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2.1 Do you really have better reception/download speeds or just more bars?

X

Xtgirl

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 15, 2007
169
0
Hi,
Everyone is saying they are happy with the update because they now have more bars than they did before the update....but that doesn't mean that you have better reception.

They adjusted the signal strength bars...do you actually notice faster download speeds than before/better phone reception...? or are people just thinking it is better since they see more bars.....?

I am assuming the improvement in dropped calls would be because they upped the 3G bars so it didn't get into the gray area of poor 3G switching to edge issue which caused lots of dropped calls.
 
I don't see any improvement in those areas. My data was always decent after 2.0.2, but all I see is more bars. Actual signal is identical.
 
I have made three phone calls so far under 2.1 in my basement and so far it seems much improved. I could count on poor reception but now the calls seem very clear and strong. I still can't get 3G in my basement but then that is normal for 3G.
 
I couldn't do anything data-related on 3G at work -- it'd just time-out/not connect.

With 2.1, data now works great. DSL Reports bandwidth showed 600kbps at one point.
 
Xtgirl said:
Hi,
Everyone is saying they are happy with the update because they now have more bars than they did before the update....but that doesn't mean that you have better reception.

They adjusted the signal strength bars...do you actually notice faster download speeds than before/better phone reception...? or are people just thinking it is better since they see more bars.....?

I am assuming the improvement in dropped calls would be because they upped the 3G bars so it didn't get into the gray area of poor 3G switching to edge issue which caused lots of dropped calls.
Click to expand...

I'm seeing better reception. I'm currently sitting on a couch that when my phone is in it's holster I could guarantee never receiving a call. It was a 3G fringe area. Today since the update I haven't missed one call and I can actually carry a conversation without moving to the other side of my house.

While I see more bars, they definitely did some work to correct basic call issues internally.

Two thumbs up for improved call performance on 3G. No more having to turn it off! :)
 
I am definitely getting an increase in bars on 3G. I usually got 3-5 in my room here at my house now I'm getting a solid 5 bars, it hasn't gotten lower. I'm hoping that Jobs didn't try to cut corners by buffering the parameters and making the phone think it has a better signal than it does. That won't be good if it does.
 
Justinerator said:
To all that get better reception, did you just update it or did you wipe it and start fresh or from a backup?
Click to expand...

I just let itunes do it's thing (standard upgrade).

I was concerned about this as well, but figured "what the hey" and at worst knew I'd have to wipe if things didn't turn out.

Well, they turned out peachy...so far.
 
I get one bar right now compared to none before, so I guess it's kinda "better" but don't think it's that much better (at least where I live).
 
The speed seems to correlate with the 6 bars of 3G that I have. :)
This was a good software update.

attachment.php


In reality, I am observing the exact same SPEEDS that I had before. Bars represent signal strength, not speed. You can have 5 bars of EDGE or 2 bars of 3G and the 3G is going to be faster. From my own experience, the speed is the same whether I have 2 bars of 3G or 5 bars of 3G. :)
 
Peabody said:
I just let itunes do it's thing (standard upgrade).

I was concerned about this as well, but figured "what the hey" and at worst knew I'd have to wipe if things didn't turn out.

Well, they turned out peachy...so far.
Click to expand...

hexonxonx said:
I upgraded both of my 3G iPhones.
Click to expand...

Thanks guys, I just upgraded too. Everything went well, and now I have full 3g everywhere, even in places where there was only edge before! :D
 
Rybold said:
The speed seems to correlate with the 6 bars of 3G that I have. :)
This was a good software update.

attachment.php


<SNIP>
Click to expand...

That must have been on the EDGE test, not the 3g test. If it were the 3g test, the speed of the connection would be a lot lower (like 600 kbps - 1.2 mbps)

EDIT: It amazes me how much one can do with photoshop....
 
Upgraded to 2.1 this morning, My 3g speed not quit as fast as yours, I am in Southern Calif.
 

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Whorehay said:
According to this site, I have faster EDGE on my original iPhone (284Kbps) than you do on 3G :confused:
Click to expand...

It's a different kind of test. For example, if he were to do the edge test you did, in the same location as before, it would be exponentially higher. This is because the file (?) being passed through the connection is much smaller, therefore resulting in an innacurate connection speed. If you were to do the 3g test he did, you would get a much slower speed. I hope that makes sense, since I wrote it in about 30 seconds... :p
 
The iPhone 3G is like Ft. Lauderdale. You can add all the bars you want, but it's still just Ft. Lauderdale.

I had 0-1 bars in my apt. pre-2.1...with 2.1 I have 4-5 bars. My GF just called me here. Went straight to VM. Didn't even ring. 4-5 bars my butt.
 
Whorehay said:
According to this site, I have faster EDGE on my original iPhone (284Kbps) than you do on 3G :confused:
Click to expand...

Thats about what i've been getting consistently on my original iPhone when doing the test over EDGE. I've been getting results between 260 and 290kbps. If these numbers are accurate I am definitely seeing a speed improvement with the 2.1 update. It no 3G but definitely a step up from what I was consistently getting previously with EDGE(between 50 - 150kbps).
 
Justinerator said:
It's a different kind of test. For example, if he were to do the edge test you did, in the same location as before, it would be exponentially higher. This is because the file (?) being passed through the connection is much smaller, therefore resulting in an innacurate connection speed. If you were to do the 3g test he did, you would get a much slower speed. I hope that makes sense, since I wrote it in about 30 seconds... :p
Click to expand...

The test site has to be jacked up then...I wanted to test your theory so I just ran the "3G Test" on my original EDGE iPhone and got 352Kbps...
 

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Down loaded 2.1 today

I used both test sites when I checked my 3g speed. I guess they adjusted the bar meter to show good reception
 

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testmyiphone.com seems messed up sometimes. If you get a result that you would expect from 3G and then the next time you try it, it looks like Edge speeds, try closing out the page and going back to the main testmyiphone.com. All of the sudden the speed goes back up to 3G speeds.
 
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