iPhone really bad at...well, being a phone.

[WhySoSerious]

this is my first iphone, the 3G, and i must say, it's really poor at functioning as a phone. the reception of it on 3G is abismal! living in the heart of Dallas, TX, 3G is widely present. yet, the only...and I mean ONLY way to get 2 or more bars of reception is to stand outdoors with a clear shot at the atmosphere. if tall buildings are around or if you're inside a building or if you have some type of roof over you (house, apartment, garage, etc)...the iphone won't get a single 3G reception bar. not to mention the dropped calls CONSTANTLY because of it. man, dropped call here....dropped call there....whoops, another dropped call...more dropped calls.

i can turn off 3G and when edge kicks in, the reception sky rockets to all bars....but that's kinda defeating the purpose of purchasing a 3G capable phone, right? it's a huge pain in the rear to have to switch 3G off just to get acceptable reception and no dropped calls....then toggle it back on for data usage.

is this something apple can help remedy with a software update or is this just the nature of the iphone 3G?

*i propose apple rename their "phone" to iMedia 3G....because a "phone" it is not.

 

[DamnDJ]

I have yet to have a dropped call. So far so good here in Denver!

 

[gregk205]

this is my first iphone, the 3G, and i must say, it's really poor at functioning as a phone. the reception of it on 3G is abismal! living in the heart of Dallas, TX, 3G is widely present. yet, the only...and I mean ONLY way to get 2 or more bars of reception is to stand outdoors with a clear shot at the atmosphere. if tall buildings are around or if you're inside a building or if you have some type of roof over you (house, apartment, garage, etc)...the iphone won't get a single 3G reception bar. not to mention the dropped calls CONSTANTLY because of it. man, dropped call here....dropped call there....whoops, another dropped call...more dropped calls.

i can turn off 3G and when edge kicks in, the reception sky rockets to all bars....but that's kinda defeating the purpose of purchasing a 3G capable phone, right? it's a huge pain in the rear to have to switch 3G off just to get acceptable reception and no dropped calls....then toggle it back on for data usage.

is this something apple can help remedy with a software update or is this just the nature of the iphone 3G?

*i propose apple rename their "phone" to iMedia 3G....because a "phone" it is not.

I would like to think that it is probably a network problem and not the Iphone. I am sure At&t is the problem. Have a friend or someone you know with an At&t 3G phone come over and compare them. I am sure they will be about equal.

 

[AustinSTI]

I would like to think that it is probably a network problem and not the Iphone. I am sure At&t is the problem. Have a friend or someone you know with an At&t 3G phone come over and compare them. I am sure they will be about equal.

2 Co-Workers of mine have similar issues with their new 3G phones here in Austin. Blaming the network isn't sufficient because I have a friend who gets 3g reception just fine on his non-iphone phone...

 

[WhySoSerious]

2 Co-Workers of mine have similar issues with their new 3G phones here in Austin. Blaming the network isn't sufficient because I have a friend who gets 3g reception just fine on his non-iphone phone...

yes, i agree. the iMedia 3G doesn't get the same 3G reception as other phones here in my area (dallas).

 

[gregk205]

2 Co-Workers of mine have similar issues with their new 3G phones here in Austin. Blaming the network isn't sufficient because I have a friend who gets 3g reception just fine on his non-iphone phone...

It could very well be the case. But signal is funny.. I have great reception at my house. And if I go to my neighbors I get none!! And he lives about 30 feet away. So who knows.. And it is not my phone or his. Since I also have a non 3g that has the same problem. And he has some other 3G phone and it doesn't work at his house either. You can only compare different phones in the same exact place. No other way to do it.

 

[kajitox]

Reception is a funny thing on the iPhone, I'm finding. Though it hasn't actually caused a problem yet, I find that when I'm in my house laying on a bed or sitting on a couch, I get 1-2 bars, but when I stand up, I get 3-4 bars.

Go figure.

