Did Apple Blunt the EDGE, 3G or Both?
News Commentary? Everybody's question—"What did Apple fix in the iPhone 2.1 update?"—should have been "What did it break?" |
In what looks like a robbing Peter to pay Paul situation, the update may have fixed 3G telephony problems for some while sacrificing EDGE for others. Guess which standard is more widely deployed here in the United States? Hint: It's not 3G.
Other iPhone 3G users are reporting calling problems where there were none before, on 3G and EDGE.
I conducted an arguably informal test last night with two friends and their two 8GB iPhone 3Gs in La Mesa, Calif. At the start, both phones showed four to five bars on EDGE, which is sometimes referred to as 2.5G. 3G fluctuated from zero to four or five bars, but mostly stayed at none.
Next, I applied the 2.1 update to one phone. My friend complained of having dropped calls throughout the day, sometimes three or four times in one conversation. Strangely, he said: "I don't mind. I guess it's because I like the phone so much." He runs a small business, for which the iPhone has proved indispensable. "I feel more connected," he told me.
The 2.1 update brought a dramatic change to his iPhone 3G: Actual bars on 3G. But 2.5G dropped to zero, while the other mobile, with iPhone 2.02, showed five bars on EDGE. I'm waiting for his report today about dropped calls.
AT&T has EDGE deployed pretty much everywhere, but the 3G network is still expanding. A change that might blunt EDGE service for 3G would be disastrous for perhaps millions of iPhone users.
For other people, 3G calling problems persist even after applying the 2.1 update, and worse EDGE is affected. Apple Watch commenter Les wrote today: "I got the new patch for my iPhone 3G on Friday, and I'm still having dropped calls out the wazoo, even when I turn off 3G."
Turning off 3G had been a common solution before the 2.1 update. I wondered why. So did some Apple Watch commenters. Dave commented yesterday: "I was advised to turn off the 3G network feature to save on power. This is a ludicrous suggestion! While there is much to like about the iPhone, it is still at its heart and soul a consumer device and I am a business person. For business use, it is nowhere close to being ready for prime time."
I reviewed Apple and AT&T support forums this morning, looking to see what other iPhone 3G users experienced after applying the 2.1 update. Some people saw improvements, mainly around UI and application responsiveness and battery life. Fewer people commented about 3G improvements; definitely some people were displeased.
"3G signal is still garbage," wrote one AT&T forum poster. "EDGE goes to 3G then the bars slowly go down to 2 bars then changes right back to EDGE. I don't understand, I'm in an area where 3G is supposed to be fully covered."
From the Apple Support forums: "I haven't had a dropped call in a while. Today when I woke up I updated the firmware to 2.1 and had 3 dropped calls just on the way to work." In response, another poster wrote: "Same problem here. I actually WASN'T having dropped call issues before. Since upgrading to 2.1 just 3 hours ago I've had THREE dropped calls. :o(."
I found this AT&T forum post to be most revealing:
"When setting the phone to display the actual db scale instead of the bars, it says reception is weaker, both at home and here in the office (around -80db). HOWEVER, I can access data just fine and have not dropped a call yet. So technically, reception is weaker, but functionally, reception is better! The question then: What exactly is Apple tweaking here?"
I'm asking the same question. Among the possible scenarios for dropped calls: Problems handing off 3G to EDGE. Has Apple made adjustments that affect the hand-off? I don't yet have an answer.
Ongoing, or increasing, call dropping problems aren't just a U.S. problem. A poster in Denmark wrote on the Apple Support forum: "I'm not able to make a call at all. I have a drop rate at 100 percent with 2.1. It was bad before, but not 100 percent. I'm delivering my iPhone back Monday." From AT&T's support forum:
"I was one of the faithful who stood in line the first day and had to leave to go to work before I could buy the phone. I was able to snag on the second day. Biggest mistake I ever made. Not trying to make you feel bad, I had the 3G also. I am a HUGE apple fan but this whole 3G iPhone thing has been a mess. I also updated the phone to 2.1 and it still did not solve my problems. I decided that enough was enough and bit the bullet. I will pay the cancellation fee. Yesterday I went to the Verizon store and bought a BlackBerry Curve. Best phone in the world for e-mail (on Verizon). Not as slick as the iPhone, but 10x more reliable. A bit hard a response but truthful and my own experience."
These two customers should just totally freak out Apple. If not, something is wrong in Cupertino. As I blogged about two weeks ago, a phone must be a phone first and then everything else.
My iPhone 3G is gone, too, but I didn't change networks like the AT&T forum poster. A friend took my phone in an exchange for some gear. I'm using the Nokia N95-3, once again. While I miss my iPhone 3G, particularly for the App Store, e-mail and Web browsing, the N95 provides better 3G data and telephony. I have occasional dropped calls, but observably much less, and there have been no outgoing calling problems.
