I just switched from iPhone 4 to 4S (both AT&T), and I'm finding the reception to be no better, with more dropped calls and more loss of audio so I can hear them, but they can't hear me. The problems happen in the middle of calls that sounded fine, when the phone has 4 bars.
Anyone else having a similar experience?
I wonder if the 4S just fails to keep a call even with a decent signal, or if the bars are falsely reporting the quality of the signal.
According to this report, http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/iphone-4-redux-analyzing-apples-ios-41-signal-fix , iOS 4.0.1 reported bars as follows:
5 Bars: -76 dBm and higher
4 Bars: -87 to -76
3 Bars: -98 to -87
2 Bars: -107 to -98
1 Bar: -121 to -107
I haven't seen a similar report on iOS 5, or the iPhone 4S.
To reveal your iPhone signal in dBm, just dial the following on the keypad (note that saving this as a contact doesn't work):
*3001#12345#*
That's Field Test mode, and when you hit the home button, it switches back to displaying signal in bars.
But, if you want to be able to toggle between dBm and bars even after leaving Field Test mode, do the following:
When in Field Test Mode, hold down the sleep button until "slide to power off" shows up. Then let go of the sleep button and hold down the home button until you got back to your home screen. Now, when you touch the top left corner, you'll toggle between dBm and bars. That makes it much easier, of course, to see how numbers are translating to bars. (I haven't read about a way to revert and take away the ability to toggle, btw.)
So far, I think I'm seeing bars that match those iOS 4.0.1 numbers, but the dropped calls happen anyway with "good" 4-bar signal strength.
Anyone else having a similar experience?
I wonder if the 4S just fails to keep a call even with a decent signal, or if the bars are falsely reporting the quality of the signal.
According to this report, http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/iphone-4-redux-analyzing-apples-ios-41-signal-fix , iOS 4.0.1 reported bars as follows:
5 Bars: -76 dBm and higher
4 Bars: -87 to -76
3 Bars: -98 to -87
2 Bars: -107 to -98
1 Bar: -121 to -107
I haven't seen a similar report on iOS 5, or the iPhone 4S.
To reveal your iPhone signal in dBm, just dial the following on the keypad (note that saving this as a contact doesn't work):
*3001#12345#*
That's Field Test mode, and when you hit the home button, it switches back to displaying signal in bars.
But, if you want to be able to toggle between dBm and bars even after leaving Field Test mode, do the following:
When in Field Test Mode, hold down the sleep button until "slide to power off" shows up. Then let go of the sleep button and hold down the home button until you got back to your home screen. Now, when you touch the top left corner, you'll toggle between dBm and bars. That makes it much easier, of course, to see how numbers are translating to bars. (I haven't read about a way to revert and take away the ability to toggle, btw.)
So far, I think I'm seeing bars that match those iOS 4.0.1 numbers, but the dropped calls happen anyway with "good" 4-bar signal strength.