Comments on: CNET readers share their iPhone 3G stories

iPhone 3G reception issues were reported in 32 states across the U.S., and while Apple has yet to officially acknowledge the problem, technical support staffers are well aware.

[msanto]

I work with a variety of cell phones in my job, as we write software for them. I can tell you, several 3G phones sitting right next to the iPhone ... they are all fine on ATT. It's the phone, for the most part.

Note that: for the most part ....

AT&T's network is by no means rock-solid. But the phone just exacerbates the problem.

Let's just hope any software fix is a FIX, NOT a WORKAROUND. Coming from software, a workaround is JUST AS LIKELY, which could mean later buyers get a changed chipset with better connectivity while the early adopters get a workaround which will work, but produce a lesser experience (say slower data rates, etc. etc.)

[queenhighmaint]

We purchased two new iphones and have had horrible battery life as indicated by many others of not even lasting a day. If talking, it will not last more than a few hours.

Also, the connectivity, whether it's the phone or the network sucks. Someone needs to fix it asap. The phone is too awesome not to get this fixed immediately.

[pjhenry1216]

The most annoying thing for me so far is that typing randomly lags. In SMS, in email, in a lot of things. I notice it the most in SMS then email, but then again, I use SMS a lot more. They *really* need to fix that. Aside from that, 3G reception seems fine for me, no dropped calls as of yet (though I don't talk all that often, this isn't a business phone), and the data speeds do seem somewhat slow at times. When I'm at work, I can use Pandora over 3G with no problems. When I was at my friend's house (even with a 3G signal), Pandora took a few minutes to start playing so I turned it off before it had the chance since I was trying to just show my friend what it was, not actually use it.

[reckless2k2]

I had an AT&T 8525 with 3G and had no signal problems anywhere in my area related to calls or data. It's not the AT&T network even with more iPhone users. It's definitely the iPhone itself. In the same area, I can barely get a 3G signal and when I do, EDGE is works faster in most cases. The issue is if can even be fixed with a firmware upgrade. If it can't, I don't really see Apple fessing up and recalling millions of iPhones.

[cm999]

Since your article earlier in the week was mostly directed at people who were having issues with their phones, you really can't judge anything by looking at the ratio of those having problems to those that aren't. This isn't to say that the problems aren't widespread (or even nearly universal) .. just that you need to be careful about what conclusions you draw from the data you collected.

[Tom Krazit]

I agree. In an earlier comment someone implied that 82 percent of all phones have this issue, and that's way too much of a leap to make.

[pjhenry1216]

What are the rated speeds for AT&T's 3G networks. I can test the speed of my 3G connection, but I have nothing to compare it to to know if its laggy or not.

[masa928]

Humm... I have so much problems with iPhone in Japan I don't know where to start... Imagine having your problems plus more problems just by adding Japanese text... My god in Japan we have it 10 times worse than you guys. All I can say is if you are living in Japan and thinking of getting the iPhone, PLEASE DON'T get it!!!!!!! I never seen a cellphone that crashes so much while even writing a simple e-mail! Not only that when you type Japanese it slows down so much that it crashes after!!! I never seen this happen before in a Japanese cellphone! My iPhone crashes on average about 3-4 times a day.... Any my Japanese cellphone used to crash about once every 5-6 months...

Your problems are nothing compared to Japan... E-mailing is more important in Japan than dropped calls because people mostly use email in Japan... It really such to see iPhone crashing while typing 2-3 times a day... Not only that... I phone can't cut and paste, and Emoji (Japanese Smileys.) This means a lot if people in Japanese uses there phone just for e-mail it's pretty much a useless phone...

DON'T buy AN IPHONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[aeldars]

Crashes YES mine also crashes like no tomorrow, I use a Nokia E51 as a backup phone. The E51 lasts for days on one charge, it works on 3G and WiFi, it is slim and has a keyboard. Man I miss my old Motorola Brick phone (the first one they made on NAMS) it did work. Moto come on please make something that I cna Buy PLEASE PLEASE. I will throw ATT 175 to get rid of the iPhone man this is a diasater.

[quinnt01]

I very much like the iPhone as a PDA, but it's a lousy phone for these reasons:

1. Continuous dropped calls
2. The ringer is too soft and even when I set it to max, it resets back to mid-range after a time.
3. The silent/ring slider button keeps moving to silent in my pocket and I miss a lot of calls.

