Firm Tests iPhone 3G Antenna, Says It's OK

[MacRumors]

Swedish website Götesborgs-Posten is reporting that tests of the iPhone's antenna are "completely normal," which may go to counteract suspicions that ongoing connectivity issues are due to the iPhone's antenna.

The test was conducted by Bluetest, a small company that sells test chambers for wireless devices with small antennas, and the results were compared to a Sony Ericsson P1 and a Nokia N73. The bottom line of the tests were that the iPhone was on-par with the other phones.

Testing was only done with one iPhone so it does not eliminate the possibility of a manufacturing defect, however the author notes that before the test the iPhone had been registering lower 3G bars than the Nokia model and would be more apt to switch to the EDGE network; symptoms common amongst users with the connectivity issue.

BusinessWeek (and later a memo from Steve Jobs) has previously reported that the issue was to be fixed via a software update. Since then, iPhone Software 2.0.2 has been released claiming to fix the problem, though users have still reported the issue.

Article Link

 

[MacTheSpoon]

This is very good news. Sounds like there is no hardware design flaw. A bad batch of iPhones or a software bug is much less painful to deal with.

I was getting a little leery about pulling the trigger on a 3G iPhone but I feel reassured now.

 

[spercharged69]

It's going to be hard to argue against independent testing like this.

 

[wizard]

2.0.2, was it really a improvement overall.

My impression is that overall behaviour of my iphone got worst after the update to 2.0.2. The phone might actually be better but Safari and networking actually seem worst. Further I thought the random crashes in Mail where gone but that is still a mystery.

In anyevent back to the heart of this thread. I have to wonder how they tested the antenna or for that matter why people think it is a problem. Much of the behavioural problems I see have software written all over them.

Dave

 

[bigmc6000]

I think what we need to focus on isn't that some people are still having problems but that some people no longer have problems. There's this addiction to negative media that's propogated since, well, before I was born (82) and we continue to do it. I'm not saying people should be happy Apple is trying but they should realize that with each revision the number of people affected by this bug gets smaller. In the world of mass production you're never going to be bug free - it's the correction of those bugs that separate one company from the next and 2.0.2 was a step in the right direction.

Personally I have problems here and there with Safari crashing but putting it in the context of a computer I find just as stable as my XP Pro box here at work (running only company approved software so the fact that it still crashes is kinda messed up in my opinion...)

 

[naroola]

I believe that 2.0.2 was released only to add support for the 20 or so countries where the iPhone launched this past friday. I don't think it did addressed any bugs or did anything else for that matter.

 

[aristotle]

I hate to say "I told you so" but I told you so Vandozza.

 

[bradl]

Just to play devil's advocate here, it would have been more feasible to perform this test with a number of phones made from various week's batches (say, one or two from weeks 27 through 34) to get better idea of if the antenna is the problem.

Yes, it could still be a chipset issue, but at least this could put the hardware outside of the chipset in the clear. Also, when was the 3G iPhone released in Sweden?

BL.

 

[Small White Car]

Just to play devil's advocate here, it would have been more feasible to perform this test with a number of phones made from various week's batches (say, one or two from weeks 27 through 34) to get better idea of if the antenna is the problem.

That would be nice, yes, but the main news here is that there's not a design flaw with the phone.

There may be bad batches. There may be bad software. There may lots of bad things that require an update or a partial-recall. But a message from Apple saying "oops, they're all bad! We did it wrong!" is looking less likely because of this news.

 

[longofest]

I believe that 2.0.2 was released only to add support for the 20 or so countries where the iPhone launched this past friday. I don't think it did addressed any bugs or did anything else for that matter.

Apple said 2.0.2 "improves communication with 3G networks".

https://www.macrumors.com/2008/08/22/iphone-3g-issues-persist-despite-latest-firmware/

 

[Ori]

So we still stand with it could be software, but it could also be the chipset. All we have eliminated is the Antenna. Don't get me wrong, thats a start! ;-)

 

[DN7335]

So far I've seen no difference with the 2.0.2 update, my 3G still sucks balls...

 

[manhattanboy]

Well I for one am still having problems and if I could ever get out of work I would waste 10 hours at the Apple store to have it replaced.
I do not care what the issue is, there is NO EXCUSABLE REASON why >20% of my calls are "failed" calls. PERIOD.

