Skip to main content

iPod/iPhone > News

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 FAQ: iPhone 3G reception - What's the problem?

Your in-depth guide to the iPhone connection problems

Gregg Keizer, Computerworld

  • Email to a friend
  • Print this article
  • Bookmark this page
  • RSS feed

Apple's iPhone 3G was just a couple of days old when reports began trickling onto the company's support forum from dissatisfied customers.

"I am suppose to be in a strong 3G coverage area at home, [but] I only have 1 bar," said user Doug Clements in a message posted July 13. "Traveling around town (Sacramento area) my 3G coverage changes dramatically. From 1 bar to full bars? Not sure if its working properly or not??"

Within a month, what had started as a few news reports grew dramatically, with several prominent newspapers, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today adding their voices to the chorus.

What's going on? We may not have all the answers, but we do have questions. Here's our take on the griping about iPhone 3G reception.

What's the beef about? Users started complaining about crappy reception -- lousy signal strength, dropped calls and slow data speeds -- just days after the iPhone 3G's July 11 debut.

Those complaints have filled Apple's support forum with nearly 2,000 messages in a series of three long threads, the first two of which were shut down because they were too long for some browsers to load. (This is the current thread open for comment; the first two are here and here.)

It is important to note that while the majority of complaints regard the U.S. service, users have reported similar problems from 10 different countries including the U.K. Here at Macworld we have not encountered this problem personally and can not report first hand if this affects the U.K. It depends - as you will see - if the problem is caused by hardware, software, network or all of the above.

The gripes can be broadly characterized as:

* Weak 3G signals in areas supposedly flush with 3G, and/or in places where other 3G-enabled phones on a network have no problem acquiring a strong signal.

* Consistent dropped calls, often as the iPhone automatically switches from 3G to EDGE when the user moves between coverage areas.

* Slower-than-expected Web browsing that doesn't match Apple's claim that 3G gives users a 2.4x speed boost over EDGE.

Who should I blame? Take your pick:

+ Apple
+ AT&T, O2 and all other carriers
+ All of the above
+ Someone else

Okay, smart guy, really, what causes the problems?

Although no one outside of Apple and its partners -- and maybe a chipmaker or two -- really knows, that's not kept others from speculating, or in a few cases, making claims based on unnamed sources.

According to BusinessWeek's Peter Burrows, who cited a pair of unnamed sources, the iPhone 3G's troubles stem from a faulty chip or chipset from Infineon Technologies AG, a major mobile chip designer and manufacturer.

Burrows' story echoed comments made earlier in the week by Richard Windsor, a Wall Street analyst with Nomura Securities, who put out a research note last Tuesday that also laid the blame on Infineon. "We believe that these issues are typical of an immature chipset and radio protocol stack where we are almost certain that Infineon is the 3G supplier," Windsor said in that note.

Windsor also said that it's unlikely the problem, if it is chip-based, could be fixed by a software update from Apple.

Others blame AT&T for a poorly-designed 3G network, or insufficient capacity to handle the flood of calls -- and especially data -- as iPhone 3Gs continue to fly off store shelves.

Still others pointed fingers elsewhere. The Swedish engineering weekly Ny Teknik last week cited a study by unnamed mobile experts alleging that some handsets, including Apple's, had a substandard signal sensitivity. The supposed cause: an unspecified problem somewhere between the antenna and the signal amplifier. The original article, in Swedish, is here; a rough translation via Google is here.

That's a lot of reasons. Anything else you want to toss into the pot? Sure, why not?

While Jack Gold, an analyst with J. Gold Associates, said it could be some, or several, of the possibilities cited above, he offered up a bunch more possibilities. "We are dealing with high frequency radio waves," Gold said in an e-mail Friday. "Lots of things make them work or not work. Even people's sweaty hands could have an effect, or how close they hold the device to their heads, or what direction they are pointing the phone."

What's Apple doing? Apple's not talking -- its usual stance -- but a report in BusinessWeek last Friday said sources close to the issue claimed Apple was working on a firmware update that would fix the problems.

Such an update would be carried out through the normal iPhone update process, which requires the phone to be connected to a Mac or PC, from which iTunes -- an integral part of the iPhone ecosystem -- downloads updates and then installs them to the iPhone.

