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$15 iPhone 4 Antenna Settlement Claims Now Being Accepted
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I have a 4 and am actually interested in getting a new bumper because my old one is falling apart from constant usage. Do I have to go to the apple store to do this? Do you think they'd even give me one? It'd be a little annoying to have to pay another $30 for one
The apple support website wasn't helpful either...I got into a 6-page loop cycle that didn't give me any concrete answers
The apple support website wasn't helpful either...I got into a 6-page loop cycle that didn't give me any concrete answers
1) In the AntennaGate press conference, Steve Jobs himself stated that the bumperless iPhone 4 dropped more calls than the 3GS did.
2) As noted in it, that survey included the switch to using a bumper and/or being more aware of the problem location. My own family noted much fewer dropped calls than the 3GS, after adding a case or being more careful how they held it.
The return rate that Jobs gave was was carefully cherry picked:
It only included AT&T stores from several days beforehand. He avoided giving current return rates, or the rates at Apple stores where it had gone on sale a week before AT&T got it, and where most would do an exchange.
It was also during a period when most people were aware of the antenna problem due to the news coverage, and were waiting to see what Apple would do about it, before returning their phone.
The attenuation problem was far more related to the local signal strength than the user's body chemistry.
The upshot is that once people were aware of the problem, they could avoid it and actually enjoy better reception. It was partly a lesson to Apple that they needed to not always use cases when field testing.
using a piece of rubber when doing bumpers can eliminate the possibility of children altogether.
ha! :d
I took the free bumper. It helped. To those who said their iphones worked fine good for you. Mine, my wife's, and the people around me all had the antenna issue. Every time I held it I lost signal. Its easy to say you dont care and what not when something doesnt affect you. For those that it affected, this was a cool thing for Apple to do(the bumper, not the lawsuit).
I watched the same conference as you. He said "less than one dropped call per 100" which was of course very vague since we don't know if it went from 1 to 1.8 or from 10 to 10.8 dropped calls per 100. But he also said that he believed it was because the 3GS had available cases at launch and that a case helps ANY smartphone avoid dropped calls because ALL smartphones suffer from signal attenuation when held in various ways. Let's not cherry pick what was said at the Antennagate press conference.
Again, adding a case to any smartphone would keep you from dropping calls. My old Treo 680 dropped would jump signal all over the place depending on how I held it. My brother did not notice any more dropped calls with his iPhone 4 versus his iPhone 3G and he did not use a case for either. He recently got a case for his iPhone 4 to avoid scuff marks, but not for antenna problems.
Kinda like your comment above about "more dropped calls".
Apple stores existed when iPhone 3GS was sold too, so folks returning both phones still could have returned to Apple Stores or AT&T with both phones -- that's hardly cherry picking. So your reasoning is that the iPhone 3GS (which had no issues) should have a higher return rate than the iPhone 4 (which supposedly drops a ton of calls) simply because people were going to "wait and see" what Apple was going to do? What kind of reasoning is that? You'd at least think that general crop of fickle folks who change their minds after purchase would have still returned it. The return rate for iPhone 3GS was 6% and for iPhone 4 it was only 1.7% as he reported. That's a pretty significant difference -- both those numbers are for the same time period after launch and count only AT&T sales.
You are correct on that. But different people with the same signal could get different results because of body chemistry. All in all, only 0.55% of iPhone 4 users called Apple to complain about signal problems (1 in 200). You think if they were all aware of the issue they would all be calling and demanding something from Apple. Even if those 0.55% all decided to return their iPhone 4's it would have only raised the return rate to 2.25% -- still less than half of the iPhone 3GS.
The real upshot is that the problem was extremely limited in the scope of users it affected (1 in 200) and it was completely blown out of proportion. You are right that Apple should NOT be testing their phones while in a case because it should have been known that a case would in fact increase the signal strength (like it does with all smartphones) and avert some signal attenuation.
Also, I'd like to see some numbers on dropped calls for iPhone 3GS, because folks were complaining about AT&T and dropped iPhone calls way before iPhone 4 released. In fact The Daily Show ran a piece on it that was hilarious (check the 7:15 mark in that video -- Stewart calls the iPhone 3GS "unusable as a phone"). Even the iPhone 3GS had issues with dropped calls -- the antennagate story was just a fun bandwagon for the media to ride.
Easy. They have $100 billion in cash reserves. It was more of a principle issue with them from the start. There are no large scale issues with the iPhone 4. They can afford to give $15 to a person who just wants to complain about nothing just to satisfy them.
Look at the terms for the reimbursement. The person is basically agreeing to the fact that they are the type of person who will complain about anything and everything.
I love it. Way to go Apple!
Please don't misunderstand me. Yes, the complainant has the right to complain about anything they like... and I have served in the military and have defended their right to do so.
I still maintain my right to call them an ass.
