Nether phone lost signal, bars mean nothing since cell's went digital. As long as the signal doesn't drop you are fine. Without Field test you can't tell anything except that both phones were working fine. the only thing wrong was in human perception at seeing bars go down.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
2 iPhone 4's Signal Test. One works, One doesn't. Same Location
- Thread starter HLdan
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Lol. Wow. Denial is a powerful thing.
"Even though his skin is purple, bloated and peeling away from his skin along with a very foul odor, he's not really dead. Don't worry, he is still alive. Your perception is just wrong. NO, those are not maggots!"
At my office, I can death grip my ip4 and lose a couple bars but no effect on calls, and I can completely stop 3G data. At home the signal is weaker, but still don't drop calls. Can stop 3G data easily.
Apple store is only couple miles or so away from my office, so when I read this I grabbed my phone and went there to do some testing. Every display model I tested had full scale signal, and death grip (or finger on the bad place) had absolutely no effect. So I tried on my ip4, and death grip or finger on bad place made no difference. Had full 5 bars and test calls went thru fine. Speedtest was unaffected. (And yes I know they have a microcell.)
So it's like apple says: moderate and low signal, stay away from the bad place or use a case. Strong signal, non-issue.
This is the iPhone 4. Love it or hate it.
Apple store is only couple miles or so away from my office, so when I read this I grabbed my phone and went there to do some testing. Every display model I tested had full scale signal, and death grip (or finger on the bad place) had absolutely no effect. So I tried on my ip4, and death grip or finger on bad place made no difference. Had full 5 bars and test calls went thru fine. Speedtest was unaffected. (And yes I know they have a microcell.)
So it's like apple says: moderate and low signal, stay away from the bad place or use a case. Strong signal, non-issue.
This is the iPhone 4. Love it or hate it.
I went to my local Apple store in the San Francisco Bay Area last week and saw that one of the iPhones 4's out of the 3 I tested had zero problems with signal. I could hold it any which way I wanted and no change in signal. The other iPhones I tested did have a signal problem as soon as I pressed my thumb against the buttons on the top side of them. Some members here were in disbelief of my findings and requested that I post a video so check it out. NOT All of the iPhone 4's are defective.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTtzkZk8G-k
You def held those phones two different ways....Makes it seems like you have a hidden agenda..Or you wasnt focused enough to make sure both controls were the same
I can tell you that as of friday July 2nd that I was able to get a replacement for a signal issue. I don't get signal in areas that have only 2-3 bars on other iPhones so they replaced mine. Of course even with the replacement it's still the exact same issue. I'm leaning towards it being a hardware issue on some phones as my neighbor has a 16gb and a 32gb for his wife and they both get great reception in my house while
Mine doesn't. I'm just going to deal with it until there is some sort of change. This driving 40-50 miles each way on a gamble is getting ridiculous as in on my 4th iPhone 4 at this point and none have solved the problem!
You have discovered that HLdan is actually an Apple plant! After all, he was in an Apple Store when he was trying to confuse all of us. I'll bet the employees are in on it too. Congrats for finding him out!
You have discovered that HLdan is actually an Apple plant! After all, he was in an Apple Store when he was trying to confuse all of us. I'll bet the employees are in on it too. Congrats for finding him out!
Sorry but anybody who has this issue should be able to see EASILY that the first phone he held he didn't hold it anywhere near the point of the problem area, the problem corner was not on his palm. On the second phone he deliberately moves the problem area onto his palm. Either the poster is dumb and does not even 'understand' the problem or he deliberatly is trying to make it seem like it is only certain phones getting it. I would bet on second option. he even makes every effort to NOT film the problem area on the first phone, WHY?
Why would you think HLdan is trying to pull a fast one on you? What agenda could he have? Seriously??? I, for one, think he's got enough respect in these forums to be first believed until someone can show he's a liar.
I guess what he's going to have to do is go back to the store and make another video, since no one is going to believe it. However, even then people aren't going to accept it, based on posts in his OP about the video.
I honestly don't know what the issue was or what the deal might be. I really don't care. I will say this though - it did look weird that the first phone he touched, he did in several different ways and it seemed as though he never touched the lower left. He doesn't even film that area. Mostly just the top.
Now, on the second phone, right off the bat he holds the phone correctly, you see it along with more of the phone.
Again, I could care less. That's what I saw.
Thank you. I hope this helps.
It doesn't.
The iPhone that doesn't show bars dropping is already on an EDGE connection. The other one is on 3G.
Touching the seam will drop the 3G connection - if it is enough to make the phone drop to EDGE, the phone won't connect to 3G again without turning it off or resetting the network settings.
Feel free to go back to the store, turn off WiFi (to see what you are connected to), and make another video.
I don't think he has one either, but unfortunately the phones are connected to the Apple store WiFi which means you can't see if they are on EDGE or 3G.
I did this same test last week in an Apple store (that has a weak 3G signal). I was confused when the demo phones would drop down to 1 bar when touching the seam, then it would immediately go back up to 5 bars. I found that it was switching to EDGE, which had a much stronger signal.
