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davyreins

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 10, 2008
282
0
Ann Arbor
So I just moved into the basement of my new place and found that I would get a lot of dropped calls, not being able to hear the person, etc. while using 3G (on my 3G iPhone) despite having almost full bars most of the time. Doing a field test I saw that my strength was usually around -105 or -107 and figured that was the reason for the dropped calls. Plus, I usually have more bars of 3G than of Edge in my basement. I remember reading that the 3G signal has a harder time getting through buildings (and thus basements) so I thought I would give Edge a try instead.

I switched to Edge and haven't had a problem with dropped calls since. I checked the field test and my number was around -89 and -92, big improvement. I am pretty surprised using Edge has made such a big difference. I don't mind the slower speeds I get with Edge because my Wifi takes care of that!

I know sometimes the phone will switch from 3G to Edge if the signal is weak, but my phone doesn't do this in my basement. Seems a little bizarre that the phone bases whether or not it switches on the number of bars and not the field test numbers (or am I wrong?) Anybody else find themselves turning off their 3G to get better call quality with Edge?
 
it's identical in my opinion, although 3G is supposed to be better if you have good reception.

i keep it on edge: it gives me 5 hours more of battery life
 
I'm always on Edge, unless I'm surfing the web or IMing. It's even better for a longer battery 'lifespam.'
 
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