IPhone reception is poor (it's actually NOT AT&T).... Hope Apple Reads This

Question

After using the iphone all I could think of was...."fewest dropped calls" my a--. I've never has so many dropped calls in my life since switching to the new iPhone.
Here are steps I've taken:
Verified that I'm in an excellent coverage area (with AT&T)
Swapped SIM - It was suggested online, and by Apple Support.
Swapped iPhone
Purchased Wi-Ex zBoost YX510 Dual band signal booster.
All to no avail.
I've determine it's not AT&T that is the problem it's the iPhone.
When the phone is sitting, I can get full signal, 4 bars. As soon as I pick up the phone...I get dropped calls, zero signal, no service, or maybe 1 bar (barely).
Even after doing all the aforementioned items, I still get loss of service. Clearly this is a problem with the iPhone, a search of the web shows TONS of people experiencing the same issue.
Not only that, but I contacted Wi-Ex the makers of zBoost which was HIGHLY rated by several reputable magazines etc...and they stated they have actually gotten a LARGE number of calls with respect to iPhone users having poor reception.
He pointed to transmit power as possibly being the culprit. I'm not a phone expert, I'm a Senior Systems Engineer, so not sure what that would have to do with anything. But he stated it used to be the old Motorola RAZR that they constantly got calls about and he verified that they definetly had the worst trasmit power out of any cell phone seen. Which is probably why so many people complain about the RAZR but now he states the iPhone calls are slowly taking over.
Even with the booster in my house, I reguarly get FULL signal 4 bars...but like I said...as soon as I touch the phone or make a call...it's all over.
I'm hoping this can be fixed through an iPhone update. I would hate to think I have to return the phone can cancel service, but I can't operate like this.
If Apple is watching, I'm willing to be a beta tester in anyway you see fit. I love the phone but I can't deal with all these great features but constant call dropping.

Answer 1

Hi Derrick,
Similar situation to you but..
I purchased yx500 cel single band (800 MHZ, that's the one iPhone uses at my location) actually 2 of them. Yeah I know alot of money to spend to get service at my house. But the 1st purchase was an absolute neccesity for my wife's iPhone. He phone is her ONLY phone for business and no service or 1 bar was not acceptable. The gain on the supplied base station omnidirectional antenna is only so so as the signal strength diminishes about 10 feet away from the base station. I tried the directional indoor base station antenna to get more distance from the base station, with no luck. So the 2nd purchase was another 500 cel for use in the other end of our downstairs, for me. 2 outdoor antennas on either end of the house.
The interesting part of this discussion is that my wife had Sprint previous to the iPhone and service was pretty much the same as it is now with ATT. Sprint's and ATT's towers are next to each other about 1 mile away, as the crow flies, from my house. I had and still have a Blackberry Pearl (now used as a backup phone just in case) and the service was the same as the iPhone. I had a friend over for dinner this weekend who just bought a Blackberry Curve (ATT) Same story with the service, 1 bar to no service. ATT's coverage map indicates (at street level) that we are in an excellent service area. I think our problem is that there are dense trees between us and the tower. Digital signals don't go through trees very well if at all.
For me and my wife the wi-ex product works although (and pertinent to your experience) occasionally the signal will drop inexplicably and dramatically.
On the road the iPhones work fine, and the very infrequent dropped calls are due to known (by me in my years of travelling) holes in the coverage area.
All of this stuff, unfortunately for people like us (at least for me), means that there are no definitive answers to the problem, and like you I have had to spend alot of money, and go through a long process of trial and error to maybe have an answer to the problem of service.
I'm traveling to Colorado, Denver in fact in a few weeks and will be very curious to see how service is there.
Will keep everyone posted.
CD3