IPhone 3G Reception Problems - anyone taken it apart?

Not sure if the rest of you are having issues loading the long thread about this, but it's gotten so long, I can't even get it to load anymore - it also keeps saying it's running some script. Thought I would start a new thread with a new question...
There's all this talk of poor 3G reception - I agree, it's pretty bad. I was on a conference call yesterday driving from Downtown Houston to the Galleria - fairly big urban city with what's supposed to be massive 3G coverage - dropped the call 3 times - once in my parking garage, once getting on the freeway, and once arriving at the Galleria. I had 3G on. The Apple Store Genius told me he leaves 3G off and only use it for web and data.
I also noticed that every iPhone in the store was on Edge, none on 3G - couldn't get a signal.
There still seems to be great debate as to if this is an AT&T issue or an Apple issue - some have said perhaps a problem with the antenna - well, has anyone taken the thing apart to see if there's an antenna issue? I know Gizmodo or one of them dismembered an iPhone, I'd of thought they'd see something.
I do notice that if I put my hand on the bottom of the phone, I definately lose signal - move it away and the bars go up - is that the phone, or AT&T - or both?
Sorry for rambling - I just wish someone would be able to do a little more accurate testing than all of our anecdotal thoughts....

Have you had an AT&T 3G phone before?
You can not compare 3G reception to GSM reception. It's apples and oranges.
The 3G network is completely new cell sites. It has far less density than the old GSM network. In other words there is not one 3G site for ever 1 GSM. It's more like 1 3G for every 5-6 GSM sites (or even worse, depending on where you are.)
Have you ever had a 3G AT&T phone?
I haven't had a dropped call, but admittedly I haven't spent a lot of time on phone calls since I got it. But I had calls drop occasionally going from 3G to GSM on my last two. Usually it didn't happen, but there were a few places I could get it to happen every time.

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IPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone

I have the same problem with 3G coverage. I am suppose to be in a strong 3G coverage area at home. I only have 1 bar. Traveling around town (Sacramento area) my 3G coverage changes dramatically. From 1 bar to full bars? Not sure if its working properly or not??? Anyhow, this was posted on Engadget. After they exchanged their iPhone the problem went away? Could it be true? Is it the netork or our iPhones? Lets all hope nothing is wrong with our iPhones!!!!
iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You're Not Alone
One of the more disturbing things coming out of the iPhone 3G launch is reports of suspiciously poor 3G reception and speeds. Specifically, I've seen several people report one bar - specifically, one bar - of 3G reception in areas where other devices report strong reception. (More complaints at Engadget.)
This may be a problem with a batch of iPhones, or with something in AT&T's network, though I've also seen someone reporting the problem on O2 in the UK. The first review iPhone we got had this problem - it would mysteriously drop from four bars of 3G to one for no apparent reason, while our Motorola RAZR2 V9 reported better reception. Then it would shoot back up to four bars for no apparent reason a few minutes later. That unit would also occasionally throw up an "invalid SIM" error, requiring a reboot. That phone also had hideously slow 3G data speeds in the 50 kbps-150 kbps range, so the missing bars weren't just a display issue; there was something wrong with the way the phone was hitting the network.
We exchanged that iPhone for a different unit and no longer had the problem. We took the new iPhone and carried it around comparing it to a Motorola V9, and the two phones connected roughly the same number of calls on the 3G network. The new unit also had much higher data speeds in the same locations - still not great, in the 300-400 kbps range, but at least reflecting 3G.

my white iphone does the same thing. I will drop down to one bar on 3g but full strength when i turn 3g off. Some people have tried to say that it is because 3g had more difficulty going through walls. Mine will not switch between 3g and edge on it's own so i find that when at home i just have to turn off the 3g. I have also heard rumors of a bad batch of iphones. I tried to take it into the store today but they were so busy i just had to make an appointment for thursday, although i was able to replicate the problem in front of the apple geek, which was a little surprising becuase while in line outside the store i had full bars of 3g. It might just be an issue that occurs when indoors? I also have a problem with lag. I'm hoping to get it resolved thurdays, whether they give me a new phone or just tell me to eff off and deal with it. probably the latter.

