I did read the article. My favorite part was how he wrapped it in electrical tape actually, because that shoots a hole in the thin non-conductive coating theory. I am interested to see what other tests he does. But for now, not very conclusive.
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ACTUAL Antenna Expert Speaks: iPhone 4 Woes Overblown
- Thread starter SiskoKid
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I did read the article. My favorite part was how he wrapped it in electrical tape actually, because that shoots a hole in the thin non-conductive coating theory. I am interested to see what other tests he does. But for now, not very conclusive.
This expert is an idiot.
Apple redesigned the phone years ago, now they are redesigning how people hold their phones. Their next PR release will be how we have been conditioned to hold our phones in a unnatural position for years because antennas have stuck out the top of phones for years. And now we need to be reconditioned to hold our phones in the more natural position of two fingers as close to the top as you can get, all the while keeping any part of your body as far away from the main body of the phone as is possible.
It's a design flaw to put the antenna in such a spot as it can be easily and naturally covered up. No one can deny that. It's the reason antennas have stuck out the top of phones for so many years.
Apple redesigned the phone years ago, now they are redesigning how people hold their phones. Their next PR release will be how we have been conditioned to hold our phones in a unnatural position for years because antennas have stuck out the top of phones for years. And now we need to be reconditioned to hold our phones in the more natural position of two fingers as close to the top as you can get, all the while keeping any part of your body as far away from the main body of the phone as is possible.
It's a design flaw to put the antenna in such a spot as it can be easily and naturally covered up. No one can deny that. It's the reason antennas have stuck out the top of phones for so many years.
again, daring fireball nails this issue perfectly.
t really is a better antenna and gets better reception, overall, than any previous iPhone. Thats really the hell of this whole goddamn situation. Its like a two steps forward, one step back design, except maybe more like three steps forward, because this thing is faster at downloading, 10 times faster at uploading, and most importantly is better at not dropping calls with a weak signal. But, yes, theres that one step back, wherein it can suffer from unintended attenuation when you bridge the lower-left antenna gap with your skin, and frankly, were a little pissed that this one step back is getting all the attention.
t really is a better antenna and gets better reception, overall, than any previous iPhone. Thats really the hell of this whole goddamn situation. Its like a two steps forward, one step back design, except maybe more like three steps forward, because this thing is faster at downloading, 10 times faster at uploading, and most importantly is better at not dropping calls with a weak signal. But, yes, theres that one step back, wherein it can suffer from unintended attenuation when you bridge the lower-left antenna gap with your skin, and frankly, were a little pissed that this one step back is getting all the attention.
When i tried it I started with 5 bars and the bars would go no lower than 2 and believe me I was using the almighty "DEATH GRIP"
last time I checked, 2 bars were perfectly adequate to make any type of call.
As an iPhone 4 user Im struggling to see why I should be concerned about something that is not affecting me in any way whatsoever?
last time I checked, 2 bars were perfectly adequate to make any type of call.
As an iPhone 4 user Im struggling to see why I should be concerned about something that is not affecting me in any way whatsoever?
PC World said:
That, and the hundreds (thousands?) of videos of the iPhone 4 dropping calls when gripped by the lower-left corner, make this article worthless.
LMAO, "control" yeah right. I love the ridiculous testing protocols that are used to justify the "no issue position", Anantech testing was the best I have seen and they show the attenuation issue clearly, no doubt. Randomly holding 2 phones and making calls sitting at a desk is not testing, it is tech masturbation and if this guy is any type of expert he has ruined any reputation he had as no scientist with any capability would publish any crap result like this.
Download the speed test app from the app store. Start the download test, let it get about 25% through and notice the download speed. Then cover the bottom left side and watch it stall in real time. It's not just a software problem.
You can do that by covering the antenna on any phone. That's different than the bridging of the antenna across the seam.
Ok, once and for all for all of you anecdotal moronic scientists out there, this issue is most prevalent in areas of mid to low signal and anyone posting "I tried this and I don't have the problem" it is only because you are in an area with strong signal already. You are getting the same attenuation everyone else is, it is just that a combination of the Apple bar algorithm and the area you are in makes it seem like a non issue.
The issue exists and based on Anatechs testing I am willing to bet anyone who is actually willing to put up cash that every iPhone 4 has the same attenuation issue. If you are interested in my offer, PM me and let me know how much you are willing to wager (nothing less than a grand, I am not going through this for 5 bucks). We will then send your phone to an independent testing lab, at my cost, for testing and abide by their results. If i am correct you will reimburse me all costs as well as the amount of our wager. Let me know Fanboys.
Ok, just hold it in you left hand with your thumb touching the ozone in a natural manner then, just as Sir Jobs does in his demos. What then?
This is what I'm reading and if so Apple's software "fix" might actually be useful though will regardless piss off numerous AT&T customers. Since I'm hearing that it can go either a) from 5 bars to drop or b) from 4 bars to 2, Apple's fix may result in a) from 1 bar (or even 2 bars) to drop and b) from 3 bars to 2, which wouldn't be all that unrealistic in terms of attenuation.
Huh, shocker an hour and no PMs with anyone wanting to put their money up to back their view.
