Comments on: iPhone 101: iPhone Connection Speed Symbols from O to E to 3G (or an Airplane)

By: HandofJude

HandofJude — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:57:29 +0000

Here in Berkeley California, I cannot stress more the ever-changing connections I get. I can get every kind of speed in a minute of use. E to O to 3G to nothing at all.

By: Bazza

Bazza — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:05:59 +0000

That is the portrait orientation lock. When it's on you screen won't change angle when you turn your phone sideways. To deactivate, the easiest way is to double click your home button to get you menu bar up, scroll left until you reach the music controls and you'll see an enlarged symbol of that. Click to activate and deactivate.

By: Steadysmiling

Steadysmiling — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:22:00 +0000

I have a lock symbol at the top next to the battery life that has a arrowed circle around it, what does that mean?

By: guest

guest — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:38:00 +0000

I have a lock symbol with an arrow circling part way around it on the top section of my iphone next to the battery level. What is this and how do I change or turn it off?

By: Vinny the trumpet / jehovah

Vinny the trumpet / jehovah — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 22:22:00 +0000

Frog higgywiggy vartch jibjab! And wood wood speedy Gonzales Jehovah flipflop

By: Loraine Flanagan

Loraine Flanagan — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks did the job!

By: Fg

Fg — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 22:37:00 +0000

Portrait Orientation is locked. Unlock it in music controls in the multitasking pane.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 22:34:00 +0000

TTY

By: Talonco

Talonco — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 17:21:00 +0000

I have this new icon that just showed up to the left of the Bluetooth icon at the top that I have never seen before. It is a lock with a arrow going around it. Does anyone know what this is for?

By: Triona

Triona — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 23:28:00 +0000

I used to be able to connect to wifi but now it won't let me it just says no wifi and won't even let me search for a wifi connection

By: John

John — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 22:03:00 +0000

I have it, too. My WAZE app leaves it on if I use the home button to quit Waze. Quitting from within Waze Itself turns it off. Could this mean the GPS is left on to drain my battery?

By: Don

Don — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 18:46:00 +0000

I wanna turn off edge.....

By: Abbz

Abbz — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 09:23:00 +0000

Portrait Orientation is locked. i.e. when you tilt the phone the screen doesn't rotate.

Double tap the home button and drag the menu bar to the right to see the symbol. Tap to toggle.

By: Abbz

Abbz — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 09:22:00 +0000

Portrait Orientation is locked. i.e. when you tilt the phone the screen doesn't rotate.

Double tap the home button and drag the menu bar to the right to see the symbol. Tap to toggle.

By: Uridissie

Uridissie — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:40:00 +0000

go to settings> network> and turn off Enable 3G and CDN

By: Kristiegiuntoli

Kristiegiuntoli — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 19:28:00 +0000

I have a lock symbole with a arrow going to the right in the right top corner wat does it nean?

By: Kristiegiuntoli

Kristiegiuntoli — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 19:16:00 +0000

I have a lock symbole on the right top of my phone with a corcle arrow aroind it wat does it mean

By: Kaseyb_27

Kaseyb_27 — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 07:08:00 +0000

I have a padlock symbol with arrow going around it in the right corner next to the battery. Wat does it mean n how do I get rid of it??

By: Tommy

Tommy — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 20:22:00 +0000

Ok i have had the O EVERYWHERE! And im sitting next to my cuzn and he has full bars of 3g! I cant turn my 3g on either! Wen i do, i get NO signal. I turned Airplane mode on and off to reset my signal and still nothn. I go down town, my house, EVERYWHERE and nothing! So wen i turn 3g off, i get O. THATS IT! My WiFi is greyed out too! So i cant Download anything! Theres no Apple stores near by! Its like 100 and somth miles away. Its very annoying! So before i send it in or make that trip, i wanna see if i can fix it. Ive restored, soft reset, EVERYTHING! PLEASEEE someone help! (

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 21:31:00 +0000

you brits should fix your teeth

By: Kaelyngreer

Kaelyngreer — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 01:31:00 +0000

My iPhone says it's connected to wifi but has an "E" at the top and doesn't show it's connected. Am I still using wifi?

