i-phone geeks: I need your help

[Polly D]

Help.

My i-phone (3G) suddenly stopped working last Friday afternoon. It said no signal, and has done ever since, and it's def not just a signal issue. At first I could still use the internet, just not the phone/messages, I guess cos I was at home so connected through wifi but now I can't get anything from it all.

I spoke to Orange at great length on Saturday to report it, and last night, and in between they sent me a new SIM card, which has made no difference to the problem.

Anyone heard of this being a problem before and might know which buttons I need to press?

I can't bear to ring Orange for the 3rd time and go through the whole palaver.

Thanks

P

[KidKruger]

Have you checked general settings to make sure you have not disabled network settings or something like that ?

I am not a techie either but the network-related info is pretty easy to find and may show something is switched 'oof' when you need it 'on'.

Also try googling your description of the problem.

[karter]

Also, try switching it off then on. No doubt you have tried that. What KK said too.

[mockney piers]

It might be worth trying a reboot (otherwise known as a hard reset) "press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button together for at least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears."

Have you tried your sim card in another phone to see if that is the problem?

Basically I think all phones are programmed to act up after 12-18 months with random failures such as signal drop off, and generally be a PITA so we're forced to upgrade, but that would be the cynic in me.

Apple products are notorious for batteries suddenly dying off and battery issues can cause all sorts of other problems.

Mine simply stopped charging (not helped by mocklet drool in the power port) so I've just put my sim into an old phone until upgrade time (next month, woo hoo)

[michelle-b]

If you can get into town, I recommend getting an appointment at the genius bar. A work colleague of mine had signal issues and he was given a new handset.

[Sandperson]

I was going to say the same thing. You'd be amazed what they will do for you at the Genius bar. I took my comp in the other day with a backlight problem and they repaired it for ?25 and replaced the case and keyboard for free. a colleague had an iPhone problem and got a replacement for ?40.

[ClareC]

What and where is the Genius Bar? Sounds great? Handset manufacturers tend to only warrant handsets for a year..... Says a lot IMO!!

[Applespider]

It's in any Apple store but you need to make an appointment at most of the London branches. You can do that online at Apple's website. Tell them the problem, they'll try to fix it and what the cost would be if any

If you've got a recent backup before Friday (it backs up each time you synch), you could try a restore from iTunes first too.

[Marmora Man]

I second the Apple Store genius bar solution.

My wife's 23 month old iPhone3 had problems and yesterday they simply swapped the phone for a refurbished iPhone 3 and extended the warranty period for a further 3 months. No questions, no quibble and all managed by a very helpful assistant who gave us additional advice.

[LadyDeliah]

I used the Apple Genius Bar in Regent Street for a signal problem and they gave me a brand new handset after saving all my data and uploading it onto the new phone for me (as I hadn't backed it up onto Itunes).

I hadn't booked an appointment but was able to do so instore for the same day on their computer and waited about 2 hours in total.

Definitely worth taking your iphone straight to them.

[ratty]

Exactly the same problem on my iphone was solved by a hard reset on Monday!

[Polly D]

Thanks so much all. I tried the hard reset - didn't work. I haven't got another phone to try the sim card in either. And it's a new sim card now so I suspect it's the phone that's the problem.

I'm liking the sound of the genius bar: maybe I can nip there at lunchtime tomorrow. Especially if they can save all the data.

Thank you dear forumites.

[Polly D]

The genius bar thing worked - well, they gave me a new phone (no charge). Amazing service. However, I had to queue for ages, despite having an appointment. A word of warning for anyone else trying it.

Thanks so much for advice.