Hi All,
I bought an Iphone 4 (on O2) a while back and am having problems with coverage, often have no coverage showing, in settings it was set to Automatic for the network, Is it a good idea to change this to o2? if not, why not?
Also, even when I do have 3 "dots" of coverage showing, I still can't send a text. Do the dots only refer to Voice coverage rahter than Text?
TIA
Chris
often have no coverage showing, in settings it was set to Automatic for the network, Is it a good idea to change this to o2? if not, why not?
Have it set on your contracted network (O2) for if you don't, and it keeps connecting via other networks you'll get charged for roaming. Roaming is fine if that's what you want and don't mind the costs.
It's an iPhone, get used to it. They are designer poser objects rather than a practical, functional, communications tool.
Is that the model where the natural way to hold it covers up the ariel?
Auto/O2 shouldn't make any difference. It should (but remember this is an iPhone) find it's "home" O2 network then roam to other networks when it can't. AFAIK in this country there are no other networks that will allow O2 phones to roam onto.
Sorry to disagree but it won't roam to another network unless you leave the country. It will then roam but only to those networks with a reciprocal agreement with O2. However you might find you get better battery life with it locked to 02 as its not forever searching for a better signal.
Call roaming only incurs cost if you make or receive a call on the foreign network. You can prevent data roaming by switching it off in settings/general/network. I leave mine switched off, only switching it on if I need to pick up emails whilst overseas and don't have access to free wi-fi. Picking up about ten emails and replying to three this way whilst in New Zealand cost me £11.75 !!!!
If your area does not have 3G try switching that off. I also find that my iPhone performs badly in sending texts when the signal is poor. So often I send when I have a signal showing only for the signal to disappear immediately. This is worse when 3G is unavailable and improved slightly in those areas by switching 3G off in Settings/general/network once more.
Mike
Erm how could it make any difference, after all you are still only sending data whether its speech text or whatever. The connection has to be there for it to work. Of course if you have a wobbly coverage, then its not going to be reliable. My thoughts are to go where the signal is as good as it gets, if it won't work its bust! I seem to recall many of these devices had poorly sighted aerials that were detuned when you actually tried to use them.
Brian
often have no coverage showing, in settings it was set to Automatic for the network, Is it a good idea to change this to o2? if not, why not?
text. Do the dots only refer to Voice coverage rahter than Text?
In the UK there is no need to have it set to anything other than your own carrier
Text messages tend to get through where signal levels are marginal, but three dots could mean anything, its an iPhOne FFS, Just accept that it is an expensive toy that can occasionally make phone calls if you can manage to hold it correctly for long enough.
O2 are owned by the Spanish, run on a shoestring so will always be a shit carrier to be on, but the others are not much better.
So, worst phone, worst carrier :)
If you need a mobile phone, then a ten year old Nokia 6210 or 6310 will give you about two weeks standby and enough talk time to fry your brain. The receiver is sensitive enough to be usable in the arse end of nowhere, where an iPhOne will show zero coverage.
HTH
More bollocks.
Aerial. And in two years of use of my iPhone that has never been a problem. Usual press over-hyped crap.
Go on explain to the nice man why, if as you claim it's the grip if death causing a problem that he gets three bars on the signal strength. The symptom of grip of death was no bars on the display.
Remember that Dave Liquorice is biased and blinkered.
And remember that O2 are s**te.
It won't make any difference but will stop you from roaming abroad unless you change back to automatic.
The answer is that O2 are s**te and have poor network coverage. In many parts of the country they converted analogue cellphone masts to digital and didn't spend the money on filling in the gaps between base stations. Almost any other provider - OK Vodafone are also crap - provides better 3G coverage.
FWIW I can send and receive texts on this iPhone 4 with only one bar for signal strength. But I wouldn't touch O2 with yours.
I was uncertain of the current situation in the main body of the UK, but here, in Ireland if you live near the NI border your phone is constantly hopping from one to another and you used to get stung dreadfully for roaming costs. Having been subject to that as I drove through the area, I've always made sure my phone is hard-set to my own provider. Roaming charges in the EU have been tamed somewhat, but it's still a bit of a nasty surprise, especially if you're unaware of what's going on in the background.
Ouch! Rapacious bastards.
Quite so. I only enable 3G when I'm actually wanting to do any data transfer anyway, as most of the time it's hooked into one wifi net or another for that.
Not totally. Few folk would argue that when it comes to basic signal reception, they're pretty crap compared to most other phones (or at least older Nokias).
Tim
Is this a permanent problem or intermittent? O2 have had a couple of breakdowns recently.
Try Googling what the Iphone settings should be for O2 text messaging, and change them if needed. If you've got a signal and can make/receive voice calls but not send texts, then it's your phone settings that's cocked up. Assuming your contract has texts included, of course.
I take it you mean "few folk who have never used one". Because I get as good a signal on mine as with my old Samsung and Nokia phones on the same network.
Or are you by any chance comparing 3G with GSM while inside a steel framed building?
Several places around here (Folkestone) that I get the "Welcome to France" text reminding me of my roaming costs... great reminder that I've forgotten to turn it off :-)
I know a couple of people who have received calls while wandering around Samphire Hoe and had a nasty surprise when the bill arrived!
Darren
I've used many iphones (all the existing models except the 5 infact) and as much as I love them, they are crap for phonecalls compared to my old nokias...
I don't really care, as it's rare I make voice calls, but none of the smart phones are as good as some of the older nokias IME.
Darren
Interesting comment. I switched from O2 to Voda, and have used T-mobile and Orange in the past. Vodafone is streets ahead of the others for coverage everywhere I go around here except my parents house where only O2 works, and only if you stand in the front garden :-)
One thought for the OP - the iPhone isn't trying to send the msg as an iMessage is it (ie, it knows the recipient also has an iPhone?).
That can take ages on a crap data signal (ie, the standard O2 one in my experience) before it falls back to sending an SMS
Darren
Nope, I mean my wife and myself who, when on the same network can get a good usable signal on an old Nokia and "No signal" on an iPhone. Not an isolated instance either. A repeated observation. Don't have to look far on the net to find that this is a common phenomenon.
Tim
Thanks for all the replies, I tried setting it to o2, but it didn't seem to make any odds except it occasionally came up with a message saying it couldn't find my chosen network (mostly when going through a train tunnel) annoying if you're trying to watch a downloaded Iplayer programme.
I have turned off 3G and I think it may have improved matters, but as my daughter is at home at the moment, i'm not doing that much texting from home (which is the main problem area).. As an aside, downlading emails doesn't appear to be much slower with 3G turned off. Though accessing uk.d-i-y (Google groups) does :=3D(( FWIW I just upgraded from a Nokia (5140? (The rubberised one)), it had similar issues with coverage, and was no good for email or web access at all!
Try holding the iPhone in the other hand.
Really. It looks as though Apple QA don't have any left-handed people.
Andy
Nothing to do with shorting out the aerial. Same lack of reception seen with a iPhone 3GS and a 4S.
Tim
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