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.

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  • Having a great iPhone 3G experience? You're not alone.

    Given that this is a support forum, it's to be expected that it's primarily composed of people with issues with their iPhones. However, since several people in other posts have mentioned they are dropping by here to do some research before purchasing an iPhone, I thought I'd discuss my experience with a new Black 16 GB iPhone 3G.
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    I live in Pasadena, CA. With my original iPhone I got very average reception. In my office, the iPhone was all but unusable, and this was true of most people's phones. Around town reception was all over the place, but generally acceptable.
    With the the iPhone 3G, things have improved. Around town I generally get 3 to 5 bars of 3G reception. In the Old Town area I've got 5 bars. Making calls is no problem, and the voice quality is far superior to my original iPhone. I've had no dropped calls and no service issue. In terms of data, the iPhone screams. Using this [speed test site|http://i.dslr.net/tinyspeedtest.html], I'm getting results between 920 and 980 kbps (1275 highest, 580 lowest). In the exact same spots, using my wife's original iPhone, we're getting 70-95 kbps, with several failed tests. That's a huge improvement!
    Moving indoors, the 3G reception drops considerably. In my office, the iPhone switches automatically to Edge. However, unlike my original iPhone, I'm now getting good Edge reception in my office, usually 4 bars. Far more importantly, I can actually make and receive calls! At my home, 3G drops to 1 bar. However, I can still make calls without a problem. Data drops in half, with results between 390 & 550 kbps. This is still much faster than Edge however, but not as fast as areas with better reception.
    Keep in mind that 3G reception indoors is expected to drop. AT&T keeps 3G on the 1900 MHz band, which isn't nearly as good as the 850 MHz band for penetrating buildings. For now, as there are far more Edge phones, AT&T is keeping Edge on the 850 MHz band. As this changes, indoor 3G reception will improve. I read in one of the other forum topics that one poster was furious with Apple and returning his iPhone 3G because he only got 1 bar of 3G service in his basement and he got 5 bars of Edge. He can be furious at Apple all he wants, but AT&T's 3G service, as currently implemented, isn't going to give you good reception in basements.
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    +Creepy side note: I was playing around with the GSP in my house the other day. I zoomed in real close in Google maps and got right on top of my house. Walking from the back of my house to the front, the blue dot actually followed me. Yikes! I can't say why exactly, but it kind of bothered me. I guess I watch too much "24" and the like. :)+
    _Speaker Volume_
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    Battery life has been better than I had expected. I thought I'd have to charge my iPhone at least once, maybe twice, during the day. That's not been the case. If I leave the house in the morning with a fully charged iPhone, it's good for the entire day. This includes a ton of texting, music/audio book listening on my drive, dozens of calls, email, and web browsing. In fact, because it's so new and cool, I play with it much more than I typically would.
    I've got a MobileMe account set up with Push. I get around 20 messages an hour pushed to my MobileMe account. When I wake up in the morning, there will often be 100 messages waiting in my inbox. I mention that to say that even with a lot of pushed email, my battery is still lasting a full day. I should also note that I'm on WiFi most of the day, and keep all services (3G, WiFi, Push, etc.) turned on at all times.
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    There are a couple of issues, which is to be expected with a new product and new software. I've run into the typing lag issue a few times. It's inconsistent however and not always present. I can usually text and type email without any lag, but if I'm on a web page and typing something into a search field, for example, it can get very laggy. This is something I expect to be fixed in a future software update.
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    Summary
    I'm very happy with the new iPhone. It's everything I hoped it would be and then some. The 3G service is more than twice as fast for me than Edge, and has worked very well when I've needed to use it. WiFi range is improved. The ringer and volume is better. GPS works well and I will no longer be using a Neverlost system on my business trips. I recommend one highly!

    KBeat wrote:
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    "If you think your iPhone is NOT working, then it's because you're an idiot who doesn't know squat about cell networks and 3G.
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