Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Considering returning 3G and reactivating 2G

P

phatcat

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 10, 2008
193
0
The 3G iPhone give me an empty feeling when considering it as an "Upgrade" to my 2G iPhone.

For starters:
-3G has about 1/2 the signal bars as compared to 2G which normally gave me all 5. (Naperville, IL) End result are more dropped calls and more choppy calls as traveling in a vehicle varies the 3G signal bars down to 1 or none around town.

-Speaking of car travel, what's with hearing my echo in the vehicle?

-For 1/2 the 3G signal strength and reduced battery life, I don't see the value in paying an additional $15 for 3G.

I purchased the 3G from an ATT store. I imagine with these problems there should not be a restocking/reactivating fee and that I should get a full refund, correct?
 
You're not alone...

Before the iPhone launch, I was counting the days until the blackberry's demise. But now that I see the horrific battery life, it's apparent that the blackberry's as strong as ever for the mobile professional--the iphone 3g's battery could NEVER keep up with the demands of the average blackberry user in a day. The sadest part of all this is that they've removed the iphone1 from the shelves...
 
phatcat said:
The 3G iPhone give me an empty feeling when considering it as an "Upgrade" to my 2G iPhone.

For starters:
-3G has about 1/2 the signal bars as compared to 2G which normally gave me all 5. (Naperville, IL) End result are more dropped calls and more choppy calls as traveling in a vehicle varies the 3G signal bars down to 1 or none around town.

-Speaking of car travel, what's with hearing my echo in the vehicle?

-For 1/2 the 3G signal strength and reduced battery life, I don't see the value in paying an additional $15 for 3G.

I purchased the 3G from an ATT store. I imagine with these problems there should not be a restocking/reactivating fee and that I should get a full refund, correct?
Click to expand...

I'm in Elgin. I get 1/2 the bars too. I honestly don't think it's a phone issue, rather a firmware issue. I went to Huntley, a place i didn't even think had 3G, and i got 5 bars.

And i'm going to have to disagree with the choppy calls, because if you didn't have 3G service, it would drop to EDGE, and even when i have no bars of 3G my calls are perfect and crisp, and data is fast as it should be.

The echo? Not the phone...

You have a 3 day return policy that lets you cancel the contract and return your phone with no strings attatched. That's what i heard from someone on this board, so i would call and see.
 
I imagine when 3G switches to 2G the network it must disengage thus dropping a call during a call.

There was no bluetooth echo on my 2G Iphone. The echo problem is all over the apple discussion boards under bluetooth handsets. Mossberg's review also notes BT audio issues:

Audio quality: All the reviewers comment on the new iPhone's improved audio quality. "You sound crystal clear to your callers, and they sound crystal clear to you. In fact, few cellphones sound this good," Pogue raves. Mossberg concurs, but complains that "the new phone produced an echo when used with the built-in Bluetooth system in my car."

http://www.pcworld.com/article/148113/first_reviews_iphone_3g_improved_but_still_flawed.html
 
FWIW,

I upgraded my 2G iPhone to the 2.0 software to test before I updated my second phone.

I really wanted to test the blue-tooth in my vehicle to make sure we didn't lose anything.

At first I had the same issue, No Bars, 1 Bar, etc while the other iPhone had full signal.

After the first couple of calls, all things bounced back to normal for me. It was very strange...

Last night, someone called me and the phone crashed. Dead, completely Dead. I couldn't turn it on using the power button, I ended up having to hold the power button and home button (reset) to get it to boot. I actually thought the battery died, but it was fine after I reset it.

I get the feeling 2.0 isn't quite right yet.
 
Stangs55 said:
You're not alone...

Before the iPhone launch, I was counting the days until the blackberry's demise. But now that I see the horrific battery life, it's apparent that the blackberry's as strong as ever for the mobile professional--the iphone 3g's battery could NEVER keep up with the demands of the average blackberry user in a day. The sadest part of all this is that they've removed the iphone1 from the shelves...
Click to expand...

