weaker reception after updating firmware.

hello everyone,

I recently upgraded to the new ios 4.0.1 and my reception has taken a BIG hit...I used to get FULL bars in my apt and now all of a sudden I get 1 bar...this is BS! I know my area is not a weak area because I check the AT&T map coverage and it states that my area is in the "best" coverage areas. I have friends come over and I compare their signals with mine and they all get full bars. Keep in mind that they are also on AT&T but using devices like BB and HTC phones. I'm very upset with this. I tested this in all the common areas I go to the most such as school, starbucks and places that i frequently visit and at all of these places I used to be able to get VERY good signal but now, the reception is HORRIBLE.

Anyone else experiencing this? I tried to downgrade to an older firmware because on older firmware everything was FINE but everytime I try to do this, itunes won't let me because it says my phone doesn't qualify for the firmware change....which is BS! it's a legit phone, not jailbroken/unlocked. I'm using a legit iphone firmware.

I'm about to cancel service if this continues. AT&T is beginning to play dirty with these limited data plans and all this other crap that's happening...

Is this a Iphone 4 or 3GS or 3G? All I know is it's just the indicator (Bars) that have changed and read the signal in a more accurate way. The signal reception was not affected. I have the iOS4.01 update on my 3G and just the reading went down a bit and seems more in line with what it should be in my area.

Are you saying you are now loosing signal or just the indication (Lower Bars). If just less bars that is what Apple did to make the reading more accurate to the actual signal.

My phone is an Iphone 3GS. The signal bar indicators are LOW and it STAYS that way...it stays at 1 or 2 bars. I have NEVER gotten full bars since the firmware update. The firmware is BS...Ur telling me that the firmware was designed to read the signal bar indicators more accurately? So if i'm REALLY getting only 1-2 bars, why is my area listed in the "best" coverage zone area on the AT&T map coverage? that's false advertising. WHY is it that my other friends who are ALSO on ATT with various phones such as BLACKBERRY and HTC devices receiving FULL bars in my apt? WHY is my upload and download speed DRAMATICALLY slower? Prior to the update, i was getting download speeds and upload speed ALOT greater then what they are now. The firmware has affected my reception so bad that my phone constantly jumps from "searching" to 1 bar of signal constantly when I am using it for various things such at web browsing or certain apps that require data access....etc.

PLEASE EXPLAIN that to me....

I am not going to fight nor argue with you. I just told you what the update is supposed to do.

In your first post you said nothing about worse download speeds. You talked about bars.

If that is true and your download speed is also slower, I don't know what to say since I have no data plan on my phone as I am using a pay as you go plan. All I know is it's just supposed to affect the way the indicator displays the signal strength and not the performance of the phone. I have seen others who updated claiming faster download speeds getting apps or other files via 3G.

Take your iPhone to Apple and tell them what is happening.

You're just seeing your true signal strength in your house displayed using AT&T's guidelines. Get used to it.

What you saw before was not overstated.

Hardware vendors and cellular carriers lie. Unfortunately, it happens. Your phone is now less deceptive in it's display of your already weak signal than it was before. I would exchange the phone or return it if you have issue with it now. You could alternatively downgrade the software.

Unfortunately carrier maps are used for optimal conditions and can show regional carrier maps (which your carrier might have contracts with) that could potentially be inaccurate. There are many factors that also come into play that can cause interference with your reception in your specific area (such as walls, line of sight, mountains etc).

Also, your friends have different phones from different manufacturers. These manufacturers use different algorithms to calculate and display cell phone bars on their particular devices. Unfortunately there is no standard for showing signal bars on a phone. So saying your friends Blackberry on AT&T gets five bars and your Apple iPhone gets one bar is not a definitive test for signal strength.

My opinion is manufacturers should stop using cell bars and start using dBm as a measure of signal strength (you can actually view this on Android phones). It would be much more telling of how good or bad your signal is in a given area.

those are all reasonable explanations but the reason why i'm so ****** off is because when i was running on 3.1.xx firmware...my reception was excellent...download/upload speeds were alot better. ever since i updated to the latest firmware...my reception is now VERY WEAK...call quality VERY POOR....download/upload speeds VERY SLOW...and my phone will CONSTANTLY switch between "searching" and 1 bar of signal" ALSO, my phone will constantly be on the "E" EDGE network...which has RARELY happened in my apt....I understand the firmware is designed to "fix" the amount of bars it shows but if i'm LOSING signal and going to EDGE network...that's a problem....don't u guys think?

on the BlackBerry Storm you could also see dBm.

@stck86; as suggested, downgrade the OS..

how do I do that?

I tried to do that the other night and when itunes was "verifying wit apple..." it says that my device doesn't qualify for the downgrade...

if u know how to bypass that and allow me to get back to 3.1.2 for example. I would be very happy.

A lot of people have reported that doing a total reset after they've upgraded to 4.01 fixes a lot of issues. Perhaps you could try that.

My bars went down, but service seems to be the same.

It's actually kind of a relief because I hated it when data service was crawling with the supposedly full bars all the time. Now I know what I'm really working with.

chas_m said:

A lot of people have reported that doing a total reset after they've upgraded to 4.01 fixes a lot of issues. Perhaps you could try that.

Click to expand...

a total reset does nothing. i've already tried everything i could think of and no fix yet.