"The Next Best Tower" Theory - Help Me Mythbust This Sucker

[iPhoneHome]

Hey Guys - By now we have all seen a million videos of the iPhone Antenna Issue so I decided to post my experience: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAt8H110kSk

Based on points shown in the vid, I have come up with a somewhat plausible theory...please place your Mythbuster Caps on and agree or disagree w/ me.

Over the past day or two, I am almost convinced that it's much more complicated than just covering touching the left antenna. I believe that the phones endless quest to find an optimal tower based on a number of factors, Antenna Interference being one, may be the culprit.

When the Antenna is completely covered the iP4 immediately goes into a frantic state of "WTF, something's all screwy, I must find the next best tower". The problem is that in certain areas, "the next best tower" is no where to be found, and bars start to drastically dissipate.

Luckily, in some areas, like my office building, "the next best tower" is ready to be touched by my iP4's lovin' and the bars stay at an all time high.

I didn't get into too much detail in the video but am thinking about making a follow up if anybody can back up my theory.

 

[dmelgar]

Hey Guys - By now we have all seen a million videos of the iPhone Antenna Issue so I decided to post my experience: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAt8H110kSk

Based on points shown in the vid, I have come up with a somewhat plausible theory...please place your Mythbuster Caps on and agree or disagree w/ me.

Over the past day or two, I am almost convinced that it's much more complicated than just covering touching the left antenna. I believe that the phones endless quest to find an optimal tower based on a number of factors, Antenna Interference being one, may be the culprit.

When the Antenna is completely covered the iP4 immediately goes into a frantic state of "WTF, something's all screwy, I must find the next best tower". The problem is that in certain areas, "the next best tower" is no where to be found, and bars start to drastically dissipate.

Luckily, in some areas, like my office building, "the next best tower" is ready to be touched by my iP4's lovin' and the bars stay at an all time high.

I didn't get into too much detail in the video but am thinking about making a follow up if anybody can back up my theory.

I don't get it. I don't see anything in your post or video that does anything to remotely support your theory.

It is dependent upon location. That is known.

Why its dependent on location is uncertain, and nothing in your post or video does any experiment to even propose a theory. You're coming up with a completely unfounded theory and no test.

 

[iPhoneHome]

I don't get it. I don't see anything in your post or video that does anything to remotely support your theory.

It is dependent upon location. That is known.

Why its dependent on location is uncertain, and nothing in your post or video does any experiment to even propose a theory. You're coming up with a completely unfounded theory and no test.

Aren't all theories unfounded..hence theory? Anyways, my assumption is that it cannot just be hardware issue being that it cannot be replicated in all locations. There is an overewhelming amount on news suggestion that it's solely a hardware issue.

Well being that I cannot replicate this in my office, no matter what I try, it cannot be hardware issue. Thererfore, what does that leave... Towers, Locations and how the phone reacts to the sort.

Ultimately, it has to be the way the software either seeks the next best tower or the tower strength in the area. It's my best guess. Thanks for basically trying to call me an idiot.

 

[Simgar988]

No. Actually in science, theories are the most proven and as close to "fact" as you can get.

Theory of gravity
Theory of evolution

 

[br0adband]

"The problem isn't with the cellular network, it's the phone, stupid."

That's how I'm approaching this whole fiasco and highly recommended that others do the same.

When you can have/own other cell phones on the same network (I have 3 cell phones on AT&T 3G service, all of them right here in front of me, the only one that doesn't work as a phone is the iPhone 4) and you can't get one of them to work at all just by holding it in almost exactly the same geospatial coordinates/position, then yes, "it's the phone, stupid."

 

[Krevnik]

No. Actually in science, theories are the most proven and as close to "fact" as you can get.

Theory of gravity
Theory of evolution

Should mention that pretty much every use of "I have a theory" in the mainstream is really "I have a hypothesis" in science terms.

 

[iphoneZ]

yep its defective by design and steve jobs is laughing straight to the (donor) bank with this one

 

[iPhoneHome]

No. Actually in science, theories are the most proven and as close to "fact" as you can get.

