Apple acknowledges iPhone 3G reception issues
Apple has admitted that the last iPhone software update was designed in part to fix reception problems.
(Credit: Apple)Apple has finally acknowledged the iPhone 3G's reception issues, confirming that the iPhone OS 2.0.2 software update was designed to fix those problems.
A company representative told the Associated Press overnight (thanks, Macworld) that the latest update "improved communication with 3G networks," after weeks of silence regarding the reception issues reported by iPhone 3G owners around the world. Apple was reportedly working on such a fix last week, but Monday's update was labeled with the briefest of descriptions--"bug fixes"--making it difficult to know exactly what was addressed with the update.
The thing is, it's not clear whether all of the problems have actually been fixed. Several people have told me that the update did in fact dramatically improve their reception: one CNET employee is now getting reception on the BART subway system in places he never did with his iPhone 3G. But other readers who have been in contact over the weeks we've been watching this issue say they are still having trouble maintaining a connection to the 3G network in places said to have excellent coverage.
A former Apple employee, Chuq Von Rospach, reported on his personal blog earlier this week that those-in-the-know at Apple think it will take several months for a fix to be developed by Infineon, believed to be the source of the reception problems. So perhaps the 2.0.2 update isn't the complete fix, but a starting point for putting the reception issues to rest.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
And 3G service is spotty in plenty of areas.
It would take some sleuthing (comparison in areas with known good 3G reception with another type of 3G phone as a control) to make any kind of judgment on whether the issue is completely fixed, sorta fixed or not fixed.
Still, I expect a long list of "my phone still gets just 2 bars at home therefore Apple better fix it" posts.
Personally, my father is having trouble with his LG Trax phone, it doesn't want to connect to the Edge network at our home for some reason, and the BS we got from AT&T is that "They are fixing towers!".... Wrong. It's been a month since they told us that, and service has not improved one whit.
Actually, my phone reception ranges from 1 bar to No Service at my home, located in an area described as having the best coverage by AT&T's coverage maps, and where no reception problems were acknowledged by an AT&T service rep. It's rather inconvenient to be talking to someone and just have your call end when the phone drops the signal. Did someone QA this product prior to release?
The insane part is you people actually PAY for these devices and the service - so you keep feeding these idiots the food they want. Money. They dont give two craps about you as a customer or your so-called customer service experience. You simply allow their CEOs and upper executive management to fatten their wallets and go to Arizona for spa treatments with fluff girls.
Fools.
All the while, my friend's non-iPhone's are on 3G all over the place, and mine is on EDGE...
I'd be more inclined to think that it's not so much an inherent problem with Infineon's chips as it is the way the phone handles handoffs and network selection. Calm down, folks. 2.0.2 seems to have done good things for my phone when it comes to hoping between 3G and EDGE networks.
"by gotrsx6 August 20, 2008 10:19 AM PDT"
Total BS. You don't have any idea what you're talking about.
After 1996 (and some of you know what I'm talking about) you'd better bet that Apple has contracts that bind their suppliers to severe penalties for screwed up or out-of-spec parts.
The iPhone just works too, just like your RAZR. Everyone can make and receive phones calls no problem. The 3G data connection could be better but the phone still works perfectly as a phone.
Total BS. You don't have any idea what you're talking about.
Unrealistic expectations: Apple's fault for setting them and remaining silent in the face of ATT network and iPhone device problems, and customers' fault for having them.
I've never seen more haterism than with this new Apple product. What, exactly, is your problem with people who choose to purchase it? Do you feel as if your advice has been ignored by millions? I suggest that perhaps you dwell on more important matters in life than what other people do with their money - especially when it's a personal choice that doesn't hurt anyone else, like a cell phone.
The first is pretty obviously in Apple's court, but the second is mainly on AT&T because they did not provision for the significant increase in traffic, so everyone is getting throttled, even folks not using iPhones. I know my HTC's throughput has dropped significantly since the 3G iPhone went live.
It's like being the in the old days of cable Internet where you only got the advertised speed at 6 AM in the morning when nobody else was using the circuit.
In fact, it was 3G hype that helped nudge existing high-speed mobile wireless providers like Metricom into bankruptcy (along with Metricom's horrible marketing team). Nearly eight years after Metricom was dissolved and the assets and technology sold, the cell companies show up with a half-baked product that barely manage to hit Metricom's Ricochet over the air speed.
3G hype would be almost comical, were it not for the customers who are discovering that the networks aren't big, aren't as fast as promised, and the fact that the Ricochet modems in 2001 were supposed to be hitting 10Mbps by 2006, had the company stayed in business.
Really - my fist-day-of-sale iPhone works well as a phone, iPod, and PIM. The data rates are not spectacular, but have surprised me, especially when moving at 70mph on CalTrain. I'm sure that as ATT's 3G network and subsequent generations of 3G devices reach maturity, few people will even care about speed.
- by mrgoodall August 20, 2008 11:10 AM PDT
- I think the issue is that for most people having Apple, a company that was supposed to be left for dead years ago, come back and become a socio/technological/media darling is, well, unnerving to some people. Having them constantly push boundaries with devices that other companies have brought to market before is also unnerving. They've had hit after hit after hit, and compounded success to the point that people are ready to see a failure, a real implosion. But thats the nature of man.
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- by kaibelf August 20, 2008 1:58 PM PDT
- Mrgoodall:
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Showing 1 of 4 pages (93 Comments)There have been game changers before, but nothing grabs the public's attention like Apple products, so yeah I get why Krazit has et al have posted story after story on blog after blog, it grabs eyeballs, and more page views more money; thats how this thing works.
My only issue is that rather than pretending to be act like a journalist, CNET be responsible, yes there are some folks that have been affected by said iPhone issues, I have a 3G iPhone and happen to be completely issue free as are many people i know that have 3G and 1st Gen iPhones in Jacksonville. No issues here. Maybe part of the issues are that some people are expecting 3G to be faster than their cable modems, or forget about the fact cell phone tech still isnt perfect after all these years, CALLS STILL CAN AND WILL DROP. Or maybe, its as I first asserted, some folks just want to feel good about themselves by dragging something or someone else down. Apple has always made good to its customers, so allow them time to make good, if they dont, then hit them where it hurts, in the pocket.
You make it sound like people are just after Apple because of their recent resurrection. I counter with the belief that people rightfully expect "premium" products at very high margin to provide what's promised. If I go out and pay for a BMW, I better not choke me way down the street in a lemon.
Sure, some technical companies make mistakes, but I mainly take exception with the comparison of this debacle to standard fare for cell phone buyers. Sure, calls can and will drop, but not at the rate we're hearing about, right in the middle of large cities. It was a complete Apple misstep, and while I personally laud them for their marketing savvy and ideas, they really screwed this one up as far as logistics and manufacturing. Even Steve Jobs misses the shot sometimes. And the silence after these problems surfaced is all the more frustrating. Even a "we're working on it" would be better than nothing.
As for Apple "always making good to its customers"? MobileMe, anyone? Ick.