What was really interesting is that even after setting the phone down, it wouldn't connect to 3G again. I tried leaving the phone alone for 30 minutes and switching 3G on and off. Nothing seemed to allow it to connect to 3G again, however, in another thread, someone said turning it off/on or resetting network settings would do it.
Hey all.
Just to add some findings.
I work for a UK iP4 carrier and have done so much network testing I am sick of the topic (I still love my iP4). Anyone who disbelieves, please roll your eyes, sigh etc.. now.
The antenna signal issue affects all iP4's by design. FACT. However, what most peeps don't understand is this signal drop does not occur in a few situations:
- When connected to a close proximity 3G micro cell
- When connected to a close proximity 3G macro site with minimal/no traffic
- When on lower frequency 2G / 2.5G Edge bands
Death gripping for an hour in these circumstances does nothing.
I believe this comfortably accounts for the few users reporting no signal loss.
I will be posting a video next week when back at work showing the same handset, same location, different SIMs, holding signal as well as dropping signal.
As one guy said - this is the iP4, love it or hate it. I have no doubts that a revised antenna will arrive for iP5.
Again, video as soon as I can (cos I know you guys love that stuff).
Just to add some findings.
I work for a UK iP4 carrier and have done so much network testing I am sick of the topic (I still love my iP4
). Anyone who disbelieves, please roll your eyes, sigh etc.. now.The antenna signal issue affects all iP4's by design. FACT. However, what most peeps don't understand is this signal drop does not occur in a few situations:
- When connected to a close proximity 3G micro cell
- When connected to a close proximity 3G macro site with minimal/no traffic
- When on lower frequency 2G / 2.5G Edge bands
Death gripping for an hour in these circumstances does nothing.
I believe this comfortably accounts for the few users reporting no signal loss.
I will be posting a video next week when back at work showing the same handset, same location, different SIMs, holding signal as well as dropping signal.
As one guy said - this is the iP4, love it or hate it. I have no doubts that a revised antenna will arrive for iP5.
Again, video as soon as I can (cos I know you guys love that stuff).
Odd because there is absolutely no wrong way I can hold my iPhone 4 in the local Apple Store or in the shopping mall that store is in. I get a constant, solid 5 bars of signal, regardless of left/right hand death grips etc. Too bad that's not the case in my house. But now that I know where the nearest AT&T tower is.. I can see why (time for an M-cell).
This isn't entirely true.
I have to agree that it doesn't affect the frequencies used by EDGE as much though.
I actually agree ^^ but there are microcells, and there are microcells. Microcells are not the same tech as 'Macro' or Pico cells, and instead use very watered down internals connected to a broadband line, often manufactured to the cheapest possible specifications. I should really refer to them correctly as femtocells to avoid confusion.
Femtocell 3G is lower frequency than macrocell 3G - it doesn't need to be very high output as it doesn't broadcast over a wide enough area to warrant the need. Additionally, your broadband connection does the transfer work to the main trunk network, and this primarily governs your speed. This ties in perfectly with lower frequency bands being unaffected.
Anyhoo, with all the femtocells I have tested on at least (of a particular brand), the results are uniform. Lower frequency 3g femtocells for all?
I'm not saying 'i know all the answers, folks!', only that I've been involved with some serious testing and have access to a range of stuff to do this. My primary goal was simply to explain why some users don't experience this signal drop-off, to which end I think there are answers.
Femtocell 3G is lower frequency than macrocell 3G - it doesn't need to be very high output as it doesn't broadcast over a wide enough area to warrant the need. Additionally, your broadband connection does the transfer work to the main trunk network, and this primarily governs your speed. This ties in perfectly with lower frequency bands being unaffected.
Anyhoo, with all the femtocells I have tested on at least (of a particular brand), the results are uniform. Lower frequency 3g femtocells for all?
I'm not saying 'i know all the answers, folks!', only that I've been involved with some serious testing and have access to a range of stuff to do this. My primary goal was simply to explain why some users don't experience this signal drop-off, to which end I think there are answers.
I’ve been out in the mountains where I live visiting a friend, who frequently loses their cell coverage. There’s NO 3G micro cell or 3G macro site out there and when I’ve tested with 2 bars, it’s on 3G. There’s no loss of signal no matter what I did.
I appreciate the time you invested in this project. Just know that those of us unable to replicate any of the "known" issues with our iPhone 4 will say; "Yeah mine's fine too", while others who are adamant that all of the iPhone 4s are defective will pick apart any evidence to the contrary. Good luck.I went to my local Apple store in the San Francisco Bay Area last week and saw that one of the iPhones 4's out of the 3 I tested had zero problems with signal. I could hold it any which way I wanted and no change in signal. The other iPhones I tested did have a signal problem as soon as I pressed my thumb against the buttons on the top side of them. Some members here were in disbelief of my findings and requested that I post a video so check it out. NOT All of the iPhone 4's are defective.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTtzkZk8G-k