Just ordered iPhone 3G 7/17, Concerned about reception

Hello friends,

I ordered the iPhone 3G to replace my Palm Treo 755p that I have on Verizon. I have been very happy with Verizon, but not the 755p upgrade from my old 700p.

Anyway, on the 17th I completed a fulfillment order at an AT&T store for an iPhone 3G 16GB in black. It should be here on Wednesday. Excited about my new 3G and saving money by bundling by home, DSL and my new cell service, I went online Friday to see how people are taking to their new phones.

I was shocked to find out that so many people are having problems with the 3G reception and battery performance. I have been reading posts for 2 days now, hoping someone has some answers to the problem and if it will be fixed soon. If this is going to be a problem, I will stay with Verizon and swap out another Palm 755p and cancel my iPhone order until this issue is resolved. I don't want it if its not going to deliver what it was designed to do.

In all of the reading I've done, one trend keeps surfacing that seems to make a dramatic improvement in reception and battery life. Some have reported a possible issue of the battery management software not being properly initiated, by not going through a specific power cycle and charging cycle. Some others have reported starting over with a clean slate and reloading everything back on the iPhone also helps. This seems to improve the handover between 3G and EDGE also.

I'm sure something may be screwed up in how the phone software is initiated before its first use. I would love to hear more about what people are discovering.

Anyone pick up a new 3G since Friday the 18th have any 3G reception problems?

David
Birmingham, AL

Reception problems depend on which area you live. Why worry about my signal problems in California with the 3G if you live in Alabama? Signal reviews are not helpful to you unless they are from people who live in your same exact area.

Check your coverage here:
http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/

ATT also allows you to try out your service and equipment (check your contract for the exact number of days). If you have horrible service then you can return it.

With all due respect, I didn't say anything about your reception in California.

I just want the features that attracted me to the iPhone in the first place to work when I get it.

I travel a bit for work and I am fully aware of where the holes in coverage are in certain Metropolitain areas, even the Bay Area. I used to live in Berkeley, California and later, Presidio Heights in San Francisco. I'm sorry if I assumed this forum was restricted to Californians

I was searching for information about the 3G reception issues, where sometimes a solution is posted to a forum like this one. Sometimes a solution will come up on a forum long before a company figures it out on their own. I just wanted to know if anyone has some difinitive answers to what the problem is and a possible fix.

I don't want to cancel my Verizon service if I can't trust the iPhone to work as designed when I get it. Its already costing me time, money, cancellation fees to Verizon just to get the iPhone.

David
Birmingham, AL

Crestwood330 said:

With all due respect, I didn't say anything about your reception in California.

I just want the features that attracted me to the iPhone in the first place to work when I get it.

I travel a bit for work and I am fully aware of where the holes in coverage are in certain Metropolitain areas, even the Bay Area. I used to live in Berkeley, California and later, Presidio Heights in San Francisco. I'm sorry if I assumed this forum was restricted to Californians.

Click to expand...

I know that you didn't say anything about California...

The best way to find out is ask people who live near you. They will give you the best feedback. Ask other iPhone 3G users how their reception is in your area.

There is not going to be any secret trick or code to get better reception if that is what you are looking for. 3G coverage is going to depend on the carrier and the area you live in.

This is a worldwide problem with the affected people having the same issue regardless of carrier or location.

Therefore, I decided to post to this forum, based on being a member for some time. This forum helped me make the decision to switch back over to a Mac and I felt the level of intelligence from the contributing members was fantastic.

Once again, I was not aware that this forum was only for California or restricted it's membership to California residents. Last time I checked, there were members from all over the country.

I was just looking for help from a forum I trust and where I felt I could get some answers. I guess next time I will say I'm from Spruce Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco to qualify posting here.

I'm not looking to start a flame war, just looking for answers like the rest of the iPhone 3G owners that are having problems.

Evidently, I think Apple and AT&T are quite aware of the problem now and have halted shipments and are probably recalling their inventory to investigate the problem and make the necessary corrections. This is probably why some promised direct fulfillment orders are now slated at a 21 day lead time.

I was hoping to find out if owners of 3G iPhones acquired after 7/18 are problem free. People that have received one this weekend through Direct Fulfillment, so far, are reporting less problems. If this is the case, I will relax and just wait for mine to come in, hopefully working as designed.