By: Jajapop

Jajapop — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 02:23:00 +0000

I want to use just wifi, and turn anything else off, otherwise TELCEL (mexican cellphone tyrans) will charme me an eye, you know how to avoid this? I mean getting 3g before wifi?

By: Power Steve

Power Steve — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:35:00 +0000

It means that call forwarding is turned on.

By: Koalas_28

Koalas_28 — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 01:03:00 +0000

please I have an icon on the top left corner and its a phone with an arrow going to the right what does this mean?

By: James

James — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 03:35:00 +0000

France

By: Kmlitman

Kmlitman — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:47:00 +0000

Will an "e" connection affect my apps? Always had a 3G network and they worked fine. Today (with an E network). They don't work, although I have basic Internet (safari, iTunes store,ect)

By: Blair

Blair — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:37:00 +0000

I'm with optus (Australia) anywhere in my town gets 3G but in my house I don't get any 3G at all I live within 1km from a 3G tower. I have voiced my problems with optus in the past and they always ask if I have a metal roof (which I don't) and always say they will submit a service issue to the service team which I never hear back from. I will always get NO SERVICE or 1 bar O but recently I've been getting a couple of bars of E and didn't know what thar was

By: Gibbon

Gibbon — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 22:40:00 +0000

Frogs taste nice

By: Gempac

Gempac — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 21:59:00 +0000

Learn some civility.

BTW, no single country is exempt from their share of fat asses.

...and where are you located? Canada or the U.K.? Look around you.

By: Gempac

Gempac — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 21:51:00 +0000

I saw the "o" symbol for the first time today. Thanks for explaining.

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 02:04:21 +0000

Got to phone settings and turn TTY off

By: Pablo

Pablo — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:04:00 +0000

I'm trying to figure Out what's that simbol... A phone over 7 little squares (4 & 3 ) It appears on the right side next to the battery Any idea? Cheers

By: Jordan

Jordan — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 12:52:19 +0000

Okay, so, you double-tap the home button as if you were going to multitask, and swipe to the left to the part where you can control your music. The same padlock is there. Tap it to turn it off.

By: Gracie

Gracie — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 12:39:02 +0000

i have the iphone 3s and have noticed that there is a padlock with a three quarter circle with a arrow symbol up near the battery life symbol. My phone will not go into landscape mode so i guess that is what it meant, But can you please tell me haw to take it off.

By: Jordan

Jordan — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 23:46:15 +0000

Wow...their customer service isn't that good, lol. Anyways, if you get the "Charging is not supported with this accessory" screen, that means they definitely damaged your dock connector. Also, if it is indeed a 3G SIM card, then it should now support 3G.

By: Jordan

Jordan — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 23:37:28 +0000

It seems when people drive through certain states (i.e. North Dakota, South Dakota) they get either E's or O's. I live in New Jersey, and I always have 3-5 bars and always on 3G. I've only seen E once, and it was a screw-up because I accidentally pressed on the SIM card tray. If you're getting E, O, or NO SERVICE in an area with normally good connection, or then icons hop around when your standing still or walking around your house or a small area, I advise going to your local phone store and fixing/getting a new SIM card for your phone. Also, check the 3G option in your Settings. If you have it turned off, turn it on. It will fix the problem.

By: Chimp

Chimp — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:18:29 +0000

My phone stays on E some days and other days on 3G and it happens at the same location. Why is that?

By: Hoss

Hoss — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:16:32 +0000

I live in west Virginia along the Ohio river. Less than a quarter mile out my road I have full service , 3G etc. At my house I can barely send a text. And for sure not have any 3G -E- or o. Thanks AT&T

By: Taylor

Taylor — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 21:34:43 +0000

It means your screen rotation is locked (turn your phone to the side, screen never flips). Double tap home to bring up the task bar thing, drag it to the right until you see the music player widget, and you can toggle it there

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:35:00 +0000

So do it. Talk is cheap.

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:30:28 +0000

You're dumb.