Theory of gravity
Theory of evolution

That's cool...This is just my attempt of deciphering how the phone can, without much effort, drop bars in my APT but not at my office. It can't be a hardware issue with that logic. It's how the phones software interprets what is going on at the moment and hoe it should rectify it. The rectification triggers could be screwed up which sometimes leads to the phone leeching on to a non-optimal tower.

If it were merely a hardware issue it would ALWAYS drop signal no matter where it's located.

 

[br0adband]

If it were merely a hardware issue it would ALWAYS drop signal no matter where it's located.

Mine does.

Everywhere, and I've been all over Las Vegas in the past few days, covering the majority of this city, even some parts of Henderson, and AT&T considers this entire metropolitan area as having "100% coverage" so... it doesn't matter with this iPhone 4 I own.

I hold it like I hold any other cell phone, kaput, in less than a minute.

"NO 3G FOR J00!!!"

And I'm not the only one...

 

[iPhoneHome]

"The problem isn't with the cellular network, it's the phone, stupid."

That's how I'm approaching this whole fiasco and highly recommended that others do the same.

When you can have/own other cell phones on the same network (I have 3 cell phones on AT&T 3G service, all of them right here in front of me, the only one that doesn't work as a phone is the iPhone 4) and you can't get one of them to work at all just by holding it in almost exactly the same geospatial coordinates/position, then yes, "it's the phone, stupid."

Please tell me if I am wrong...but if it were merely hardware wouldn't the signal be lost every time I held in in my left hand, no matter my geospatial coordinates? Your message suggests that I should be able to replicate signal loss in my office because it happens in my apartment. Well, that isn't the case. It cannot be completely hardware.

Same phone, two locations, two different results.

 

[br0adband]

Please tell me if I am wrong...but if it were merely hardware wouldn't the signal be lost every time I held in in my left hand, no matter my geospatial coordinates? Your message suggests that I should be able to replicate signal loss in my office because it happens in my apartment. Well, that isn't the case. It cannot be completely hardware.

Same phone, two locations, two different results.

I would go so far as to suggest that the two different locations are using different frequency bands - AT&T uses two different bands, one cell site could be on one which is where the problems don't happen; the other could be using the frequency band where the problem becomes truly pronounced.

The fact that you have a phone exhibiting the issues at all is proof it's the phone. The phone is a combination of hardware and software - it's a working symbiosis, hence it's the phone.

 

[iPhoneHome]

I would go so far as to suggest that the two different locations are using different frequency bands - AT&T uses two different bands, one cell site could be on one which is where the problems don't happen; the other could be using the frequency band where the problem becomes truly pronounced.

The fact that you have a phone exhibiting the issues at all is proof it's the phone. The phone is a combination of hardware and software - it's a working symbiosis, hence it's the phone.

You are only further proving my theory...you wouldn't have ever had to mention AT&T if it was solely a hardware issue. I would think that software controls what frequency to use based on the phones exposure.

My point in a nutshell: People are claiming that there are so called "bad phones" out there. My phone can only be classified as a bad phone when I am home. This doesn't make any sense. If it were completely the phones fault I would be able to make it lose reception ANYWHERE. You follow me?

 

[freejack]

This has been my theory from day one as well. Was well received in the thread that I posted it in. You've explained it better than I. Not sure what people aren't understanding here.

I truly hope this is the cause because then it can be easily fixed from a firmware update.

 

[Igantius]

No. Actually in science, theories are the most proven and as close to "fact" as you can get.

Theory of gravity
Theory of evolution

That’s not always the case.

Sometimes a scientist may put forward theories that go against accepted scientific ‘fact’ and evidence. For example, looking at the law of falling bodies, many scientists disagreed with Galileo until his theory was proven with the invention of the air pump in 1650…. eight years after his death.

With Darwin’s theory of evolution and Mendel’s, as another example, it was only with breakthroughs in genetics in the Twentieth Century that evidence came to explain and reconcile them.