FAQ: iPhone 3G reception -- What's the problem?

Apple's iPhone 3G was just a couple of days old when reports began trickling onto the company's support forum from dissatisfied customers.

"I am supposed to be in a strong 3G coverage area at home, [but] I only have 1 bar," said user Doug Clements in a message posted July 13. "Traveling around town (Sacramento area) my 3G coverage changes dramatically. From 1 bar to full bars? Not sure if its working properly or not??"

Within a month, what had started as a few news reports grew dramatically, with several prominent newspapers, including The New York Times , Wall Street Journal and USA Today adding their voices to the chorus.
What's going on? We may not have all the answers, but we do have questions. Here's our take on the griping about iPhone 3G reception.

What's the beef about? Users started complaining about crappy reception -- lousy signal strength, dropped calls and slow data speeds -- just days after the iPhone 3G's July 11 debut.

Those complaints have filled Apple's support forum with nearly 2,000 messages in a series of three long threads, the first two of which were shut down because they were too long for some browsers to load. (This is the current thread open for comment; the first two are here and here .)
The gripes can be broadly characterized as:

--Weak 3G signals in areas supposedly flush with 3G, and/or in places where other 3G-enabled phones on AT&T's network have no problem acquiring a strong signal.

--Consistent dropped calls, often as the iPhone automatically switches from 3G to EDGE when the user moves between coverage areas.

--Slower-than-expected Web browsing that doesn't match Apple's claim that 3G gives users a 2.4x speed boost over EDGE.

Who should I blame? Take your pick:

--Apple
--AT&T
--Both
--Someone else

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