Macbook vs Iphone wifi

[hackthemac]

Hi all,
I live on a university campus where we have wifi everywhere on campus. I bought an old iphone which seemed to work fine in my room with this wi-fi and was running on 1.x firmware. I quickly upgraded and unlocked/jailbreaked to 2.0 firmware. Now the iphone catches wifi signal in my room only sometimes while my Macbook shows full signal simultaneously. Apparently, I once I move out of my room to open space I get stable wi-fi signal on iphone. I don't understand why Macbook wifi does not correlate with iphone wi-fi. My question is this normal to have Macbook wi-fi stronger/behave differently compared to iphone wi-fi? Maybe it is firmware bug. Again, I didn't get too much time to play with 1.x firmware so I am not entirely sure if it is firmware issue.
Can somebody explain?
Much appreciated!
Thanks

 

[DanielJvdBerg]

Well in my case. I have an iPhone 3G, and what I notice is that the Wi-Fi is terribly SLOW. Slow slow slow. Even when standing next to the receiver it's painfully slow. Especially downloading YouTube movies. So I'm now using 3G even when Wi-Fi is available, because it just doesn't work.

I'd say it's a firmware bug.

 

[sekelly]

Well in my case. I have an iPhone 3G, and what I notice is that the Wi-Fi is terribly SLOW. Slow slow slow. Even when standing next to the receiver it's painfully slow. Especially downloading YouTube movies. So I'm now using 3G even when Wi-Fi is available, because it just doesn't work.

I'd say it's a firmware bug.

I'd look into this a little bit further if I were you. My wifi works perfectly, whether I'm using WPA2 Enterprise encryption, open, or WEP. I browse at least twice as fast using wifi (unless the wifi I'm using is just junk in the first place).

There could be a hardware problem with your iPhone. If it were firmware I would also be affected.

I have an iPhone 3G btw, same as you.

 

[DanielJvdBerg]

I'd look into this a little bit further if I were you. My wifi works perfectly, whether I'm using WPA2 Enterprise encryption, open, or WEP. I browse at least twice as fast using wifi (unless the wifi I'm using is just junk in the first place).

There could be a hardware problem with your iPhone. If it were firmware I would also be affected.

I have an iPhone 3G btw, same as you.

Do you think Apple would replace my iPhone then? For this problem if it where to be hardware problem? I hope so, 1 min youtube clip is downloading for more then 5 minutes to just watch it

 

[tdevers]

I'm just the opposite, my iPhone wifi is more stable than my Macbook. Too bad I can't use the iPhone as a wifi adapter.

 

[sekelly]

Do you think Apple would replace my iPhone then? For this problem if it where to be hardware problem? I hope so, 1 min youtube clip is downloading for more then 5 minutes to just watch it

While I can't say for certain that they would replace it, the warranty covers you for any defects that arise from workmanship. What this means is that Apple will repair / exchange iPhones for things not working properly (ie. bluetooth, wifi).

One of the problems with your situation however, is that the Apple genius has to test the wifi out, as well as exhaust all other means to fix it before sending it out for repair or giving you a new phone.

Another problem with the issue you are having is that it is very easy for an Apple employee to say that the wifi worked fine in his tests and that it must be your home wifi connection. If they say something like that, they aren't recognizing that it is a defect, but are saying it is something in the settings of your home wireless configuration, or the device itself when connecting to the home wifi.

I work in technical support, so I know easy outs when I see them. It will likely depend on the mood of the person who receives your device. Although I'm not sure how Apple does things.

It is definitely worth trying though. Just keep in mind that you are trying to prove to them that it is a defect, and not a setting / software issue. Also remember to try and be pleasant and calm about the ordeal, as I'm sure you're aware, being rude won't get you any favors.

Good luck though, it's definitely worth a shot.