Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

*Possible* cause for the 3G reception issues

vilasgn said:
Windsor is the same analyst who theorized that the iPhone EDGE touchscreens were susceptible to heat, and could degrade within 4-6 months, and, more ominously, were not fixable except by complete replacement.

Sound familiar? You might want to check when Windsor retracted that erroneous report as well to his clients, to assure them that 1) he was wrong about the chemical composition of the iPhone screen 2) he was wrong about the screens failing within 4-6 months.

Oh, nevermind, he didn't.
Click to expand...

That was my thought when I made my first response, but according to the OP, I'm "clearly out of my element, and my ignorant post emphasizes this" about questioning a Financial Advisor's credentials to be making an expert opinion about electronics. This just validates my thoughts about it. CNET really needs to research who they are using for expert opinions. This is just another example of frivilous reporting. :eek:
 
Well, I just confirmed for myself that it is NOT a hardware issue.

I know of two distinct places within about 10 miles of each other - one where 3G to EDGE handoffs work every time on my iPhone, and the second location where it doesn't always work. In both locations, I get from 1-3 bars of 3G, roughly the same signal strength.

The problems are occurring for me consistently in this one area, but not in others in the state I live in.

This leads me to believe one of two things:

1. It IS a network issue, and not a hardware issue, OR
2. It's a combination of handset hardware interacting badly with certain pieces of network hardware.

In either case, I do believe it's fixable at the network end.

Yes I realize this is unscientific, and based on experimentation in one unit. So feel free to dismiss it if the chipset theory makes you feel better and gives you a reason to go on living. But I combine this with my previous experience with handoff issues in other phones (not using this chipset), and I am convinced the analyst's report is wrong.

I don't feel that either Apple or AT&T should be blamed. Rather, Apple has a lot to learn about making handsets, and AT&T has a lot to learn about deploying 3G. And I'm pretty confident both will learn.
 
andyblila said:
That was my thought when I made my first response, but according to the OP, I'm "clearly out of my element, and my ignorant post emphasizes this" about questioning a Financial Advisor's credentials to be making an expert opinion about electronics. This just validates my thoughts about it. CNET really needs to research who they are using for expert opinions. This is just another example of frivilous reporting. :eek:
Click to expand...

While many analysts are very knowledgeable about their respective fields, they are not always correct. I have seen this first-hand as I was working on a major project that a panel of FAs was discussing on a finance program. I was blown away by the incorrect assumptions being tossed around as fact regarding the project we were doing. In that particular situation, it was clearly a case of some people knowing just enough to be dangerous. They could talk the talk and people listened. It's just that the talk was way off-base from reality.
 
Carpe Deez said:
The problem is that while I'm riding down the west side highway with some young woman's face in my lap, while talking with my girlfriend, I expect the call not to drop.
Click to expand...

OK, now we're getting somewhere. With your mistress' head in your lap, it might be interfering with your antenna, I suppose a girl's head in your lap while driving might fall under a "terrain" reception issue, thus not a defect, well, except possibly to your actual girlfriend who hopefully doesn't frequent the forums, or trust you too much. :rolleyes:
 
This is quite interesting...if this is proven true, wouldn't people be able to get replacements at apple's cost? :eek:
 
andyblila said:
People use the "I know 8 people personally" way to often for it to be credible. Also, you need to actually read the article that you link to???? It does not say that this is the cause. In fact according to your link..."A financial analyst believes Apple's iPhone 3G reception issues may be the result of some faulty chips." What does a financial analyst know about electronic design? It's like me saying that Microsoft may be the cause of our recession. What makes me an expert? (I'm not)! Further in the article, "Some people will not experience these problems as it is only in areas where the radio signal weakens that the immaturity of the stack really shows." Holy cow, what a revelation. You might have signal strength problems in areas where the radio signal weakens! That's about as profound as, you might experience the sensation of a full bladder berfore urinating! I am no defender of AT&T and while I like Apple products I am certainly not a "fanboy", but your post makes you look really bad. It was extremely poorly researched. :p I live in San Diego and consistenly have 4 to 5 Bars of 3G. I am inside a building with no windows right now with 2 Bars.
Click to expand...

too bad the bars are not prison with the hatred response you gave.

Please read the article and the related ones: short iPhone antenna-> difficulty getting the same reception as another 3G phone-> the amount of time you have to deal with a low signal is actually a lot-> and if these problems occur when there is a low signal then it actually is a big deal.
 
scaredpoet said:
Well, I just confirmed for myself that it is NOT a hardware issue.

I know of two distinct places within about 10 miles of each other - one where 3G to EDGE handoffs work every time on my iPhone, and the second location where it doesn't always work. In both locations, I get from 1-3 bars of 3G, roughly the same signal strength.

The problems are occurring for me consistently in this one area, but not in others in the state I live in.