[epsih1]

My iPhone consistently drops calls, even in strong signal areas (I am in the midwest). It barely worked in Toronto at all, though I had a strong signal there. I am afraid of seeing what the data download charges may be from there.

However, I still love my iPhone and figure with that big of a problem, Apple will fix it soon.

[The_iphone_is_people]

The comment by Kings X Rocks! says it all: If Apple f**ked up, no problem. If it was AT&T, you guys are evil! Interesting mentality.

Anyway, it was already documented yesterday that iphone users in other countries are experiencing the same issue. Last I heard, AT&T didn't operate in Europe. And to the guy who complained about the battery issue, that too was documented before the 3G was released. Ever heard of due diligence?

[TheMacSpace_com]

Below copy of my blog at http://www.themacspace.com/blog which I posted a few days ago regarding my lack 3G usability:



It has been a couple of weeks now since I picked up my iPhone3G. I believe this to be an incredible piece of equipment. I never owned a phone like this before so all the neat features and functions are awesome. I love the design.

3G? Really?

I?m experiencing numerous problems with my 3G iPhone though. First, the calls are constantly dropped. It took my 5-6 attempts to call out to a local number the other day from an area which has full coverage. I?ve had several ?call failed? issues. The call quality has sucked too. I?ve found myself hearing half of what people are saying and constantly asking them to repeat because they?re cutting in and out.

GPS only works with 3G turned off

From the day I owned my 3G the GPS never worked. I hit the locate button in the maps section but just got the never ending spinning wheel. The GPS feature was one I?d looked forward to using.

After browsing the Apple iPhone message boards, I found a solution to my GPS problems. As soon as I turned off the 3G capability of my phone, the GPS worked like a champ. Great, so I can?t use 3G and GPS at the same time? ***?

Better call quality with 3G turned off

After turning off the 3G I noticed something. No more ?call failed.? No more dropped calls. No more poor quality. So the phone component of my 3G works the best without 3G turned on.

3X the battery life with 3G turned off

I?ve been concerned about how short a battery life my phone has had. I turned off the bluetooth and wifi to save power and dimmed my screen. Still, my 3G would be just about dead after 1-1.5 days of minimal talk time. I mean minimal, like 10 minutes.

Voila! As soon as I turned off the 3G, my phone now is lasting 2-3 days. My non scientific conclusion is that the battery lasts about 2-3x as long with 3G turned off.

More solid since the 2.01 update

The 3G is new and I expect bugs to be there. I have found that the app performance of the phone is much better since the 2.01 update. My apps do not crash as often now, or is that because I turned off 3G? Perhaps I need to research that more.

Conclusion

With 3G turned on my iPhone doesn?t work well at all. The GPS doesn?t work, period. The battery life is poor. With 3G off the phone works much better.

I really hope that these issues can be resolved with upcoming software updates and that they?re not hardware related.

It is unfortunate that I bought this phone for it?s ?3G speed? and capabilities, yet I have to turn that function off to get reasonable performance and functionality. I?m resigned to only turning on 3G when I need to use the browser.

[sixpackistan]

My iPhone 3G stinks. It's slow, it disconnects from the network, drops calls, crashes. It's a flashy, no-substance device that I got conned into buying. It's a bad phone and a bad ipod and it comes with all the heartache of a computer. great. now i have another device to reboot. i wonder if microsoft had anything to do with the 3G?

[digiprod--2008]

Here is my story:

iPhone Units
iPhone 3G was purchased on June 12, 2008
Crashed constantly with apps quitting all the time, 3G issues - 22 restores needed.
Came with 2.0 software and later I updated it to 2.0.1 when it came out.

First iPhone 3G replacement - August 1, 2008
Crashed constantly with apps quitting all the time, 3G issues, content disappeared from iPod app - 10 restores needed.
Received it from Tices Apple Store with 2.0.1 - new unit from new box.

Second iPhone 3G replacement - August 14, 2008
Apps quitting, 3G issues, content disappeared from iPod app - 1 restore needed.
Received it from GSP Apple Store with 2.0 and I updated it to 2.0.1 on first sync - was a replacement service part.


Crashing and Quits
Apps bought from App Store quit constantly. Many times when one app quits, then none of the others will launch anymore. Does not seem to matter which app or how many I have installed. Deleting and re-installing the apps does not help. Only a total restore and syncing the apps get them to run again. Until the next time they quit.

