iPhone 4 and 4S

[tkerby]

I wanted to compile a number of posts related to poor data connectivity on the 4s, particularly when transitioning to a 2G signal area either from wifi -> 2g or 3g -> 2g

I personally have this problem and its making the phone almost unusable, particularly Siri functionality when I'm in the car.

What I see
- Good 3G data (4 or more bars)
- 3G bars decrease so phone switches to 2G (4 or more bars)
- Round circle (2G data appears) for approx 2 seconds
- Circle disappears and no data
- Full reboot may recover 3G (and thus data) until the phone decides the 2G signal is better
- Phone eventually switches back to 3G when coverage is much better and data resumes a few minutes later

I've seen the following mentioned as possible workarounds
- Disable SIM PIN
- Reset network settings (in both 3g and 2g coverage areas)
- Set network selection to manual rather than auto
- Switch airplane on and off
- Setup as new phone
- Change APN to internet rather than wap

So far, I've tried all but the last option to no avail.  Phone customer support are suggesting the first 4 on the list, then offering a discounted Suresignal for any areas you visit with 2G coverage.  Thats fine for fixed locations but not so good on the move

I'd like to know
1 - If the higher echelons of Vodaphone support are actively investigating this problem
2 - If Vodafone are discussing with Apple to get the issue resolved
3 - What will Vodafone do for customers like myself who only have a partially usable smartphone (A mobile wifi device with 1gb of data/ month until the problem is resolved would be a better solution than suresignal for instance)


The related posts follow...



On the Vodafone forums
http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4S-and-iOS-5/Problem-switching-from-3G-to-Edge-2G/td-p/896981 - Data lost when coverage moves from 3g to 2g
http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4S-and-iOS-5/Iphone-4s-does-not-reconnect-to-vodafone-data-whe... - Doesnt connect to data when wifi off (possibly in 2g area?)
http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4S-and-iOS-5/iPhone-4S-cellular-data-gone/td-p/912513 - Cellular data gone

On the Apple forums
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3396554?start=0&tstart=0 - Data dropping on Vodafone
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16444504#16444504 - Data dropping on O2, Vodafone and others
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3437795 - Losing data multiple times a day
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16424298#16424298 - No data until rebooted



Possibly related:
http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4S-and-iOS-5/Problems-connecting-to-3G-on-iPhone-4S/td-p/89916... - AP settings / No 3g
http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4S-and-iOS-5/No-mobile-internet-access-on-new-IPhone-4S/td-p/9... - No data
http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4S-and-iOS-5/iPhone-4S-amp-3G-Signal/td-p/903669 - Different speeds from different APNs
http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4S-and-iOS-5/Internet-Speed/td-p/905163 - Slow data speeds
http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4S-and-iOS-5/iPhone-4S-Signal-loss-with-SIM-PIN-enabled/td-p/8... - Signal lost with SIM PIN

[tkerby]

Two more threads now mention this issue:

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4S-and-iOS-5/Signal/td-p/894713 - Last post mentions no 3g

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4S-and-iOS-5/iPhone-4S-dropping-calls-Leeds-City-Center/td-p/9... - Later in the thread dropped calls issue resolved but 3G data keeps dropping

Mods - any comments?

Cheers

[redmamoth]

Please also add forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4S-and-iOS-5/iPhone-4S-dropping-calls-Leeds-City-Center/td-p/904519 to the list.

I'm personally going to an Apple Store tomorrow to demand a new handset, for the amount they charge for these phones you shouldn't have so many problems.  Needless to say i'll be going back to android when my 12months is up, never had any problems with those phones!

[tkerby]

After phone support suggested I spoke to a local store I called into one of the Edinburgh branches and got much better info

- They believe there is a problem with the 2g network for both dropped data connections and failed calls
- This has been ongoing for 7 weeks
- They are receiving a few complaints per day although it's not limited to iPhone. Blackberry and some of the cheap PAYG handsets also have the problem
- Replacement sims and handsets made no difference

As a comparison, all the staff compared signal with me on some iPhone 4and 4s models. We had everything from no signal, 5 bar 2g no data, 2 bar 3G and 5 bar 3G sitting beside each other on the desk.

The staff were having these problems on their personal iPhones too. They are going to escalate this internally but are hoping that customers will push customer support to get network engineers out to check the 2g signal

[redmamoth]

Oh, you already had my thread.  Sorry!

[tkerby]

Some more threads covering this issue

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Network/No-GPRS-on-iPhone-4s/td-p/909817 - No GPRS on iPhone 4s

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Network/2G-network-problem-in-PL12-area-and-other-PL-areas-GPRS-defau... - Same issue

on a Blackberry

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Network/No-mobile-data-unless-on-3G-or-WiFi/td-p/904543 - Same issue on iPhone 4

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4S-and-iOS-5/Vodafone-network-keeps-dropping-no-service/td-p/9... - More iPhone 4s problems

So thats 14 related threads here, 4 on the Apple forums and the experience of a local store.  Each covering multiple users too

Mods - any comments on this issue?

[Wayne]

Hi tkerby

Thanks for your post here. I’m sorry to hear that you are having problems with this. I appreciate how frustrating this must be for you.

Thanks for investigating and trying to find other examples of the same fault. However, signal strength and data connectivity is a very broad subject. Looking through the top 3 posts you have linked to, they do sound like a similar problem to yours. However, with signal issues we need to investigate each one individually as there are so many things that can affect it.

The ‘possibly related’ threads are not related at all though. These threads are individual problems in certain areas and problems with APN settings.

I’d like to investigate the problem you are having though. Please can you tell me if this happens in one particular area or everywhere you go? If its one area, can you supply me the full postcode of the area in which this is happening? If its all over then I would suggest taking your phone into a Vodafone store and having it sent away for repair. Alternatively you can make an appointment at the Genius bar in an Apple store and have them take a look.