 

[manhattanboy]

So far I've seen no difference with the 2.0.2 update, my 3G still sucks balls...

so does mine. My 3G also sucks balls

 

[ARK]

Well I for one am still having problems and if I could ever get out of work I would waste 10 hours at the Apple store to have it replaced.
I do not care what the issue is, there is NO EXCUSABLE REASON why >20% of my calls are "failed" calls. PERIOD.

Well your location says your underground. What do you expect being underground? HA! All kidding aside my 3G is great in Indianapolis. It must be your location.

 

[rlmccormick]

Antenna?

The antenna is an important but not the only piece of hardware in the RF signal chain. Just because the antenna has no issue does not mean that there is something going on with the rest of the hardware. I'd have to say that the antenna may have been the least likely piece of hardware to have the issue. We may still have a chipset issue on our hands ( pun intended )

 

[wizard]

I'm lucky I don't use the phone much for a phone

Really that is I suspect that my experience could be worst if I made use of IPhone as a cell phone alot. But that is not where my negative impressions come from as I use it as much as an internet appliance as anything else. There is does probably better than most things in the market but frankly does not meet my expectations of Apple. The random crashes in Mail are truly depressing as that really shouldn't be happening in what is a simple Mail app.

I suspect though that the big fix is coming in 2.1. I also suspect that that will mean developers having to generate new apps because of the suspicion that the problems are deep in libraries and other parts of the system. In other words I fear an API rework to correct some of the problems. I still revert tot he idea that the iPhone 2.0 was simply rushed to market to meet a management deadline with the traditional screwing the customers get in such situations.

Dave

 

[wizard]

The antenna is an important but not the only piece of hardware in the RF signal chain. Just because the antenna has no issue does not mean that there is something going on with the rest of the hardware. I'd have to say that the antenna may have been the least likely piece of hardware to have the issue. We may still have a chipset issue on our hands ( pun intended )

This is very much the case. The only thing here is that I believe the issue to be software and not hardware. A lot of that comes from the over all fell of IPhone 2.0 software. If one has as many software problems as 2.0 has in as many places there is good reason to believe it is also an issue in the baseband processing.



dave

 

[emccus01]

My 3g performance went down after the update. I have run the diagnostic test ( type in *3001#12345#* ) and then dial and my numbers are decent in areas with 3g. My beef exists in the fact that I lose calls when traveling from an area with no 3g to an area with edge. The darn phone can't transfer my call. I drop to many calls on 3g and thus leave my phone on EDGE all the time. I am not happy with this. Hopefully they will provide a BETTER software update.

 

[aristotle]

Come on guys, the rest of the world is using the iphone use fine. Just accept the fact that AT&T currently sucks balls and put pressure on them to fix their issues.

It's not the chipset either.

 

[bradl]

Come on guys, the rest of the world is using the iphone use fine. Just accept the fact that AT&T currently sucks balls and put pressure on them to fix their issues.

It's not the chipset either.

Yet Vodafone, Telstra, Optus, O2, T-Mobile, and others are complaining of the same thing? It's more than just ATT's issue here. There is definitely something not right with the phone, regardless of the network it is on.

BL.

 

[Oskee2001]

my iphone 3G is working fine, both before and after the update. However, the first gen iphone was more stable, so i'm hoping 2.1 will do the trick.

 

[manhattanboy]

Yet Vodafone, Telstra, Optus, O2, T-Mobile, and others are complaining of the same thing? It's more than just ATT's issue here. There is definitely something not right with the phone, regardless of the network it is on.

BL.

*3001#12345#*

just did the field test and noted that my Db's are around 100
which basically means that is probably the reason all my calls are dropping.
Jesus, this sucks balls.
I am going to the ATT store tomorrow to get a new SIM.

 

[AlphaBob]

I am on the fringe area I suspect. My receive signal level is around negative 93 dBm, which is pretty close to the noise floor (at around -105).

If I allow it to stay 3G Enabled, then it keeps switching between edge and 3G. For whatever reason that switch takes a long time in my case, and seems to crash Safari every time it happens.

The latest 2.0.2 update made NO difference to me with respect to 3G.

I'd say I am am between "3G Sucks Balls" and "3G isn't worth the money"

 

[overcast]

2.0.2 update made my 3G almost unusable. Most of the time, I get page timeouts and unable to connect. I'll be heading back to 2.0.1 tomorrow to see if it alleviates the issue, as I had zero problems when I was on that one.