Reception worse than 3GS

[nooaah]

Maybe it's something local with AT&T, but since activating my bars hop up and down. Sometimes, entering hallways where I maintained about -110 with my 3GS I now get "searching".

Anyone else notice poor reception so far? I'm hoping AT&T in my neck of the woods is just having issues and it's not the phone.

 

[gatekeeper]

Mine is the same.. I used to get full service in my house at all times with my 3G, but currently I am getting only 2-3 bars with the iPhone 4...

 

[Mike84]

Maybe the Iphone 4 is just better at giving you accurate reception and the 3G and 3Gs was just making up false signals and upping the bars.

 

[CaliKev]

It was stated with the iPhone 4 that the phone will look for the most reliable signal even though it may not be the signal with 5 bars, it is grabbing a signal that shouldn't drop your calls. Hope that makes sense.

 

[bahooki]

The bars are a bug. Apple admitted this to Walt Mossberg. Read his review. But the dropped NO SERVICE connectivity is a major bug, which is a combo of the antenna and the software interacting with it. Once again it appears a lot of us are going to be stuck with an iPhone that sucks as a phone.

 

[nooaah]

Maybe the Iphone 4 is just better at giving you accurate reception and the 3G and 3Gs was just making up false signals and upping the bars.

I addressed this in the other thread. While the 3G and 3GS fudged the bars (I was JBed to show db instead of bars), the 4 actually LOSES service completely randomly. And in places where I could get SOME service, I'm getting none now. Considering I can barely make an outgoing call in my apartment with the 3GS, I'm a little worried about what to expect.

 

[synagence]

I've found the case the previous poster mentioned to be accurate...

Many a time have i had 3 or 4 bars of 3G but when i've actually gone to use data it drop significantly to the point of sometimes going onto GPRS

Might be accurate reading now .... plus also wasn't it mentioned that iPhone 4 takes the best channel and least congested for best overall quality regardless of another channel having higher signal strength

 

[magpie maniac]

It's not just about bars. It's about call quality and reception.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/947186/

 

[b_scott]

what do you mean, -110?

 

[CrAkD]

In one of the reviews apple admitted there was a software issue with how the 4 displays bars that their going to fix however they said service should still be good reguardless of what it says for bars.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

The bars are a bug. Apple admitted this to Walt Mossberg. Read his review. But the dropped NO SERVICE connectivity is a major bug, which is a combo of the antenna and the software interacting with it. Once again it appears a lot of us are going to be stuck with an iPhone that sucks as a phone.

So trade one bug for another? Either get fudged bars and false 3G signal (when there is none) with the 3GS or erratic bars with the iPhone 4?

 

[nooaah]

In one of the reviews apple admitted there was a software issue with how the 4 displays bars that their going to fix however they said service should still be good reguardless of what it says for bars.

Again, we're getting NO SERVICE. And when it says that, it really means it.

 

[bahooki]

So trade one bug for another? Either get fudged bars and false 3G signal (when there is none) with the 3GS or erratic bars with the iPhone 4?

Erratic bars and the inability to even find a signal. I, and I assume many others, hoped the MAGICAL new antenna setup of the iPhone that all the nerds in the auditorium ooooed and ahhhhhed over would improve this situation. Apparently not only did it not improve it, it made it worse.

 

[Maaz]

The bars are a bug. Apple admitted this to Walt Mossberg. Read his review. But the dropped NO SERVICE connectivity is a major bug, which is a combo of the antenna and the software interacting with it. Once again it appears a lot of us are going to be stuck with an iPhone that sucks as a phone.

This

 

[Drag'nGT]

Hmmm... interesting. So Apple's gonna fix the software issue. I wonder how long that will take.

 

[CJayC]

I never understood how to read that db number when I turned that option on in SBSettings. Explain please.

 

[HarrisonB]

The bars are a bug. Apple admitted this to Walt Mossberg. Read his review. But the dropped NO SERVICE connectivity is a major bug, which is a combo of the antenna and the software interacting with it. Once again it appears a lot of us are going to be stuck with an iPhone that sucks as a phone.

walt also said a lot of his no service calls went through

 

[nlr]

If the guys complaining are on AT&T then thats your problem.....

 

[magpie maniac]

walt also said a lot of his no service calls went through

I wish mined did. Instead, I get "Call Failed".

Trust me. This is more than just the number of bars on the display. The 4's reception blows big time.

Forget bars for a second. With the 3G and 3GS, I had great voice quality sitting on the couch in the living room. With the 4, I rarely get a signal standing in the front yard. And when I do, it drops mid-call.

 

[AJerman]

I never understood how to read that db number when I turned that option on in SBSettings. Explain please.

Well, as a simple overview, -80db and higher is a great signal, -100db and lower is a poor signal that's more likely to drop. Wherever you are based on that scale is your signal. For example, I've got -71db right now at my house, but the tower is about a tenth of a mile from here. I've seen the signal lower than -100db, but then calls or data are sometimes difficult.

I don't know what numbers the iPhone specifically uses for each bar. In my opinion -80 and higher should be 5 bars, -100 should be about 1. I believe the iPhone (or at least my 3G) is MUCH more generous with it's bars. I think it switches over to 5 bars around -90db to -100db.

 

[kas23]

Well, as a simple overview, -80db and higher is a great signal, -100db and lower is a poor signal that's more likely to drop. Wherever you are based on that scale is your signal. For example, I've got -71db right now at my house, but the tower is about a tenth of a mile from here. I've seen the signal lower than -100db, but then calls or data are sometimes difficult.

I don't know what numbers the iPhone specifically uses for each bar. In my opinion -80 and higher should be 5 bars, -100 should be about 1. I believe the iPhone (or at least my 3G) is MUCH more generous with it's bars. I think it switches over to 5 bars around -90db to -100db.

Is there a way to view these db's on a non-JB'd phone? If so, how?

 

[Nykwil]

I cant explain the no service issue.

However I can explain the number of bars showing. All cellphones have some kind of indicator for reception. The stable bars you see are how the manufacturer of the device interprets the radio signal they receive. In reality its a very sporadic and crazy frequency that is ever changing. Manufacturers are doing you a favor by putting something stable there like a row of bars so you're not freaking out about reception. Now depending on how apple interprets the signals teh bars will probably vary from iphone 3gs to iphone 4...it's all a matter of how they interpret the numbers. this explains why u might see 3 bars on an iphone 4 and 5 on a 3GS. Seeing as how the iphone 4 has a new antenna system, apple still needs to tweak how the reception bars are displayed.

 

[AJerman]

Is there a way to view these db's on a non-JB'd phone? If so, how?

Apparently not in iOS4. There was the field test mode that you could enter by dialing *3001#12345#* in previous versions of the software, but I guess that doesn't work in iOS4 anymore. Looks like the only known way to see the actual read out is to jail break.

 

[MrStark117]

Is there a way to view these db's on a non-JB'd phone? If so, how?

yes on OS 3.X dial *3001#12345#* and it'll bring you to a screen with the number based cell reception and a bunch of other cell tower data. Just tried dialing th number on iOS 4 and it didn't work though.

hope this helps


ajerman beat me to it

 

[Apollo 13]

My GF is having the same problem. She says if it's doing this at her job she's just returning it and sticking with the 3GS.