For more information on Vodafone repairs check out the link – Vodafone Repairs

Thanks

Wayne

eForum Team

[redmamoth]

So, ive come back from my genius bar apointment with a brand new phone and guess what...... Same issue! Had to toggle airplane mode this morning after leaving my house to get a 3g signal. Mods, stop giving us the same rubbish! This is clearly a software fault in iOs 5 on the 4s, which is compounded by vodafone's poor data coverage!

[tkerby]

Hi Wayne

You'll see on this post http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4S-and-iOS-5/Problem-switching-from-3G-to-Edge-2G/td-p/896981 that many of the areas where this is happening have been checked as OK

As the problem is happening in multiple places, I spoke to phone support who had heard of similar problems and suggested I speak to a local store and use a suresignal in problem areas (not much help if I'm outside home/work)

I spoke to the local store as shown in the thread above and we could see there were clear signal issues between the various iPhones owned by myself and the store staff.  The store had been seeing multiple complaints of 2G dropouts over a 7 week period and experiencing the same on their own handsets.  It did not appear limited to iPhone, although the 4s and other phones upgraded to IOS5. seem to be worse (perhaps the new 4s aerial is an issue).  SIM swaps have not made a difference and in fact my phone is using a brand new SIM anyway

The store initially thought the problem may be limited to the Edinburgh region but threads on this forum and the Apple forums suggest it is more widespread

I've since had slightly improved coverage in some of the problem areas but not others.  Some areas that were OK are however getting worse.  I've also spoken to Apple support who told me they believed there may be a problem with the Vodafone network and to get back in touch with yourselves

[tkerby]

To followup further, I've just been in Europe including Zurich, Brussels, Lyon and Grenoble and got fantastic coverage including good 2G data connection with the circle showing, decent speed and reliability

This confirms it's not the phone or sim at fault but issues with the Vodafone network

To add another thread to my list see


http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4S-and-iOS-5/Vodafone-network-keeps-dropping-no-service/td-p/9...

[redmamoth]

I think it's safe to say that as soon as my 12months is up i'll be leaving Vodfone, their 3G coverage is aweful. I have an iPad with Three and get superp coverage and speeds with that, the same with my old T-Mobile contract.  Bye bye Voda!

[RichSa]

Phew, I thought it was just me who suffered from this problem!

I previously had an iPhone 3GS on O2 and never saw this problem. I seem to see this issue in Surrey/Hampshire once a week or so. I will be in a 2G area and use my phone for a data service and there is no data even though I have a good 2G signal. The only solution I found was to take it in and then out of airplane mode or move to a different cell.

[redmamoth]

i've just been in London at a friends for the weekend, despite the not-so-great coverage the phone worked fine, even when only showing the little circle (obviously slow, but fine).  So it would appear that the issues i'm having can possibly be attributed to the poor infrastructure in Leeds!

[Batman]

I have the same problem, 3G keeps cutting out and never comes back until I have done a manual reset. I do not remember seeing this as a selling point on the Apple or Vodafone advert, also the Yellow screens to which I have in my replacement phone!!

[Stagpole]

I'm with Vodafone and Three on both iPhone 4s and iPad2. Sorry but Three great signal and superfast speeds, Vodafone Rubbish!!!

[Newcastlelad]

Reading the above threads I can sympathise, I had very similar problems with data loss even tho it was shown as full etc etc, my solution was... My mobile data settings where the same as my mms settings. I've changed the data settings to... APN: Internet USERNAME: web PASSWORD: web I've had no problems since, touch wood! These settings where listed in the support section on here so seem genuine. The phone was originally set up in a Vodafone store with the problem settings. Try the above ones and see if that works. Could tech support confirm these changes??? Hope this helps. Daryn

[redmamoth]

So - just an update on my issue, i've now tried the following:

-Factory Restore

-Replacement iPhone from apple store

-New SIM card

And i'm still having the same issues, in fact, since the new SIM the issue is worse!  Airplane mode no longer toggles my 3G, I have to reboot the phone!!!  In 10 years of owning mobile phones this is the single worse mobile experience i've ever had.  Thank you Apple, thank you Vodafone. As soon as my contract is up i'll be returning to t-mobile and android.

Vodafone - what the hell is going on with 3G in leeds???  sort it out!

[rachel25492]

Hoping someone can help!

I got my iPhone 4S yesterday, took hours to get any signal from Vodafone and since I got signal I have had no 3G, or any data network connection, absolutely zero!

I've restored my phone, I don't have a SIM PIN, I checked my network coverage in the help centre and its supposed to be high In Preston, Lancashire. I also went through the Basic iPhone steps to getting an internet connection with the APN and i've done the airplane mode on/off. 

Is there any point getting a new handset? Will it make a difference?

Should I call Vodafone Customer Service?

thanks in advance guys!

[yucww210]

That's good question

[Dave]

Hi guys,

redmamoth and rachel25492 - In order to us to look for specific faults, especially in areas with multiple cellsites, we need an exact idea of where the issue is occurring, so can I please ask for postcodes of where you are experiencing issues?

If it is in more than one postcode, don't worry, just confirm the multiple ones as this will help us to identify which sites need to be investigated, and we need this information to steer our engineers to the correct sites if they are not already working on the issue - or, alternatively, on upgrading the local signal which may cause intermittent signal loss in areas whilst work is carried out.

We're happy to investigate this sort of issue, but without the sort of information requested in the network issues thread, our engineers will not be able to respond as quickly to issues. Also, you can answer the other questions in that thread, rachel25492, then we will be able to see more details as to whether the handset or the network is the issue and advise accordingly.

Dave