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:15:17 +0000

Go suck a fat one while you use "yank" devices

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:12:52 +0000

North Dakota sucks, donchyaknow?

By: paul

paul — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:06:55 +0000

what does an @ symbol with a lock mean

By: Neil C

Neil C — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 12:11:02 +0000

I may have an answer of sorts. According to my local O2 shop (my UK service provider) I have an old SIM card, and they have given me a shiny new "3G" SIM card to swap to. They say this should allow me to get a 3G data connection.

However they managed to brick my phone by resetting it and pulling the SIM card (to see if it was an "old" one) during the restart. They took 2 hours of messing about to not fix it (and may have damaged the dock connector in the process).

I managed to restore the phone at home (but lost 3 weeks worth of texts, recent phone numbers I'd added, photos I'd taken and apps)... but now I get "Charging is not supported with this accessory" on the Lock splash screen.

O2 have given me a £20 credit on my account, but I haven't tried the new SIM card yet.

By: Jasyn

Jasyn — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:45:41 +0000

mine seems to always be showing the E and sometimes the o. cant seem to get the 3G to work...

By: Neil C

Neil C — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 09:35:57 +0000

I have a UK-based iPhone 3G that has never displayed "3G" - it's always "o" or "E"... until I was in Spain a few days ago. Somehow my Data Roaming was left "on" (it's normally "off")and for the first time I saw "3G" appear next to the Spanish network name, on several occasions. I'm back home now and can't get "3G" to appear even when I'm standing next to someone with an iPhone that has it. Any suggestions what's going on? I'm mystified.

By: Nick

Nick — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:05:13 +0000

I have an o showing at the top left hand corner. although I'm connected to wifi (not showing up top - but if I go into settings it says I'm connected) & no 3G Can anyone explain whats going on!!! All apps are taking forever to get into.

By: Anna

Anna — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 09:31:51 +0000

Thanks for the input. I first noticed the E on my iPhone 3G today, mainly at the time i wake it from sleep, then it changes to the wifi connection symbol in a second or two. I realise now it is because I disabled my 3G mode last night to help save my battery life. I didn't notice it at work today (within the CBD and a different wifi) and only became obvious here at home. So that explains it. THANKS!

By: Frank

Frank — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 07:25:24 +0000

iPhone 3gs, How do you turn TTY off?

By: James

James — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:01:50 +0000

The reason you Yanks have never seen anything other than a 3G symbol is because you sit on your fat asses in the same place all day... Try taking a trip somewhere that doesn't have a wifi hotspot!

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:50:58 +0000

The telephone with the dots under it means TTY is on. You can get rid of it by going into settings, selecting "phone" and turning TTY off.

By: Stu

Stu — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:40:12 +0000

Greg, check you have a 3G sim card, network operators tend to forget to send them out! give them a ring and they'll post one to you.

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:54:57 +0000

My wife and I bought Iphones (3G) at the same time. Hers seems to always have the little 3G symbol in the upper left and mine always has the E (mine never says 3G). Wonder what's up with this?

By: kryptoswiccan

kryptoswiccan — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 06:59:13 +0000

Great blog. thanks for the info.=D

By: mencken

mencken — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:01:48 +0000

Fargo, North Dakota, more often than not: an o symbol. AT&T sucks.

By: Edmon

Edmon — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:38:21 +0000

thanks for sharing these terminologies.

By: Tara

Tara — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:13:15 +0000

as far as the little o symbol, the first and only time i ever saw it was in Banff (In the Canadian rockies)

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:57:03 +0000

I was in a Mexican border city and my phone would jump from TelCel 3G to Movistar 3G to AT&T E. As I got closer to the the international bridge, it jumped back to AT&T 3G. I was wondering what the E was all about, thanks for clearing that up.

By: DontStepOnMyJ's

DontStepOnMyJ's — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:31:00 +0000

Denis: Yes one should always be present (unless on airplane mode).

By: DontStepOnMyJ's

DontStepOnMyJ's — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:28:35 +0000

Very helpful. Thanks.

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:49:57 +0000

On my i-phone it has something like a telephone and some dots underneath it. What does it mean??

