sprites & bites
Odd iPhone Behaviour
I have a really strange problem with my iPhone 3G and nowhere can I find information on the exact problem.
Actually it is two problems but I think they are all connected to 3G calling.
1) Sometimes when making or receiving calls instead of the person I get a very loud shrieking down the phone like a fax machine on drugs.
2) Last two weeks I have had problems receiving calls – swiping the finger on the accept call does not accept the call and it keeps ringing. Sometimes it does swipe but does not accept the call and other times it is not swiping at all like the swipe is stuck. Yet if I hold the power off button, it successfully swipes to switch off – and that is the only way I can get the phone to stop ringing.
3) Third problem is linked to number 2 and actually is the most bizarre problem of them all. Last night someone called me and it got stuck not being able to receive the call. So I shut it down and the person called me on my house phone. Whilst I was speaking to them on their house phone, their same number was ringing me on my iPhone. It was like a delayed reaction and when I switched the iPhone back on it decided to carry on trying to accept the previous call – which was actually by then non-existant as the phone was being used in this other call. Sound confusing? Well yes it is hard to explain but basically my phone was ringing for a call that was made 2 minutes prior to that.
I am pretty sure that it does not exhibit these problems when 3G is switched off, but really I do not want to keep having to switch it on and off when I want a faster net connection.
I have spoken to Apple just now who have heard of random calling problems, but never ghost calls like described in problem 3. They want to take it in for surgery but I need my phone. Nearest Apple Care store is in London which is a bit too far for me. Or I can pay £29 and have a new phone sent to me at the same time they collect the other. I don’t see why I have to pay to not be without a phone.
I will try the firmware upgrade tonight when it is available and see if that helps to fix it but I really think the phone is actually faulty.
Has anyone else heard of these sort of problems before – especially interested in anyone who has had a similar problem as number 3.
6 Comments so far ...
Just restore the phone and everything will be alright
Comment on July 20, 2009 05:05 pmHello Anon, I have tried several restores and it has not fixed the problem. It is actually a fault with the phone.
Comment on July 20, 2009 06:51 pmI have posted my iPhone 3GS issues somewhere else but want to share them on your blog as well:
*1 My iPhone 3GS has made calls on its own a couple of times, last night I left it on a side table in my living room, and went to my bedroom around 10:10. Then around 11:00 I was online with my laptop and my friend said I called him, which I didnt so I went and checked my phone and it had a Recent call from 10:21. I was not even close to the phone when it made this call. This is scary, as I’ve read that people have had this happen to them and the person who is being called in the background can hear your conversations without you having a clue.
*2 My iPhone has also started playing ipod music on its own without me doing anything to start it. I also have read others have reported this. Very strange!
*3 Auto-brightness on my 3GS seems odd, it doesn’t seem to follow a steady pattern, I always keep the brightness under 40% and auto-brightness on.
When it’s locked and I hit the home button the screen seems pretty bright, then right after I unlock it and I can see all the icons it looks much darker. Also, as others have reported, it does not seem bright enough in brighter places and when the surroundings are dimmer the screen appears much brighter.
*4 This is getting even weirder: I have email notifications off and only fetch new info when I open my email program, email program was not running, iphone locked and in my pocket and it made that little sounds it does when fetching new data, twice in less than 20 min, completely random.
I am starting to feel frustated, specially because of the ghost calls! should I go to the apple store? I found several posts where people have reported this but nobody came up with an answer.
Comment on September 16, 2009 02:49 amHello Eduardo, yes they are certainly odd behaviours and maybe you shoudl take it to the store and have them look at it, especially when you say it is making calls by itself. that needs to be looked into and you might need a replacement.
Comment on September 16, 2009 07:44 amI still havent found a fix for my phone issues. they say i have to send it in but that would leave me phoneless for several weeks.
I have a similar problem. Searched the net but still no solution.
I have a 2G iphone with firmware 1.1.4 and I recently upgraded it to OS 3.0.
I can send messages, receive messages, make outgoing calls but i CAN’T RECEIVE CALLS.
I restored it more than 6 times, still nothing. I jail-broke it with redsnow 0.8.
When I restore it, I can get calls for few minutes (i checked it with my house phone) but after that it says something like ”the subscriber you called is unavailable”. It’s like my iphone is turned off which is not.
I noticed that if I change the status of Call Waiting to ON/OFF it can receive calls for a few minutes and then the problem reappears.
I am at dead end.
PS. I reboot it, restore it and still nothing.
Comment on October 11, 2009 11:47 pmHello Andreas, I am not sure what to suggest really. If the problem has occurred since you upgraded the firmware then it should be Apple’s responsibility to fix it. However getting them to actually do it without them charging you is another matter. The other thing is you jailbroke the phone and Apple may deny responsibility for it as it is not allowed under their terms.
I think the best thing you can do at the moment if you already haven’t is to log on to the forums of redsnow and ask advice in there about it. It may be they have come across the problem before and are in a better position to advise.
Comment on October 12, 2009 10:04 am