2.01 update changes 3G modem and may lower 3G reception

[someguy7014]

after reading the results it is clear that alot of you are smoking way too much crack.

there has obviously been no change in the firmware to the 3g reception.

Drugs are bad.

 

[nimda0]

after reading the results it is clear that alot of you are smoking way too much crack.

there has obviously been no change in the firmware to the 3g reception.

Drugs are bad.

I'm so glad you responded, now the rest of the world knows what an intelligent reply wouldn't look like.

You know, it is possible for some people to experience the issue and for others to not experience it...... right? It's kinda like the plastic case cracking. I don't have that problem, but that doesn't mean the rest of the iphone users who DO have that problem are full of crap. It just means I was lucky.

 

[someguy7014]

I'm so glad you responded, now the rest of the world knows what an intelligent reply wouldn't look like.

You know, it is possible for some people to experience the issue and for others to not experience it...... right? It's kinda like the plastic case cracking. I don't have that problem, but that doesn't mean the rest of the iphone users who DO have that problem are full of crap. It just means I was lucky.

I'm glad you responded in such a way. You take life way too seriously.

 

[tuftywhite]

3G reception

I haven't experienced any changes to my reception.

I haven't updated my iPhone yet.

I may or may not report back, depending on the severity of the change.

I'm guessing I won't notice any change as I don't sit watching my phone's reception bars constantly.

Sometimes it's 3G, sometimes it's Edge, sometimes it's not even that.

I have also been able to switch my iPhone off for prolonged periods. It has no reception when I do that.

 

[kgood]

Oddly enough mine has improved. I constantly get 5 but at work I usually get between 1-2 but I'm getting a steady 3. Odd.

 

[manhattanboy]

Before everyone beats up the OP any further, let's keep in mind the firmware does affect how the signal meter works and when the radio gives up on 3G to switch to EDGE. I think part of the problem with reception on the 2.0 software was the phone's reluctance to let go of 3G. I had this problem at work. I'd get zero 3G bars or fluctuating signal, and data wouldn't work until I forced 3G off. Hoping when I get to work tomorrow that this issue is gone.

thanks for that post ,

some of these posters are brutal

 

[dmel75]

I can verify.

I'm not smoking crack, nor am I so paranoid that I see black helicopters every time Apple makes a change to the iPhone software. I LOVE the 2.0.1 firmware, it's MILES above 2.0 in performance so far. However, I can verify that I have had issues with 3G coverage/bars since I loaded FW 2.0.1 last night. On my daily commute to work I can tell you with certainty where I was and was not receiving 3G signal before I upgraded my firmware. Yesterday, on the way to work, I was able to receive 3G signal from my house all the way to the office. Today, after being on 2.0.1 I had "No Service" both at my house and nearly all the way to work. I tried flipping 3G on and off in the settings menu, I also tried going in and out of Airplane mode, all to no avail. I finally set my 3G radio to ON, saw "No Signal" at the top and did a hard reboot of the phone. When the phone powered back on I magically had 3G signal, albeit MUCH less than I was getting before, barely 1-2 bars where before I had 3-4. Perhaps this is just a signal reporting/strength issue for some but I had NO signal whatsoever and then when I got signal it was definitely lessened.

Could this have been an issue with 3G coverage in my area? Not likely, not having seen any issues prior to 2.0.1

Could it have been a slight glitch in the software that may have also occurred in 2.0 that a reboot would have fixed? Of course, but this seems a
bit of a coincidence given the number of people complaining about lessened 3G signal after upgrading.

Could there be a possibility that Apple made SOME change to the radio software/firmware in a 250MB firmware update that may have changed the behavior of the phone? DEFINITELY.

Those of you who are dismissing this problem are welcome to your opinion but don't ridicule people who are experiencing the issue since you have absolutely no way to prove your point except on YOUR own hardware and network which may behave differently.

 

[dmel75]

after reading the results it is clear that alot of you are smoking way too much crack.

there has obviously been no change in the firmware to the 3g reception.

Drugs are bad.

How is this "obvious" to you? How many 3G iPhones do you have at your disposal? Do you run an iPhone 3G firmware testing business where you've had access to more information than "Bug Fixes?" Do you work for Apple and know with absolute certainty that not one byte of information in the radio code was changed? If so, please share with the community.

 

[justiny]

...stupid paranoia. I bet you anything this software update has nothing to do with 3G connection.

Agreed! Not too sure how a software update could affect your reception (not saying it couldn't, just don't see how). The more I think about it, this post actually seems really stupid to me now.

No it does! Apple was sitting there thinking, what should we do in our next firmware update? I KNOW, make the iPhone CRAPPIER!

That makes a TON of sense.......