Sometimes an app will quit, killing the iPhone, leaving me with a white Apple logo. Once this happens nothing but a total restore will help. Holding down the Home key, restarting the iPhone or hard reset of the iPhone does not allow the iPhone to boot normally. Of course I am then left without even a phone.

Sometimes deleting or installing apps directly on the iPhone will crash it leaving you with white Apple logo that only a total restore will fix. I no longer install or update directly on the iPhone.

Running the iPhone without any apps from the App Store. iPhone still experienced problems with the Mail, Settings, Contacts, and Safari quitting. Lagging keyboard, slow scrolling, and slow Contacts (I have about 300) still present.

I have had to restore my first iPhone 3G about 22 times and I have restored this one about 9 times already. Most every time the iPhone has crashed I have lost the pictures I took and had to restore it as a new iPhone as iTunes tells me my backups are corrupted.

I have restored this using three different Intel Mac running Leopard 10.5.4 and iTunes 7.7.1, did not matter. I even went as far as uninstalling iTunes, setting up a new account and reinstalling iTunes, re-downloaded the iPhone firmware and the apps I bought, did not matter, still crashed and apps quit within a day.

The longest the iPhone has ever worked without needing a restore is 3 days. Usually I get a day, maybe two. I have had it crash twice in the same day.

3G Reception Problems
iPhone constantly switches between 3G and EDGE even in a strong 3G area like North Jersey or NYC. This results in dropped, garbled calls and slow Internet. Sometimes I must restart the iPhone to let see the 3G network.

iPhone iPod Problem
After syncing the iPhone and adding about 300 purchased music and video tracks, a few audiobooks and some podcasts the iPhone says there is no music on it when I launch the iPod app. Yet if you connect it to iTunes you can see the content and under Settings -> General -> About on the iPhone it shows the that the iPhone is almost half full.

This happened on first and second replacement iPhones that was synced with a different Mac. Both times I has previously played them and after the apps started quitting, they were no longer seen by the iPhone 3G.

iTunes 7.7.1 Problems
It takes forever to backup the iPhone, only to find out that the backups are useless as iTunes reports they are corrupted when trying to restore the iPhone.

iTunes has NO idea when an app has an update available. It reports updates when none are needed, it sometimes reports there are no updates when there are. Sometimes it wants to install 6 or 7 copies of the same app when it reports an update.

iTunes has a serious bug in that it does not delete or overwrite old app files it just re-creates them! Looking in the iTunes -> Mobile Application folder I found many versions of the same app, loading up my Macs hard drive with incremented numbers. This is true on three different Macs I have tried to sync with. Itunes does not overwrite or delete old version of the apps. At one point I had over 1 GB of files when it probably should have been one third of that.

If the iPhone is syncing with iTunes and a phone call or SMS message comes in, the iPhone sometimes either stops syncing or crashes so bad that it needs a restore.

I have had to change my iTunes Store password over 20 times this month as iTunes or the iPhone will tell me my password is no good. I then reset it and a few days later it says it is no good again.

MobileMe Problems
Can not sync subscribed calendars. Mail outages.

Sometimes Mail app will report I have emails, but when I open the Mail app I have to manually hit the refresh button to see any of them.

[aeldars]

LEt me tell you my story with iTunes 7.7 and later it SUCKS big time. I organized my contacts in groups in Outlook (you see I use a PC) iTunes goes in and re-arranges all my contacts and just adds them up three times on my PC (which is technically illegal to for an application to modify customer data) then dumps 1500 contacts onto the stupid iPhone. Well i had to fix it once then I decided I needed a backup of my data so when iTunes corrupts it like that I can recover easily. Also it takes a LONG time to do backups, restore from backup DOES NOT WORK on a PC. but I am SOL since Apple will not support their application running on a PC they simply do not know how. Also they are much better than all us people why bother with poeple like me they way they portray PCs in their ads while Apple people are slim, smart and PC users are fat ugly and dumb well I am a PC guy and an Apple guy and a Unix guy and a Linux guy so what does that make me. go figure.