Went to the settlement page to see if I could get the free bumper because I had got my phone right when they discontinued it. So when I saw this I was like sweet lol..... But then I see on the page it told me to go to a link to apples website on how to get said free bumper. The page turns out to be from April 2011 and it only directs me to call apple. So I do and the rep transfers me to a supervisor who had no knowledge of the suit and then said she would check out the settlement page. When she came back on line she said she couldn't do anything for me because it wasn't and apple website and she wasn't told anything about the suit I told her she should tell her boss about this because this site which went live March 29 2012 is directing people to an out dated page. I was kind of up set but seeing as I didn't care about the $15 and only cared if I really could have gotten a free bumper. So I guess it's what ever. I might go to an apple store over the weekend or try to call back and see what's up. But like I said it's funny because she wasn't even aware about the $15. Little suspect don't you think and she was a supervisor not even a low level call center operator. I mean really if I can't get a free bumper they need to stop telling me I can it's not fair and it's not like they really fixed the isssue because the fix is something I can't even get (referring to the bumper)
Edit just read this on the settlement website:
The Court will hold a hearing on July 13, 2012 at 9:00 a.m., to decide whether to approve the settlement. If Judge Whyte approves the settlement, there may be appeals. The appeal process can take time, perhaps more than a year. Please be patient.
Could be why she didn't know about the bumper so I guess they might be hope just sucks because we will have to wait to see what gets approved. Oh well I guess if it's free they almost always is a catch.
Edit just read this on the settlement website:
The Court will hold a hearing on July 13, 2012 at 9:00 a.m., to decide whether to approve the settlement. If Judge Whyte approves the settlement, there may be appeals. The appeal process can take time, perhaps more than a year. Please be patient.
Could be why she didn't know about the bumper so I guess they might be hope just sucks because we will have to wait to see what gets approved. Oh well I guess if it's free they almost always is a catch.
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i had the antenna problem with my ip4 and i got the free bumper. i know have the ip4s, but still have my ip4, not being used. after reading this i am going to get my 15 bucks......
. class members who obtained a bumper under the free program are eligible under the settlement agreement to submit a claim form for the 15 dollars, according to Mr. Rothken. In July 2010, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, saying the company was stunned and embarrassed by the reception controversy, offered a free case to all owners of the iPhone 4, to alleviate the signal issue. In September 2010, the company ended that program, but it invited iPhone 4 owners who were experiencing problems to contact Apple to request a frame-like Bumper case. Bottom line: If you did receive a case earlier, you can still request the cash, but if you bought the phone from someone who received a case already, you wont be eligible for a claim in the current settlement.
. class members who obtained a bumper under the free program are eligible under the settlement agreement to submit a claim form for the 15 dollars, according to Mr. Rothken. In July 2010, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, saying the company was stunned and embarrassed by the reception controversy, offered a free case to all owners of the iPhone 4, to alleviate the signal issue. In September 2010, the company ended that program, but it invited iPhone 4 owners who were experiencing problems to contact Apple to request a frame-like Bumper case. Bottom line: If you did receive a case earlier, you can still request the cash, but if you bought the phone from someone who received a case already, you wont be eligible for a claim in the current settlement.
I was able to get the last free bumper case out of them cause they forgot to take down the web page that says they are still offering it even though they stopped 2 years ago..hahahah took me 25 mins in the phone with apple care and in the end they agreed to send me a free $35 value bumper..
The problem very much existed. Before I got my case, my iPhone would drop calls constantly. I'd go into an area with a full 5 bars, make a call, and while talking, if I shifted my grip just the tiniest bit? Badoonk! Lost signal. The only way to protect myself from losing a call would be to hold the phone daintily between my thumb and middle finger, which wasn't at all what I'd consider comfortable.
It wasn't a huge, huge, huge problem, since it was remedied after buying a case I would've gotten to begin with. But it did exist, and it was a rather glaring problem. Don't try to downplay it simply because you happen to like Apple.
Also, I'm gonna take my $15 because, hey, I can turn my old antenna problems into a few free apps.
Got a few dropped calls over 1.5 years of iPhone 4 use - I think it was 3. Then I put those funny stickers from etsy over the critical areas and since then no issue. Don't get me wrong those stickers are way overpriced for what they are - you can get similar quality stickers for 10ct at Office Depot - but they're funny so I don't regret getting them
I also got the free Apple bumpers but I have to say they get my vote for the by far ********* Apple product ever made, right after the Millennium Mac:
- Expensive (if you dindn't get them for free)
- Make the phone huge
- Ugly as sin
- Scratched all metal surfaces on my phone. Now these are supposed to prevent scratches, right? But the Apple ones, for some reason, have a tendency to get sand or other things (?) stuck in-between the bumper and the steel band of the phone, causing crazy scratching. Far from protecting my phone, these things ensured I have marks all over the steel band.
I compared this with the Incase case of my wife, she doesn't have any issue. My scratches developed while I was testing the bumpers for a week or so. Never used them again after that.
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To all those saying the iPhone 4 didn't have a real problem: Do you *have* an iPhone 4, and did you use it for an extended period of time without a case?
It would just lose all signal if you touched it in the area where the antennas are separated (with your finger creating a bridge between the antennas and causing the signal to drop).
I had the phone for 2 weeks and had 3 dropped calls. iPhone 3GS over 1 year: Zero dropped calls. Then I put stickers over the sensitive area and never had a problem again.
The problem was real but it was easy to avoid and also easy to remedy, and most people like to put their phone in a case anyway.