Everyone is well aware that when you cover the black stripe on the lower left corner that the signal decreases, as long as you are in a low signal area. What everyone seems to think is that this is due to essentially making a connection between the two silver antennas. Well if this was the case then making any connection between the two antennas would cause the signal to go down. However, touching the upper left and lower right corners with one hand does NOT make the signal go down. Perhaps there is something to Apples claim that this is simply the antennae being covered just like the 3Gs and other makers and not anything to do with bridging the two together? Thus making the antenna design ok and this really is a software issue where the signal is overstated. I have confirmed that I am getting much better performance from my Iphone 4 than I was with my 3Gs as many tech reviews have also stated, but I am in a good coverage area.
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Antennae Issue New Findings
- Thread starter tevans333
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yeah, how about reading the post. The idea is the make contact between the two antennae that the lower left black stripes separates. If you cover the lower left stripe the signal decreases. If you simply make contact between the two SAME antennae but in a different location it does not degrade the signal, ie. it is not the contact between the two antennae that causes the problem.
On TWIT.tv this weekend they had an RF expert on who said exactly what you are saying. That the problem isn't just bridging the two antennas, but the fact your physical hand is blocking the signals in that area of the antenna. Apparently only putting a piece of tape over the black strip area will not do anything to reduce it, yet a case will, since it moves your fingers far enough back from the antenna to reduce the interference.
Could be coincidence, but I sometimes notice that if I touch the top seam that my wifi signal gets stronger.
That doesn't make any sense as the entire band is the antenna. Were the black gap the entirety of the antenna then covering it would block the signal.
Want to try something fun? Put three layers of electrical tape over the gap and watch your signal bars drop. You don't even have to hold it. Good times.
We JUST had a thread that covered this issue pretty well.
You need to read https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/960659/
Gives some reasons as to why the bottom gap being covered may effect things more then the top gap.
You need to read https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/960659/
Gives some reasons as to why the bottom gap being covered may effect things more then the top gap.
The steel band acts as an antenna, but the actual antenna is in that lower left corner from what I understand of the design and teardown from iFixit.
If it acts like an antenna then it is the antenna. The radio may be in that corner, but the antenna goes around the majority of the phone so there should be no reason why you are blocking the entire antenna just by bridging that gap.
Probably no doubt touching the cell antenna portion of the steel band causes some interference, but probably not that big of a drop to cause bars to free fall. But, since that corner is where the actual antenna radio is, the drop is the biggest causing the bars to free fall when in a weak signal area.
With the obvious failure of this antenna design, I'd love to see how/where they place it in the iPhone 5!!!!
No software update is gonna fix this, unfortunately.
Apple thought they would fool everyone and coerce them into purchasing overpriced "bumpers" to resolve the issue. This has backfired on Apple, it seems.
No software update is gonna fix this, unfortunately.
Apple thought they would fool everyone and coerce them into purchasing overpriced "bumpers" to resolve the issue. This has backfired on Apple, it seems.
yeah, it totally backfired ... iPhones and, especially, bumpers are pretty much sold out ...
it TOTALLY backfired on them
