iPhone 3G Connectivity Failure: Roundup

We first reported on issues with iPhone 3G signal and reception just five days after the release of the iPhone 3G on July 16, 2008. Since that time the topic has been covered both by us and by many other bloggers and news agencies. The issue regarding 3G reception is definitely at the top of most users list of complaints about the new iPhone 3G.

The problem is not limited to relatively new 3G markets like the one on AT&T’s network in the US. Users in foreign countries with established 3G networks are also complaining about the iPhone 3Gs performance. Making matters worse for Apple is the fact that in any of these markets users can have another vendors 3G phone next to the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3G usually works very poorly in comparison to the other 3G phone.

The root cause for the phone;s reception issue has not been exactly identified, but many are saying that the problem is with the relatively new Infineon Technologies chip set used in the iPhone 3G. Consider the following reports.

Peter Burrows reports for BusinessWeek:

“Complaints over dropped calls and choppy Web connections on Apple’s iPhone 3G have sparked a wave of debate in the blogosphere over the root cause of the problems. Two well-placed sources tell BusinessWeek.com the glitches are related to a chip inside Apple’s music-playing cell phone. The sources add that Apple plans to remedy the problems through a software upgrade rather than through a more disruptive step, such as a product recall. ”

Tom Krazit at one of our sister sites covers two possibilities for the iPhone 3Gs problems here and here. In one post Tom describes a posting on MacRumors where:

“T-Mobile Netherlands threw the iPhone 3G under the bus, blaming Apple for the problems its customers have been experiencing connecting to 3G networks in that country. Complaints have been cropping up in the U.S. as well about the iPhone 3G’s performance on AT&T’s network.”

Ryan Kim of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on the Shadow side of iPhone 3G’s blockbuster success. He reports on comments from Stephen Yarbrough:

“I was driving down Folsom Street in San Francisco and I got a dropped call 10 times. I get dropped calls just standing in one place,” said Yarbrough, a 34-year-old San Francisco accountant. “I’m extremely annoyed, but I’m hopeful a software update will fix it.”

Yarbrough’s experiences are not unlike the experience some iPhone Atlas staffers and many other users on their daily commute to and from work. They also report that the iPhone is the first phone many of them have used in years with an exceptional number of dropped calls - especially when the iPhone has 3G turned on and the iPhone handles the swap to EDGE poorly.

Threads on Apple’s own discussions boards about poor 3G reception are getting so lengthy that portions of these discussions are frozen and continuation threads have been started by the board moderators. The current thread Topic : iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You’re Not Alone - Continued has been viewed approximately 11,000 times and contains over 230 posts. One thing is clear: replacing the iPhone 3G with a new one does not resolve the problem. Therefore it’s suggested that users have patience and wait for the next firmware release — the recently released 2.0.2 update does not resolve these issues.

We reported the possibility of a fix that involves the iPhone 3G firmware recently here. Hopefully that firmware update, which hopefully will be the most recently released for beta testing iPhone OS 2.1, will solve the 3G reception problems. According to sources this update has been released into Beta version four and all new features have been removed it appears in favor of concentrating on developing a more stable version of the existing code base.

Neither Apple nor AT&T is accepting responsibility for the problems with iPhone 3G reception. AT&T, however, claims that where 3G is available that their network is operating under normal conditions. Direct requests from iPhone Atlas to AT&T last week were not answered at press time. Apple of course is silent on the issue.

Wired.com has put together a map for tracking iPhone 3G service throughout the world. They are looking for paticipants with an iPhone 3G to test their iPhone 3G data speeds on EDGE and 3G using the testmyiphone.com website to perform the testing required. Note that prior to testing EDGE vs. 3G you must have the 3G setting off for EDGE testing and on for 3G testing. In both cases you want to have WI-FI off. Complete instructions for the testing can be found here.

Once you have gathered up the data you can add it to the map provided which is located here.

One thing to note about the test is there is a big difference in speed from country to country and even different locations in the same country. It will be interesting to see the results and any analysis that is derived from the data.