iPhone 3G Connection Issues Related to Software or Hardware?

[MacRumors]

According to a new article from BusinessWeek.com, additional sources have corroborated an analyst's claim that recent iPhone 3G connection issues are the result of issues with the Infineon chipset used to provide 3G connectivity in the iPhone. The sources indicate that Apple plans to address the issue through a software update rather than a hardware recall.

Two sources say Apple will likely issue a software update by the end of September—if not by the end of this month—to resolve the issues. Apple and Infineon are currently testing the fix, which will be included in a broader update of the iPhone's software.

The exact problem with the Infineon chipset remains the subject of speculation, with one source claiming that the fault rests with the chipset struggling to keep up with the popularity and data consumption of the iPhone 3G. However, additional speculation suggests that Apple has been overly conservative with its software settings for determining whether the 3G signal and bandwidth is sufficient to support 3G functions at any given time.

Part of the role of the Infineon chip is to check whether there's enough 3G bandwidth available in a given area. If 3G isn't available or there isn't enough bandwidth, the iPhone will be shifted to a slower network. One source says Apple programmed the Infineon chip to demand a more powerful 3G signal than the iPhone really requires. So if too many people try to make a call or go on the Internet in a given area, some of the devices will decide there's insufficient power and switch to the slower network—even if there is enough 3G bandwidth available.

The source claims that this issue primarily arises in areas of high iPhone density such as "the San Francisco Bay area, Boston, and certain overseas locales."

In contrast, a new MSNBC.com article cites a report from Ny Teknik, a Swedish technical magazine, claiming that the issues are in fact hardware-related.

The report said the most likely cause of the 3G problems is defective adjustments between the antenna and an amplifier that captures very weak signals from the antenna. This could lead to poor 3G connectivity and slower data speeds.

Apple has not yet acknowledged the existence of 3G connection issues with the new iPhone and declined to comment for either article, leaving the details of the problem and Apple's plans for addressing it uncertain and subject to speculation for the time being.

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[raincoat]

Sticking with the original iPhone for now. Cracking cases and 3G issues should be worked out by the next Rev.

 

[JZ Wire]

Wow, i hope this gets fixed quick!

 

[w00143881]

Usually by Rev C, Apple has been pretty good about getting kinks out.

As cool as it is, above all, the iphone is still a phone and should function properly. No more dropped calls!

I think apple should move towards the plastic used for the current macbook. Not shinny, sturdy, light but good for reception, no cracks AND no finger prints.

 

[PowerFullMac]

Never buy something straight after release, stuff like this is bound to happen.

It happened to the first gen iPhone, the iPod touch and now of course the iPhone 3G.

 

[johnnyjibbs]

This is good news. I have been getting speeds of around 400-500kb/s on O2 3G, but I wasn't sure if this was good or not. My home broadband Wi-Fi was giving a reading of around 600 even though I thought it was supposed to be 8Mbit*, so I trust those speed tests with a pinch of salt.

I've never had any cracking issues or problems with my iPhone 3G. The battery could be better.


* yes I know that the actual throughput is way lower than that but still...!

 

[phannon666]

I'm gonna shoot for the option that it's a software problem. I say this because my connectivity has been absolutely fine and I live in a small town out in the country.

 

[Mydel]

I talked to Telia in Sweden and got informed that its known issue and they are working on it. They will inform me in a week what is gonna happen and if they will replace the phone. I have "server stop responded" message quite often although 5 bars of 3G and sometimes EDGE is faster....

 

[a1016neo]

If this is true, it is good news that Apple finally acknowledge this problem and is working on a fix...

And the good news, it can be fixed from a SW update.... So there is no need for a recall! That's good news too!

 

[Stridder44]

Usually by Rev C, Apple has been pretty good about getting kinks out.

As cool as it is, above all, the iphone is still a phone and should function properly. No more dropped calls!

I think apple should move towards the plastic used for the current macbook. Not shinny, sturdy, light but good for reception, no cracks AND no finger prints.