Apple has updated the first-generation iPhone five times -- 1.1 through 1.3, then 2.0 in July and 2.0.1 earlier this month -- and updated the iPhone 3G's firmware just the once, to 2.0.1 on Aug. 4. The company provided no details about what the 2.0.1 update contained, however.

If a firmware update is the fix, when will Apple roll it out? Again, Apple's not talking, but reports on enthusiast and technology sites such as AppleInsider have reported ongoing releases of iPhone 2.1 betas to testers, most recently a week ago.

What's unknown, however, is whether a 2.1 update will include a reception fix. AppleInsider hinted that the focus would be on other issues, including the iPhone's relatively new background push notification service, and the GPS support within the iPhone 3G.

Bottom line: It's conceivable that Apple has diagnosed the reception and dropped call bugs, and can produce a fix soon, but it's also possible that an update is weeks or months away. That's Apple.... You never know, since they don't discuss much of anything, certainly not details of updates, before they're released.

The only definitive date on Apple's iPhone calendar is Aug. 22, this coming Friday, when the company will unveil the iPhone 3G in another 20-plus markets. Apple has a history of doing software updates when it launches a new version of hardware, so it's possible that the Aug. 22 debut in new countries will coincide with a firmware fix.

Is everyone convinced a firmware update to the iPhone will do the trick? Nope.

Gold, for example, said he doubts that a firmware fix is the answer. "I'd be surprised if it is as simple as a firmware upgrade of the chip, so it is more likely that existing devices will have this defect forever," he wrote in an e-mail to Computerworld.

What's AT&T doing? The mobile operator, which is Apple's exclusive partner in the U.S. market, has not admitted that a widespread problem exists, but spokesmen for the firm have acknowledged complaints from customers. They insisted that the numbers are small.

AT&T, in fact, is still in the process of expanding its 3G network in the U.S. to the 350 cities it's promised to serve by the end of the year. Last month, when it released its second-quarter earnings, AT&T said that it had 3G service in about 300 U.S. metropolitan areas. At the time, the company claimed it was beginning work on boosting 3G capacity. "AT&T also has started doubling the data capacity of its 3G markets, and nearly half of all cell sites will receive additional 3G capacity by the end of the year," AT&T said in a July statement.

Email A Friend

Email this article to a friend or colleague:



PLEASE NOTE: Your name is used only to let the recipient know who sent the story, and in case of transmission error. Both your name and the recipient's name and address will not be used for any other purpose.

<<prev article | back to news index | next article>>

Question of the day!

Mark Hattersley
Editor in Chief

Do you use Adobe Photoshop with a Wacom tablet?

Question of the day!

Do you use Adobe Photoshop with a Wacom tablet?

% of Macworld readers agree with you

Yes
TBC
No
TBC

How does a Wacom tablet improve the Photoshop experience?

124 characters remaining

Follow the conversation at @TabletChat

paintings & illustrations, mostly, which i upload to flickr.RT @fragmentedm

I draw manga/anime characters. I also do graphic design and photography.RT @spialelo

Yes. I usually put them up on my #deviantart account for feedback on how to improve.RT @spialelo

Comments received


Mark Hattersley said on Mon, 18 Aug 2008

We're largely relying on our U.S. counterparts for information here and hoping our U.K. based readers can step up and add to this FAQ.

Anybody here in the U.K. having these problems? Have you been taking part in the forum debate? Add your own Questions / Answers below.

Crypto said on Mon, 18 Aug 2008

I was testing the iPhone 3G agains other 3G phones, Motorola Q9, Nokia E61, Treo 750v.

The best 3G reception is for Nokia e61, closed is iPhone and far are Treo 750v and Motorola Q9.

The only issue should be the way iPhone change the connection dropping the current one from 3G to EDGE, in this circustances the phone seen to have a delay to get the new frequency. The Movistar network and as a matture 3G network seen to have better capabilities than the AT&T.

I been testing around the country ( Spain ) this summer and I have to admit one thing, the iPhone reception is much better than many others.


Scott Fannen said on Mon, 18 Aug 2008

I've found it easier to turn 3G off altogether. I'm getting full 2G signals with Edge in Central London but often get 2 or fewer bars on 3G. The iPhone also seems to take time to switch between the two - instead of an immediate switch when 3G drops. I'd guess it's the phone or the chip in it. That said, I've found it to be a very good phone. The main reason I'd like the 3G fixed - not so much the speed, but the knowledge that if I'm accessing data online, that I'll still get my phone calls (2G does one or another but not both).

