Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

brinycbri

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 13, 2007
514
0
This happens to me a lot, even during a call when i'm standing still..i have 5 bars then goes to none and then no serviec and then five again?
 

JPyre

macrumors 6502
Mar 28, 2005
365
12
Pistolvania
This happens to me a lot, even during a call when i'm standing still..i have 5 bars then goes to none and then no serviec and then five again?

Yeah it happens to me, only in the exact same dead areas though. I don't think the signal strength bars of either cellular or wi-fi is refreshed often. It seems to only refresh when you goto use it(either).
 

GTiPhone

macrumors regular
Jul 22, 2007
249
0
Island Heights, NJ
Yeah it happens to me, only in the exact same dead areas though. I don't think the signal strength bars of either cellular or wi-fi is refreshed often. It seems to only refresh when you goto use it

It happens to me now ad again and this guy ^ nailed the reason. Your service bar indicator is not updated often. Seems to make sense as its one less thing using battery life, but it also seems terribly convenient for at&t... Constantly giving the impression of "full service" to users.
 

brinycbri

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 13, 2007
514
0
strange, because it happens in "not" dead areas, like areas that always have full bars, just that sometimes, it goes dead and comes back up
 

megfilmworks

macrumors 68020
Jul 1, 2007
2,046
16
Sherman Oaks
It appears to be a software issue unrelated to signal strength. I have monitored the cell sight I am on when the bars change and the cell reception sensitivity (-db) stays constant during the event.
 

sealab2021

macrumors member
Jul 15, 2007
97
0
yeah, that happened to me all the time. I traded in my phone for that reason. Also because it literaly would drop the call and I'd look down and bam, zero bars, then 3 seconds later, full bars.

Very very annoying. Apple sure can make a cool phone, not too sure about them making a good phone, though.
 

megfilmworks

macrumors 68020
Jul 1, 2007
2,046
16
Sherman Oaks
yeah, that happened to me all the time. I traded in my phone for that reason. Also because it literaly would drop the call and I'd look down and bam, zero bars, then 3 seconds later, full bars.

Very very annoying. Apple sure can make a cool phone, not too sure about them making a good phone, though.
How do you know the iPhone dropped the call, were you monitoring the cells at the time? Most dropped calls have nothing to do with the phone you are using. They are related to cell reception and switching software, congestion and multipath errors. All of these are on the carrier side. When your cable goes on the fritz do you trade in your tv??
 

GTiPhone

macrumors regular
Jul 22, 2007
249
0
Island Heights, NJ
yeah, that happened to me all the time. I traded in my phone for that reason. Also because it literaly would drop the call and I'd look down and bam, zero bars, then 3 seconds later, full bars.

Very very annoying. Apple sure can make a cool phone, not too sure about them making a good phone, though.

sounds more like you bought it just to play with it for 14 days. $50 restocking fee so I guess it was a nice 2 week iPhone rental. thumbs down
 

unity

macrumors 6502a
Sep 30, 2005
926
0
Green Bay, WI
yeah, that happened to me all the time. I traded in my phone for that reason. Also because it literaly would drop the call and I'd look down and bam, zero bars, then 3 seconds later, full bars.

Very very annoying. Apple sure can make a cool phone, not too sure about them making a good phone, though.


This is a network issue, not a phone issue. Its rather common with GSM where it does not like to hop towers. Its suppose to, but the hand-off can often fail. It happens on my iPhone and it happened on my Sony T637. Its annoying indeed and happens generally while moving (driving).
 

coolbreeze

macrumors 68000
Jan 20, 2003
1,812
1,561
UT
GSM has always done this, CDMA never does. It is GSM, not the iPhone. More bars in more places! (until you place a call).
 

Joshua8o8

macrumors 6502
Jul 2, 2007
372
0
Honolulu, Hawai'i
luckily this does not happen to me, i haven't dropped any calls yet. I also seem to have good reception where ever i go. I switched from nextel and i find that i have much better reception with my iphone than i did with my nextel.
 

DrVest

macrumors newbie
Jul 3, 2007
26
0
It was happening to me quite a bit. After reading about the interference your hand can cause while covering the antenna, I now hold the phone at the top portion leaving the black portion uncovered.