This has always been the case. Rev. C stuff is usually the most sturdy/well built (and usually the last Rev. before being replaced before something new).

But yeah, hopefully this'll be fixed quickly. Kind of a big deal I'd say.

 

[kolax]

I'm waiting for the next iPhone to be released before going in for the dive. Partially because there is a few kinks still out there, and also my T-Mobile contract still has another year left.

Why can't T-Mobile carry the iPhone in the UK!

 

[Elijahg]

Sooo no-one has a clue whether it's hardware or software. No doubt Apple will try its hardest to fix it with a software patch though, as recalling several million phones would cost rather a lot.

 

[n8236]

If this is truly a hardware issue, Apple will still push out a "fix" and it'll have a placebo effect on people. Then people will be stuck w/ crappy 3G iphones w/ 4389834 dropped calls.

Right now, I get dropped calls. But even worse, whenever I pull the phone outta my pocket, calls usually fail and I have to redial due to some sort of slow connectivity to the towers. This is very unacceptable.

I think it's BS that high density areas have connectivity issues as they claim because they usually are just the opposite. Telecomms know to put more towers in these areas due to the simple nature that it has high towers and an @ssload of people. Not to mention that big metro areas is where $$$ is.

 

[know-it-all5]

Its definitely a software problem. If there was a real hardware issue with the infineon chipset, my 3G wouldn't always have 5 bars of service in my area. VERY rarely have i seen my bars drop to less than 3 in the metro detroit area. My speeds on inetwork have varied a lot lately. It depends a lot on the time. At 3am I have over 750kbps sometimes. At 4pm, I am usually closer to 350kbps. I think the issues with slow speeds are due to AT&T's network not being tough enough for everyone having an iphone 3g. The early switching issue to edge, is very likely apple's fault though. In an effort to reduce dropped calls, from 3g fading out suddenly, they decided to make the chip switch to gsm/edge whenever the signal isnt good enough (which was sort of smart considering the tinyness of att's 3g network)... problem is they should have either prevented network switching during calls, or they should have mutually came up with an effective non-call-ending way to switch networks during calls.

Oh and prediction: A solution will come in the way of a software update that will solve the network switching issues. I doubt we will ever see significant 3g speed increases until att can meet the demand.

Oh yeah and for the record... I have a host of issues with my iPhone 3G, all software. Even updated to 2.0.1 I still get keyboard lag sometimes texting, safari crashes more than drunk hollywood stars, and just today it took 20 minutes for me to get my phone to reboot.

I love this phone and depend on it, but there are a ton of annoying kinks that need to be ironed out.

 

[Mydel]

Its definitely a software problem. If there was a real hardware issue with the infineon chipset, my 3G wouldn't always have 5 bars of service in my area. VERY rarely have i seen my bars drop to less than 3 in the metro detroit area. My speeds on inetwork have varied a lot lately. It depends a lot on the time. At 3am I have over 750kbps sometimes. At 4pm, I am usually closer to 350kbps. I think the issues with slow speeds are due to AT&T's network not being tough enough for everyone having an iphone 3g. The early switching issue to edge, is very likely apple's fault though. In an effort to reduce dropped calls, from 3g fading out suddenly, they decided to make the chip switch to gsm/edge whenever the signal isnt good enough (which was sort of smart considering the tinyness of att's 3g network)... problem is they should have either prevented network switching during calls, or they should have mutually came up with an effective non-call-ending way to switch networks during calls.

Oh and prediction: A solution will come in the way of a software update that will solve the network switching issues. I doubt we will ever see significant 3g speed increases until att can meet the demand.

Oh yeah and for the record... I have a host of issues with my iPhone 3G, all software. Even updated to 2.0.1 I still get keyboard lag sometimes texting, safari crashes more than drunk hollywood stars, and just today it took 20 minutes for me to get my phone to reboot.

I love this phone and depend on it, but there are a ton of annoying kinks that need to be ironed out.

