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Jacoblee23

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 10, 2011
1,474
717
Is this true? They said they get tons of complaints about the otterbox taking away some cellphone reception.
 

cynics

macrumors G4
Jan 8, 2012
11,959
2,154
There is a 0-3 db reception hit using the commuter case. Probably a little worse with the defender. Regardless that's nothing especially with Verizon's network.

I use otterbox's commuter case no issues.

You can use field test mode to check for yourselves.
 

Lunchbox700

macrumors regular
Jul 18, 2008
185
0
MN
That's funny because we got my wife's Otterbox from Verizon. Plus in rare situations where reception is an issue hers gets better reception than mine which just has a bumper on it.
 

Spectrum Abuser

macrumors 65816
Aug 27, 2011
1,377
48
You cannot gauge signal loss from the 'bars'. A numeric meter is needed. And yes, cases will degrade signal. Is it something to worry about? Only if you live in a very poorly covered area or if your case is made out of some type of disruptive metal. My plastic bumper degrades the signal by a whopping 1db on the average.
 
Last edited:
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BiggAW

macrumors 68030
Jun 19, 2010
2,563
176
Connecticut
I would think it would help, unless it really is that dense. Keeping your water-filled fingers away from the metal antennas is a good thing, even after they fixed the iPhone 4 antenna issue, which was a specific issue above and beyond normal signal degradation.
 

RocketRed

macrumors 6502a
Jan 25, 2012
507
0
Sort of off-topic, but when I had a 3GS, I used an Incase slider case for my phone.

I always had bad reception and when I was at school my 3G signal would vanish.

After I switched to a Speck Candyshell, my network improved and 3G signal appeared on campus.
 

b166er

macrumors 68020
Apr 17, 2010
2,062
18
Philly
I use an otterbox with no reception issues.

These sales guys- some are great, some are told to intentionally misinform customers, some genuinely don't have a clue. He may have been asked to pimp a certain brand of case over otterbox via a vendor.

I was at the t-mobile store a few weeks back helping my girl pick out a new phone and those sales guys were awful. I heard one of them telling a customer that android was better because "all the apps are free, but on an iPhone the same apps will cost you $5-$10." if you have a mobile OS preference that is fine, but spreading misinformation like that shouldn't even be legal.
 
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BiggAW

macrumors 68030
Jun 19, 2010
2,563
176
Connecticut
I use an otterbox with no reception issues.

These sales guys- some are great, some are told to intentionally misinform customers, some genuinely don't have a clue. He may have been asked to pimp a certain brand of case over otterbox via a vendor.

I was at the t-mobile store a few weeks back helping my girl pick out a new phone and those sales guys were awful. I heard one of them telling a customer that android was better because "all the apps are free, but on an iPhone the same apps will cost you $5-$10." if you have a mobile OS preference that is fine, but spreading misinformation like that shouldn't even be legal.

That's an over exaggeration, although it's partly true. There's a lot of stuff you have to pay for on iPhone that's free on Android. Android users tend not to buy apps, and it has an ethos of free stuff. Of course the counter argument is that a lot of Android apps are poorly coded, and iPhone apps are fantastic.
 

Arnezie

macrumors 65816
Oct 10, 2011
1,317
115
That's an over exaggeration, although it's partly true. There's a lot of stuff you have to pay for on iPhone that's free on Android. Android users tend not to buy apps, and it has an ethos of free stuff. Of course the counter argument is that a lot of Android apps are poorly coded, and iPhone apps are fantastic.


Ohh that's not an exaggeration
 

Rob9874

macrumors 6502
Jul 19, 2010
373
82
I worked at a retail electronics store that paid comission, which is no longer in business, during college. Certain products paid more than others. They encoded the "spiff" payout in the string of numbers on the price tag on the shelf. We would say anything to get the customer to buy the higher paying items and disparage the lower paying ones.

We even went as far as to dare eachother to say certain things to customers. I remember betting one co-worker that he couldn't fit "Pulp Fiction" into a pitch (and not using it as the movie title). He did it, when selling some speakers. Told the customer they had the new pulp fiction speaker cones, blah, blah, blah.

My point: never trust a salesman.
 

b166er

macrumors 68020
Apr 17, 2010
2,062
18
Philly
That's an over exaggeration, although it's partly true. There's a lot of stuff you have to pay for on iPhone that's free on Android. Android users tend not to buy apps, and it has an ethos of free stuff. Of course the counter argument is that a lot of Android apps are poorly coded, and iPhone apps are fantastic.

Both ecosystems have a ton of free apps, and some of the most popular apps are free. Saying you will HAVE to pay up to $10 for the iPhone equivalent of an android app is simply a lie to sell more android (or in this case, to make up for their company's lack of the iPhone). $10? How many apps for the average user (in this case a pretty old couple) cost that much?

----------

To sum it all up I hated t-mobile when I was with them, and now I just hope my girl will see the light and switch sooner or later.
 

cynics

macrumors G4
Jan 8, 2012
11,959
2,154
Both ecosystems have a ton of free apps, and some of the most popular apps are free. Saying you will HAVE to pay up to $10 for the iPhone equivalent of an android app is simply a lie to sell more android (or in this case, to make up for their company's lack of the iPhone). $10? How many apps for the average user (in this case a pretty old couple) cost that much?

----------

To sum it all up I hated t-mobile when I was with them, and now I just hope my girl will see the light and switch sooner or later.

I think when he said partly true he meant the cheaper apps. A lot of 99 cent apps in the app store are free on google play.
 

BiggAW

macrumors 68030
Jun 19, 2010
2,563
176
Connecticut
[/B]
Ohh that's not an exaggeration

You didn't bold "a lot of". That means a lot, not all. It's not true of all apps, but it is, in my experience as a switcher from Android to iPhone, true for many. Of course it wasn't rough for me, since I already had purchased most of them for my iPod Touch two years earlier anyways.
 

Ed1977

macrumors newbie
Dec 18, 2013
1
0
I know this is an old tread, BUT!
I have an iphone 5S with a Defender Otterbox case, I never notice signal loss unless I'm at work, inside metal building I only get 3G signal, today I removed my case to connect my aux cable and now I have LTE!!
So I put the case back on and yes it goes down to only 3G, remove case LTE.
So I guess from now on I will remove my case at work to get better signal. IJS.
 

Nclollipop

macrumors newbie
Aug 9, 2016
1
0
Is this true? They said they get tons of complaints about the otterbox taking away some cellphone reception.
Yes. I had an older Otterbox for a couple of years with no problem. I just recently spent about $100 on the Resurgence charging case and separate screen protector. Ever since, I've had reception problems and dropped calls. I just took my phone out of the case tonight, made some calls, and it's working perfectly.
 
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