IPhone 4 cannot pick up a network properly after iOS 5 upgrade

Question

After I upgraded to iOS 5, my iPhone 4 cannot pick up a network if it loses it. If I switch the phone to the airplane mode and then back, it finds something but I cannot neither hear anyone when I make a call nor send sms. I cannot properly cancel a call either, the phone app freezes once I press the cancel button.

Answer 1

iPhone 4S turned out to be a really bad apple..
I have, as many others, catastrophic reception on my new iPhone 4S. I might add that I also have an iPhone 4 and if I put the same MicroSim in this phone then the reception is flawless.
The problem is essentially the same as the one that many other experiences, five full bars, and (in my case) Tele2 3G. If someone tries to call me they are immediately sent to voicemail. If I try to make a call it fails, then the bars go down one by one until no service is shown, then the SIMsearches for reception and usually succeeds after about 1 minute the bars appear again. Sometimes I then can make a call but nine times out of tenthe procedure will just be repeated again.
I can of course manually get my bars back again via either reboot or by taking out and putting in the SIM again or by activating and then deactivating flight mode, this does not mean that I get actual reception, I just get the bars and operator name back and the phone seems to have reception. That is until I try to make a new call...
One can't turn off 3G in new iOS5, however, one can select operator manually. Carrier settings in iOS5 defautls to "Auto". If I turn off auto and select Tele2's 2G network nothing happens. I can turn off the "auto" but it is just says "Searching...". If I go back to settings and then back again the carrier settings are in "Auto" mode again.
I have made several re-installations, both from backup and as a new phone, turned on and off the PIN code, deactivated and activated Location services, made hard resets, etc. Even after the latest beta, which was released developers today, was installed and all procedures were done all over again with this OS the problem persists. It is simply impossible to either make or receive calls with my new iPhone 4S. It can do lots of fancy stuff but as a phone it is completely useless and I am compelled to to go back to using my iPhone 4 for now.
You would think that Apple would ensure that at least the telephone part in both hardware and software are operating properly before releasing them to consumers. It's called "iPhone" - not iPod, iPhone, iGame...iPhone is primarily a phone and customers buying it would at the very least require it to be able to make and recieve calls or maybe it's asking too much?
What is also very strange is that even if a lot of consumers complain about the above bug, not only in Sweden but all over the world, Apple does not mention this anywhere. Not on their support pages, not in their developer community, not to their dealers who certainly had a lot of support calls from unhappy customers who believe that it is an operator error.
Incredibly bad service by Apple to release a phone that can not be used as a phone and even worse to not quickly recognize this error and publish what's causing the error, that they're working on resolving it, and when it will be resolved.
I work myself as telephony manager at a company that uses just the iPhone and there are now quite a few new unhappy iPhone 4S, and where I take a lot of support concerning these bugs and have to get them temporary solutions until the bugs are fixed.
I use to commend both Apple and their products, but my conviction on Apple's excellence has been significantly tarnished. This is BAD Apple, hope you get your acts together a.s.a.p. cause both your phone and your service really ***** in this case.
Only way to get attention is to flood apple with info on this matter: fill in form at: http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html and let them know..