Good Lord people, think before you post.........

Seeing as how the update has been out all of THREE HOURS, this is a useless poll. If you think it or read about it, it must be real.

My goodness, there is NOTHING IN THE SOFTWARE TO MAKE YOUR (insert word here because I can't think of it) LOWER!

EDIT: reception was the word hahaha.

How about, let's wait until the firmware has been out for more than TWENTY MINUTES before we all start going, APPLE RUINED IT! I CAN'T EVEN TURN ON MY IPHONE OR CALL ANYONE!

after reading the results it is clear that alot of you are smoking way too much crack.

there has obviously been no change in the firmware to the 3g reception.

Drugs are bad.

Wow. I had no idea there were this many shitbags on Macrumors.com.

If you don't like the thread, don't agree with the thread, or don't have anything productive to add to the thread, then move on. No reason to be dicks about it. [/threadjack]

I believe if you've always had a strong 3G signal, you'll continue to have that after the update. I think the real issue is those people who had weak 3G signals before, and now have no 3G signal at all. At my work I consistently had one bar of 3G, so I'll give an update of my experience later in the day.

 

[manchoi44]

Switch to EDGE

I used to get 1 bar of 3G in my office (Chicago Loop), but after the software update, I'm getting "No Service". I mean, one bar of 3G was essentially unusable, but my biggest issue with this is: If the 3G network is performing poorly, shouldn't it just automatically switch to EDGE?

edit: it just switched to EDGE when a text message came in... (still confused)

 

[wildmilne]

3G doesn't work anymore in my home although I can see "3G" sign with five bars..

I've gotten this a few times recently, both before and after the update. If i put it to airplane mode and back again usually comes back...annoying though.

 

[ashVID]

Before everyone beats up the OP any further, let's keep in mind the firmware does affect how the signal meter works and when the radio gives up on 3G to switch to EDGE. I think part of the problem with reception on the 2.0 software was the phone's reluctance to let go of 3G. I had this problem at work. I'd get zero 3G bars or fluctuating signal, and data wouldn't work until I forced 3G off. Hoping when I get to work tomorrow that this issue is gone.

BINGO! For those of us who travel, this has been a major issue. Going to 1 unusable bar of 3G or "no service" in an area with 5 bars of Edge. ATT's 3G network is the best in the country but it is still full of giant holes. There is more free wifi in the US than 3G coverage.





ash =o)

 

[megfilmworks]

My 3G service at home went from 1-2 bars to No Service immediately after the update was installed.

Same here.

 

[NSWMaps]

One possible but not likely answer as to why this could of happened is that apple, having seen the drop of 3G network performance across all phones, most likely due to the IPhone 3G, decided to lower the strain that an iPhone puts on the network by some how lowering the reception on the Phone itself.

Just an idea.

 

[Apple Ink]

I believe it has to do with what Appleinsider says.

They state that Apple has increased the signal bars for the same signal strength in 2.0.1 This is whats creating the fuss I guess!

 

[Riemann Zeta]

Drugs are bad.

Drugs are great. But that has nothing to do with anything here. Since the baseband was only updated in the 3G, it is easy to understand how the FW update could have affected reception (but only on the 3G).

 

[trunksu]

i couldn't test it till i left the house (no 3G at my place). areas where i would normally get 1 bar now just says "no service". also what i noticed was it didn't automatically switch to EDGE while in no service. i didn't try to make a call while it said "no service" but i'll try it on the way home later.

i think someone said it correctly in that before the iPhone would cling onto the 3G network when it shouldn't be? i hope they kept the feature where it will switch from 3G to EDGE automatically because would be kind of annoying to flip the ON/OFF switch everytime.

at work. 3G reception is 1-2 bars better than before (getting full bars now).

 

[redman042]

I'm at work now and can report that my phone with 2.01 is smarter about letting go of a very weak 3G signal and going to EDGE when needed to keep data flowing. It's an obvious difference.

I have not experienced reduced signal. But clearly some have. That is strange. It's hard to understand why that would be, but I certainly believe the reports. Maybe AT&T needs to upload some new software to their towers to go with the Apple update, and they have not finished yet. Or maybe the Apple update works better with some tower frequencies than others, and in my area we have the "good" frequencies.

Who knows. I do know that cell phone signal strength and reliability has as much to do with the software as the antennas, because there's a whole lot going on with "handshaking" and all that.

In any case, I'm happy mine is working better but I hope AT&T and Apple get the kinks worked out soon so we can all enjoy the phone.

It is comforting to know that I own what is undoubtedly the best-supported piece of phone hardware on the planet. Apple will update this phone until it's perfect. With a Windows Mobile phone, you'd be lucky if the manufacturer issued one firmware update before they give up and call it obsolete.

