"I'm fine, therefore everyone else must be making stuff up". Right. Every one of the thousands of complaints on the Apple discussion forums and this one and in CNET, etc. is made up by someone who can't wait to bash Apple. Personally, I'd rather be able to praise them to the heavens and have a phone that works right.
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iPhone 3G Connection Issues Related to Software or Hardware?
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"I'm fine, therefore everyone else must be making stuff up". Right. Every one of the thousands of complaints on the Apple discussion forums and this one and in CNET, etc. is made up by someone who can't wait to bash Apple. Personally, I'd rather be able to praise them to the heavens and have a phone that works right.
I am assuming that you have had reception problems, is your experience comparable to that phone on the right that couldn't hold a signal at all? My experience has been much like the phone on the left, just the normal fluctuations associated with varying signal.
It is a hard thing to test for most users. Would be good if there was a list of verified "good" reception spots in a given area - so I could, say, go to the corner of Franklin and MLK in Chapel Hill and if my iPhone has 3g trouble there, it is most likely the phone. If not, my phone, at least, is ok.
Then perhaps a list of serial numbers could be collected and some inference that isn't a complete waste could happen.
As it stands, I get better data usage out of 1 bar of 3g than 2 of edge. The phone reception is just as crappy in my hillside apartment as it was with edge.
If some really do have defective handsets, we need some method other than a stack of anecdotes to compile the issues. (And, preferably, a way for users to test it in some replicable way, i.e. not some hidden corner of their home).
Sounds exactly like my problem .... Just today had to reset my phone in order to make a data connection. I live in a "high-density" 3G area.
Makes me glad I decided to just keep my 1st gen iPhone that I bought on opening day. I haven't had a single issue with it in over a year. I'll be waiting until Apple releases the next model (or this phone breaks) to buy a 3G.
Cellular coverage is a complex issue. Reception can vary dramatically within a short time even in the same spot. The number of coversations going on, other phones around, multipath interferance can all affect reception.
Comparing multiple phones in the same spot at the same time is the easiest test.
I think there will be a lot more problems like this as Apple continues to create new products and software in the secrecy that their accustomed. They can't have a lot of beta testers for fear of leaks so they have no clue how a product will work under various conditions. Take Google for example. They don't hide the existence of this new Android product so they are free to test it, delay it and test it some more.
Apple has the same problem with new software. Some of the most renowned FCP users never get to test the software. So when it drops, it's really buggy and needs immediate fixes because it corrupts After Effects or some other important tool in an editors arsenal. I think it's time for Apple to abandon that shroud of secrecy and make sure stuff works out the box. Wouldn't you rather know about a product in advance and it works, rather than be excited and surprised but it doesn't work?
Apple has the same problem with new software. Some of the most renowned FCP users never get to test the software. So when it drops, it's really buggy and needs immediate fixes because it corrupts After Effects or some other important tool in an editors arsenal. I think it's time for Apple to abandon that shroud of secrecy and make sure stuff works out the box. Wouldn't you rather know about a product in advance and it works, rather than be excited and surprised but it doesn't work?
I've actually had that problem with my 1st iPhone. I haven't had it happen in a while but up until 2.0 it would still happen so I wouldn't be so quick to assume the 3G is any worse than the original iPhone circa v1.1
I think it's almost rude to assume "people are typically making it up" - just as it's rude to think everyone is having the problem.
I can only share my experience. I tend to have to get on very long Conference Calls troubleshooting for work. I had one of the original iPhones, 2G, and I never had a problem with calls dropping. It was a rock solid performer.
Now that I have 3G, I can tell you for certain, there is a difference with this phone - and it's my 2nd 3G (the first had a home button issue) and neither one has performed nearly as good as my original iPhone.
Just yesterday I was on a call in Houston with Great 3G Coverage - travelling the same freeways I used to be on with my original iPhone - dropped the call 3 times - then had "call failed" about a dozen times trying to get back on. At one point I dropped the call immediately walking in to a store. I thought, ok fine, I'll wait until I come back out - came back out and the phone showed "no service" until I turned on Airplane mode and turned it back off. So, I'm in the middle of a lagre metro area, standing outside and I have to manually get the phone back on a network?
