4.1 signal bars: the moron's mating call.

[samcraig]

That doesn't make sense. If the signal doesn't drop when we hold it, who cares if it's 5 bars or 2 bars to start? The fact is that the bars don't drop for some people and the phone works the way it should.

Aggie - While I agree with you - the same people who get concerned when they have their battery percentages on an start questioning their battery life because it's gone done 1% after 5 minutes will be concerned.

Of course the ONLY thing that matters is if you can make a call or not - or if you can get data or not. How many bars is pretty irrelevant. Can you imagine if they just changed it to "Network Active" and "No Service" with no bars or any other indication? lol

 

[maflynn]

My paranoid nature is going to show through.

Do you think apple slowed the signal refresh rate so that if you do the death grip, the bars won't go down because the logic has been altered with some sort of delay routine. They could then say they "fixed" the problem but in reality they only masked it

 

[TwoSocEmBoppers]

*runs around kicking and screaming*
mommy... my phone doesn't have full bars! it's ruinnnnneeeeeddddd!!

you didn't spill coo hhwwhhipp on it did you?!

 

[ichiban06]

making the signal bars slightly taller in IOS 4.1 is like Microsoft changing the Blue Screen of Death to a Red Screen of Death

 

[Ashin]

From Engadget
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/14/ios-4-1-seeded-to-developers/

Not sure I like that at all

 

[soonerfan]

you didn't spill coo hhwwhhipp on it did you?!

Don't be cruwell!

 

[BoleCailey]

Well maybe your antenna is somehow more insulated than most. Maybe your body has a weird electrical imbalance and doesn't have any effect on it. Has anyone else tried to short your antenna? Or maybe Apple will come clean on Friday and tell us that there is a problem, but 10% of phones already sold are unaffected. All I know is, I've tried the death grip on other people's phones, on phones at 2 Apple stores, and 3 AT&T stores, and I have yet to see one unaffected.

My phone works just fine even while death gripping. I have used speed test in q bunch of different place to see the signal weaken, but even the I still average atleast 300kbs in speed while death gripping. I have not dropped a single call (even when trying) nor has my left handed roommate who holds his naked phone "incorrectly". Keep in mind I am in Houston where AT&T is great, but even when I try to replicate dropped calls when I have weak signal to begin with, I can't do it.


Personally, I really don't believe this is as big of a deal as everyone is making it out to be. Of my four friends with iPhone 4's, two are left handed and have had no problems with dropped calls.

 

[-aggie-]

Aggie - While I agree with you - the same people who get concerned when they have their battery percentages on an start questioning their battery life because it's gone done 1% after 5 minutes will be concerned.

Of course the ONLY thing that matters is if you can make a call or not - or if you can get data or not. How many bars is pretty irrelevant. Can you imagine if they just changed it to "Network Active" and "No Service" with no bars or any other indication? lol

That might be a good thing.

 

[scaredpoet]

I'm also betting that the high and mighty ones here who have been boasting that their signal doesn't drop when shorting the antenna are going to get laryngitis when they see a more accurate picture of what kind of reception they're *really* getting with 4.1.

My calls are clear and don't drop. That's about as accurate a picture of reception as anyone can get.

What exactly makes this a "mating call" anyway? Were you just trying to find some reason to jusitfy calling everyone "morons?"

 

[BoleCailey]

My calls are clear and don't drop. That's about as accurate a picture of reception as anyone can get.

What exactly makes this a "mating call" anyway? Were you just trying to find some reason to jusitfy calling everyone "morons?"

I agree completely. I can't remember the last time that I checked my signal bar unless I dropped or failed to make a call. My phone works everywhere I have been, why do I care about how many signal bars I have.

 

[Arran]

... Can you imagine if they just changed it to "Network Active" and "No Service" with no bars or any other indication? lol

That would still be too much information for some

I'm sure there are days my old wired home phone isn't working, but I never know it. Bliss.

Isn't there a governing body in the U.S. that penalizes companies from misrepresenting data to the consumer like this?

My old Ford clunker had a speedometer that went up to 130mph. Like that was ever going to happen!

