iPhone 3GS weak GSM signal after drop

[mpaulius]

My iPhone 3GS just started having weak GSM signal today. It could be related to my kids dropping it on the floor today?....
Dropping calls, not available when someone calls or sounding choppy. I got 2 bars max through the day.

WiFi continues to work just fine by the way. And except today my iPhone used to have all 4 bars of gsm, edge and 3G signal in the area. Other phones meanwhile keep having a great signal.

Please advise anybody

 

[0007776]

Maybe something with the antenna got damaged when it was dropped, that would be my guess although I don't know if it is possible or not.

 

[mpaulius]

Maybe something with the antenna got damaged when it was dropped, that would be my guess although I don't know if it is possible or not.

Yes that seems to be my assumption too. The weird thing though is that it keeps working. I still can call and sometimes receive calls. But signal is inconsistent and seems weak. SMS messages seem to go through. Also WIFI continues to work just fine.

I wonder whether i should try and restore the firmware from scratch, and see if that helps. Or should i just go directly to the nearest iPhone service for hardware repair?

 

[JamesMB]

Also WIFI continues to work just fine.

WiFi uses a different antenna.

I wonder whether i should try and restore the firmware from scratch, and see if that helps. Or should i just go directly to the nearest iPhone service for hardware repair?

My guess is that if this just started happening after the drop, a restore is not gonna help, but it sure wouldn't hurt. One thing that I would want to confirm though, is that is acts the same way from more than one tower. It would be a shame to restore, just to find out that there was a problem with the cell tower, and not the phone.

 

[mpaulius]

WiFi uses a different antenna.

My guess is that if this just started happening after the drop, a restore is not gonna help, but it sure wouldn't hurt. One thing that I would want to confirm though, is that is acts the same way from more than one tower. It would be a shame to restore, just to find out that there was a problem with the cell tower, and not the phone.

I went out and used the phone in other places in the city. The GSM signal seems to have the same issue everywhere, while other phones are fine. So this should not be related to a single tower. GPRS data also seems to be choppy and unreliable, not only voice...

 

[Crammers]

I went out and used the phone in other places in the city. The GSM signal seems to have the same issue everywhere, while other phones are fine. So this should not be related to a single tower. GPRS data also seems to be choppy and unreliable, not only voice...

Mine is exactly like this. After I dropped it too.

Can the antenna be repaired, and if so can this be done elsewhere other than Apple or At&t. Did a jailbreak on mine, so can't take it to Apple.

 

[mpaulius]

Mine is exactly like this. After I dropped it too.

Can the antenna be repaired, and if so can this be done elsewhere other than Apple or At&t. Did a jailbreak on mine, so can't take it to Apple.

I found a local cell-phone repair shop. The guy had some experience servicing iPhones.

iPhone's GSM module had to be replaced. Everything works fine now. Cost me like $40 US (the local currency is Lithuanian Litas). So not too expensive really.

I am on to iPhone 4 by now, selling my iPhone 3GS.
Good luck!