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Rogers iPhone 3G Owners discussion and review thread

54K views 159 replies 57 participants last post by  canabiz 
#1 ·
Well it arrives July 11th and I know many of us would love to have one of these babies. I for one can't afford one but hope to someday!

If you have get one, please tell the Digital Forum members what you think and your review!

Thanks in advance

Signed,
Sad in Toronto

(Folks wishing to discuss whether they should buy one or pricing please post on other threads. This thread is strictly for the lucky ones that have one!)
 
#2 · (Edited)
Deleted some posts. This thread is for anyone who actually has an iPhone 3G ! Non-owners please use existing threads to discuss the launch and other stuff about the iPHone.


EDIT: AT&T in the U.S. is saying the Apple activation server is not working. The result is that buyers are being sent home with the devices not activated.
 
#3 ·
Haven't had much time to play yet...ok, no time, but my first complaint would be the fact that the enrollment system went down and after an hour in the store ZERO activations had been completed. You'd think Rogers would have been prepared for the rush...oh, wait, I forgot, this is Rogers we're talking about. I think I'm going to ask for my activation fee back...:D
 
#5 ·
I didn't realize it was an Apple issue. That's even worse than it being a Rogers problem!!!! Since I spent almost 2 hrs getting the bloody thing and I should have been in the office, it's still in the box so I can't confirm whether you can do anything with it or not. I'm assuming you need to activate it before you can do anything with it, but I'm not positive on that.
 
#9 ·
I have no idea how this happened but my phone activated itself even though I am unable to access the itunes store - like everyone else trying to activate there iphones I kept getting error code 9838 and error code 4 but all of sudden presto - my phone is activated. I am still unable to view my device via itunes thus still do not have the ability to do any syncing. At least my phone is usable though! Can download some apps as well.
 
#10 ·
Apparently the thing to do is just keep clicking OK when the error pops up, then click on a playlist or something, and then click back on the iPhone in the Devices section - do not eject and unplug the iPhone each time.

It took about 20 times, but it finally worked for me and I am syncing my music and apps now.

I will post about the phone itself and service and such once I use it for a bit.

One weird sidenote: my iMac is making weird beeping and buzzing sounds every once in a while. The volume cannot be controlled with the volume buttons or anything. It's like a system error sound or something. Kind of spooky. Once the iPhone is sycned, I'll reboot and hope for the best.
 
#13 ·
One weird sidenote: my iMac is making weird beeping and buzzing sounds every once in a while. The volume cannot be controlled with the volume buttons or anything. It's like a system error sound or something.
That's probably RF interference from the iPhone leaking into the audio system of the iMac. Same problem is common with the original iPhone, various BlackBerry's and other smartphones around various audio devices (amplifiers, speaker systems, conference phones, etc).

It is caused by the transmitter of the phone when it sends data over the cellular data network. If you move the phone a little further away from the iMac it should reduce the interference noise.
 
#16 ·
After a full night of playing around with the iphone, I must say I am impressed. I've never had it so easy to enter all my contacts. As a .mac (or mobileme) member, I just set up the push function on the phone and I had barely finished entering the numbers into my contact list on the macbook when they just showed up in the phone. Didn't even have to sync with itunes.

I had to try out the App store. Downloaded Mahjong and Bomberman. They both play great. The funny thing was, the setup seemed very similar to that of the menus from the jailbreak software...

The one thing I will say is, I can see how someone might use up their data quick. I watched only a few 30 second videos on youtube and used more than 2 MB. Now I don't plan on watching many videos or anything like that on the phone, so I think I'll be hard pressed to use up 6GB, but I could see people using up the data pretty quick in the 400 / 750 MB monthly iphone plans.

One thing I didn't even know about until just before I went to get the phone was the addition of the $15 Iphone value pack. I had assumed this was only available in an iphone plan so I was surprised to see it available with visual voicemail.

Day 1, outside of the setup debacle, has been a success.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I, too, am very impressed with this gadget. I have been on it pretty much nonstop.

* Rogers' reception is very spotty in my house, unfortunately. When I do get some bars on 3G, the speed is very good. I did download the app "Things," as well as a song from iTunes over Edge and it was still not bad at all.

* The first time I typed an SMS, I was annoyed at the iPhone and my clumsy fingers. Then I remembered a video I had watched where the guy said "just trust the iPhone prediction capabilities and type away." I started doing that and I now can't believe how fast I can type on it. Literally two hours after owning it I feel like I am typing the fastest I've ever typed on a phone/Blackberry/etc. and it will just get better.

* The App Store is fantastic, except I found it odd that you cannot click on the manufacturer's website link in the info section and load it in Safari. Maybe this was just a bug, and I haven't checked since, but I found it odd.

* GPS is amazing. It pinpointed my EXACT location in about 15 seconds. Our street is a very short loop with about 15 houses on each side of the street. The GPS dot was bang-on, and Google Maps looks fantastic. I can't wait to use this while travelling.

* The only mail account I have set up is my regular Gmail account (no IMAP/POP). It works great, except the labels function doesn't work as I thought. I chose to label an e-mail as "friends," but it seemed to "move" the message to that "folder," and remove it from the Inbox. So it seems that applying a label removes the Inbox label, which is not what I want at all!

* I use Google Calendar and I have "synced" it to iCal. The Calendar app looks nice and I love how it is set up in month mode: There is a dot below the date if there are events on that day and then the bottom section is scrollable with all your events.

* The camera is surprisingly good. A million times better than the one in my KRZR or Moto v710. I am excited to finally be able to take presentable photos on the go. The option in the Facebook app to take a photo and automatically upload it to "Mobile Uploads" is great.

* YouTube loads very quickly. On EDGE, it was a bit painful, but 3G was great, and Wifi was instantaneous.