This is just one example of many - there is a problem with the phones I have received - maybe not all of them, but certainly mine. And I'm not Making it UP.
I have the same problem with my first-gen iPhone: I have to leave it sitting on the counter in my kitchen, dial and then talk using BT. Pick up the phone, and the call's usually dropped. Tower problem, ATT says; we're working to fix it, ATT says; it's been almost a year now with every month-or-so-calls to report the problem.
Well coupled with the wild signal fluctuation and dropped calls I would say it's a problem.
Anyone who has either a Mac or PC ATI Radeon 9800 video card w/ Infineon memory will attest to what I'm talking about here..... Infineon is nothing but a junk memory seller and it would not surprise me in the least that their chipset failed to meet Apple's required specs.
I don't have an iPhone 3G, only a 2G iPhone, but from my expertise in video graphics cards, I'll be the first to testify that INFINEON sells junk memory that rarely hits spec so my prediction is that this turns out to NOT be a software problem at all, but hardware that Apple will have to re-write software to work around the not so up to spec hardware that Apple requested. That's my prediction.
If this is the case, Apple will be on them like, well, you know what.
I don't have an iPhone 3G, only a 2G iPhone, but from my expertise in video graphics cards, I'll be the first to testify that INFINEON sells junk memory that rarely hits spec so my prediction is that this turns out to NOT be a software problem at all, but hardware that Apple will have to re-write software to work around the not so up to spec hardware that Apple requested. That's my prediction.
If this is the case, Apple will be on them like, well, you know what.
That isn't really what I meant - my phone works. Rather, a way to gather and compare your iphone 3g's reception to someone else's.
+1
Without reading through the post, I have to say +1, and I'd also say its definitely hardware-related. Could be aggravated by heavy usage, but I live in Finland with polar bears roaming the streets of the capital, not iPhone users. AND, I tried the same SIM-card with my Nokia E60 and I get 100% reception, that's 5/5, whereas with my iPhone 3G I get 1/5 or 2/5 of 3G, and sometimes even less. The local carrier tried to mix me up by stating that I'm living outside of coverage, but as I said, I tried the SIM-card with a Nokia and it worked AOK. It is definitely iPhone related.
Well, could be that the software is just picky, but hey, if 100% turns into 20-40%, that's REALLY picky!
Without reading through the post, I have to say +1, and I'd also say its definitely hardware-related. Could be aggravated by heavy usage, but I live in Finland with polar bears roaming the streets of the capital, not iPhone users. AND, I tried the same SIM-card with my Nokia E60 and I get 100% reception, that's 5/5, whereas with my iPhone 3G I get 1/5 or 2/5 of 3G, and sometimes even less. The local carrier tried to mix me up by stating that I'm living outside of coverage, but as I said, I tried the SIM-card with a Nokia and it worked AOK. It is definitely iPhone related.
Well, could be that the software is just picky, but hey, if 100% turns into 20-40%, that's REALLY picky!
I wouldn't put much stock in the bars - I've made calls when the indicator claimed No Service, and speed tested at 450 kbps with 1 bar. It seems to be a slow-update running average or something similar. By contrast, older edge nokias I've had got quite flaky at the 2 bar range.
When it first came out it had issues with not being able to hear what people where saying to you (the speaker was broken) and, ironically, connection problems!
Whatever the issue is, I'm not buying an iPhone 3G until you're guaranteed that the current production run/stock has been resolved either via software or hardware change.
Also, being a Nokia N78 owner and a previous iPhone 2G, Blackberry, WinMo owner...comparing signal reception on any mobile device to a Nokia is like comparing a Kia to a Ferrari.
Nokias are the kings of reception/call quality.
From what I remember, a lot of the cell towers in the world use Nokia hardware.
Also, being a Nokia N78 owner and a previous iPhone 2G, Blackberry, WinMo owner...comparing signal reception on any mobile device to a Nokia is like comparing a Kia to a Ferrari.
Nokias are the kings of reception/call quality.
From what I remember, a lot of the cell towers in the world use Nokia hardware.