be a chipset issue, but at least this could put the hardware outside of the chipset in the clear. Also, when was the 3G iPhone released in Sweden? BL.

Aug 25, 2008, 04:07 PM	#11
Ori macrumors regular Join Date: Jun 2008	So we still stand with it could be software, but it could also be the chipset. All we have eliminated is the Antenna. Don't get me wrong, thats a start! ;-)

Aug 25, 2008, 04:18 PM	#12
DN7335 macrumors regular Join Date: Jun 2008	So far I've seen no difference with the 2.0.2 update, my 3G still sucks balls...

Aug 25, 2008, 05:31 PM	#19
emccus01 macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2007	My 3g performance went down after the update. I have run the diagnostic test ( type in 3001#12345# ) and then dial and my numbers are decent in areas with 3g. My beef exists in the fact that I lose calls when traveling from an area with no 3g to an area with edge. The darn phone can't transfer my call. I drop to many calls on 3g and thus leave my phone on EDGE all the time. I am not happy with this. Hopefully they will provide a BETTER software update. __________________ 15 in. Macbook Pro w/ Glossy screen Old school 4 gig ipod mini Airport wireless N router iPhone 3G 16 gig

Aug 25, 2008, 06:11 PM	#20
aristotle macrumors 6502a Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Canada	Come on guys, the rest of the world is using the iphone use fine. Just accept the fact that AT&T currently sucks balls and put pressure on them to fix their issues. It's not the chipset either.

Aug 25, 2008, 07:38 PM	#22
Oskee2001 macrumors regular Join Date: Feb 2008	my iphone 3G is working fine, both before and after the update. However, the first gen iphone was more stable, so i'm hoping 2.1 will do the trick.

Aug 25, 2008, 09:12 PM	#24
AlphaBob macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Rhode Island	I am on the fringe area I suspect. My receive signal level is around negative 93 dBm, which is pretty close to the noise floor (at around -105). If I allow it to stay 3G Enabled, then it keeps switching between edge and 3G. For whatever reason that switch takes a long time in my case, and seems to crash Safari every time it happens. The latest 2.0.2 update made NO difference to me with respect to 3G. I'd say I am am between "3G Sucks Balls" and "3G isn't worth the money" __________________ Paid my Apple dues Macbook, Mac mini, iPod Touch, iPhone3G

Aug 25, 2008, 11:12 PM	#25
overcast macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Rochester, NY	2.0.2 update made my 3G almost unusable. Most of the time, I get page timeouts and unable to connect. I'll be heading back to 2.0.1 tomorrow to see if it alleviates the issue, as I had zero problems when I was on that one.

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