I've been pretty happy with my 3G data/voice reception on Vodafone NZ. It often reads low (2-3 bars) but I have no trouble making good quality calls and making quick data connections.

The 1st-gen iPhone early software/baseband versions reported low signal strength too. Apple's solution to that was to make the signal read higher on later versions.

Guys. As mentioned, I too am experiencing low bars on 3G and frequent jumping from 3G to 2G. When on 2G I have full reception. I am in Elsternwick, VIC.

I don't think it is an iPhone issue as I travelled around Melbourne a bit to day for work. And I experienced varying levels of 3G but always the same in one location. I was in Malvern - 1 to 2 bars on 3G. Then I was in the CBD - Full 3G reception the entire time. Then I was in Parkville - 3 bars to full reception. Then I was in Bentleigh - Full 3G reception the entire time. Then I was in Chadstone - 1 bar to full 3G reception (weird). Then I was in Glen Waverley - mostly full 3G reception. Then back to Elsternwick and 1 bar reception.

So it really depends on where you live. I'm not sure if tower placement is the issue as people who live right next to them are getting no signal. Because whilst in one location the phone maintained the same levels of signal I don't think it is likely to be a phone issue. Looks like it might be Optus.

I must say that the reception on one bar is fine. However the constant switching from 2G to 3G back and forth couldn't be good for the battery.

Hi Guys,

I am experiencing issues with the Optus 3G network on my IPhone since yesterday.

I live in Toorak,Melbourne.

I guess the phone is not able to catch up with the 3G network of Optus and apparently has No Service displayed on the IPhone.

The funny part is,This happens only when I get inside my home in Toorak[This started only since yesterday though,The Phone has been working alright right from 11th of July].

I work in the city and I observe that the signals are hardly 1-2 bars.

Has anyone else experienced this issue.

Please note the phone works alright If the 3G option is turned off in the Phone settings.

I am in touch with the IPhone Support Team,They have no ideas about it! They have their
stupid troubleshooting steps such as 1.Restarting the Phone 2.Restoring the Phone - None of
these work!

EDIT: Hey Guys Just spoke to Apple,The customer care Rep asked for the IMEI number and immediately jumped with a question whether I bought the phone from US!!!! In their system it says that my IPhone is locked to AT&T...Guess what even though I bought the
phone from Optus Store outright on the 11th July 2008!!!!crazy..can't believe it....



Has anyone else experienced this weird issue!

Chander

doctor, when you make a call on 1 3g, and then look at the connection following, has it downgraded to 2g? (now i know this is normal behaviour when you dont have a strong signal.)

but my issue from this point is that my phone doesn't seem to pick up the 3g signal again, without power cycling, or turing aeroplane mode on/off. i also wonder if the battery is taking a fair hit from the constant 2/3g switching.

pain in the ass when you know you are smack bang in the middle of what *should* be good/consistant coverage (and IS good/consistant on other phones.)

i thought it was just me...

i swapped from telstra after 10 years to optus on 2 year contract and had the qld thing last week and as of about 3 days ago i get no service when entering my unit... just got better about half hour ago, when i turned off the wireless on the phone, gave it a full charge, went to 2G, got full optus coverage then flicked on 3G, got two and three bars on 3G, then flicked on wireless and its sticking now...

i initially thought the strong wireless in the unit was mucking with reception in the unit block...

never had a 3G phone and was with telstra anyway so don't know if im in some weird low optus 3G at home, no probs out and about in the CBD which is why i considered the wireless...

then i thought it might be all related to the QLD thing but then i read all this stuff about poor switch from 2G to 3G and the No Service thing...

my assumptions are now that yes the unit does block good 3G reception as outside the door is pretty good... and if worst comes to worst 3G out and about during the day and just go 2G and Wireless when i walk in the door...

cheers

I'm only getting about 1 bar in 3g (optus,melb:se suburbs) yet my download speeds and call quality are all good.

It should he noted that there is no standard for mobile phone reception bars. So 1 bar in the iPhone is not comparable to 1 bar on the n78.

[quote=vandozza;584116]well i don't know if it's that clear cut -
- telstra's iphone plans were fairly ordinary with high coverage
- voda's were a little better priced, with low coverage
- optus's were generally regarded as the best value for money with medium coverage
= optus probably sold a lot more phones (?)


U have of course realised that Telstra have the 850Mhz spectrum there for (HELLO) there are going to be less issues with the Telstra network.

I am also going to admit that Telstra does admit "that coverage depends of your Phone, Location, Weather ect". I have evidence that the "Phone" can be the problem. I live in the small country town of Wakool NSW (1 and 1/2 hrs north of bendigo) and you can put 10 different mobiles on NextG in the same spot at the one time and they all have different signal levels (850Mhz spectrum). This can be from within 100m of the tower or even 1km... My auntie lives lyk 300m from the tower and gets 1bar on her samsung, and i get fullservice on my moto razr V6...

