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9to5mac claims Apple hasn't solved the Proximity Sensor Issue

saving107

saving107

macrumors 603
Original poster
Oct 14, 2007
6,384
33
San Jose, Ca
I saw this story over at 9to5mac.com this morning and I wanted to share. This story was posted today, but I'm not sure how relavent it is because it does say 4.1 shows promise, but I've heard mix stories from people who have the 4.1 beta installed on their phones.

"Apple Australia’s chief will make a rare public appearance at a local conference while the company’s ‘down under’ wing confirms it hasn’t yet managed to create a software fix for problems with the iPhone 4′s proximity sensor.

Apple had previously promised to patch the proximity problem, which affects some iPhone 4′s. What happens is that when a caller holds the phone to their ear, the sensor can get its job wrong and either cuts off the call or leaves the buttons vulnerable to being accidentally pressed by a user’s ear.

Steve Jobs last month said the sensor problem would be fixed in a future software update, but this hasn’t yet appeared.

Apple Australia spokeswoman Fiona Martin acknowledged the company had yet to fix the problem, but builds of iOS 4.1 show promise.

Apple Australia’s chief exec, Tony King, will appear as part of a ten-member panel of Tasmanian tech firms where there will be talk on innovation and the mobile industry.
Click to expand...
http://www.9to5mac.com/23198/where-is-the-iphone-4-proximity-sensor-patch"
 
Great ..... Apple geeks are stumped ..... not what I wanted to hear. :(
 
I'm sure the jailbreak community would have come up with a fix before Apple if it was purely a software issue.
 
asleep said:
Great ..... Apple geeks are stumped ..... not what I wanted to hear. :(
Click to expand...

Don't go on believing something you've read as gospel.
Watch
I heard that some douche on the other side of this ball of dirt said that Apple HAS fixed the proximity sensor and it will be out with the next release of iOS.

See, you can have both sides saying this or that. Doesn't matter much. How about, before we jump into the deep end of the pool, we let the facts come out. Lets see what actually is released by Apple, and not what someone says, before we form an opinion. YOu know..both sides of the story so to speak.
 
I wouldn't put much stock in this article. I'm running iOS 4.1 beta 3 and have not had a recurrence of the "proximity sensor issue" in quite a while.
 
saving107 said:
Steve Jobs last month said the sensor problem would be fixed in a future software update, but this hasn’t yet appeared.
Click to expand...

If I'm not mistaken, what Steve actually said was that Apple was 'looking into' the proximity sensor problem. He never said there would be a software fix. It seems to me the problem is almost certainly a hardware issue since the 3GS running the same operating system doesn't have the problem.
 
I dont understand there is such a simple answer to all these issues with these phones.

We all have that standard Apple Warranty thats 1 year from the date of purchase.

Wait 10-11 months, then contact apple tell them your having battery issues bla bla.. they send you a nice new refurbished unit. That I am sure will have the antenna issue fixed, proximity sensor.. and all the either small flaws bugged out. A lot easier then Apple doing a recall. Their slowly going to be fixing issues with these refurbished units as most people are exchanging them anyways.

Thats what my plan is. And also after using a phone for 1 year you get a nice new one. And if you want to sell it its gonna be a good time as the new iPhone will be coming out just around that time when all of our standard 1 year warranty expires..

And its gonna bring up the sale value of your current iP4 as you can advertise is as brand new!
 
It's kind of a non-story. The Apple spokesperson was simply acknowledging that the issue is not addressed in iOS 4.0.1/4.0.2, which we all knew already.

Noting that Apple has "yet to fix the problem" almost certainly means that they've yet to fix it for consumers, as in they haven't released iOS 4.1 to the public.

Whether it's actually fixed in 4.1 or not is still up for some debate, but a number of people are reporting better behavior from it.
 
OH NO. :( I can barely stand this problem anymore. If this were any other phone, i would have returned it. but i love the phone otherwise so i've been sticking it out.
 
I purchased my iPhone 4 a month ago. 2 days later, I had to swap it at the Apple store just because of this issue. Still having the same problem with my current one. I really hope this gets fixed.
 
Ethere said:
I purchased my iPhone 4 a month ago. 2 days later, I had to swap it at the Apple store just because of this issue. Still having the same problem with my current one...
Click to expand...
You're holding it wrong.
 
iceterminal said:
Don't go on believing something you've read as gospel...
Click to expand...
+1. Apple, for better or worse, is one of the most secretive companies around when it comes to their products. Lots of rumors, but few of them end up being fact unless it's a lucky guess or something that was already pretty much well-known. They've already acknowledged that the proximity sensor is an issue, so I can't see them not doing something about it.
 
I sure hope the find root cause (and we some day learn what it is/was). One of the more mysterious of defects given that it's not universal.

I've never seen it on my phones but they've been on iOS 4.1 betas for a while. Don't know if that matters or not at this point.

You'd think if beta 3 fixed it for sure, they'd close the open defects with that info (as they have with the garbled BT audio issue for example).
 
azhava said:
+1. Apple, for better or worse, is one of the most secretive companies around when it comes to their products. Lots of rumors, but few of them end up being fact unless it's a lucky guess or something that was already pretty much well-known. They've already acknowledged that the proximity sensor is an issue, so I can't see them not doing something about it.
Click to expand...

But (and I am only asking) how LONG will it take.

People are still waiting on hearing any info on white iPhones a few months later to no avail. How long and how much tolerance can users have before that fix is released. Fortunately - I'm not affected by the proximity issue.

Apple might pride themselves on their secrecy. At the same time - when it comes to the iPhone 4.0 - it has served them VERY poorly both with customers and the media.
 
iceterminal said:
See, you can have both sides saying this or that. Doesn't matter much. How about, before we jump into the deep end of the pool, we let the facts come out. Lets see what actually is released by Apple, and not what someone says, before we form an opinion. YOu know..both sides of the story so to speak.
Click to expand...

We are on MacRumors :rolleyes:
 
even if it is bad hardware there is a simple fix:

when on a call you need to activate the slider to do anything. I know its a work around for a bad hardware design but it should solve the problem.
 
samcraig said:
But (and I am only asking) how LONG will it take.
Click to expand...
Good question. Nobody but Apple knows, and they're not talking.


samcraig said:
...Apple might pride themselves on their secrecy. At the same time - when it comes to the iPhone 4.0 - it has served them VERY poorly both with customers and the media.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I think the iPhone 4 fiasco has tarnished Apple's image, and I've been surprised all along that they haven't reacted more quickly to fix the issues.
 
gregrose said:
sucks...phones should of just been recalled..... :(
Click to expand...

Recalls are normally for safety issues or significant design issues that impact the life of the system (power supply failures). Not for "minor" design flaws or software bugs. Call me a fanboy, but even the worstcase situations we've seen with the iPhone 4 don't merit a recall.
 
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