IPhone 3GS - Reception Problem Discovered

I was taking a stroll through my backyard and found an issue with reception.
I have isolated the cause to the lemon tree I have.
Is there some sort of weird signal attenuation that occurs due to the highly acidic nature of lemons?
I have posted a video of my problem here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsfXa5brR28

It seems Apple dropped the ball on this one in a major way (iPhone Reception and some other issues).
I just got my SMT5600 (smallest windows mobile device) replaced by iPhone 3GS (16 Gig version) about 3 days ago.
The problems so far I have encountered are as follows:
1. Poor reception (the Blogsphere is full of iPhone owners complaining about this) I drive regularly in the 85/I-280/Lawrence ExpWay area (all within about a mile of Apple HQ I have had repeated dropped call with iPhone (repeatedly calling back) but never with other phones with the same provider (AT&T).
2. Feature/Functionality (my opinion is Apple is good at 80/20, they do 80% of the needed features very well and the other 20%, they not only NOT do it, they make it impossible to work around)
a. Eg.1 You cannot selectively delete recent calls
b. Eg. 2 You cannot enter non-numeric characters in the phone number (Outlook let's you do it, and iPhone syncs but then it doesn't recognize the phone number as legitimate, for instance I have one of the pager number fields populated as "408-555-0000 joe's second mobile number" My Windows Mobile device got it right -i.e. when I had a call from that number it woudl display Joe's Pager, but with the same scenario, iPhone just displays the number)
In any case, I can live with lack of features, but I am thinking of returning my iPhone because of reception issue.

Reception problems with iPhone 3GS after upgrading to iOS 4.2.1

AFter upgrading to 4.2.1, my 3GS iPhone is experiencing bad signal, bad quality and frequent disconnections.
This was repeated even after my provider replaced my device to a different 3GS device, running 4.2.1.
inserting my SIM card to a NOKIA phone, showed strong signal and good reception.
Did anyone experience reception problems on 3GS running 4.2.1??
Thanks,

I have the same issue after iOS 4.2.1 update. I am using iPhone 3GS officially unlocked by Apple. I tried using different SIM cards and both carriers show same problem when using phone in 3G mode. Phone falls back to EDGE mode showing 'E' from '3G' at start. I have reset the phone and rebooted several times and moved to different cell areas in the city just to verify the problem.
I had no such issues earlier. I also have Nokia E71 which shows full signal and has no such issues.
I have posted the bug on apple iphone feedback page. I hope they Apple will fix the problem and test the release properly on all models before releasing to public.

Signal reception problem? its not the iphone its...

Ok after i read through MANY people problems ive realized they are blaming the iphone 4 itself .... WRONG
Test 1 well i still had my 3g and 3gs both of them were OS 3. whatever i forgot both EXCELLENT RECEPTION but as everyone know the IPHONE 4 had bad reception even without touching the 2 BLACK LINES sometimes it goes to 1 bar for some reason.
Test 2 OK so i tried something else i update my 3gs to OS 4 and well can you guess what happen when i held it in the bottem? YUP the bars decreased to 1 i know your probably denieng it
Test 3 so now i UPDATED MY 3G to OS 4 and held the bottem..... can you guess what happen the reception to went down to 1
obviously it isnt the iphone its the software and if i didnt read wrong there is gonna be a new softare update OS 4.1 to fix the solution but like i said I READ so i dont know hopefully it will come
but these happen to my phones if anyone got a iphone 3g or 3gs updated to OS 4 and no reception problem then i guess its magick =/

I did a little experiment here at work. I have a 3G and I have to buddies with 3Gs. We held the iPhone in our left hands completely covering the back of the phone and are fingers wrapped around the other edge. We all where able to reproduce the issues with the bars slowly falling away until there where no bars left. Then we place the phone on a flat surface where we where not touching the phone and the bars slowly can back to full strength. All of us have upgraded our phones to ios4. Until this issues came up with the iPhone 4 I had never thought of doing this hand covering procedure. I also run a speed test before I lost all the bars and after I lost all the bars. Had decent speed before and dismal speed after. Also I went from 3G to Edge during the process. We need to find an iPhone that has not been updated to ios4 and test it in the same manor.

