You, like me, probably pay a lot of money each month for your iPhone. You, like me, expect your iPhone to be blessed with the fact that Apple products “just work” (generally). You, like me, do not expect calls to randomly go straight to voicemail without even ringing.
For a phone, especially an expensive phone, this is very bad indeed.
The iPhone is an amazing converged multimedia device. But its primary function is that people are able to contact me. They are able to do so via SMS, MMS, email and good old voice. I wouldn’t say that the voice element is the main way I use my iPhone, but it is a very important element of my mobile.
But sometimes people just can’t call me. They try, but they get a busy tone, and the call goes straight to my voicemail. Usually, not even a missed call shows up in my log. Nothing. It’s as if my iPhone was turned off or out of coverage. This shouldn’t be the case as the 3G standard was designed to handle a simultaneous voice and data connection. I should be able to surf away while I’m chatting on the phone.
So why am I missing calls?
There are two possible causes:
- 3G network coverage is poor
- The iPhone’s firmware is flaky when it comes to 3G connections
Network Coverage
If the coverage or network is poor, then the phone won’t be able to find a signal, and the call will route to voicemail. I’ve in the middle of Reading, which is fairly built-up area, and coverage is generally quite good.
There’s one way to rule this out: try the SIM in a non-iPhone. I done this with a couple of different phones (Nokia and SonyEricsson), started using a data connection, and called the phone. Every time I tested it, the call went through fine, plus I was able to continue happily surfing the web. Based on this and other anecdotal evidence from friends, I think I can safely rule out O2’s network being the issue. That leaves the iPhone itself.
The iPhone’s poor connectivity
I had exactly the same problem with my first generation iPhone. I know the iPhone doesn’t pick up the 3G network as well as other phones, but this is not an issue of finding and connecting to a nearby cell. Following lots of testing and support calls with O2 & Apple, we figured out that whenever I was using a data connection, calls would go straight to voicemail. This is annoying, but understandable. GPRS/EDGE does not allow concurrent voice and data – although the correct response from the phone should be that the data connection is dropped when a call comes in. Bad Apple.
I thought that upgrading to a 3G iPhone would solve these problems, and for a while it did. I could surf the web, calls would come in, and both connections would remain active. It was fine until firmware 2.2, when the old problem of missed calls returned, and it has become more pronounced since upgrading to 2.2.1.
Now, whenever I’m using any sort of mobile data connection (everything except wifi), calls will route to voicemail.
This isn’t just me – there are forum postings from other O2 customers, and also from AT&T customers in the US, and Rogers Wireless customers in Canada. There’s also a long post at Apple Discussions.
What’s the solution?
The only workaround is to delete your carrier’s APN details, which disables the cellular data connection. This leaves just wifi for data, so it’s not an acceptable fix. All I can do is call O2 and ask for a reduction in my monthly tariff.
This is very poor. I think it is a symptom of Apple’s inexperience in finessing cellular connectivity, which is not straightforward. They’ve produced a superb device that does many things very well, but in this basic telephony function it often fails. I love my iPhone, but the poor quality of the phone part of it really detracts from the overall experience.
Once again, I’m left hoping that the next version of iPhone OS will sort it all out.