This leads me to believe one of two things:

1. It IS a network issue, and not a hardware issue, OR
2. It's a combination of handset hardware interacting badly with certain pieces of network hardware.

In either case, I do believe it's fixable at the network end.

Yes I realize this is unscientific, and based on experimentation in one unit. So feel free to dismiss it if the chipset theory makes you feel better and gives you a reason to go on living. But I combine this with my previous experience with handoff issues in other phones (not using this chipset), and I am convinced the analyst's report is wrong.

I don't feel that either Apple or AT&T should be blamed. Rather, Apple has a lot to learn about making handsets, and AT&T has a lot to learn about deploying 3G. And I'm pretty confident both will learn.
Click to expand...

Why don't you lend me a $100,000
I may have a lot to learn about paying it back though LOL:)
 
vilasgn said:
Windsor is the same analyst who theorized that the iPhone EDGE touchscreens were susceptible to heat, and could degrade within 4-6 months, and, more ominously, were not fixable except by complete replacement.

Sound familiar? You might want to check when Windsor retracted that erroneous report as well to his clients, to assure them that 1) he was wrong about the chemical composition of the iPhone screen 2) he was wrong about the screens failing within 4-6 months.

Oh, nevermind, he didn't.
Click to expand...


Excellent post, vilasgn. I had no idea this analyst publicized that erroneous data. I remember reading it. Definitely sheds suspicion on the story I posted.
 
I'm having major connectivity issues as well

I live in Chester, NY about 70 miles North of Manhattan. I drive all over for a living and I drop calls at least every 5 - 10 minutes. I switched from Verizon (perfect coverage) to the iPhone and ATT. It sucks and everyone who has to talk to me is constantly complaining about how sucky my service is.

I turned off the 3G, it helped a little but not completely.

Now the latest bit of fun is that people are calling me and my phone never rings. Sometimes they get VM sometimes nothing just dead silence or sometimes it rings.

I'm curious about the poster who said they got Apple to give them a new iPhone, how did you manage that?

When I'm in NYC I turn on the 3G and still lose the calls even more frequently.

This is incredibly frustrating, especially because I do love the iPhone. Any suggestions? Not interested in fighting about whether it's true or not, it is for me :)

Regards,

Kim
 
iPhone reception a problem with the chipset!

From CNET Below:

A wireless researcher in Sweden claims to have identified the issue causing iPhone 3G reception problems around the world.

Ny Teknik, a Swedish tech newspaper, has published the account of a scientist at the University of Gälve who investigated the iPhone 3G and discovered that the phone is not as sensitive to 3G signals as other phones. Claes Beckman is claiming that the iPhone 3G's nominal sensitivity is below that of published standards for 3G phones, meaning the phone drops the connection with a 3G tower more quickly than other 3G phones as it moves away from the tower and averages slower data speeds when connected.

UPDATED 3:15pm - Ny Teknik wishes to make clear that Claes Beckman was not the researcher who originally discovered the sensitivity issues. That person wishes to remain anonymous for fear of being fired for testing the iPhone 3G on his organization's equipment. Ny Teknik contacted Beckman and the university to confirm the credibility of the research, which he did "without hesitating," according to the author of the article.

Beckman The researcher told Ny Teknik that such an issue would have been easily discovered in the certification process for the iPhone 3G in the various countries in which it is now available, implying that a manufacturing problem is to blame. Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai, is believed to be the manufacturer of the iPhone 3G, and reportedly increased production of the unit at the beginning of this month.

On Wednesday, Vodafone Australia joined the ranks of carriers blaming Apple for the reception issues with the iPhone 3G. T-Mobile Netherlands is telling its customers that either a hardware or software issue is to blame, and a financial analyst has also gone on record predicting problems with the iPhone's 3G chipset. Apple has been silent on the issue, and AT&T has denied that there are widespread issues with the iPhone 3G.

I put in requests to researchers at Stanford University's Microwave Integrated Circuits Laboratory, as well as the University of California's Berkeley Wireless Research Center to see if they'd be willing to duplicate the findings. I'll let you know if they respond.
 
I've used mine in Guelph, Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo, Mississauga, Toronto, Hamilton Ontario and Calgary Alberta, never a dropped call good signal strength. So the 3G is working up here in Canada at least for me.
 
Here is an email I sent to Steve Jobs:\\Steve,
It is past time for Apple to either confess up that there is a problem with 3G or if it is the AT&T network to have them confess up and resolve the issue. I purchased my phone in your store in Rancho Cucamonga on July 15th and I have been very disappointed with the phone's reception.

There have been many other bugs and issues but those are more tolerable; however, having calls go straight to vice mail, dropping calls constantly (even when standing still), calls fading in and out, calls not going through, having a weak or no signal on 3G even in many locations that show strong 3G coverage such as Dallas, TX, Washington D.C., Orlando, FL, Newport Beach, CA, Riverside, CA, Norco, CA, Seattle, WA, just a few of the places I have experienced reception problems is a serious issue. As much as I love the device if I can't rely on it as a phone the rest doesn't matter.