We have had Verizon Wireless service since 2007. We have 6 lines on our account. Unfortunately in 2012 when I (903.647.0073) upgraded from the iPhone4s to the iPhone 5 I started having reception problems. I started having dropped calls in my home. I had t

We have had Verizon Wireless service since 2007. We have 6 lines on our account. Unfortunately in 2012 when I (903.647.0073) upgraded from the iPhone4s to the iPhone 5 I started having reception problems. I started having dropped calls in my home. I had to go outside to get reception without dropped calls. I was told that because of metal in my home I would have to purchase a Network Extender for $250. And we HAVE not metal in our home. AND our other lines all work fine. I felt this was ridiculous. We already pay $350+/month for service and I should NOT have to purchase additional equipment for a service that I already pay for. The manager of our local store at the time gave us at no cost a Samsung Network Extender. It worked beautifully until about a month ago. I went to our local Verizon store and was told that I would have to purchase an extender. THIS is RIDICULOUS. We have been loyal customers for over 7 years and have been very satisfied with our service. Unless this issue can be resolved without purchasing an extender we will be switching our service as our lines come up for renewal. I regret this as we have been very happy with our service. But we should NOT have to purchase anything extra for one line that will not get good reception. Again, we pay $350+/ month for a service that does not work properly, simply RIDICULOUS! Currently the "sys" light flashes red (slow) and the GPS light remains red. Please help this very frustrated customer.

Regardless with what carrier your with you might have the same issue, My recommendation would be to get a router that will help you with viewing live traffic and keep a tally of your usage and any device connected to your internet connection. You can go with the peplink balance 20 and be able to look at your traffic by the hour, daily, weekly, monthly or yearly. Look for trends, see what computers or devices are doing what I attached a screen shot so you can see an example of mine. You can purchase the router at 3gstore
http://i45.tinypic.com/6zc674.jpg

My IPhone 3G reception fixed, a new problem - AT&T *real* data speeds

I've read quite a few topics on this forum regarding the poor IPhone 3G reception, and unfortunately 99% of them are emotions, making it very laborious to distill useful info out of them.
Therefore I'd like to post my personal experience so far with IPhone 3g, listing more facts, than emotions. *I hope this will help some of you, and also hope that others will follow a more structured approach to reporting IPhone 3g problems*.
*IPhone 3G Model MB046LL, 2.0.1 firmware*
I got my IPhone 3g black 16gb version in NJ on August 2nd, model MB046LL. I work in IT, and I was overall very impressed with all of its features. However, the device had 2 major problems - 3g reception was highly unstable, and the actual 3g data speeds were far lower than advertised, 200kb on average for download and 30kb on average for upload.
I called AT&T, they said I was in the zone with "the best 3g coverage". I went to an AT&T store, and had my SIM card swapped from #3022 to a newer one, #4022. Swapping the SIM card drastically improved both 3g reception and the data speeds.
Unfortunately, I noticed that my IPhone 3g was picking up not as many bars of 3g as other Iphone 3g sitting next to me. The actual dbm numbers for 3g were also smaller. I would continue having dropped calls. I also noticed that my battery would fully recharge very fast (within 1.3 hours), and would fully discharge much faster than it was advertised. The GPS was acting weird, and the voice quality would sometimes be horrible even with 5 bars of 3g. There were more anomalies with that phone, e.g. download speed of 20-30kb with 5 bars of 3g, among other things. I would diligently take screenshots of every anomaly I saw, and store them on the phone. Restoring the phone to its factory state did not help.
After some time, I concluded there was still something wrong my IPhone, scheduled a Genius Bar appointment, and had it replaced with a brand new IPhone 3g. Having numerous screenshots of different problems minimized the explanations to a minimum.
*IPhone 3G Model MB048LL, 2.0.1 firmware*
I had a chance to compare the new model with the previous one I had - the build felt a bit different. The screen on this new model has a slightly better contrast, too (compared default factory settings).
*The new model, however, has GREAT 3g reception*. Where with the previous model I had 2-3 bars of 3g, I now have 5 bars. The dbm numbers are also somewhat improved. I had a couple of small issues with apps, etc., but I figured them out - found which apps were crashing the system, and deleted them, cleaned up the old backups and the crash diagnostic crash reports from the previous model, etc. Finally all other problems I was having with the previous model are now gone, too, except the quirkiness of the GPS, but I suspect it's the new firmware, and not much I can do about it. I have yet to see a dropped call on this new model.
However this new model identified a new problem, something that I'd suspected for some time: it appears that the problems people are having could indeed be the combination of IPhone hardware/software and AT&T network.
I noticed the data speeds vary significantly throughout the day, even when you sit at the same desk. I noticed the speed drops significantly approximately during lunch time to ~90-300kb for download, would be ok during the day (~200-350kb for download), and would be AWESOME after 10pm - ~0.9 - 1.4Mbs.
One can make a conclusion here that AT&T simply does not have enough network capacity to handle the peak data load, when many people connect on the network. It could be that IPhone's software does not manage very well under such conditions, but I'd would place more blame on AT&T in this case, considering how exceptionally well IPhone performs during other times.
I'd like to point out that although both Apple and AT&T reps were genuinely trying to be helpful, I could clearly see that not one person I talked to on both sides did not have a clear solution how to resolve the problems I was having. Basically, I had to figure out what the problem could be, and use the resources available to try to solve it - be that replacing the phone, restoring from backups, monitoring the crash logs for problematic apps, etc.
Message was edited by: rndip077
Message was edited by: rndip077
Message was edited by: rndip077