I guess we'll see how well the 3G Blackberry will perform on ATT's network. It could be just as big of a battery hog too...
 
People tuirn the #g off in teh iphone!!! It is that easy...you will get like 10 hours wiht 2G.

There is no other 3g phone that gets 5 hours like the Iphone 3g! If there is somebody send me the link.

Why would anybody go back to the old iphone? ATT will have 3G everywhere in less than a year. I could see if people wanted to wait for the tird gen iphone next year...
 
Tallest Skil said:
That's just the SUV you're driving.

No, there will be a 10% restocking fee.
Click to expand...

I have a slight echo when using BT connected to my car also. I never had it with the 2g iPhone, and the firmware/progman on my BMW is up to date so I doubt its the car.
 
Aiphanes said:
People tuirn the #g off in teh iphone!!! It is that easy...you will get like 10 hours wiht 2G.

There is no other 3g phone that gets 5 hours like the Iphone 3g! If there is somebody send me the link.

Why would anybody go back to the old iphone? ATT will have 3G everywhere in less than a year. I could see if people wanted to wait for the tird gen iphone next year...
Click to expand...

cingular 8525--the 3g PDA I owned prior to my original iphone. Worked all day with HEAVY use, no problem.
 
I live right in the Chicago Loop and have 5 bars. But, I go out to Naperville often....so I hope I don't have your same problem.
 
Phone makers also regularly change how the number of bars is calculated. You signal strength could be identical, but the strength algorithm the phone uses has been reworked to allow a wider dynamic range. I saw this when moving though a variety of SE phones, as the displayed signal strength always varied between them.

The number of bars is typically only good for comparison within the same exact phone. I'd be curious to see how the 2.0 update affected the 1st gen iPhones.
 
First, there should be NO restocking fee per Apple's retail terms. Goto http://www.apple.com/legal/sales_policies/retail_us.html, at the bottom of the page it states:

No restocking fee will be assessed on iPhones returned within the 14-day return period.

As far as the battery and signal strength, I agree. It stinks. Sure, I hear people say turn off 3g. Then why have the phone in the first place? Do you tell the proud new owner of a sports car to keep it under 55 for a smoother ride? Especially when it was advertised as twice the speed, half the cost!

Also, if we are constantly turning off 3g, do we get our $10 extra back then? Or should we pay an extra $240 per contract (2 years) for something that just doesn't work as it should.

It's simple, Apple dropped the ball on this release from the server crashes that prevented activation and ability to purchase in store, to the MobileMe "cloud" not being quite as described.

I'll be returning mine tomorrow.
 
jazzkids said:
First, there should be NO restocking fee per Apple's retail terms. Goto http://www.apple.com/legal/sales_policies/retail_us.html, at the bottom of the page it states:

No restocking fee will be assessed on iPhones returned within the 14-day return period.

As far as the battery and signal strength, I agree. It stinks. Sure, I hear people say turn off 3g. Then why have the phone in the first place? Do you tell the proud new owner of a sports car to keep it under 55 for a smoother ride? Especially when it was advertised as twice the speed, half the cost!

Also, if we are constantly turning off 3g, do we get our $10 extra back then? Or should we pay an extra $240 per contract (2 years) for something that just doesn't work as it should.

It's simple, Apple dropped the ball on this release from the server crashes that prevented activation and ability to purchase in store, to the MobileMe "cloud" not being quite as described.

I'll be returning mine tomorrow.
Click to expand...

I completely agree with everything you just said! Let us know how it goes. It's too bad it isn't working out for you.

Edit: I wonder if you get your upgrade raping... I mean "fee"... back from AT&T
 
phatcat said:
I imagine when 3G switches to 2G the network it must disengage thus dropping a call during a call.
Click to expand...

The handoff is not supposed to drop the call. Although there is the possibility that a drop may occur. But it is the same with switching towers, the handoff is a hard one, not a soft one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back