Reports: 3G slowdowns, battery problems with iPhone 2.2

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Reports: 3G slowdowns, battery problems with iPhone 2.2

A number of iPhone users on Apple’s discussion boards are reporting problems with 3G network speeds and battery life issues following the installation of Software 2.2. Interestingly, while the battery life issues seem to be widespread in terms of geographic area, the majority of users complaining of slow 3G speeds are concentrated in the Orange Country area of Southern California, suggesting the problem may stem from an issue with that area’s network. For users experiencing the 3G slowdown, reports indicate that while they see full or close to full 3G coverage, and calls work fine, data connections are apparently extremely slow, being described by one user as “slower than EDGE.”

Meanwhile, a separate group of users complaining of greatly reduced battery life are reporting standby times of less than 10 hours, but not all users appear to be experiencing the problem. In addition, a user claiming to be an iPhone developer has responded in a separate 2.2 battery life thread, claiming that the problem may be related to an issue with Safari, in which the iPhone fails to properly close its network connection upon exit, causing the device to physically heat up, and also leading to reduced battery life. In this instance, both the developer and other users claim that quitting Safari by holding down the home button has successfully restored their battery life.

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Comments

1

The only thing I can see is that my “Brightness” setting reset itself after the 2.2 update, which could make a huge difference in battery wear. Everyone is always looking for the hard answer when it may just be glaring them in the face….

Posted by JakeyBoy on November 25, 2008 at 9:34 AM (PDT)

2

I’m in the UK and mine’s fine on 2.2. No battery problems and 3G data speeds are still excellent. Brightness didn’t reset itself either!

Posted by peter-johnston on November 25, 2008 at 10:28 AM (PDT)

3

This article is spot on. The last 2 weeks have been miserable. I live here in Orange County & my data connections are super slow. It’s as if my set-up is circa 1994 dial-up. I pray this problem gets shored up quickly. Besides that, service is still good.

Posted by lw on November 25, 2008 at 11:41 AM (PDT)

4

My iPhone heated up over the weekend for some unknown reason. The developers story does match mine though.

I checked my usage time and it did not make sense considering how little battery was left. I ended up doing a reset and recharging my iPhone and all was well with the exception of a hairline crack that developed. (the crack may or may not be related but it sure is interesting considering my iPhone is always housed in the Incase Slider.)

Posted by jy on November 25, 2008 at 12:01 PM (PDT)

5

I have been in the LA-area for 2 weeks on business and I can atest that reliable 3g coverage is non-exsistant in comparison to other parts of the country. It’s a joke really, what everyone here may have to use in regards to that. This situation, for me at least, pre-dates the 2.2 update though.

As far as the battery life after the update, JakeyBoy probably nailed it- brightness. I noticed that the brightness setting after updating was significantly higher than where I had it previously, which would likely impact power use significantly.

Posted by Jordan on November 25, 2008 at 1:08 PM (PDT)

6

the whole orange county deal could be because there is a greater average income in that area, so more iPhones are owned in the area. That can contribute to more problems per square mile, butthe same amount of problems per number of iphones. It could also slow down the speeds by putting that much more info through the 3g network, thus slowing down the speed for everyone. A simple solution would be to shut off all Internet connections whenever you are not using them, because it will slow down your battery drain.

Posted by basshunter2011 on November 25, 2008 at 2:56 PM (PDT)

7

The “Circa 1994 dialup” comment isn’t completely true my home had 24kb dialup speeds up to October if you had it that slow your iPhone would time-out your connection, but it could be that ba an I just don’t know

Posted by basshunter2011 on November 25, 2008 at 3:02 PM (PDT)

8

basshunter, your first comment makes sense (the one about the average income & amount of iPhones in my area). Unfortunately for me, shutting down my internet connection isn’t an option, since a lot of my personal business hinges on my inbox. Thanks for the advice though. As for the second part, I have, indeed, had a handful of timeouts occur. I haven’t contacted AT&T;yet, because i’m sure they’ll say it’s a phone issue. And if I contact Apple, they’ll likewise place the blame on AT&T;.

Technology, you’ve gotta love it.

Posted by lw on November 25, 2008 at 5:41 PM (PDT)

9

2.3 anyone ?

Posted by GCB on November 25, 2008 at 10:36 PM (PDT)

10

I just posted in the ilounge iphone forum about the screen brightness issue. Look for the title iPhone 2.2 glitch with light sensor and test your iPhone to see if you have the same problems as I do. Please post results

Thanks,
djJASMAN

Posted by djJASMAN in California on November 26, 2008 at 1:42 AM (PDT)

11

Since I have installed 2.2 I am able to run run a 48 hours charching cycle, no need to connect/load the battery every day anymore - so thats the complete opposite of the effect that other people seem to have - wired

from Europe/Austria

Posted by Chris B on November 26, 2008 at 8:25 AM (PDT)

12

I said already and I’ll say it again…the AT&T;Wi-Fi at Starbucks doesn’t work on the iPhone anymore! Can anybody else vouch for that?

Posted by Matt Dunn on November 27, 2008 at 2:09 AM (PDT)

13

After upgrading a first gen and my 3G iPhone , I experienced a significant decrease in standby time (4 hours with minimal use) on the first gen iPhone, but not the 3G. I read on another thread (sorry I don’t have the link handy) that the problem was due to one of my email accounts was staying connected to microsoft exchange and draining the battery. It was suggested to delete and then re-add the account which completely eliminated the battery problem.

Posted by M. Parker on November 27, 2008 at 1:49 PM (PDT)

14

Matt the ATT/ Starbucks wifi hotspots are still up and running in Atlanta as of this afternoon.

Posted by tP on November 28, 2008 at 12:31 PM (PDT)

15

I found once I updated to 2.2 my battery also drained very quickly; I tried the Safari trick but that didn’t help. What I did notice though was that it was related to my Email, I was set to use Push from an Exchange server; what was happening was the mail app would check for mail every 6-8 seconds constantly, even with the app closed and you could basically watch the battery drain and the phone would also start to get hot. I tried a restore, tried deleting and recreating the mail settings, same thing. I have finally set it to manual checking until another update comes out. Anyone else seeing this or can confirm? Thanks

Posted by P. Christensson on December 9, 2008 at 3:14 PM (PDT)

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