Believe it or not, it actually helps quite a bit. :rolleyes:
 

fmcgirt

macrumors newbie
Jul 6, 2007
23
0
Placitas,NM
It was happening to me quite a bit. After reading about the interference your hand can cause while covering the antenna, I now hold the phone at the top portion leaving the black portion uncovered.

Believe it or not, it actually helps quite a bit. :rolleyes:

It is true and there are other things that also help - but do not fix permanently - including putting the phone in the dock and turning the phone upside down when the bars start to drop. All of this has been discussed extensively in several forums and I suggest you use the Apple Feedback web site to report your problems. The more examples they have the more chances we have to get things fixed. See

http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html


Frank
 

PBG4 Dude

macrumors 601
Jul 6, 2007
4,363
4,645
I see this too. Even when standing still, the number of bars will change. Usually I'll drop to zero or one bar(s) when trying to actually transceive voice or data. Once the call / connection fails I'm back to 5 bars again. I've made sure my hand wasn't covering the plastic portion of the phone when I was trying this as well.
 

drchipinski

macrumors 6502
Jul 12, 2007
320
1
mine always has 4-5 bars when i have it in the dock , but when i remove it, it goes down to 1-2.

mine too. Att is not nearly all that they claim. I am on my 5th iphone and they all have had ATT/Service issues, not to mention YAHOO mail problems.
 

n00basaur

macrumors regular
Apr 13, 2007
212
0
4-5 bars when im not using it and then suddenly it drops to 0 or 2 bars when I actually have to make a call. It's like it does it on purpose or something. What a joke.
 

diesel

macrumors 6502a
Aug 3, 2007
807
25
I have the same problem at home however i have no issues in my work office.........so I have a theory about the cause:

I've read somewhere that the iPhone or (maybe GSM in general) operates in the 2.4 ghz frequency and that at home I have a Linksys B/G wireless router which operates at the same frequency range. I remember way back in the day when I used to have a 2.4 ghz cordless phone and anytime I used the phone, I would lose my wireless connection, more often then not. So one day, I wrapped the router in aluminum foil and the problem went away. Sounds ridiculous but it worked. Since then i've moved onto a 5.8 ghz cordless phone so I have no issues whatsoever. Fast forward to today, and at home, in my bedroom (where i have my wireless router setup), i frequently get full bars then zero bars. My work blackberry phone (also on AT&T....Cingular) has no issues in the same spot.

So if the iPhone does indeed operates within the 2.4 ghz frequency range, i'm wondering if my wireless router which operates in the same range is causing some sort of interference. Maybe my blackberry is better shield against such interference whereas the iPhone isn't. I have thought about trying my aluminium trick again............ridiculous i know but just a thought.
 

diamond.g

macrumors G4
Mar 20, 2007
11,438
2,665
OBX
I have the same problem at home however i have no issues in my work office.........so I have a theory about the cause:

I've read somewhere that the iPhone or (maybe GSM in general) operates in the 2.4 ghz frequency and that at home I have a Linksys B/G wireless router which operates at the same frequency range. I remember way back in the day when I used to have a 2.4 ghz cordless phone and anytime I used the phone, I would lose my wireless connection, more often then not. So one day, I wrapped the router in aluminum foil and the problem went away. Sounds ridiculous but it worked. Since then i've moved onto a 5.8 ghz cordless phone so I have no issues whatsoever. Fast forward to today, and at home, in my bedroom (where i have my wireless router setup), i frequently get full bars then zero bars. My work blackberry phone (also on AT&T....Cingular) has no issues in the same spot.

So if the iPhone does indeed operates within the 2.4 ghz frequency range, i'm wondering if my wireless router which operates in the same range is causing some sort of interference. Maybe my blackberry is better shield against such interference whereas the iPhone isn't. I have thought about trying my aluminium trick again............ridiculous i know but just a thought.

The cell portion of the iPhone doesn't operate at 2.4Ghz. In the US the cell portion should use 800mhz and 1900mhz (1.9ghz).
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.