O2 + iPhone 4= No Signal?

[Deleted member 37751]

Whilst reading the BB vs iPhone thread, I noticed a few tech wizards and thought I would pick their brains.

I currently have an iPhone 4 on O2. Now for the last 3 years my signal has been getting worse, insomuch that people try and ring me and it goes straight to answerphone.

After a bit of digging, I would get people to call me while they were stood next to me and it would divert to answerphone?

The point of this thread is that I have missed half a dozen very important phone calls this week and I really need to get to the bottom of it all.

So, when I go to O2 and put all this to them; what technicalities can I put to them?

 

[Spinal]

First and most obvious question... are you holding the phone without an electrically insulating case?

 

[Deleted member 37751]

First and most obvious question... are you holding the phone without an electrically insulating case?

The phone/phones I've had have never had any sort of case.

 

[Spinal]

The iPhone4 is well known for having signal issues if you hold it with your bare hands.

The antenna isn't insulated, and if you touch the metal band around the phone (or technically, bridge the gap) your signal will suffer considerably.

Easy way to check is grab some insulating tape, wrap it around your iPhone4 and try playing a call...

M.

 

[bolide]

I suspect the issue is with the 02 network in your area. The signal is obviously dependent on location but the 02 network appears to be incredibly variable

When I told 02 I couldn't use my phone in large parts of East Sussex, Dorset & Hampshire they suggested I stop and phone them each time I was in an area with no signal. They suggested calling from a phone box

I don't expect any great help from their tech support. You may do better

Nick Froome

 

[219]

Another tip is to try turning off the 3G side of the phone whenever you experience poor signal strength .

Often there is good signal available on 2G although only minimal signal on 3G - if the phone detects even borderline signal on 3G it will try to use it .

I find this in my place of work where 3G is patchy at best ( on O2 ) but , if 3G is turned off I get max indicated signal on 2G .

 

[Sp!ke]

Another tip is to try turning off the 3G side of the phone whenever you experience poor signal strength .

Often there is good signal available on 2G although only minimal signal on 3G - if the phone detects even borderline signal on 3G it will try to use it .

I find this in my place of work where 3G is patchy at best ( on O2 ) but , if 3G is turned off I get max indicated signal on 2G .

This might be effective in the odd location but overall I don't think its the best advice.

All investment is now going on the 3G infrastructure. 2G is gradually being replaced by 3G and whilst in certain locations there may be gains by selecting 2G only, overall you've a much better chance of a signal if you allow the device to use both networks.

As Spinal has already indicated, you need to use a cover on an iPhone 4 or hold the phone in a particular way or the symptoms described by the OP will occur. It is a well known issue and one apple tried to apease by giving out free iPhone 4 skins.

In addition, I also think that all mobile operators in the UK are currently struggling to keep up with the surge in data from the increased use of smart-phones and other high speed data users. Many cell sites are struggling to keep up with the traffic and the CPU bound cells often struggle to route voice calls as well as data.

Its a game of catchup and for the past 3-6 months all UK networks seem to be struggling to some extent but because of the transient nature of mobile communications, the problem hops from cell to cell as people move about and its a particularly difficult problem to address.

Already we are seeing much reduced data bundles on contract phones in a bid to reduce the problem. This will help but my personal take is that we will see improvements within the next 12 months or so but there's little one can do as mobile communications are a victim of their own success.

 

[snoop51]

Another tip is to try turning off the 3G side of the phone whenever you experience poor signal strength .

Often there is good signal available on 2G although only minimal signal on 3G - if the phone detects even borderline signal on 3G it will try to use it .

I find this in my place of work where 3G is patchy at best ( on O2 ) but , if 3G is turned off I get max indicated signal on 2G .

+1. This works on my 3GS on O2 near Whitstable!

 

[lancebond]

This might be effective in the odd location but overall I don't think its the best advice.

Actually that's the stock answer from both second line support from o2 and also from Apple... It's an issue with iOS, it is a little bit tempremental when it come to the switch between 2g and 3G networks, often straining (and often failing)to find a 3G network when a perfectly good 2g network is in place.