[WAMIII]

I live in far north Chicago suburbs that is supposed to have complete 3G coverage- My 3G phone get no coverage in my house and very spotty around our local town- While walking around on phone calls drop from 3G frequently- Two other friends have other 3G Blackberry phones and they do not have this issue

[aziphoneuser]

I live in Phoenix. The iPhone 3G I have is great. I have all of my iPhoto images on the phone as well as my entire iTunes library. Everything syncs up perfectly and I have all my contacts and calendar items updated with no loss of data. I agree the battery life can be an issue, but that is easily solved if you can find the right product. I purchased the Incase 2-in-1 Wall & Car Charger for iPod and iPhone and with the ability to use it in my car, at home, or in the office, it has solved my battery problems. I have one at work plugged into the UPS under my desk and with it's 5 ft cord, it has zero problems reaching up to my desk where I can keep it plugged in. I keep another one at home that I can easily toss into the glove box of my car if I have to go for a long drive on the weekend.

No dropped calls yet, but I have had a few issues with some Apps. However, I expect that be issues with the App developers and not AT&T or Apple.

[digiprod--2008]

How then do you explain that one app from the App Store quits, it either kills the iPhone completely needing a restore or if you are lucky the quitting app kills ALL the other apps from ever running again? Restarts and resets do not help. Deleting and reinstalling the apps don't help. In fact it is likely it will kill the iPhone to bring you to the white logo of death!

NO QUITTING APP should be able to corrupt the phone's software in such only a restore can get it going again, until of course it happens again.

Battery life is crazy as you can not get through a day. Wouldn't have it been OK to have the iPhone just a little bit thicker to have a bigger battery or a great innovation like a REMOVABLE BATTERY?

Sure drink the kool-aide Apple is always right and AT&T is perfect. It is ALL the app developers. Does not matter is iPhones crashed even without installed apps!

[McPlot]

Why would the High Priest of Apple admit there is a problem with their mighty tome? Why put fear in the hearts of the Apple Zealots that their beloved Gods could be imperfect?

[IowaNinersFan]

What flaws? It's AT&T's fault or is it Apple's?! Who knows?! Who cares?! It's just Apple's way of getting free publicity. That's why they haven't commenteded knowing full well their fanboys won't ever jump ship no matter how many upgrades they have to perform.

[JerseyShoreComputer]

I have an original iPhone w/ 2.0.1 OS. While the call quality is good, there are a few complaints. Sure, EDGE is slow, but it is not terrible, and I am Wi-Fi connected 90% of the time anyway. My main concerns:

1. Battery Life - Even with the original iPhone it sucks. If I don't plug it in at work, it is toast. I would be OK with this if it had user replaceable batteries like most normal cell phones.
2. Lack of additional memory card. I think you could manage to fit a micro-SD card in there somewhere.
3. Stereo Bluetooth. OK, sure it is a phone, but it is an iPod too. To not include a Stereo Bluetooth profile is not acceptable,
4. Lack of tethering. I know the App store pulled Netshare off, but that would have satisfied me. I used my old Windows Mobile phone as a bluetooth modem all the time.
5. LAck of Bluetooth Sync - I hate having to use itunes to sync. How about using Windows mobile sync center in Vista (or Activesync in XP) and allowing it to sync via Bluetooth?
6. My tasks and notes don't sync with Outlook. Again, another basic feature.
7. How about using the landscape keyboard in more than Safari?

Otherwise, I have been using it for business since before the 2.0 upgrade it is works well.

[SenorFrog]

I wasn't going to comment on this issue since I'm not using a 3G iPhone but I do work in an environment with multiple users with differing user patterns and setups.

I'm using a 2G iPhone, jailbroken with iPhone OS 1.1.4, iTunes 7.6, long time .Mac/MobileMe user (but without iPhone 2.0 OS, nothing to review) via Mac OS X Tiger.

Another co-worker is also using a 2G iPhone but has upgraded to the latest iTunes and iPhone software via Windows.

Of the last three people, one person is not a power user, primarily using it as a phone and iPod and the last two people are also casual users but does use 3G for YouTube and uses GPS. All three are using the latest 2.0 software and latest iTunes (first person on Windows, second and third on a Mac).

Battery-life seems to be a 2.0 software issue. I'm using my phone more than they are throughout the day (Twitter, occaisonal website, constantly checking 4 different e-mail accounts) and my battery ends the day ahead of the 2.0 software users.

Unstable apps also seem to be a 2.0 software issue and not a developer issue. My jailbroken apps, many of which are available in the AppStore, were created using the same SDK and I'm not seeing any of the apps crash like those on 2.0 are seeing.

Backing up is definitely an issue with both the 2G and 3G folks using the 2.0 OS. Hours is the quoted timeframe.