By: Denis

Denis — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:13:40 +0000

I a have just got an iphone and I am wondering if one of the 3g,E or o symbols should be present all the time?

By: Daniel

Daniel — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:36:53 +0000

I live in Richmond hill in Toronto and always have either 3g wifi or e. Never an o, and an e like once

By: Jen

Jen — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:59:12 +0000

Ugh, thank you so much! I'm in BFE and have been searching why my phone had an E, and couldn't get an answer to save my life.

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:10:00 +0000

Ive just changed from 3 network to Optus in Australia, I think I made a mistake.... With 3 I always had 3G showing or at the very least E, now it jumps from 3G to 0 in the same room in the same position, think I'll go back to 3 when my 12 months with Craptus is up.....

By: Yazeed Yasin

Yazeed Yasin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:19:29 +0000

I was wondering if someone here can help me out with a problem I've been having with my iPhone 3GS. My 3G, E and O symbols (basically all the data symbols) have disappeared and I can no longer access data on the move. Wifi works fine when I am in range. If I reset mu network settings two or three times then the data symbols come back and I am able to once again access data but this is only temporary and sooner or later they disappear again and I am left with only the signal bar andthe carrier name (etisalat). I've contacted the carrier several times and they don't seem to know what the problem is. I am desparate for some input and help and so if you think you can help me figure out this mystery please let me know.

By: codevolunt

codevolunt — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:54:54 +0000

Really helpful, thanks! And well-presented too.

By: Tala

Tala — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 10:50:38 +0000

ON MY I-PHONE IT HAS SOMETHING LIKE A TELEPHONE AND SOME DOTS UNDERNEATH IT. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?? PLEASE HELP!

By: Tala

Tala — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 10:45:06 +0000

On my i-phone it has something like a telephone and some dots underneath it. What does it mean?? please help! ASAP!

By: Nat Julian Belza

Nat Julian Belza — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:15:02 +0000

Thanks to this very informative post. It helped me understand what my iPhone is telling me.

kind regards,

-Nat

By: Justdoit

Justdoit — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:43:26 +0000

It is a shame that I live less than 1.5 miles away from Apple HQ in Cupertino- Monta Vista area only not to get any service. 80% of the time it is "No Service" or barely any connections I see either an E or Little o. To top these problems I have dropped calls or no calls at all. It sucks around my home. It is OK in other areas but not good as Verizon coverage. AT&T has done nothing in this area other than bringing U-verse to my area. I have complained so many times and nothing changes. I plan to return the phone and cancel service.

By: Robert

Robert — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:25:40 +0000

I live in London and frequently find myself on E or O. Not like it's a major population centre or anything, only 10 million of us...

By: tina

tina — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:15:48 +0000

how do u change it back to 3g every since i got it its been saying e

By: AriaM

AriaM — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:10:10 +0000

I have had the iPhone for 7 months now, and never had a 3G connection! I always have the E! Somethings wrong here...

By: Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:00:47 +0000

Peterborough, UK. Solid 5 bars of signal and permanently on GPRS. Come on O2, time to upgrade.

By: CK

CK — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:07:43 +0000

Thanks for the airplane mode on/off tip to force AT&T to try harder. Very helpful.

By: idarkluc

idarkluc — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:10:19 +0000

in bristol (uk), i get full 3g throughout the city. currentl on hols in n. devon. many places no sig at all! or 1 bar of phone sig, but no data connection, or juat gprs. here in ilfracombe, got 5 bars & gprs, if i turn 3g on, i lose all signal! is this normal?

By: Curt

Curt — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:58:55 +0000

What does the telliphone symble next to my battery mean it's a blue phone looking symble and it showed up only after I got the e service... But when I got the e I had no service I had full bars but no out going call or texts or anything would work until I got 3g back why don't they just make it say no service instead of makeing me look like a dumb ass out side of my own club I'm promoting for and can't get ahold of any oft VIPs... Kinda stupid if you ask me. Really made me rethink of staying with the iPhone for my work or as any phone after this. Not impressed at all via iPhone

By: John K

John K — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 03:10:51 +0000

I'm driving through Fargo, ND right now and it's jumping from E to O. It sucks.