I dont think you are right. Its not AT&T problem my friend. A lot other providers in different countries have the same issue and it has nothing to do with volume of traffic over the network. Side by side my GF Nokia is waaaay faster than my iPhone. And I have full bars of 3G. But Im sure Apple will try to convince us its not their fault...

 

[JNRidgway15]

To be honest I have had several problems with my iPhone and one being the reception issue and others being cosmetic but I just hope Apple Recalls all the iPhone 3G'S s as this is becoming the worst Apple product experience I have been through!!!

BTW Apple will be getting a call from me tonight!!!

 

[Full of Win]

Odd that Apple has gone backwards with reliability, since you would think it would only increase. Don't really care, I am so loving my 'old' 1st generation iPhone. I'll wait for a proper 2nd gen iPhone, not this 1.5 crap-fest that we were given.

-Scratch prone back: Check
-Crack prone back: Check
-25% increase in monthly bill: Check
-Dropped calls: Check
-Yellow screen: Check
-No pack in dock: Check
-Pathetically small 3G network: Check and double check

 

[3GUser]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5B108 Safari/525.20)

There may be an issue as proposed, but I haven't gotten any dropped calls and my 3g speeds on inetwotk have been ip to 960kb. That seems great to me and I am generally very satisfied with my 3G iPhone. It's in a case and removing it makes it look just as pristine as the day I bought it; which was launch day.

If there is a bug it is with the bars indicator. I seem to get 300kb downloads and great call quality with 1 bar.

I live in CT and I presume the issues manifest themselves in different settings.

 

[bigmc6000]

I think apple should move towards the plastic used for the current macbook. Not shinny, sturdy, light but good for reception, no cracks AND no finger prints.

Well since they are moving the MB from plastic to Aluminum I kinda doubt they are going to use the plastic from it. But still, 1 major reason I won't get the new iPhone (and the single largest reason I won't get a MB) is because it's plastic but at least the iPhone's plastic looks good - the MB's plastic just looks like, well, plastic. You could probably polish some PVC and make it look like a MB.

I wonder if they'll move the MBP to composite, hmm...

 

[bigmc6000]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5B108 Safari/525.20)

There may be an issue as proposed, but I haven't gotten any dropped calls and my 3g speeds on inetwotk have been ip to 960kb. That seems great to me and I am generally very satisfied with my 3G iPhone. It's in a case and removing it makes it look just as pristine as the day I bought it; which was launch day.

If there is a bug it is with the bars indicator. I seem to get 300kb downloads and great call quality with 1 bar.

I live in CT and I presume the issues manifest themselves in different settings.

That would really make me believe the first part of the article is true. I'm in Fort Worth and I haven't heard a peep from anyone around here having connectivity issues either.

 

[Felix Martinez]

Right now, I get dropped calls. But even worse, whenever I pull the phone outta my pocket, calls usually fail and I have to redial due to some sort of slow connectivity to the towers. This is very unacceptable.

This is happening to me more often on my orig Edge iPhone using OS 2/2.01 than in OS 1.X, so I'm thinking it's a software fix.

 

[thestaton]

This is happening to me more often on my orig Edge iPhone using OS 2/2.01 than in OS 1.X, so I'm thinking it's a software fix.

I'm having the same problem with my first gen. I just hope the media keep at this, to keep pressure on apple.

 

[iSimx]

I don't seem to get calls cut off or other connectivity problems. Although it is far from bug free. I think the main issue is that it lags loads and sometimes does crash/freeze on me. That hopefully will be ironed out in the next few firmware releases.

 

[phatcat]

I'm so glad I returned my 3G on day 30 and kept my 2G iPhone to reactivate!

Lesson learned - never buy new Apple product!

I'm curious to see how their newly redesigned notebooks hold up later this year!!

 

[zign]

My home broadband Wi-Fi was giving a reading of around 600 even though I thought it was supposed to be 8Mbit*, so I trust those speed tests with a pinch of salt.

* yes I know that the actual throughput is way lower than that but still...!

8Mbit ~ 800kb, so 600 isn't that bad.