Iphone 4s: constant loss of mobile signal problem

January 4, 2012 | article by Ken Thompson in Mobile Devices (23)

In early December 2011 I upgraded from an iphone 3G to iphone 4s on the Orange UK network. Since upgrading, a month ago, the iphone 4s has been losing the mobile signal at least 10-15 times per day for periods ranging from a few minutes to one hour. During this time it is not possible to make or receive phone calls or texts. In my view there is an unacknowledged issue with the iphone 4s - my advice would be NOT to purchase one until it is resolved - watch this space!

Iphone 4s: major loss of mobile signal problem

Apple has replaced my handset with another new one, Orange has replaced my sim card and I have re-installed the software on the iphone twice following guidance by apple. I have spoken a number of times with Orange second line technical support who assure me that it is not a mobile network issue. I tend to agree with Orange due to the fact that two other family members are using iphone 3G phones at home on the same orange network with no problems whatsoever.

The mobile signal on the iphone 4s sometimes says "No Service" or sometimes shows 1-2 bars - either way when it happens you cannot take/make any incoming or out coming calls or texts.

When the signal is lost the only way to use the iphone 4s handset is via skype over the internet - however this is outbound only and quite costly as you are not generally phoning skype to skype.

So Orange say it's an Apple problem and Apple are not saying!

I am wondering if anyone else is having these kind of problems? Has anyone discovered any workarounds? Please let me know and I will include updates.

BTW the other nasty surprise with the iphone 4s is that it uses a later version of Bluetooth which is not backwards compatible with earlier versions. The main problem this caused me is with Bluetooth into my car (Renault Laguna Coupe), which tends to be on older Bluetooth versions without obvious mechanisms to update it! Bottom line: I can't take or make or receive calls hands free from the car or play music through the car speakers.

About Ken Thompson

Ken Thompson delivers keynote conference speeches, workshop facilitation and in-house consultancy in four key business areas:

Creating High Performing Teams in enterprises including Virtual and Mobile Teams (based on the Bioteams Book)
Establishing effective Collaborative Business Networks enabling companies to co-operate effectively in areas such as sales and product development (based on the book - The Networked Enterprise)
How to use the latest social media technologies including blogging and online communities to promote enterprises, brand, organisation or event
Development of graphical on-line interactive Business Dashboards and What-if Simulators for organisations to support Performance Improvement, Strategy Development and Executive Team Development.

Tags: iphone, mobile phones

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Found this thread on Apple Support Communities - similar problem seems to be affecting a huge amount of people:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3425746?start=75&tstart=0

Posted by: ken thompson | January 6, 2012 8:05 AM

As far as I know, this is related with 4s's "always connect to 3g service" policy in order to keep in touch with siri server continuously Ken. Because, Apple thinks that siri would not be able to provide a fast enough service on a 2g network.
By the I am quite impressed with your web site and its minimalistic design. And I see lots of useful information here. I am here because I have seen you had taken part in a clustering conference held in İstanbul in 2006.
Best...

Posted by: Alpay Zeybek | January 11, 2012 2:22 PM

And theres more....
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3484057?start=0&tstart=0

Posted by: ken thompson | January 11, 2012 4:21 PM

Hi Alpay

Thanks for the comment - makes sense what you say about Siri

Thanks also for kind remarks on the blog - I was really impressed with the clustering setup in Turkey and would love to go back

Best Regards

KEN

Posted by:

Ken | January 11, 2012 4:25 PM

My best assessment of the iphone 4s signal loss problem as at 11 Jan 2012 is that you will be affected if you are in an area where there is little or no 3G coverage. This is because the iphone 4s constantly tries to find a 3G signal and when it fails to do so does not reconnect immediately to the 2G signal.

There is a version of IOS, 5.1 Beta 3 so far only available to developers, which allows you to switch off 3G and could be a workaround.

Posted by:

Ken | January 11, 2012 7:27 PM

Update on this: I have just returned the iphone4s (3rd replacement handset plus replacement sim card).

Conclusion: iphone 4s has constant loss of signal in areas which are 2G only. May be exacerbated if you are also on the boundary of a weak 3G signal. Its not fit for purpose in this scenario.

I have worked closely with Apple and Orange in the UK over an 8-week period and their support guys agree that I have now tried everything which might have fixed it but without success.

I am probably going to get an iphone 4 or 3G.

Posted by: ken thompson | January 25, 2012 1:51 PM

Bioteams Books Reviews

Business networks are biological

September 9, 2005 | article by Ken Thompson in Book Reviews (37)

Networks competing with networks is the future for supply chains. Harvard Professor Marco Iansiti in his book "The Keystone Advantage: What the New Dynamics of Business Ecosystems Mean for Strategy, Innovation and Sustainability" predicts that the future business competition will not be between companies or even supply chains but between networks.

Buy it now from:
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Amazon.Co.UK

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Click here to check all Bioteams book reviews

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