What changes have 2.1 update made for your iPhone 3G? Please share in comments or by e-mail.
[Please send your tips or rumors to watchtips at live.com].
Related Posts:
- Apple's Arrogant App Store Developer Policies, Apple Watch, Sept. 14, 2008
- iPhone Storms Smartphone OS Market, Apple Watch, Sept. 11, 2008
- iPhone 3G Doesn't Raise the Bar, Apple Watch, Sept. 8, 2008
- I Don't Care If It's the Network, Apple Watch, Sept. 3, 2008
Comments (8)
The 2.1 upgrade made a huge difference in aspects of the iPhone that have nothing to do with the Phone App itself. As you already know, it made backups faster and app updates happen in 30 seconds or so where they used to take 3-4 minutes.
I see 5 bars of 3G in my office where last week I only got 2 or 3. Download speeds seem exactly the same.
I have only had 2 dropped calls EVER on my phone and zero since the update. It may be the Kansas City metro area, though. The population density isn't the same as San Diego, San Fran, NY where I keep reading about the dropped call issue.
Moral of the story: Move to KC, I guess :)
Posted by JasonBailey | September 15, 2008 4:01 PM
About that one user who showed -80db, isn't that a good signal? What was his signal strength before?
Posted by KenC | September 15, 2008 7:49 PM
again and again. People outside united states never had this problem. This is hence an at&t problem and not apple. Stop disseminating wrong information
Posted by Mugunth | September 15, 2008 8:49 PM
My bet would be that the Infineon chip used in the iPhone is not reliable and was not ready for production. Judging by the reports from end users, there seems to be differences in how two 3G iPhone can perform in the same location. Many users have few dropped calls; others in the same geography have numerous calls dropped. Other side-by-side comparisons of 3G iPhone compared to 3G models from Nokia and HTC on the same network show problematic performance in some, but not all, iPhones compared to the other 3G phones. Additionally, the updates appear to affect iPhone not uniformly, fixing 3G in some, diminishing Edge in others. Finally, if there wasn't a problem with the chip, then the frequent iPhone updates would not claim to provide telephony QoS improvements. There was a rush to get the 3G iPhone to market and the required QA testing was probably not done. Developing a new mobile telephony/data platform is substantially more complicated compared to an iPod. (Note how cautious RIM has been in the launch of their first 3G model, the Blackberry Bold, in the U.S.--Let's see how their launch goes.)
Posted by DavidG | September 15, 2008 11:41 PM
Mugunth, reread the article and check your geography. Primarily, look up "Denmark."
Posted by Peter | September 16, 2008 12:17 AM
I'm in the UK, and I now cannot seem to get an EDGE connection anywhere since applying the 2.1 update.
Previously, I'd turn 3G off at home, since I don't get very good 3G coverage there (network problem - I have a WM6 3G phone, and it doesn't get a good signal on 3G either) - I'd of course 'drop' to EDGE, and get great signal strength - now, turning it off drops me to standard GSM GPRS, which has very poor signal strength (even worse than my 3G connection)
In fact, I can't seem to get an EDGE connection anywhere, despite living in a city that I /know/ has blanket EDGE coverage!
What gives?!
Posted by Mark Lomas | September 17, 2008 5:53 AM
I have a first generation iPhone with many friends on the 3G. One friend, while driving, can make and stay connected to calls but the phone cuts ever other syllable out of the conversation. Once he stops the car the call resumes as normal.
As to my experience with 2.1, I make calls, with not many more drops, but every other call I can't hang up. The screen locks up the call continues but I can't end the call. To terminate I have been forced to reboot the phone. To say this is a little annoying is mild.
I have chosen not to upgrade my two 1st Gen iPhone's to 3G because of the problems, and pricing plan, of Apple/AT&T.
Posted by Robert | September 19, 2008 9:54 AM
Everyday I take the same route to work listening to pandora there and back. After updating to 2.1 I noticed pandora kept pausing and I eventually realized that the phone was dropping to Edge where it had always had very good 3G coverage before.
I've also never had a dropped call before or after the update, but I have noticed that safari crashes as often as always and surprisingly my youtube app crashed a couple times (I use it every day on my lunch and never had this problem before)
Summary of 2.1 (for me at least)
Pros:
-Must faster backup
-Haven't notices the contacts pausing when entering my list
-Txt message typing seems to be less laggy
-added 3 bars to the 3g at my house
Cons:
-Drops to edge much more often now :(
-Didn't fix random crashing
-Perhaps caused more crashes
-GPS still innacurate
-Where the hell is push for 3rd party apps already?!
Posted by Dan | September 20, 2008 1:18 AM