The problem I have with Apple's "fix" is that it doesn't make any sense. From where I'm sitting right now, the 3G showed 4 or 5 bars which was total nonsense because it couldn't hold a call more than a couple of minutes. Then Apple "fixed" it and it was 2 or 3 bars after that. The 3GS has always indicated 1 or 2 bars. The iPad right now is showing me 5 bars. To be fair, however, the iPad is bigger, undoubtedly has a better antenna and while I doubt it's really 5 bars strong, it's probably 2 or 3, the point being that it works pretty well. Now the iPhone 4. Right now I have 1 bar. According to Apple that 1 or 2 bars too high which means I should have zero to -1 bars. That will be a neat trick. But from where I'm sitting, I've had 20-30 minute conversations with the iPhone 4 while the 3G and 3GS would NEVER....I repeat...NEVER have made it past 5 minutes. In two years I've NEVER had a conversation from where I'm sitting at home more than 5 minutes because the call would be dropped. So as I see it, the iPhone has noticeably superior reception when compared to any other iPhone to date yet it indicates a weaker signal than any other iPhone to date. Given this, I fail to see how changing the math is any kind of fix to anything. All that aside, the AT&T Fuze is small enough that I can completely envelop it with both hands and when I do that, the signal strength drops considerably but it keeps working. It's just really slow. This is in contrast to when I short across the seam of the iPhone 4 with a wire, a finger, my hand, a car key, anything that conducts, and the signal is immediately and completely lost.
I was initially upset about this but a case fixed the problem, I would have bought a case anyway because it's a phone, not "art" and it actually works better than previous iPhones with the case. And Apple does fix problems. The real problem, as I mentioned elsewhere, is that they appear to be throwing darts and missing the board and they should muzzle Jobs from now on and not allow him to reply to anyone outside of the company for any reason. This would still be a serious problem but people wouldn't be hysterical if Jobs hadn't shot off his yap with bad, pointless one-liners.
I wouldn't go calling this "antenna expert" (or anyone else) an idiot or a moron, primarily because I made it past the 5th grade and it's rude, but it doesn't make any sense and neither does the "fix" Apple has so far announced.
If there was that short clip would not prove it. It is way too blurry to see the number of bars (which btw is one of the most inaccurate ways of displaying signal strength) which renders this video completely useless.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtW6cY_b5ZM
Nope, no such thing as reception issues with the magical iPhone 4. How silly could everyone be?
Besides that, the antenna is 1 part of a complete system responsible for giving you reception. The problem could also be in the umts chip itself (both hardware and software (aka firmware)) or the representation of the reception bars (which, again, is one of the most inaccurate ways of displaying signal strength). If the umts chip is programmed to filter noise in a very aggressive way this will also cause the signal to be less powerful. When you cover the antenna this would be enough to make the signal drop to a level were you'd not be able to call or send any data. Radioscanners have a squelch knob so the user can adjust the noise filter. However, if you put the squelch on its highest setting you'll loose every communication. The noise filtering filters out noise and the signal you want to listen to as well. That's why a softwareupdate could resolve the problem but until then there still is a reception problem for some of the iPhone 4 users.
if the iP4 is fatally flawed and the flaw affects every iP4, and as many here tell it, most people are dropping every other call and most data connections, why aren't we seeing masses of people lining up at Apple retail stores across the world returning their rather expensive new flawed iPhone's (in fact, oddly tens of thousands of people are ordering new iP4's every day)...the phone has been out over a week and there are literally a million+ phones in the market and this issue has been in the mass media for several days now...
Is it because the Apple Sheeple/FanBoys and girls don't care that they can't make calls and are happy to keep their flawed iP4 as a cool looking iPod Touch?
If I was dropping as many calls as many here say they are, I'd be down at the nearest Apple Store demanding a refund as fast as you could say "Steve Jobs is an Evil Capitalist Pig!!!!!!111111".
Is it because the Apple Sheeple/FanBoys and girls don't care that they can't make calls and are happy to keep their flawed iP4 as a cool looking iPod Touch?
If I was dropping as many calls as many here say they are, I'd be down at the nearest Apple Store demanding a refund as fast as you could say "Steve Jobs is an Evil Capitalist Pig!!!!!!111111".
Exactly.
This post brought to you by an engineer who works on satellites which (obviously) rely on antennas and her husband who designs such antennas.
What is a joke is your inability to even comprehend such a simple article.
They didn't make any conclusions based on the bars, they made actual phone calls.
If you are going to be so persistently whiny and upset, and least pretend your understand what is going on.
Mmmm....satellites. I used to do the ham radio satellite thing and it was remarkable how little power you need when you have a decent antenna system. I forget the antenna sizes anymore but they were no more than 14 elements up or down (using 2m and 70cm bands) and I don't think I ever needed more than 10 watts, even when it was 32,000 miles out. Indeed, it was considered bad form to use more than 1 watt on a close pass!
Exactly what I have been saying all along. It's a non-issue blown out of proportion by the trolls on this board and haters In the media.
Feels good to be right all the time.
Feels good to be right all the time.
Whether every phone can be made to drop bars is irrelevant to me. All I care about is making calls when I need to. I haven't had a single problem that I can attribute to the iPhone 4's reception. I've said several times that I'd be first in the return line if I couldn't make calls reliably. That's just not the case with my experience.
I'm pretty sure Apple is going to say the antenna works as they designed it. If you have an issue with it, I'd put a case on it or return it. They're not going to recall all the phones.
LOL exactly. Totally credible in my opinion
Wait, I'm a civil engineer at Cal Poly and I did my own OBJECTIVE and LENGTHY test proving that I get dropped calls by using the grip of death. Do I win?