 

[TimothyB]

At home in a single level condo near a window, I only get 1-2 bars with 3G. While at work, 2nd floor of a 2 level large office building, I get 5 bars inside. But call quality at home has been acceptable, and 3G data decent, but I'm usually on wifi. I'm in CA, Modesto.

I was noticing on my last Sony Ericcson the sound quality was getting worse lately, not sure if it was 3G or not, probably just edge. But I swear that phone was so clear when I got it a year ago.

 

[Ninja Guidan]

yes, i agree. the iMedia 3G doesn't get the same 3G reception as other phones here in my area (dallas).

Sounds like a Texas issue. No problems in Atlanta

 

[flyingscott]

My wife is in Chicago right now (downtown) with her new 16GB iPhone... she called me and was breaking up like crazy. I said what is your signal strength? She claimed it said 3G with 4 bars... then the call was dropped. Tried again, call was dropped. I sent her a text to turn off 3G, she called back on edge and voice quality was better, still not great, but at least usable.

My experience with AT&T thus far really blows. I thought it was just my area, but it seems like its not.

Oh well, like I said in a previous thread... if these are my problems in life (not getting good 3G quality), things are A-OK.

 

[DiamondMac]

Well, that is the downside to the iPhone that it isn't the best reception phone or at least in my experience.

I am the same with you as my iPhone really does not work when under any roof at all but outside of a roof, it works just fine. I had 4-5 full bars with my previous phone AND friends of mine all have full bars in my apartment yet my iPhone gets 0-1 bars and has since I got it on launch day last year

I still love it though but it can get annoying

 

[ucfgrad93]

My biggest complaint with the iPhone's phone is that the call volume is rather low. I sometimes have a hard time hearing my callers.

 

[risix]

this is my first iphone, the 3G, and i must say, it's really poor at functioning as a phone. the reception of it on 3G is abismal! living in the heart of Dallas, TX, 3G is widely present. yet, the only...and I mean ONLY way to get 2 or more bars of reception is to stand outdoors with a clear shot at the atmosphere. if tall buildings are around or if you're inside a building or if you have some type of roof over you (house, apartment, garage, etc)...the iphone won't get a single 3G reception bar. not to mention the dropped calls CONSTANTLY because of it. man, dropped call here....dropped call there....whoops, another dropped call...more dropped calls.

i can turn off 3G and when edge kicks in, the reception sky rockets to all bars....but that's kinda defeating the purpose of purchasing a 3G capable phone, right? it's a huge pain in the rear to have to switch 3G off just to get acceptable reception and no dropped calls....then toggle it back on for data usage.

is this something apple can help remedy with a software update or is this just the nature of the iphone 3G?

*i propose apple rename their "phone" to iMedia 3G....because a "phone" it is not.

Another example where people want a phone to do every thing, even fold there clothes, mow there lawn, OH YEA, And cook dinner, want your iphone to do that to?, when will all of you people realize a phone was not meant to do everything, And yea, it may lack some features but you swear the phone was designed for you!, it was designed for everyone, and some features are a plus, some are a downer but I dont expect my iphone to do everything an other phone can do, For the features it has , Im content, Yes I can recommend upgrade but dont bad mouth a phone because it wont wash your draws?, I bet your one of those people who blame everything in life except yourself.

 

[i-John]

I would like to think that it is probably a network problem and not the Iphone. I am sure At&t is the problem. Have a friend or someone you know with an At&t 3G phone come over and compare them. I am sure they will be about equal.

I don't think it's the network. I am in Far North Dallas (Richardson for the Dallas guy), and when outside, I get excellent 3G reception, but it drops a couple of bars when I'm inside. I will cut it a break where I work, as no phone works well in my building.

My girlfriend has a 3G Razr, and I had both side by side, and in pretty much all cases, her phone had more bars. When I got down to 1 bar, she still had at least 3, and they were side by side.

 

[notnek]

sounds like you're more complaining of just the 3G aspect of the phone. you say its great at everything but being a phone, but then you say using EDGE gives you full bars. so i guess the phone does work. sounds like a local 3G issue, not an iphone issue.