I think it is the iPhone... Im not pointing knives but im going with vandozza.

yeah i think most of us realise that telstra has the 850mhz "next-g" thing going on. and if i needed the greater coverage that telstra offers i would have gone that route.
i dont need the excellent coverage area though. i just need the iphone to work reliably when IN THE MIDDLE of an area with known good 3g reception.

when i was weighing up which provider to move to for the iphone, for me the clear winner was Optus. i didn't need telstra's coverage, but certainly could need (want?) optus' much better data rates. i didnt know at the time that i might have been making the wrong decision! (and again i say might because i dont yet know if there is a network issue, or a phone issue, still trying to keep an open mind... at least till my unlock comes through and i can try a telstra sim!)

Sitting in my apartment in Pyrmont - 3 bars. 770kbps 3g download (Optus).

At the office (city cbd) I tend to get 4-5 bars all the time. I've only made a few short calls on my phone as I only got it activated yesterday (system glitch ported my number to the wrong sim, damn optus fools) and they seemed clear and I did not have a dropout.

I don't really stray outside the city and I have wifi access at home and office so I can't say much about data speed and reliability over 3g all the time ... but from what I have used, I'm quite impressed.

- slow to change between 2/3G networks


I generally have this problem where ever I am; it seems to not want to switch from 3G down to 2G, even when that's the sensible thing to do.

I don't have any of the other listed problems, however I'm back on the Central Coast for a few days and it appears there's no 3G here.

I'm with the big O.

Guys, I'm in contact with both Customer Relations with Optus, Customer Relations with Apple Australia and Executive Relations at Apple Cupertino on this issue. I'm currently having issues with unlocking my iPhones as Apple claim that the IMEI numbers I have supplied have not been "unbricked" and phone calls have not been made from the phones.
I would appreciate it if anyone has unlocked their phones on different networks and have tried different networks and are still getting reception issues on all networks, if you could make contact with me so I can send you an appropriate email address with Apple so that we can get some investigations started.

we have had 55 people complete the survey macrich, do you want a copy of the results? (.csv - opens in excel)
given that you have already progressed up the apple/optus ladder in your dealings with the customer service teams, you might be in a better position to pass this information along?

i mean it's far from scientific, or definitive. but it does show that many people are having similar problems.

Hi Everyone, long time lurker, first time poster here.

I thought after reading this topic with interest I could provide some info in relation to the issue whilst connected to Vodafone, as there dont seem to be to many comments re this provider.

I am currently connected on a Vodafone Iphone Contract with an 8gig Iphone (black) supplied by Vodafone with the plan.

I live on Sydney Northern Beaches (Mona Vale) and am experiencing major issues with the level of coverage my Iphone is recieving.

Whilst at home (admittedly in a known poor coverage area approx 50 m's wide) I am recieving 1 to 2 bars of 2G which fluctuate often to 'No Service'. According to Vodafones coverage maps I should get resonable 3G and good 2G where I live.

I also work in the area (Terrey Hills) and am located very close to what I have been told is a Vodafone tower, although I am only getting 1 bar of 3G Signal which at times even drops to low bars on 2G. According to the coverage map I should be in 3G coverage. I have also tested using 3G for basic browsing with 1 bar of signal and can advise that the speed is pretty poor at best.

I then thought Id conduct a little experiment by observing the signal at my work on the Iphone (result was 1 bar 3G) and then immediately removing my sim from the Iphone and then placing it my Nokia 6120 Classic work phone (Telstra phone - although shouldnt make a difference). Upon turning the Nokia on I immediately recieved full bars of 3G Vodafone coverage which remained static for some time. This indicates to me there is an issue somewhere as all the parameters in the test remained the same - apart from the phone which was being used.

I can also report I visted a pub at Narrabeen yesterday afternoon and again only recieved 1 bar of 3G coverage (which even dropped out whilst making a call) in an area which should have great 3G reception.

I have already been back to the Vodafone store I purchased my Iphone at last week and they immediately exchanged the unit for a new one suspecting a faulty handset although the new unit has been exactly the same which would obviously indicate it the issue is widespread.

This morning at work I have played with the phone and switched off 3G and admittedly got resonable 2G coverage although I shouldnt have to do this just to make sure I get phone calls. This is a 3G unit and at the moment I am unable to utilise it for the purpose it was purchased for - to get 3G Services. I am also connected to MobileME and have noticed that when 3G if off I am not recieving any MobileME push emails etc which is also half the point I set the system up.

I am happy to standby and hope a fix is released and am not in the game of blaming any particular companies at this point, although will be taking the matter further if the issue is not resolved within a resonable time frame as currently as much as I love the Iphone it is mearly a touch screen paperweight as I can barely use it in areas where I need to and should be able to.

Hope this gives some insight from a Vodafone users perspective.

thanks for you input siren.

for everyones information, to find out where your local towers are, and who operates these towers you can-
- go to rfnsa.com.au
- login as guest
- put the postcode in question into the top right search box
- this will give all towers in that locality
- it tells you who operates the towers, and what services they offer (2g 3g 850/900/2100 etc.) go to reports, environmental report pg1-2.