It's not actually a network issue (although there are existing issues with uk mobile networks you previously mentioned) but rather a phone one... And it's more of a recent issue at that... Rumour has it that the new iOS (should be announced this coming week along with iPad 2) fixes the issue, but i haven't got ahold of the new iOS yet (again, should have it by mid week for destructive purposes)

Sadly the iPhone software simply adds a new issue for users, to add to the existing ones that all smartphone users are suffering, and to think that the networks are now talking about the upcoming 4g network!!!

 

[Alfie]

Another tip is to try turning off the 3G side of the phone whenever you experience poor signal strength .

Often there is good signal available on 2G although only minimal signal on 3G - if the phone detects even borderline signal on 3G it will try to use it .

I find this in my place of work where 3G is patchy at best ( on O2 ) but , if 3G is turned off I get max indicated signal on 2G .

I tried this and its a great tip. I dont have the issues with poor 3G signal but thought I'd try it and indeed the signal here in Woking is better. Thanks.

 

[gIzzE]

I moved to o2 4 years ago when we suddenly lost signal on Vodafone in the office, overnight no one could get reception, after 3 months we jumped to o2, all has been fine till pretty recently.

However the last 6 months, pre iPhone 4 for me, the reception has been awful!!
I used to be able to get reception for approx. 85% of my journey to our other shop, an 80 mile round tripe, I now struggle to get it for any more than 20%.
That is with any handset.

I have called o2 about this many times now but everytime we start to get somewhere they cut me off or I loose reception. I lost reception on Oxford Street last week for gods sake!!

I bought an iPad with 3G on Three, over the last month I have been all over the country with it and have never lost signal, not once. That is going from Norwich to London, Manchester, Birmingham by car and train and always a 3G signal. Makes o2 look useless. Apparantly they had to have 92% population coverage to get the 3G licence, they just did it, but 92% population leaves loads and loads of areas without coverage.

It will cost me £430 to get out of o2, I think it is worth it, they are an awful provider, everyone else has been pushing coverage in a big way, o2 just haven't bothered.

I have just ordered a Three mifi wireless thing so I can use my macbook air with my Three sim, which is stupid when I am with o2.

The iPhone 4 is not the problem as I get the same with an older Nokia which was always awesome for signal.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Another tip is to try turning off the 3G side of the phone whenever you experience poor signal strength .

Often there is good signal available on 2G although only minimal signal on 3G - if the phone detects even borderline signal on 3G it will try to use it .

I find this in my place of work where 3G is patchy at best ( on O2 ) but , if 3G is turned off I get max indicated signal on 2G .

Using this tip^^ has made a great deal of difference.
Thank you very much

 

[markjay]

One other thing to remember, is that Vodafone probably has the best networks in the UK.

What happens is that when the network is busy, you can't make outgoing calls (on Nokias you get 'network busy' message, not sure how this plays out on the iPhone), and anyone calling you will be diverted to voicemail.

We often experience this 'network busy' issue with T-Mobile and with O2, but very rarely with Vodafone.

So in short, it is not necessarily an iPhone or a signal issue.


PS - Not directly related to the above, the trick with switching-off 3g is very clever and I will definitely try that - thanks!

 

[Satch]

O2 | Network Coverage | Coverage Checker

If you zoom in a bit soon becomes clear there are quite a few patches listed as "good outdoors" only.

Search by location and in some places big differences can start show up as you switch between the results for "Voice, text, Email and Data" and "Mobile Internet" coverage

The one I am most familar with, and unsurprisngly has the starkest differences in coverage (i.e not much and bugger all respectively) is the wider area around Inverness, where it is quite common to see perplexed vistors waving phones in the air in hope of attracting a passing signal.....

There is something particularly annoying about standing in a phone box with a useless iPhone/mobile in pocket or trying access things through a dial up modem, assuming you remembered to take the required lead, the blasted numbers and your ISP has not lost interest. (until a few weeks ago my youngest son had never clocked that life without a iPhone was actually possible nor experienced the teeth gnashing misery of a 56k dial up.)

Even though we all know coverage is not universal, perhaps we have just come to expect it.

 

[BTB 500]

Obviously there will be areas where reception is not great, but are all phones equal? I've been on O2 for years and can't remember the last time I had no signal (99.9% of the time I'm just using voice/sms though). That's with Nokia handsets, currently got an X6.