 

[samcraig]

That might be a good thing.

I agree. Just discussed that with one of our Technology Experts here at my company and he brought up a good point that it's a question of perception - people want to know (in advance) what kind of signal they have to determine if they are going to have a crappy call or one that should be good. He also said that every phone had signal bars - so to not have them might not go over well.

However (tongue in cheek) if anyone could do it - it would be Apple. I can see Jobs at a Keynote announcing the change and a question from the audience with a response "Look - other people want to show you a meter which is meaningless. You can either make a call or you can't. And that's what a customer needs to know. Our new display just works. It's simple and easy to understand. When you're able to get data or a call, it says active and when you can't it says no service."

 

[sneezymarble]

My phone works just fine even while death gripping. I have used speed test in q bunch of different place to see the signal weaken, but even the I still average atleast 300kbs in speed while death gripping. I have not dropped a single call (even when trying) nor has my left handed roommate who holds his naked phone "incorrectly". Keep in mind I am in Houston where AT&T is great, but even when I try to replicate dropped calls when I have weak signal to begin with, I can't do it.




Personally, I really don't believe this is as big of a d

You do realize that at 300kbps, if you're right and you are in an area where 3G coverage is great, you're essentially proving that there's significant attenuation when you bridge the two antennas. I'm in an area with pretty good 3G coverage and when I don't bridge the antennas, and I run speed test, I get ~1500kbps. 5x worse performance, whether you can still do what you want to do, is pretty bad. It's especially bad when you consider that in ordinary use, people are likely to hold the phone in such a way as to bridge the antennas. 300kbps is certainly enough to send email and browse the web. But there are a lot of things that many people do with their iPhones that require more than 300kbps, and, depending on their local signal strength, those folks are going to have to change the way they use their phones.

Look, I'm not saying the phone sucks. I love it. I've never even considered returning. But there is an obvious design problem. I'm perfectly happy changing the way I use my phone in order to get the bandwidth I want. Really, it isn't that much of a hassle. Nevertheless, it's still quite absurd. What's almost more frustrating is, what so far appears to be, the complete denial by Apple that there is a problem at all.

 

[falconeight]

Haha so funny hahahaha return it

 

[zerostar]

Do you realize that this is crazy? I can barely make it to my local mall when I badly need some new clothes.

LOL yes.... yes I do... It wasn't just to look at the iPhone, I have business at the mall shops... Dealing with POS systems...

I did however stop at Willowbrook for pleasure only It's close to where I grew up.

 

[Lava Lamp Freak]

I've tried my best and I can not replicate the death grip problem others are having. I've watched videos on YouTube and held it in the same spot, right over the crack on the bottom left corner. No matter how I hold the phone the signal doesn't change. I still have a bad signal in certain areas, but it is the same as it was with the iPhone 3G. I just got my iPhone 4 a few days ago. I wonder if Apple has already fixed the issue, and the point of the press conference will be to tell people to come in to exchange if they're having problems?

 

[LordOBoogie]

I've tried my best and I can not replicate the death grip problem others are having. I've watched videos on YouTube and held it in the same spot, right over the crack on the bottom left corner. No matter how I hold the phone the signal doesn't change. I still have a bad signal in certain areas, but it is the same as it was with the iPhone 3G. I just got my iPhone 4 a few days ago. I wonder if Apple has already fixed the issue, and the point of the press conference will be to tell people to come in to exchange if they're having problems?

Same here. I've tried to replicate it. Doesn't work.

 

[Lava Lamp Freak]

I've tried my best and I can not replicate the death grip problem others are having. I've watched videos on YouTube and held it in the same spot, right over the crack on the bottom left corner. No matter how I hold the phone the signal doesn't change. I still have a bad signal in certain areas, but it is the same as it was with the iPhone 3G. I just got my iPhone 4 a few days ago. I wonder if Apple has already fixed the issue, and the point of the press conference will be to tell people to come in to exchange if they're having problems?

Scratch that. I just got it to drop in a lower signal area. I think I'm next to an AT&T tower at home and that is why I've had trouble replicating it. I was just trying in the wrong locations.