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Disabling 3G resolves the signal issue

nooaah

nooaah

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 3, 2009
1,600
165
Philadelphia, PA
As confirmed by several others in the massive signal issue threads; if you disable 3G and force the phone to Edge, the reception problems when covering the left antenna seem to resolve.

Take that for what it's worth.
 
nooaah said:
As confirmed by several others in the massive signal issue threads; if you disable 3G and force the phone to Edge, the reception problems when covering the left antenna seem to resolve.

Take that for what it's worth.
Click to expand...
Thanks.

I could have saved $299 and stuck with my iPhone 2g...
 
Amnesia87 said:
lol...

but it also implies it's quite possibly a firmware/software issue or even a frequency issue, do 3g and 2g operate on the same bandwidth?
Click to expand...

Yep with the exception of 2100 Mhz and 1800 Mhz.

UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
 
Interesting. Guess that's why I don't have much of an issue--I VERY rarely keep 3G on, it practically halves my battery life and I'm around wifi 90% of the time so I don't need it.
 
quagmire said:
Yep with the exception of 2100 Mhz and 1800 Mhz.

UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
Click to expand...

hmmm I'm wondering if the issue is specific to areas where they are using a certain frequency, as i believe higher frequencies are more affected by antenna size.

Either way, I see no hardware reason why Edge would be immune to something that affects 3g.
 
Amnesia87 said:
hmmm I'm wondering if the issue is specific to areas where they are using a certain frequency, as i believe higher frequencies are more affected by antenna size.

Either way, I see no hardware reason why Edge would be immune to something that affects 3g.
Click to expand...

What I am thinking is that as stated by Apple, the phone picks the best signal for quality. So when you put your finger over the antenna( I am sure some of the signal gets absorbed by the finger), the phone thinks the quality of the signal is poor so it switches to another frequency which doesn't have the best signal in your area. I am betting the software is too sensitive or the phone is too quick in switching frequencies.
 
quagmire said:
What I am thinking is that as stated by Apple, the phone picks the best signal for quality. So when you put your finger over the antenna( I am sure some of the signal gets absorbed by the finger), the phone thinks the quality of the signal is poor so it switches to another frequency which doesn't have the best signal in your area. I am betting the software is too sensitive or the phone is too quick in switching frequencies.
Click to expand...

Either that or it's messing with signal gain settings and it screwing itself up. Either way, if 2g works just fine and 3g is having issues operating on the same spectrum, it pretty much MUST be software/firmware
 
Sorry this is not true for me. I have the same issues with 3G turned off. I rebooted the phone to be sure I was truly off 3G.
 
This is very hopeful. I'm really hoping it's a software issue. This will be my wife's first iPhone and first time with AT&T. I really hate for her to get a bad phone and then be stuck with AT&T for 2 years. She would not be happy at all.
 
I tried disabling 3G and covered the same spot on the phone and I go from 5 bars to 2 bars. With 3G I go from 5 bars to 1 bar. This is at home where I have a strong signal.
 
Might be a signal issue since we have the issue at home but my wife is in another area and is not dropping bars holding the phone bridging the top and bottom of the left side.
 
ducktales said:
cool, let me revert to out dated technology so i can make phone calls. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I do tech support for samsung, and you sound like the idiots who call in because they aren't getting a picture on their tv, and refuse to try and connect the yellow rca cable in addition to their hdmi cable to TEST the connection because they don't want to use the "out dated" cable.

I really doubt this was intended as a solution, it's troubleshooting to determine the cause of the issue.

If what the OP stated were true, that 2g works fine and 3g has issues using the same spectrum and antenna, it would imply it's either a different hardware issue, or a software issue. Do you really not see how that MIGHT be relevant?
 
Amnesia87 said:
I do tech support for samsung, and you sound like the idiots who call in because they aren't getting a picture on their tv, and refuse to try and connect the yellow rca cable in addition to their hdmi cable to TEST the connection because they don't want to use the "out dated" cable.

I really doubt this was intended as a solution, it's troubleshooting to determine the cause of the issue.

If what the OP stated were true, that 2g works fine and 3g has issues using the same spectrum and antenna, it would imply it's either a different hardware issue, or a software issue. Do you really not see how that MIGHT be relevant?
Click to expand...

hey...

x3xdd53e01efc0a85f974fc1e808d1a3c83.jpg
 
3G off makes no difference for me in the reception issue. I was planning on buying a bumper anyway but i'd HATE for that to be the only solution to this. Doesn't make sense!
 
I think those seeing the improvement when disabling 3G are just in locations where the 3G signal/tower is different from the 2G. In other words, they're far enough away from the 3G tower that covering them as outlined kills enough of an already "lesser" signal down. However, the 2G signal is still strong enough to maintain decent contact. Just a theory.

Also, if it's literally contact that's causing the issue (i.e. conductivity) then wouldn't a possible band-aid be to cover them with clear film, similar to some of the kits that people buy to protect from scratches? Hell, you could test the theory with pieces of cellophane tape. lol
 
Kadman said:
I think those seeing the improvement when disabling 3G are just in locations where the 3G signal/tower is different from the 2G. In other words, they're far enough away from the 3G tower that covering them as outlined kills enough of an already "lesser" signal down. However, the 2G signal is still strong enough to maintain decent contact. Just a theory.

Also, if it's literally contact that's causing the issue (i.e. conductivity) then wouldn't a possible band-aid be to cover them with clear film, similar to some of the kits that people buy to protect from scratches? Hell, you could test the theory with pieces of cellophane tape. lol
Click to expand...
This could be true.

My 3G signal, unobscured right now, is a somewhat crappy -87dB (-113dB with hand over antenna).

The Edge signal is a somewhat better -71db with no change to signal strength regardless of hand position.
 
nooaah said:
This could be true.

My 3G signal, unobscured right now, is a somewhat crappy -87dB (-113dB with hand over antenna).

The Edge signal is a somewhat better -71db with no change to signal strength regardless of hand position.
Click to expand...

How did you do that? I tried the *3001#12345#* number, but it didn't work.
 
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