Can this issue be fixed? Is it going to be fixed anytime soon? Is it a defective chip set as CNET and other sites are suggesting? Even EDGE reception is problematic though not as bad as 3G. It drops calls and in general doesn't match the performance of my BlackBerry 8310 on the same network for signal reception and holding onto a signal. I would think it was my specific unit but the forums including your own are just full of people with the same problem.

I am a big apple fan with two iMacs, a MacBook air and a Powerbook along with my Apple home network but the issues with this new phone are among the worst I have seen for a new roll out. Other issues include the GPS not working properly with 3G and only intermittently with EDGE, sluggish response and battery life that doesn't match your ads. Finally, it really bugs me that Apple tech support suggests the solution is to turn off 3G when I am paying an extra $10 a month and waited a year for this phone precisely because I wanted 3G.

Thank You,

I travel a lot and I have yet to find any place that 3G works as advertised. The best speed I have seen is 500KB which is also less than I expected. My Verizon USB 3G modem I plug into my laptop (MacBook Air) will frequently give me 2MB down and 500KB up which really puts my experience with T&T to shame and it is reliable and solid in holding a connection.
 
Here is my attempt at a constructive comment.

Maybe someone from AT&T or Apple should talk to Fido in Canada about what they did to resolve their issue with the 3G network which they had between August 4th to the 6th.

After changing whatever they did globally in Canada, I have not had any real problems with my iphone in 3G mode from the 7th onward.

Wow what a concept eh? ;)
 
Check out this article on MSNBC's news web site:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26187370

This will start to put the pressure on Apple and AT&T. I walked into an AT&T store and the sales people and the manager there made the same asinine response as the President of AT&T that they haven't heard about any iPhone reception problems. When I showed him the poor reception his demo iPhones were showing right in his store with a super good location it shut him up.
 
manhattanboy said:
too bad the bars are not prison with the hatred response you gave.

Please read the article and the related ones: short iPhone antenna-> difficulty getting the same reception as another 3G phone-> the amount of time you have to deal with a low signal is actually a lot-> and if these problems occur when there is a low signal then it actually is a big deal.
Click to expand...

Why would you even suggest that I go to prison? There was no anger at all in my post. Just because I made a strong and educated response I am accused of hatred. Ease up bro, you're gonna pop an artery.
 
manhattanboy said:
UPDATED 3:15pm - Ny Teknik wishes to make clear that Claes Beckman was not the researcher who originally discovered the sensitivity issues. That person wishes to remain anonymous for fear of being fired for testing the iPhone 3G on his organization's equipment. Ny Teknik contacted Beckman and the university to confirm the credibility of the research, which he did "without hesitating," according to the author of the article.
Click to expand...
Your BS detectors should be shooting off the charts with this "update"...
 
andyblila said:
People use the "I know 8 people personally" way to often for it to be credible.
Click to expand...

Including yourself. just last week in another thread you said you knew 2 people personally who had unlocked iphone 3Gs working on Tmobile's 3G network. What's funny is that your above quoted response is almost exactly word for word what another poster replied back to you when he called you out on your claim.
 
wreckshop said:
Including yourself. just last week in another thread you said you knew 2 people personally who had unlocked iphone 3Gs working on Tmobile's 3G network. What's funny is that your above quoted response is almost exactly word for word what another poster replied back to you when he called you out on your claim.
Click to expand...

I agree, which is why I retracted my statement in the other post. Are we going to go through this again????

And your response in this thread was of a lot of value to the subscribers. It contributed greatly to our discussion about wether or not the chipset is to blame for the poor reception. Thank you for clearing that up for all of us! Again, what was your contribution to that discussion?

Finally, you are trying really hard to convince me that you are a troll. This is at least the third time you have tried to bait me in a forum. In fact I took your advice and googled troll and this is what I got:

"A classic troll is trying to make us believe that he is a genuine skeptic with no hidden agenda. He is divisive and argumentative with need-to-be-right attitude, "searching for the truth", flaming discussion, and sometimes insulting people or provoking people to insult him. Troll is usually an expert in reusing the same words of its opponents and in turning it against them.
While sometimes, he may sound like a stupid, uninformed, ignorant poster, do not be deceived! Most trolls are highly intelligent people trying to hide behind a mask of stupidity and/or ignorance! They usually have an agenda. Very few trolls come out of pure skepticism.

A Troll is generally a person who is extremely skeptical of the main forum subject.
He is generally interested to make other forum members look stupid."

Funny, that seems to be an exact description of your behavior.

I have already reported this poster to the moderators. Don't egg him on or give him the satisfaction. If you'd like to see more of his activities...let me know, I'll send you the link.

As for you wreckshop, I will no longer respond to your bait. Thank You.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back