iPhone 2.2 firmware update has spawned long Apple Discussions threads with complaints of slow 3G speeds (or no 3G at all), while battery issues also seem to be caused by the new software update.

Thread starter socalrider asked if anyone else noticed “that 3G is at a slug speed” in socal Orange county area.” He claimed he had “full [signal] bars,” although his connection speed seemed slower than EDGE even. Poster SteveLgBch replied saying “Same here in Long Beach and at work in Downey. It was OK till I installed 2.2. All five bars, but EVERY Web site is very slow if it even loads the web site.”

“Yep having same problem in orange county,” Shank2001 wrote. “Full bars for 3G but the network is DOG SLOW  I hope they fix it soon. I am used to getting 1.3mbps or so here.” He also noted he was quite surprised to see that he started experiencing these issues right after upgrading to 2.2. “I will check my speeds again when I am in a different location to find out if it is the phone or AT&T,” he said.

Not long after, the same user returned with confirmation that “it is a 2.2 problem for sure.” Shank revealed that he “got a hold of a friend's phone that has not been updated yet, and the two phones side by side: Mine, no data.. .very slow, loses [sic] connection to servers etc. Theirs, works fine every single time. Both show full 5 bars of 3G service.”

Needless to mention, dozens of other posters have been drawing the same picture, with others even reporting battery issues. Discussions user doktorstick said that “With 2.1, I would get 36 hours between recharges. Now, I get about 9 hours. In fact, I had it plugged in this morning until 8:30A and I had to plug it in 4:30P (at 10% remaining charge). My usage has not changed,” he explained.

“Someone theorized that the network switching algorithm has changed and that it's working harder to find the right network,” he added, also noting that he did use 3G and fetch mail from Gmail and Home once per hour, just like he did when running iPhone OS 2.1.” Numerous users replied to the post, mentioning the same issue occurring with their handsets.

Considering that many iPhone users don't even browse forums to confirm their bad experience, we can only guess how many are affected. The two issues might also be connected. It is known for a fact that 3G drains considerable amounts of juice from the iPhone battery (this being the original reason why Apple didn't include 3G with the first iPhone).

So, is your device hanging in there, or are you experiencing the same problems after updating your software?