I would constructively suggest that you edit your post pretty quickly if you want to avoid a highly deserved, verbal battering from every unemotional, highly rational and intelligent poster on this forum who might take offence to your demeaning attitude. I think to assume that because people who have posted on here have posted at all because they are emotional basket-cases, or in some way out of control of their emotions merely because they have aired their disappointment/disgust/anger with their sub-functioning iPhones is pretty insulting and undeserved. Whatever YOU have written here, or have experienced elsewhere, still only has the value of 1 (ONE). It is a poll of 1. It is an opinion of 1. No more valid than that, no more authority than that.

Reception problem in my iphone 4g

Am still having the reception problem in my iphone 4g, I got it 2 months ago and i thought Apple had solved this issue can any body advise?

Turn it off and put it in a bag of rice for 5-7 days. Try it then.

Whenever I ask Siri to send a message to a contact, it will attempt to send it as an iMessage. This is a problem because it will attempt to send iMessages to contacts of mine which aren't even iPhone numbers. Is anyone else having this problem?

Whenever I ask Siri to send a message to a contact, it will attempt to send it as an iMessage. This is a problem because it will attempt to send iMessages to contacts of mine which aren't even iPhone numbers. Is anyone else having this problem?
So, this is a problem because when Siri attempts to send iMessages to those without iPhones it, of course, fails.
For example, if I say to Siri, "Tell my mother 'Hello.'" It will try to send an iMessage. My mother has an Android phone, so the iMessage just gets lost in cyberspace.
I use Siri quite often, this problem only occured about two hours ago.
Can anyone help me with this?
Thanks.
Thomas

I had major issues with the iPhone 4s battery, however it’s resolved.
The tech who set the phone up at the Apple store did so with little training.
if you have a mobile me account. First go and move all your data to the cloud by going on your computer and logging in at me.com/move. The cloud has replaced mobile me, so there is no need for those two accounts
Also make sure that for any of your email accounts you set them up to fetch, not push. My tech person set them all to have the email servers push data to the phone. The new iphone4s antenna is extremely strong so it will continually try to access stuff that is pushed–***** a lot of battery life doing this. It makes it worse if you have exchange 2010 accounts. Something about changes made to exchange really suck battery life from devices that access such accounts.
turning of locator and the push notifications from facebook--they have a lot!

