How to increase iPhone signal strength

The Apple iPhone does many things well, but it also has its flaws. One of the biggest among some examples is an uncanny ability to drop calls or lose a signal without warning. Now someone has come up with a canny solution.

This is indeed the most ingenious method, it appears that attaching a small piece of scotch tape to the outer side of the iPhone's SIM card (the side of the SIM card that does not have metal contacts) can result in a surprising boost. Applying the notion that improper SIM contact can result in a weak signal.

In some cases, simply resetting the iPhone can resolve signal strength issues. Hold down the home and sleep buttons simultaneously until you see the white Apple logo, indicating that your iPhone has restarted.

Tap Settings, tap General, tap Reset, tap Reset Network Settings. This will cause your iPhone to restart, and will delete any stored Wi-Fi passwords as well as DNS settings and more. It can resolve signal strength issues in some cases.

If your iPhone's SIM card is not seated properly, signal strength can suffer. Try re-seating the SIM by pushing a straightened paper clip into the small hole on the top of the device to open the SIM tray, making sure the SIM Card is properly in place, then re-inserting the SIM tray. Also check for debris inside the tray or SIM card slot.

Click the Restore button under the Summary tab. Restoring the phone will erase contacts, calendars, photos and other data on the phone (including any third-party applications), but will restore automatically backed-up information including text messages, notes, call history, contact favorites, sound settings, widget settings, etc.

Some users have reported that restoring the iPhone, but not restoring custom settings data from the computer-stored backup alleviates this issue. Note that you'll lose text messages, notes, call history, contact favorites, sound settings, widget settings, etc with this method, though you can restore them anytime by simply doing another restore and choosing to push the backup to the phone.

Docking the iPhone or attaching it to a host computer via a USB cable (in turn delivering a charge) can boost signal strength dramatically. It's difficult to discern whether the signal is boosted by simply having a cable attached, or whether the power delivered during a charge boosts signal strength. Some users have found that simply attaching a dangling (not connected to anything) USB cable to the iPhone provides an instant boost in signal strength.

Several users are reporting a marked increase in dropped phone calls after updating to iPhone software/firmware 1.1.3. The typical symptoms are as follows: signal bars suddenly drop to zero and the display shows "call failed." As soon as the user manually ends the call, the signal strength immediately returns to normal. There are quite a few threads in Apple discussion boards regarding this issue and seems to have increased post iPhone firmware 1.1.3.

A number of users are reporting that iPhone software/firmware 1.1.4 does indeed provide a healthy boost in cell signal strength, which was severely degraded for some users under the 1.1.3 software/firmware revision. This enhancement stands in addition to a series of other undocumented fixes in 1.1.4. Apple updated the iPhone modem firmware with release 1.1.4, bringing it from version 4.03.13_G to version 4.0.4.05_G. The refined firmware is likely the cause of boosted signal strength.
Update version 1.1.4 is now available in iTunes.

iPhone - tools, gadgets and resources

Official Apple iPhone site

iPhone-Magic.com

iPhone Nova