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latintrpt

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 30, 2007
34
0
I just bought a 8GB 3g iPhone last week from the apple store and i've been having problems with edge/3g. I was getting a ride to work today and i switched to 3g mode while he was driving and all of a sudden it said "no service" it stayed like this for about 30 mins, I was switching back and forward between 3g and edge and nothing. Eventually I got service back but edge nor 3g were available. The only way i was able to fix it was by restarting the phone. Then i was able to connect to 3g. Any ideas why this is happening? His iPhone on the other hand stayed connected fine, it switched between 3g and edge but it didn't go into "no service" Wifi works fine on my phone. Please help, what do i need to do?

Thank You
 

Quincy9219

macrumors regular
Aug 8, 2008
200
0
Are you sure you have 2.1 installed? This was a common issue under 2.0, 2.0.1, and 2.0.2. Also, is you phone jailbroken?
 

latintrpt

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 30, 2007
34
0
version: 2.1 (5F136), brand new, not jailbroken. Should i set it back to factory settings? I'm thinking this is a hardware issue. Earlier this evening i couldn't even turn on 3g without it giving me "no service" When i turned off 3g it did go back to 4 bars with edge. It just started working again with 3g. I live in Chicago btw and i'm pretty sure 3g is well covered.
 

paperstar

macrumors newbie
Nov 5, 2008
7
0
Bay Area
Turn off location services

Strange thing happened. If I leave location services OFF when I don't need them I'll get 3 to 4 bars 3G at my house after commuting or just changing my location(bay area with decent 3G)

But if I'm at home with wifi or 3g or edge and turn ON location services, after a while, I'll get the "No Service" even after i toggle the 3G to EDGE and back again.

I've tried it a few times and it seems with GPS, ATT knows that at a particular location, you may be able to get a different signal such as wifi. Also I've noticed with the update that you can only surf the web using 3G or Wifi when making a call. With my 3G iphone I'm unable to open Safari after placing a call on EDGE. Hmmm?

It's worth a shot.....
 

SnakeD77

macrumors newbie
Jul 3, 2008
19
1
Maryland
I exchanged my iphone out and now the new phone does not go to 3G, it stays on Edge. My old one did, so I guess I have to return this one.
 

SheepNutz

macrumors 6502a
Jul 1, 2007
670
2
Kantuckee
I exchanged my iphone out and now the new phone does not go to 3G, it stays on Edge. My old one did, so I guess I have to return this one.

It may be a problem with the 3g network, not your phone. Here in Cincinnati, we had problems with iPhones not switching from edge to 3g, but working fine in other 3g networks, like Columbus, OH and Lexington, KY. One guy here on these forums was able to get a customer service rep to notify the engineering team about the problem, and they've fixed it. It switches to 3g just fine on my way into work every day now.
 

SnakeD77

macrumors newbie
Jul 3, 2008
19
1
Maryland
It may be a problem with the 3g network, not your phone. Here in Cincinnati, we had problems with iPhones not switching from edge to 3g, but working fine in other 3g networks, like Columbus, OH and Lexington, KY. One guy here on these forums was able to get a customer service rep to notify the engineering team about the problem, and they've fixed it. It switches to 3g just fine on my way into work every day now.

It's not the network. A friend of mine with a 3G iphone is on the 3G network. And my old phone was on the 3G network.
 

Dizle

macrumors 6502
Jun 30, 2008
308
8
The Beach
I have the newest software in my 3g and this happens to me also. Never ever happened with the previous versions, just the newest update. And my battery drain faster grrrrr come on apple can't you guys get all your phones to work like there suppose to? Still love the phone though :D
 

Trackmonkey

macrumors newbie
Oct 17, 2008
11
0
Strange thing happened. If I leave location services OFF when I don't need them I'll get 3 to 4 bars 3G at my house after commuting or just changing my location(bay area with decent 3G)

But if I'm at home with wifi or 3g or edge and turn ON location services, after a while, I'll get the "No Service" even after i toggle the 3G to EDGE and back again.

It's worth a shot.....