 

[jediistar]

Wow. I had no idea there were this many shitbags on Macrumors.com.

If you don't like the thread, don't agree with the thread, or don't have anything productive to add to the thread, then move on. No reason to be dicks about it. [/threadjack]

I believe if you've always had a strong 3G signal, you'll continue to have that after the update. I think the real issue is those people who had weak 3G signals before, and now have no 3G signal at all. At my work I consistently had one bar of 3G, so I'll give an update of my experience later in the day.

Wow, someone in this thread who can actually put an intelligent argument together. Mazel tov my friend. I fall into that category of those people who had 1 bar in my house and now suffer no service.

 

[FearlessFreep]

I encourage someone to make a convincing argument how improving call reliability (ie switching a weak 3G signal to Edge before the point a call drops) is a bad thing?

If (and this is a BIG if) this was done in 2.0.1, can that be a bad thing? No, your on-screen meter might not show as many 3G bars (too bad), but your calls might not get dropped as much either. Don't forget the "Phone" in iPhone.

Yes, I guess if you are in an area where you have 3G coverage, but not Edge that would be an issue. But realistically how many times is that going to happen? Edge coverage is much more pervasive than 3G.

Although I'm still not convinced that anything was even done in 2.0.1 in regards to cell signals.

 

[trunksu]

I'm at work now and can report that my phone with 2.01 is smarter about letting go of a very weak 3G signal and going to EDGE when needed to keep data flowing. It's an obvious difference.

I have not experienced reduced signal. But clearly some have. That is strange. It's hard to understand why that would be, but I certainly believe the reports. Maybe AT&T needs to upload some new software to their towers to go with the Apple update, and they have not finished yet. Or maybe the Apple update works better with some tower frequencies than others, and in my area we have the "good" frequencies.

Who knows. I do know that cell phone signal strength and reliability has as much to do with the software as the antennas, because there's a whole lot going on with "handshaking" and all that.

In any case, I'm happy mine is working better but I hope AT&T and Apple get the kinks worked out soon so we can all enjoy the phone.

It is comforting to know that I own what is undoubtedly the best-supported piece of phone hardware on the planet. Apple will update this phone until it's perfect. With a Windows Mobile phone, you'd be lucky if the manufacturer issued one firmware update before they give up and call it obsolete.

just from what i've read, it sounds like the reduced signal strength is if you were on 3G and had only 1 bar, it now says no service. i didn't vote yet because maybe that 1 bar before really meant i had no 3G service in the areas that had 1 bar.

redman totally agree with you on how comforting it is to know this phone has the best support.

 

[trunksu]

I encourage someone to make a convincing argument how improving call reliability (ie switching a weak 3G signal to Edge before the point a call drops) is a bad thing?

If (and this is a BIG if) this was done in 2.0.1, can that be a bad thing? No, your on-screen meter might not show as many 3G bars (too bad), but your calls might not get dropped as much either. Don't forget the "Phone" in iPhone.

Yes, I guess if you are in an area where you have 3G coverage, but not Edge that would be an issue. But realistically how many times is that going to happen? Edge coverage is much more pervasive than 3G.

Although I'm still not convinced that anything was even done in 2.0.1 in regards to cell signals.

i don't have the link with me but i read last night that the modem firmware has been changed.

 

[jaggunothing]

Suggest a fresh restart after the phone update, this will help in some cases

 

[justiny]

Count me in. I had one bar of 3G at work before the update, and I'm now on EDGE with no sign of 3G. I had to turn 3G off every time I went into my office to avoid dropped calls (it would teeter on 3G, I would receive a call, it would switch to 2G, and I would drop the call), so this update actually helps me out.

 

[albeli]

Wow, for those of you being so rude, maybe you should try to ignore this thread and just be happy you aren't experiencing this.

*snip*

Today, after being on 2.0.1 I had "No Service" both at my house and nearly all the way to work. I tried flipping 3G on and off in the settings menu, I also tried going in and out of Airplane mode, all to no avail. I finally set my 3G radio to ON, saw "No Signal" at the top and did a hard reboot of the phone. When the phone powered back on I magically had 3G signal, albeit MUCH less than I was getting before, barely 1-2 bars where before I had 3-4. Perhaps this is just a signal reporting/strength issue for some but I had NO signal whatsoever and then when I got signal it was definitely lessened.

*snip*

Thanks, I just tried this and it worked.

I checked my 3G and had No Service.

Then I made sure to leave the 3G switch ON and did a reset, and when my phone restarted I suddenly had 3G again, 2 bars inside my house. I'd advise others who no longer have 3G service to try this.