OK, the results of my test so far

Telstra on V3XX



Testra on iPhone



Vodafone on V3XX


Vodafone on iPhone


Optus on iPhone



I will post the V3XX with Optus very soon (forgot to take a picture), but I assure you I'm getting full coverage on all Networks on the V3XX.
Proof is the fact that even on 3


I'm getting perfect coverage (the purple "H" box is HSDPA (3G)
I haven't been able to get 3 on the iPhone yet as I don't know what I need to do to pick up 3G with 3 on the iPhone. All I seem to get is Voice only (full reception), so no data symbol at all on 3 with the iPhone.

Make of it what you will, but I'll take the plunge here and say that the iPhones are faulty, not being able to pick up the 2100Mhz spectrum properly. The 850 spectrum seems to be unaffected by major issues. Of course, there could be a problem with some being unable to use the 2100 and some being unable to use the 850 (as what has been happening in the US). I assume that AT&T use the 850 range, if they also use the 2100 this could explain why there are so many reception issues in the US as well.

does anyone know how to get a v3x or a nokia into "field test" mode?
then we can compare actual db readings instead of arbitrary "bars"

on the iphon you dial *3001#12345#*

but i'm sure we all knew that right!

@macrich, that's also similar to what i see on a moto v3x and nokia 6110 navigator, however i've only been able to test virgin/optus sim's.

There is now a WIRED article about these issues!
IPhone 3G Users Heated Over Network Issues

In the city today i got full bars on 3g. Not once did the bars full. Though as soon as i got as far as Richmond station the bars started falling. Soon as i got home i got a no reception in the bar box.

And now for something completely different....I had good reception (Optus Sydney CBD) but my callers didn't!

When they called my iphone this afternoon all they heard was a few seconds of silence followed by the disconnected tone. no voicemail, nothing. It wasn't until I got emailed via the MBP asking what's up with my phone that I twigged to it being awfully quiet today, Sure enough called my own phone and silence followed by disconnect tone.

Fixed it with a power down and restart,

Anyone else experience this?

No issues with me on Telstra (ugh, I hate Telstra, but the free Wi-Fi was too hard to resist... and they DO have the best network...)

The Optus Screenshot as promised. As you can see, even in inclement whether like this mornings (cold and raining) it still gets perfect coverage.




I couldn't find any information about getting the V3XX into FTS mode. The only info I could find was on the V3. I have one of these as well, but they're only 2G so would defeat the purpose to run FTS on that handset. I've sent the results of the poll so far off to customer relations at Apple yesterday afternoon, as well as the handset shots showing coverage. Sent the Optus one this morning. I'll be sending a fax copy of these through to the big man himself (SJ) sometime today. I'm sure by now, he probably knows something is up unless he keeps his head in the sand.
I've asked Engineering in Cupertino, in the meantime, if they can't come up with a fix for the issue immediately, if they could investigate putting an App on the App Store for a shortcut to turn 3G on and off quickly to get stable service for phone calls.
I had to note as well, that even today at the UTS Ultimo, I was unable to get stable 3G service to make and recieve phone calls, although funny enough, I had perfect coverage at the Apple Store on George St. Considering that they are in the city center, it's not surprising. They may have a signal booster installed in or on their building.

I will keep everyone posted on what I hear from the parties involved. Once again, Optus is uninterested in hearing about any problems and are denying that they've had any complaints at all (apart from mine).

lol i dont get it... what's the point?

Sorry mate,don't worry about me, I just got out of bed. It would seem your house is in the blackest of blackspots re iphone 3G reception, hence the link to LJH

I really don't Understand how you are having such a negative experience with the iPhone.

And I hope you sort it out Soon.

Can you perhaps try to get the face to face assistance from a forum member who lives near you, has an iPhone, is happily connected to another carrier, and is happy to spend some time doing some research.

Try the iphones where you live, on his SIM and yours, then try other locations, perhaps even get a third participant, who is connected to Optus happily, and see what the results are.

If the fault is in the iPhone you have, it will quickly be apparent. If not it will certainly help pin down the problem.

Worth a shot I would think.

still waiting for my damn unlock should be soon though...

when it comes through ill go to the local telstra store, and infer that ill change over to them if the local coverage is better than optus. hopefully they will let me try a SIM to see what the network is like

though I really don't like the thought of having to change to telstra. they don't have any free wi-fi around here, and their data rates are the horrible.

It's also worth doing the same at a Vodafone store, see what their reception is like. When it comes down to it, you just need a service that meets your needs, and works. If coverage is not an issue for you then they could be an option.

unfortunately there is no voda, at least not by looking at their pretty bad coverage maps (bad in terms of usability when compared to the others.)
and there's no voda store either.

no 3 either.

just virgin/optus and telstra. (and optus stores are 2hrs away, at least telstra is in town!)
will try a virgin sim, just to see if it's possibly a sim issue, but shouldnt make any difference network wise, as its still optus.

oh and i see that apple has seeded a 2.1 to developers, im going to try and get an "advanced copy" of this and see what happens

Gahh not to happy with my iphone and site I check out on it takes forever to respond!
In full 3G areas and it's slow as.

Reset many times turned airplane mode on and off and still the issue is there..

Spoke to 3 optus reps and they are blaming the sim cards not the phone, was told to get a replacement sim from my local optus store ):