* I love the ease of use of the Contacts. My only problem is that it is not syncing all of my Address Book contacts.. I can't figure out why yet. First bug for me, and it's fairly annoying.

* The NY Times app is nicely done. I have also already successfully used the PayPal app to send some money. I have used the new Apple Remote app, but with my current set up it isn't super useful. I can see it being awesome for Apple TV though, or if your Mac is hooked up to your TV, or if you have your Mac set up close enough to watch from bed or something.

* Call clarity is excellent, much better than my KRZR. And a few friends have commented that it is easier to hear me as well.

* Making calls, sending TXTs, etc. is a breeze and I haven't had a hiccup yet.

* I am wondering about the reception, though. As I mentioned, it is spotty with Rogers, sometimes I have 3G in the basement, and sometimes I get NO SERVICE. The wifi was also a bit flaky upstairs (my router is downstairs), and this has never happened with my MacBook. Not sure if these are issues with just my unit, or if the reception is a bit iffy in all units. I am sure if I am in the heart of Halifax, I will get some nice 3G reception, but I am not very far from a 3G tower, so I should be getting good reception here.

* Battery Life: I can see me charging this every 2-3 days over the summer (I am a teacher, so I am off and will be playing with this thing every day). During work time, I might get away with a weekly charge. Wifi and 3G seem to suck the most, but I have been doing a bit of everything, so I am not surprised that it is at half battery after one day.

* Glossy Back: It looked very awesome for about 1 minute. Now it is a fingerprint and smudge magnet. And it already had a few tiny scratches in it, and it hasn't been near anything except my pocket (no keys, change, etc.) and my ottoman. I think I prefer the brushed metal, just as I prefer my 2G Nano's finish over the 1G's plastic. I think I will purchase a rubber skin case.

* Screen: Stunning. Sometimes it stays fairly clean and other times I feel the need to wipe it. It's really bad when you make calls - it's easy to let your face rub up against it, and with the summer heat, it's getting a bit of sweat. The included cleaning cloth is decent. I am going to make sure I have a microfiber cloth at work, and maybe even in the car, because I am bit anal about it. I am not worried about scratching though - it is very tough.
 
#19 ·
Change calendar alerts?

Does anyone know if there as a way to change the volume and type of the calendar alerts? If I have one issue so far its that I keep missing my calendar events as I don't hear the alert and it doesn't vibrate.
 
#20 ·
Ordered Mine on Friday

I ordered a 16gb Iphone on Friday - I presently have a BB Pearl, has anyone "unbricked" their Iphone at home? Do you use your present sim card or do you use the sim that comes with the Iphone? The rep said it was straight forward...any tips?
The gadget should be here mid week...I'll report back then on my experience...
 
#22 ·
I ordered a 16gb Iphone on Friday - I presently have a BB Pearl, has anyone "unbricked" their Iphone at home? Do you use your present sim card or do you use the sim that comes with the Iphone? The rep said it was straight forward...any tips?
The gadget should be here mid week...I'll report back then on my experience...
Popereel, I'm in the same boat as you, I have BB Pearl and also ordered my Iphone on friday. The Rogers Rep Said that I could use the sim in the BB Pearl or the one that comes with the Iphone.
 
#21 ·
has anyone "unbricked" their Iphone at home? Do you use your present sim card or do you use the sim that comes with the Iphone
I had to unbrick my iPhone at home. I did it yesterday during the time when it was widely reported the systems were down. It took forever, but it worked.

No clue about the SIM card - I was a new Rogers customer.
 
#24 ·
Good Tip!

Thanks Polaris...that makes sense. Hopefully the change over will go flawless :eek:. When I finally get the Iphone operating, I plan on bumping my $11.00 communicate package up to the new $15.00 Visual voicemail.
So I plan on keeping my BB voice package (it was a promotion when I switched to Rogers) $40.00 - 700 anytime minutes, unlimited evenings and weekends plus extras and then add the $30.00 6gb data plan - I think it will be hard to beat.
It will end up increasing my bill by $9.00 and I get way more data :cool:
 
#26 ·
Just got my iPhone.... Just walked at the Eaton Center on lunch time (in Montreal).. and at the small Fido booth.... saw a line of 2 persons... and just asked... and they just got a 10 iphone 8gb..... :)

It's so nice... of course i had the iPod Touch... so nothing so new. And yeah i took the 30$ / 6Gb...

So far, my only complain.... the yellowish screen compare to the iPod Touch...

and also the fack you cant do your own ringtones... A mp3 player full of music but can't do your own ringtones....
 
#28 ·
Battery/charging issues?

My wife has had trouble charging her iPhone. She had it plugged in (A/C outlet) all last night and it said it was charging. She found however that the indicator never budged from the slim red line she was left with. Tried it with the USB cable and had trouble until she rebooted it... then she thought it was actually taking a charge.

Anyone else have issues?
 
#30 ·
Battery Problem...

Here's what happened... called Apple and they told me to do a Restore!! So it basically backed up the iPhone, re-installed the OS, then re-synched, then had to wait 4 hours for it to charge... it then worked. They said the battery sensor sometimes gets messed up.
 
#31 · (Edited)
IPhone Received today

Well my newest gadget arrived today - plugged it in, synced to Itunes - but did not activate - called Rogers and he had me take out the sim and put it back in - did the trick...now I'm busy learning its many functions.
I'm trying to determine whether the browser/cell network actually shuts down once you press the button at 6:00 and the screen returns to the desktop. I'm also wondering if the unit will toggle from wifi to cell network (3g or EDGE) on it's own depending on the strength of the wifi network.
Film at eleven.
One other thing...has anyone tried to get Telus Email connected...my GMail works fine but it keeps saying that the sst is unable to connect?

FYI - finally connected to Telus....
 
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