BIll said on Mon, 18 Aug 2008

I was disappointed that I could not get a G3 signal at home. I rang 02 and was told that I was meant to be standing outside and that they don't make the promise that anyone can receive a G3 signal indoors!

Julian Love said on Mon, 18 Aug 2008

I've been disappointed with the 3G reception in central London - an area that should be saturated with signals.

And the web browsing and data speeds are not really much faster than my old 1st gen iPhone. Certainly not the 2.4x that Apple claims is typical.

I haven't tested speed and reception directly against another 3G handset though. Maybe I do have poor coverage in my area, but I live in London Zone 1, so I doubt it!

Mark Hattersley said on Mon, 18 Aug 2008

@Bill. That sounds like confusion between 3G and GPS. GPS doesn't work indoors because it requires a clear view to the satellite.

Bert C said on Mon, 18 Aug 2008

I have no problems with 3G and no drop calls. my only complaint is with long back up and restore.

Dragonfly said on Mon, 18 Aug 2008

"but it's also possible that an update is weeks or months away.". If it was being worked on in the R&D area, I guess they'll wait until the fire damage has been cleared away first. :-/

www.macworld.co.uk/business/news/index.cfm?newsid=22450

Art said on Mon, 18 Aug 2008

The true: iPhone 3G is really fantastic.
I have no problems with it and no drop calls.

Steve Sobek said on Mon, 18 Aug 2008

I think you're very confused on previous iPhone software versions! I think you meant to say updated seven times for original iPhone, 1.0 to 1.1.4. Here's an iPhone version history on Wikipedia, if you care to check it out: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_OS_version_history.

Mark Hattersley said on Mon, 18 Aug 2008

I think you're right. Gregg's missed out the 1.0.1 and 1.0.2 updates.

JonnyT said on Mon, 18 Aug 2008

I live in a strong 3G area in Bournemouth UK. When not on Wifi my 3G iPhone switches itself (seemingly randomly) every couple of minutes between no data connection whatsoever, to just GPRS, to Edge or 3G - without moving the phone an inch geographically. The GPS is also hit an miss. Big disappointment in this respect - thank goodness its other features are desirable enough to stop me from taking it back to O2. Roll out a fix.... please.

Karen said on Mon, 18 Aug 2008

I've found the 3G iPhone much faster - primarily because the fallback in Edinburgh is GPRS - there is virtually no EDGE coverage at all.

Rob Follis said on Mon, 18 Aug 2008

Both 3G and standard 02 reception are dreadful in North Central London NW3. In an area supposedly fully covered, I cannot get any signal in my living room, the local cafe or in a number of local offices. A Nokia is better but still not good, a Samsung poor. Orange, Vfone and T-Mobile are absolutely fine. O2 insist their signalis perfect!

Brian Emershaw said on Mon, 18 Aug 2008

My 3G iPhone also suffers from horrible data connection issues. 3G always seems like a tease... Just before you make a request over it and it immediately switches back to edge. I don't get dropped calls all that much, but it routinely refuses to connect on dialing quite a bit, with a screen that just says "Call Failed."

James Katt said on Tue, 19 Aug 2008

It seems to me that this is a network problem.

The cellular companies with 3G networks did not have enough bandwidth or signal strength to handle the large number of 3G phones in the market. Just as past dial-up internet connections can get saturated and bump off users, the 3G networks are getting saturated and bump off users. The 3G data signal also is too weak. There are not enough transmitters or the signal is not strong enough despite having 3G coverage. The cellular companies probably are not willing to confess the 3G network shortcomings because to do so would mean billions in equipment upgrades for the company. But then again, this is necessary if millions of people are going to be able to access broadband data over the airwaves simultaneously.

Daniel S said on Tue, 19 Aug 2008

NOTE: there is a new 2.0.2 Software available now. One user claim to have improved reception after installing (Versiontracker) but again only text is "Bug fixes

Phill said on Tue, 19 Aug 2008

I have a Nokia N80 and a 3G iPhone with FW2.02 both on O2. The Nokia shows 3G for browsing with no problems. The iPhone however can't get Edge or 3G despite them being in the same location!

Andy said on Tue, 19 Aug 2008

@ Mark Hattersley: Er, I used to think that GPS required a clear 'line of sight' to the satellite, but it doesn't - I've used the locator services on my iPhone many times indoors, and they all use the GPS functionality to pinpoint my location.