I have the same issue so I disabled the location services after reading your post. Now when 3g is turned on the phone does get a 3g signal.

The phone still changes back and forth between Edge and 3g but at least it's changing between the two. Thanks for the tip.
 

gotzero

macrumors 68040
Jan 6, 2007
3,225
2
Mid-Atlantic, US
Mine has been dropping calls when it switches from EDGE to 3G. I have had 3G off for days because it is unacceptable.

I am waiting to see if 2.2 fixes it, and if not, I am probably going to switch to a Bold if they are relatively problem free.
 

AdiGital

macrumors newbie
Sep 8, 2008
9
0
Are you all guys from the US? Here in the UK I'm having the problem for last 5 days but it may be I didn't notice it before. It could also be that the problem existed but just increased recently. Basically after testing it myself, with friends and with O2 (yesterday) the conclusion is that while on 3G I can't receive calls. It's not 100% of the time though. While I'm at home (last night) I could receive. Couple of times the phone was switching to 2G during incomming call and then the connection failed. When on 2G it can receive the calls. :confused:
 

w3cum

macrumors regular
Oct 12, 2008
102
0
3G issues

here's one for you iPhone experts

I bought a 3G 8gb iPhone on the 3rd Oct.... the dopped calls were so bad with a new phone that I took it back.... got a new one on Monday the 6th.. Oct 28th I spent the evening on the phone with AT&T and Apple tech support swapping sim cards with other phones.... tryin different settings.... they decded the sim card is bad.... so I got a new sim.... that lasted a week....now I am having the same issues... dropped calls... if I disable the 3G I never drop a call and the call quality jumps... I am outside of DC in Northern Virginia and this is getting real old real quick...... I have tried the suggestions posted here... and I am open to other suggestions...
 

TheOnlyFTG

macrumors newbie
Nov 23, 2008
2
0
SAME Problem, BRAND NEW phone!

I'm having the EXACT same problem. I just bought the iphone 3g YESTERDAY! Came home and noticed that whenever I switched from 3g to edge, or visa versa, it just lost service and all i got was a "no service" in the top left corner. The only way to get it back was to reset the network settings. Took it to apple, they said I needed a new sim card from AT&T. Went there, they replaced it, did nothing. Went back to apple and they gave me a new phone. Worked for a bit, but now I'm getting the same problem. I can't switch from 3g to edge or visa versa because I will completely lose service and the only way to get it back is to reset network settings. I have the latest firmware v2.2 and live in San Francisco, the best AT&T coverage.

ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!! I don't want to have to keep changing phones!
 

fangiotophia

macrumors newbie
Jan 16, 2006
25
0
Fort Worth, Texas
Hey all,

It appears that I am having the exact same problem. I created a new post because I only noticed it happening AFTER the 2.2 upgrade. I am beginning to believe that it isn't a problem with the service, but indeed with the phone's software. The only thing I have found that helps is completely disabling 3G. This uses EDGE and does not attempt to switch back and forth (which drops the calls). It also spares battery life since it doesn't try to find a "better" 3G tower.

The downside is obvious: I can't use 3G! This is becoming unacceptable. I am going to head over to the AT&T store today and then possibly the Apple store. If it doesn't get resolved, I will be e-mailing old Stevo directly to see if we get a response.
 

w3cum

macrumors regular
Oct 12, 2008
102
0
Ahhh nice to see I am not the only one suffering

I got an 8gb 3g first of Oct. I am right outside DC in Northern Va. I am on my 3rd phone and 8th Sim card. because of this issue. On Friday when the Update came out it actually bricked the 2nd phone. I spent the day on the phone with Apple.... AGAIN... and they finally have things worked out. I have a new phone and they updated the software in the store. The reality of the situation is that a group of things went wrong...

1. there are a number of 8gb iPhones out there that have bad 3g Antennas

2. 2.1 has glitches in the software as to switching from Edge to 3g and back which was reslvedin the 2.2 upgrade.... thats why we are nit dropping as many calls.... (knock on wood)

3. ATT has many 3g Cell sights that are still getting updated them selves...

Good luck....
 
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