The vast majority of people in Australia experiencing the iPhone 3G problems are Optus customers. Many have reported their experiences on the Fairfax MashUp blog, as well as local Apple community MacTalk.

The Swedish report said the most likely cause of the 3G problems is defective adjustments between the antenna and an amplifier that captures very weak signals from the antenna. This could lead to poor 3G connectivity and slower data speeds.

Users in Australia, Europe and the US have flooded online forums - including Apple’s own discussion boards - with complaints of poor reception, slow internet speeds and dropped calls. The poor reception - often displayed as one bar - and slow speeds are occurring in areas of good coverage and do not seem to affect other phones.