When I'm walking somewhere and use the Maps application to guide me from A to B, I certainly don't start trying to find a route when I'm already out the door!

Mark Hattersley said on Tue, 19 Aug 2008

The iPhone uses assisted GPS. When there is no GPS signal it reverts to using triangulation of local mobile phone masts and WiFi points to locate your rough position.

This shows your location with the blue target. GPS is the flashing blue dot on the map - as far as I know GPS (the flashing blue dot) requires line of sight. I've never managed to get GPS to work indoors - are you sure it's actual GPS?

Anyway. It's slightly off topic. I think the point is that O2 were probably confused between 3G and GPS.

Jem B said on Sat, 23 Aug 2008

I live in an area of Edinburgh which (in theory) has excellent 3G reception. owever even post update and with 3G disabled I still get dropped calls and 'No service' messages on my phone.
A 3G phone from Nokia shows max bars and has excellent coverage.
Dissapointed.

Geoff S said on Tue, 26 Aug 2008

I live in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire and I just bought my iPhone 3G yesterday. I get "No Service" most of the time in the house. My Orange phone has no such problems. I can't believe I have to go outside to make a phonecall with my iPhone...
At work, I get 5 bars - but still very little 3G or Edge data connections. The phone shows 3G when I switch 3G on, but quickly backs off to Edge and then to GPRS... and there it stays.

Strangely enough, the GPS seems to work fine.

Ian S said on Wed, 27 Aug 2008

Central Edinburgh. Bought 2 iPhones for partner and I on 25/08/08.

3G seems to vary in strength around city, and even with good signal strength, data doesn't always 'flow'. Wondered whether I was having a 'perception' issue, but partner returned tonight saying 'Do you get weird reception outside of our home Wi-Fi?'

The main issue seems to be that even with good 3G signal (bars AND 3G in display), data is not reliable. On switching off 3G, it is slower but reliable (less time-outs on GPRS).

Great functionality, but both of us many crashes - mainly from Safari on my phone. The 2 iPhones side-by-side show different signals - mine 'hangs onto' very low 3G signal whereas other switches to GPRS more readily (often).

Thank goodness for the home Wi-Fi network - but then that's quite limiting for a mobile communications device, isn't it?!

Interface and apps are 'yummy'.

Larp said on Wed, 27 Aug 2008

Losing signal (usually 1-2 bars),3G to EDGE,dropping calls..yeahh...it's been happening quite often...I live at north london and work around NW1,3 & 7.Hard to say who's responsible about that s***...

Toni said on Fri, 29 Aug 2008

I am in a area with full bars of 3g. However i do not get 3g on my 3g iphone. My work colleague has the same phone as me and his phone receives 3g and mine only comes up with GPRS. 3G is enabled.

Roger C said on Sun, 31 Aug 2008

hi guys,

I have a samsung Tocco and an iPhone 3G, and the tocco hold 3G very well, but my brand new iPhone very often says no service, even when my tocco has 3-4 3G bars displayed.

I have switched off 3G now, and i have 54-5 solid bars of GPRS i beleive, as its a rectangle with a circle in the middle?

is maps available to find location without 3G?

Seems to take forever for me to find my location, have only succeeded once.

Jzak said on Sun, 31 Aug 2008

My problem is at work (W2 area in london) where i believe 3g has full strngth but my phone lacks 3g signal or no signal at all. But when im at home (south london) no problem at all ful strenghth and easier browsing. When i rang O2 they said they couldnt find any problem with 3g at my area(ie, W2) and sugested a number of steps to try to make it work end result - it was still the same :-(. So my question is: is it my phone or is it the network provider?

princebroadsword said on Thu, 04 Sep 2008

Got my iphone 3G yesterday
registered, synced, upgraded all fine
working perfect in town
Got home no signal
back to town today, no signal at all can't connect to anything
Called helpdesk, did all the resets, turned airplane on/off, re synced it, removed sim card, nothing
Does 3G reception die just because it's raining here in the UK?

princebroadsword said on Thu, 04 Sep 2008

Update to above : The shop put the old o2 sim in the new phone, instead of the new 3G sim. I'll change it tonight

Hopefully that will solve it

Disclaimer
Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Macworld. Macworld accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content.
Click here to read the house rules.

Click here for the latest reader comments

Latest News


More news...