A month or so later with the iPhone 3G

[Amuso]

The 2.0.1 update helped make a lot of stuff work faster. For instance the contact database loads faster and is much more responsive now.

 

Now I am running the 2.0.2 version which seems to include a major revision change in the modem firmware at least.

 

I havent had problems with dropped calls, though it seems the phone is a bit choppy during calls. I figured this was because I used a carrier that isnt too great just where I live. Their coverage is not optimal, and they only provide EDGE. So I recently switched carriers and now have 3G. Though I have fewer bars in the reception, I have much better call quality. I often just have 1 bar, but if I attempt to make a call it will immediately jump up to 4 or even 5 bars.

 

The unlocking was really easy. Called my first provider and they made clear what the charges would be. Then it was a matter of just doing a complete restore of the iPhone in iTunes. Good idea to make a full backup first I had to do the restore twice for iTunes to allow me to use another SIM from another provider. But the process was ok, though slow to do a double restore. Then I just restored my latest backup and everything was back to normal. I had to manually enter the APN, username and password for data connections, but that was easy as well.

 

This has now been done to both our iPhones (8GB and 16GB black). Both are just fine. The 8GB had a few problems crashing often, which seems to also have been rectified by the 2.0.1 and 2.0.2 updates. Much more stable now.

 

Here is the differences in software from 2.0.0 to 2.0.2

 

Release      2.0.0a       2.0.0b      2.0.1       2.0.2

Version      5A345        5A347       5B108       5C1
Modem FW     01.45.00     01.45.00    01.48.02    02.08.01

 

2.0.0a refers to the software the iPhone 3G came with out of the box.

iTunes had the 2.0.0b update even though it didnt show up as an upgrade option automatically.

 

At the rate updates are coming I feel more confident Apple is actually working and improving on the product.

 

And I am curious to see if some of the phones will be swapped in light of the Swedish test results in which they concluded the iPhone 3G was not quite up to specs. With the number of phones out there, I really hope it is just a software issue, but doubt it since two updates hasnt helped a lot of people. It could prove a costly affair to replace that many phones indeed.