Awful Signal Reception compared to other 3GS

[AHDuke99]

Any reason why my iPhone 3GS gets 1 bar at my beach house on EDGE, while my friend's iPhone 3GS gets 3-4 bars on EDGE in the same area? I've tried to restore and see how that went, but I have the same issue. Are there always variations in phones or should I take it to Apple and tell them the problem? I'm having to use a RAZR right now when I am out there because I jump in and out of no service and 1 bar, while my 3G got 3-5 bars consistently.

 

[-aggie-]

Well, if you don't mind messing up your icons (it just moves them around, doesn't change the actual icons), you could try a reset all settings. It acts the same as a restore as new from the tests we've been running, and would also reset your network settings. If you don't want to do that, you could just try resetting network settings.

Finally you could do a DFU restore, and if you still have probs, you should take it back to Apple.

 

[AHDuke99]

Well, if you don't mind messing up your icons (it just moves them around, doesn't change the actual icons), you could try a reset all settings. It acts the same as a restore as new from the tests we've been running, and would also reset your network settings. If you don't want to do that, you could just try resetting network settings.

Finally you could do a DFU restore, and if you still have probs, you should take it back to Apple.

I did the initial DFU restore. I'll try resetting the settings. I may run it by Apple, but I don't know how to produce the problem. The phone has been good otherwise, and I'm always wary of getting a replacement which could have more problems. But since I spend a lot of time out there, I can't have no service all the time.

 

[-aggie-]

I did the initial DFU restore. I'll try resetting the settings. I may run it by Apple, but I don't know how to produce the problem. The phone has been good otherwise, and I'm always wary of getting a replacement which could have more problems. But since I spend a lot of time out there, I can't have no service all the time.

It only takes a minute, so you should know soon.

 

[AHDuke99]

Resetting it seemed to have changed the signal strength. I am at my home in the city and now I'm getting 2-3 bars rather than 5 like I was getting before. I am heading out to my resort home tonight for a dinner, so I will see if reception is any better or worse. If I am still getting no service, I believe I will take it to Apple Monday and see if they can tell me anything.

I wouldn't suppose they would be able to tell whether my radio is weak, can they? The only reason I believe I may have an issue is because of the comparison to my friend's iPhone that seems to get much better signal overall than what I have in a side by side.

 

[-aggie-]

Resetting it seemed to have changed the signal strength. I am at my home in the city and now I'm getting 2-3 bars rather than 5 like I was getting before. I am heading out to my resort home tonight for a dinner, so I will see if reception is any better or worse. If I am still getting no service, I believe I will take it to Apple Monday and see if they can tell me anything.

I wouldn't suppose they would be able to tell whether my radio is weak, can they? The only reason I believe I may have an issue is because of the comparison to my friend's iPhone that seems to get much better signal overall than what I have in a side by side.

Ugh. I don't know why it got worse for you in the city though. I'm not sure what their diagnostics can tell about the radio. I only know it checks the battery, for sure. Anyway, you've done about all you can do, so if it's still bad, just take it back. They could've said it was AT&T's fault, but I don't know how, if your friend doesn't have the problem.

I'm not sure I believe this, but I'll tell you anyway. One person on here said they were having signal problems and they called AT&T and he was given what he called a "bump" from the cell towers and he didn't have problems any more. Like I said, sounded like baloney, but you could call AT&T and see if they can help.

 

[eaglesteve]

My first 3GS had the same problem. I compared it side by side with my 3G.

Apple first got me to restore the firmware to rule out problem in that department. It worked for a while but problem came back after a couple of days. I did all the screen capture showing the inability yo connect to Internet while 3G was turned on, as well as showing "No Service". Apple replaced the unit, and explained to me that it was due to hardware problem affecting a small batch of phones.

Now everything works.

 

[AHDuke99]

I'll go to the Apple Store Monday. I believe it must be a radio issue simply because side by side comparisons yield different findings.

Hopefully if they do replace it, the newer one won't have more issues. I got my 3G replaced last year and two replacements had issues with the vibration motor and the second had dust under the screen.

Maybe I can get them to give me a new one that isn't a refurbished or the like.