How to fix reception problems in iphone 4s

I bought an Iphone 4s and since then I have reception problems with it.
with my oldest 3gs and the same sim card never had a receptiomn problem.
Now when I call the other people coudn't hear me or sometimes the signal ist lost.
Can somebody give me an solution to fix the problem?

sajith5 wrote:
I have recently brought an iphone 4s and the battery is draining even without much use. please advice if any one is able to fix it with some patches or updates iOS 5.0.1
I have personally seen the problem and corrected it on numerous models now including the 4S, 4, 3GS and iPad 2s. Corrupt system level settings created by an iOS 5 bug in the original release that caused battery recalibration issues, etc. Just installing the update does not fix the issue in most cases (sometime it initially can be worse). You need to clear out those settings and recalibate the battery. For those still having the "standby battery drain" issue follow the procedure below in order. It does fix the problem in most cases.
Go through these steps to address the battery after updating to iOS 5.0.1:
1. Reset all settings (settings app-> general-> reset)
2. Go through initial setup steps (lang, wifi, siri, enable location, etc) and choose setup as new phone (don't worry your apps, data, contacts, mail will still be there). At this point, Do NOT restore from iCloud or iTunes (It can copy back corrupt settings)
3. Turn off system location services timezone and iAd
4. Fully discharge battery (till it shuts off with the spinning wheel)
5. Fully recharge battery (overnight if possible)
In my experience this improves the standby battery drain issue significantly in most cases. It reduces drain from 2-4% or more per hr to 0.5% or less. It has worked for many, many users now... not all, but most. If it does not work after a few try's you may have a real battery or hardware issue and should contact Apple. Good Luck!
More details on my thread here if needed:https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3484755

IPhone 4s - 5.0.1 Reception Problems

Hello all... I have two (2) iPhone 4s. I used to have all iphones (2G, 3G, 3GS, 4)
Never had any problems with the reception. Both iPhones 4s are on the same network .
I noticed that my iphone 4s has a huge reception problem. Even if I have 4-5 bars of signal... the phone is unable to perform a call. I have to try more than 4-5 times in order to make a succefull call... I type the phone number... I have to wait for at least 10-15sec and 80% of the times i get "call cancelled"
Even if I manage to make a call... most of the times ... with NO reason the call drops.
Also in locations where I have 2-3 bars of signal... suddently I get "no service" and most of the times I have to reboot the phone in order to get signal again.
I think that this started after upgrading to 5.0.1 (I was having 5.0 only for 3-4 days... so I am not sure if there was a problem also)
Is it true that all these problems
1. reception problems
2. Not stable wifi
3. Battery drain
are software problems???? Are those going to be fixed on a future update (maybe 5.1) which we are waiting a long time now....!!!!
Please help.... if this is not a software problem....I am thinking on returning the phone in order to get a replacement
Thank you in advance

Well battery life gone down to 81% since 40 mins ago!
Well no other problems as yet but not tried any yet.
So much for QA !!!!
5.0.2 I hope fixes all these problems

Has anyone been having problems with camera, safari etc. crashing on iOS 5.0.1 because I have been having the problem as well as my brother I have the iPhone 4. If anyone else having same issue comment below

Has anyone been having problems with camera, safari etc. crashing on iOS 5.0.1 because I have been having the problem as well as my brother I have the iPhone 4. If anyone else having same issue comment below

Then the next step would be a restore as new to rule out corruption in the backup.

I got my iphone sent from germany and now i am having reception problems, but it comes wiv a full warranty.can i be able to get a replacement one in the uk?

i got my iphone sent from germany and now i am having reception problems, but it comes wiv a full warranty.can i be able to get a replacement one in the uk?

Well, you learn something everyday don't you

New iPhone 5 - internet and mail reception problems?

I just acquired a new iPhone 5. I have regular reception internet and mail reception problems. The internet on both Wifi and provider network drops out on a regular basis, although reception signals of both wifi and network are strong. When turning off the phone and restarting the internet comes back for a short while and loses connection again. Has somebody else experience similar difficiulties, If yes how can this be fixed.

I just acquired a new iPhone 5. I have regular reception internet and mail reception problems. The internet on both Wifi and provider network drops out on a regular basis, although reception signals of both wifi and network are strong. When turning off the phone and restarting the internet comes back for a short while and loses connection again. Has somebody else experience similar difficiulties, If yes how can this be fixed.

HT201274 Has anyone taken an iPhone from USA to Europe and switching SIM cards?

Has anyone taken an iPhone from USA to Europe and switching SIM cards?

SacramentoFred wrote:
Has anyone taken an iPhone from USA to Europe and switching SIM cards?
Yes

IPhone 3G Reception Problems - anyone taken it apart?

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