iPhone 3G Issues Persist Despite Latest Firmware

While Apple seems to finally have a handle on their MobileMe difficulties, it appears iPhone 3G issues persist despite the most recent firmware updates. The two most notable issues include 3G reception problems and iPhone application crashing.

The issue with 3G connectivity has been previously covered and results in some customers experiencing frequently dropped calls. It has been said that this issue is affecting 2% of iPhone 3G owners and will be fixable with a software update.

Monday's release of the 2.0.2 iPhone firmware brought some hope to affected users. An Apple spokesperson officially stated that the 2.0.2 firmware "improves communication with 3G networks". Despite these fixes, the problem appears to remain for some users. In fact, one woman is now suing Apple and seeking class action status due to dropped calls and "slower than advertised" speeds:

In a 10-page complaint, Jessica Smith alleges that Apple's latest handset is much slower than advertised and is prone to dropping calls. Smith is seeking class-action status as these issues could potentially affect thousands of consumers, she said.

The other issue affecting some iPhone users is one where all 3rd party applications fail to launch and audio and video media disappear from the iPhone. While some can recover from this problem with a firmware restore, others are finding they have to take more drastic measures. Arstechnica details a method in which some users are downgrading to an earlier version of iTunes in order to fix this problem.

Purported emails from Steve Jobs have said that Apple is also aware of this problem and will be providing a software update in September to address it.