Apple preps patch for 'problematic 3G' iPhone?
Rumoured release to cure connectivity woes
An upcoming software patch may bring relief to iPhone 3G owners whose handsets have been struck down by inexplicable connection problems.
So reports the Wall Street Journal, which quotes unnamed “people familiar with the matter” who say that Apple is set to release a fix within weeks.
Since the 3G handset’s release, customers have complained that the phone frequently switches to Edge connections even when 3G is available. This results in a slow web connection and, sometimes, dropped calls.
Apple hasn’t officially acknowledged any such problem, but it’s a widely held belief that an Infineon-made chipset is to blame.
It’s thought that the chip’s programmed to seek out a stronger 3G connection than the phone actually needs. If the 3G signal is considered by the chip to be too weak - even though it could be used - the part forces the iPhone 3G to connect over Edge instead.
Another theory is that if too many people are connected using 3G within a given area, such as Central London, then the strength of the 3G connection found by Infineon’s chip again will be deemed not good enough, forcing the iPhone to opt for Edge.
Changing the code that runs on the chip should fix the glitch.
Unless, of course, it's a hardware problem, which is what respected Swedish engineering journal Ny Teknik claims. According to an MSNBC report, the problem's due to "defective adjustments between the antenna and an amplifier that captures very weak signals from the antenna". That then forces the handset to default to Edge.
COMMENTS
@ panic...
""We are working on some bugs which affect some of the iPhones shipped, and will have a software update within a month."
Time to pull out the whip and, if that fails , start threatening with pieces of pink paper ..."
So as far as we know this is a patch/partial rewrite of the firmware for the 3G baseband processor? The patch fixes a problem that affects 2% of customers, but will be applied to 100% of iPhones?
Let's not rush it at the expense of getting it right, eh?
@Wow.
You can turn the 3G off if it turns out to be a bunch of cock where you are. O2 aren't great at 3G coverage it seems. It also seems to be the case that the worse the 3G signal the faster the battery drain.
I leave mine running Edge/Wifi unless I'm in London - having all that battery life back is great, and the 3G signal is iffy enough that data doesn't usually happen over 3G, but works well enough over EDGE/GPRS and there's usually wifi.
Agree that the 2G was a nicer phone too.
@ the guy that took one back - GPS doesn't seem to work indoors, and does give comedy results. Never mind the A55, mine thought I was in Spain...
panic ...
"We are working on some bugs which affect around 2% of the iPhones shipped, and hope to have a software update soon."
we HOPE we will have an update soon ... note the use of the word 'HOPE'.... Not very reassuring... I would have expected something more reassuring like:
"We are working on some bugs which affect some of the iPhones shipped, and will have a software update within a month."
Time to pull out the whip and, if that fails , start threatening with pieces of pink paper ...
Wow.
Now that "iPhone vs AnyOtherMobilePhone" has become the new "Linux vs. Windows", Apple must be doing something right. Especially if it's pissing of so many non-Apple customers.
However, the iPhone is the only piece of Apple equipment I've owned. The 2G was very nice, but I'm fecking sick of the new 3G iPhone. The constant dropped calls, battery life of about 3 hours, and Apple's fingers-in-ears-singing-la-la-we-can't-hear-you attitude. Won't be buying another one, but then by the time I've got a refund on this one the next Nokia will be on sale ;-)
Paris, because the beer there is expensive.
@WTF
If you had an Open Sauce (sic) car, then you could fix the ringing bell (sound like a yankee piece o' crap), a spotty geezer from outer mongolia could fix it for you, buy just stipping down the dash board, removing the enigine then putting back to getther using engine 00.456.6543 Uzbugger version b1.
Teach you to buy propriety crap you stupid paytard....
Bought it, tried it, took it back
Don't get me wrong, loved the ipod touch but the iphone lacked 3g and gps both of which I use a lot.
The release of the iphone 3g with these features plus all those of my ipod touch seemed a dream come true. Coupled with the rumoured car nav app it would haev been a perfect device.
Yet I had it for 24 hours and it went back.
The GPS is highly inaccurate, performing fantastic feats putting me in my next door neighbours bedroom (no bad thing, she's a fox) but then deciding that in some superhuman feat I had escape her husbands wrath and was now cowering in some bush beside the A55.
Had that been the case I would have struggled to make a call with any reasonable hope of clear quaillty having bearly managed 1 bar signal with 3G switched on.
Turn 3G off and a full signal!
The bluetooth stack doesnt even allow you to transfer my contacts from the viewty.
Siganl on the viewty? Full 3G signal no problem.
Rang o2 on the iphone, kept dropping the call.
When I took it back the next day (people waiting in line tp buy) the nice chap behind the counter asked "wtf is wrong with it, we have people queung out the shop and you're bringing it back."
Why pay £35 a month for a crap deal on minutes and texts when you have something that doesn't do what it's supposed to?
G