GPS seems to work like a dream here in Hawaii. Neither of the 3G users have found anything wrong. The 2G iPhone location service works as it should.

3G also seems to work fine here. No dropped calls reported and in side-by-side runs accessing the web and YouTube, 3G consistently and impressively beats our 2G's butts. There are other non-iPhone 3G users in our office who also get great service so doesn't seem to be an AT&T issue. And seeing how the complaints are coming from all over the world about messed up 3G yet 3 out of 3 of the people I know are not experiencing problems, seems to be some bad batches/quality control issues with the hardware.

Recommendation: I'd put off upgrading to iPhone 2.0 or 3G due to the backup times, crashes and especially the battery issue. There also seems to be some batches of poor quality 3G iPhones out there but Apple's being mum on if they can be identified via model and/or serial number.

Apple is undoubtedly under serious pressure to get everything fixed before they enter their 'transition' phase (whatever that may be) since Steve Jobs has announced that they initially bit of more than they should have releasing 3G, iPhone 2.0, MobileMe, iTunes 7.7 and the AppStore all at the same time. Until then, don't buy a 3G iPhone.

[aeldars]

I agree with you I did not upgrade my old iPhone from 1.1.4 it is Jailbroken and my wife uses it compared to my 3G one hers lasts an eternity on 1.1.4 with some applications from Installer. 3G and 2.0 seem to be a serious problem, what really upsets me even more is that sales process of acquiring one of those and I am do not think I will buy another iPhone until the hype is gone and this product is fully tested in the field.

[Vikrampooja]

I am in San Jose (the heart of Silicon Valley) and have had multiple dropped calls. There also seems to be a significant delay when switching between the Edge and 3G network. They need to fix this problem now. It is no fun have dropped calls all the time.

[YTBlue]

I?ve had my 3G iPhone for more than two weeks now, and I love it. It goes everywhere I go, and it does everything. Well, almost everything. Actually, everything but a phone! The sound quality for voice calls is appalling; the Bluetooth connection almost unusable because of the echo, and the dropped calls beyond maddening. After suffering through two weeks of poor call quality and more dropped calls than I?ve experienced in a decade, I wanted to know whether it was the network or the handset, so I ran the best handset experiment I could conduct between my Nokia N95 and the 3G iPhone, both on AT&T?s network.

The results are in ? it?s not the network but the handset. The Nokia N95 won hands down! No contest. To me (and when I checked, the person at the other end of the connection), the Nokia N95 has far superior sound quality, excellent Bluetooth sound with no echo, far better radio (with no dropped calls!), a fabulous speakerphone rivaling office Polycom systems, and beyond these critically important voice quality characteristics, an outstanding camera (Carl Zeiss lens, 5 MP) that could replace most Point & Shoot cameras. (Sadly, it just doesn?t have the Apple GUI.)

Testing the 3G iPhone ? After pairing my iPhone with my vehicle's hands-free system, I pulled out of my driveway and placed a call. By the time I got to the bottom of the hill (1.2 miles), the call had dropped three times. The sound quality was poor as well, with an annoying echo not experienced with my any other paired device. (I live on a hilltop in Marin County, about a half-mile from Highway 101, the main North-South highway running the length of California. Not exactly the boonies!) After a few dropped call episodes, I stopped using the phone until I reached the flats. I still had dropped calls.

Testing the Nokia N95 ? Same network, same car/hands-free system, different handset. And a different experience entirely. I initiated a call from my driveway, retracing my route down the hill, and in each of the three spots where my call dropped on the iPhone, the conversation continued uninterrupted. We talked for 20+ minutes, without a drop. I placed another call, to the recipient of the original 3?dropped calls conversation(s), who commented that the call quality was better this time on his end. And no drops so far.

The Verdict -- I hope Apple can fix the dropped calls, call quality and Bluetooth echo with a software fix, but I suspect the chipset could be the problem, in which case Apple is going to have to do more than credits. The 3G iPhone is unusable as a phone!

[Vegaman_Dan]

The used price of 1st gen iPhones dropped like a stone when the 3G came out. Now in light of al lthe perceived problems customers are experiencing, there is a resurgence and the used price of a 1st gen iPhone is actually higher than that of the 3G model. True, there is a service plan involved that brings the price down on the 3G unit, but it is an interesting thing to see. The 1st generation model is now a desired thing.

I don't think anyone could have predicted the snafus that have come to be associated with the 3G release, least of all Apple itself.