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 03:25:16 +0000

I get the O (GPRS) from time to time. In the center of San Francisco. Pathetic.

By: Nigel

Nigel — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:51:05 +0000

I'm very disappointed in Rogers right now. I'm in ne Calgary Alberta Canada on my iPhone 3gs and have been looking at the o for a good 1/2 hour now. 

By: Windy

Windy — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:38:23 +0000

Also areas of no signal and strangely good signal at the beach.

By: Windy

Windy — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:36:56 +0000

I live in a very hilly area between a large town and the coast in California and I mostly get an E at my house. Signal strength is very up and down even when im staying in the same place even though there's a tower up the street. I've had the o and no service a few times. As far as the map shows I'm about a mile west of the 3g area.

By: Sonja

Sonja — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:53:38 +0000

While travelling in the Dakotas was mostly o.

By: Sonja

Sonja — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:48:49 +0000

While travelling in the Dakotas I was in a constant o or no signal at all.

By: DavidB

DavidB — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:04:41 +0000

Andre - your phone (voice) indicator is your phone provider's name at the right of the signal bars. 3G/E/0/WiFi are the symbols for your data connection. They are different animals.

By: Andre

Andre — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 05:14:43 +0000

I find it a bit irratating that when I'm on wifi at home. I can't see what cell reception I'm on, i.e. 3G, EDGE or o. The wifi fan masks over the others. Can't we have 2 seperare indicators?

By: Greyscale

Greyscale — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:25:01 +0000

O2 do support EDGE, it's just that their coverage is rather bad, a bit like their 3G coverage actually.

By: Allister

Allister — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:43:50 +0000

As Steven mentions, once in Airplane mode, you can turn Wi-Fi back on. Then you can surf in peace with no pesky calls.

By: Philly Z!

Philly Z! — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:29:09 +0000

3G Full bars in the Chicago burbs, and even all 5 bars of 3G at my College, Illinois State!

Go Redbirds!!!

By: avt

avt — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:09:54 +0000

3G 5 bars everywhere. Lovin it.

By: J-Califorina

J-Califorina — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:40:19 +0000

Always have 3G & 5 Bar's wherever I go.. Tunnels anywhere AT&T does give good reseption.. Oh and good 3G and 5 Bars when I'm in the middle of the sea.....

By: Kingsley

Kingsley — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:55:55 +0000

Just drove down I-95 south from NY to Hilton Head Island, SC and it looked like AT&T shows NC and SC no 3G love. The resort that I'm staying at on Hilton Head leaves me with no service.

Good thing I paid for AT&T navigator, since I do not have a reception. Airplane trick doesn't help.

By: Iain 117

Iain 117 — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:15:10 +0000

When the iPhone 2G was brought out by o2 it responded by beefing up it's Edge network (which by even those times was outdated by 3G, they only did it as the 2G lacked 3G, lol)

They tried to counter the slow Edge speeds with access to all the Cloud wifi spots throughout the UK

By: A.J.

A.J. — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:13:15 +0000

AT&T just added 3g coverage to where I live. Yeah my battery is definitly thanking me. I have had the O only once on the way to florida driving through Alabama. Lol.

By: Steve UK

Steve UK — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:20:05 +0000

@Simbak2k

I get an Edge connection slap bang in the middle of Blackpool but that seems to be the only place.

There's enough wifi in Blackpool to turn 3G off and leach so it's easier to tell when I've gone from o to E.

So O2 must support it somewhere in the UK.

By: SimbaK2K

SimbaK2K — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:02:39 +0000

o2 doesn't support edge, which is why it goes straight to gprs. Damnit!

By: Steven

Steven — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:50:24 +0000

I used Airline andWifi this weekend in a Delta flight. It worked well.

By: Brent

Brent — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:44:36 +0000

Never had an o, it drops from 3g to edge to NO SERVICE written across the AT&T area. Live outside Ann arbor mich in an obviously spotty area.