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Apple on iPhone 4 Reception: Signal Strength Display Issue Only, Software Update Coming

WiFi vs 3G

Has anyone shown attenuation/degradation of WiFi downloads?

That would certainly seem to be a hardware problem.

Can anyone post a video of a WiFi download being stopped by bridging the antennas? (In an area of strong WiFi bars of course)
 
daraj said:
Apple is now throwing the ball to AT&T as users now will have less bars(dropped calls) and will start blaming AT&T coverage. Exit Strategy!
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Actually, iPhone has been overreporting bars for years. If your signal is showing -90dB you should NOT have full bars. Blame AT&T for the crap signal, but blame Apple for trying to fake the quality of the lame radio they've been using. You have two bad quality products working together.
 
jeeez.. looks like there just trying to cover it up putting out an update that will make users think that there phone is ok now. :rolleyes:

they won't admit they fudged up on this one.
 
bjeadeh said:
So is Apple now saying that they have been lying about their products performance? This just opens another whole can of worms if you ask me.
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Frankly if you haven't noticed the bars are meaningless you haven't been paying very close attention.

aarestivo said:
Well the dropped calls and data grinding to a halt is not new to the iPhone 4.
It has been a problem long before iPhone ever was introduced.
People just love something to complain about.
I can say, i have had far fewer dropped calls with my 4 than with my 3G.
I've had for a week and can only count 1, and i use my phone alot!
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that seems rather subjective.
 
thatguysmells said:
More like dumb people who can't follow logic or rationality. That's where the correlation is. Did you even read my original quote? The other member I quoted was spot on, do some research, go find the article and then slap yourself for being a zero.
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I love the morons who tell everyone experiencing bad phone performance to read an article, a quote or a letter, and that will fix their phone. ROFL. How is research going to fix the fact the the phone drops data and phone connections when you hold it?
 
maddagascar said:
jeeez.. looks like there just trying to cover it up putting out an update that will make users think that there phone is ok now. :rolleyes:

they won't admit they fudged up on this one.
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Yepp.. WOW .. This is a huge cover up. 5 bars just laying there, when held dropped calls ...
 
01grander said:
That is coming from Apple.....I just called and they will NOT take the phone back. ATT IS CHARGING A RESTOCKING FEE!!!!
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Anybody experiencing dropping calls should have something in WRITING and expressly state that the iPhone 4 in its current form, with the dropping calls is not fit for purpose.

Whatever these shop assistants say, will not matter. But if you raise the issue in writing, they will have to take you seriously and you have evidence if this problem unfolds further.
 
nooaah said:
Actually, iPhone has been overreporting bars for years. If your signal is showing -90dB you should NOT have full bars. Blame AT&T for the crap signal, but blame Apple for trying to fake the quality of the lame radio they've been using. You have two bad quality products working together.
Click to expand...

to further... Apple is NOW using ATT's formula. Why weren't they using it before? Simple. Because they didn't want their phones looking like they grabbed less of a signal than a blackberry or some other device.

The press release is great spin, but unfortunately to anyone with half a brain, painfully transparent.
 
this doesn't really explain why other countries, where ATT is out of the equation, are having issues. i've never had a dropped call in my life until the iphone 4....

and 1-2 bars inaccuracy? how about full edge to no service in 30 seconds? are you telling me its that inaccurate that it is displaying what should be 1 bar as full 5 bars? and why is it that someone with a different phone also displays full signal. is his/her signal calculation also wrong? why do they not drop to no service when in their hand? i'll probably bite the bullet and keep it since i sold my 3gs already, but i honestly cant believe people, despite the huge out cry, believe steve and think this is a none issue. when you travel outside of your little bubble of excellent reception you're going to see this issue first hand. i cant recreate it in the city i work in, but once i travel out of the city to my home i can recreate this with ease. and not just from holding the phone, sitting it on a desk and covering the death zone with one finger... one finger! i can fully understand the people pissed off with this.
 
01grander said:
NOT WHEN IT WAS PURCHASED AT ATT......I just got off the phone with Apple.
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Which sort of makes sense. Apple cannot override the return policy at retail channels that they do not own. That's why the letter says Apple retail stores and Apple online. They control the return channels there.
 
maddagascar said:
jeeez.. looks like there just trying to cover it up putting out an update that will make users think that there phone is ok now. :rolleyes:

they won't admit they fudged up on this one.
Click to expand...
No, they're fixing a legitimate issue (albeit one they intentionally made to fool people). The problem is, this fix has nothing to do with the reception problem people have.

Gripping the phone should not cause a literal signal drop of -20dB. That is NOT normal behavior for the vast majority of phones. Bring up the Nokia example again, but nobody holds their phone by the top. I still believe, and I have EVIDENCE, that the signal issue is more software/AT&T related than the antenna design. However, this is a fix for a totally different problem and I'm pretty sure Apple isn't dumb enough to try to pass it off as a solution to the more accute issue we have.
 
From the way I see it, this public statement is for protecting Apple legally. I am not here to troll, and am a big Apple supporter, but Apple dropped the ball on the iPhone 4.

Apple just admitted this issue effects all iPhone 4's, so people saying I have 5 iPhone 4's and this problem only effects 3 of the 5, you are wrong.

Apple next tries to "down play" the issue by saying this problem exist on the iPhone 3GS, and other phones like the Android, etc. This statement is more for legally protecting themselves.

Apple follows to explain how simple the issue is to fix, they will start using an AT&T calculation for representing bar strength and change the look of the bars on the iPhone. If this issue is simple to fix, and Apple is using the calculation that AT&T is providing, then why is this software update going to take a few weeks? If Apple does not get this software update out earlier, A) It is either not as easy as they say it is, or B) they want to make customers wait past the 30 day return period.

If I was AT&T, I would be pressuring Apple to fix this problem correctly, but who knows what AT&T is doing. The way I see it, AT&T will loose a lot of customers to the Verizon version of this phone if it does come out in January. Users who are stuck (past the 30 day return policy) with the iPhone , because they believed Apple will fix the problem with a software update, may be able to break the contract with AT&T, but it will require some serious arguing about service quality and AT&T failing to provide their part of the contract agreement. Also good luck in receiving a full refund from Apple after the 30 day return "window".

Next, from a stockowners point of view this is scary. Apple, will eventually release a new iPhone, iPhone 5 or "iPhone Verizon". If they release an "iPhone Verizon" Apple may be able to make changes to the antenna design, and argue that the changes were required for supporting the CDMA technology. However if they release the iPhone 5 or a new revision of the iPhone 4 with changes to the antenna, then I see it as Apple admitting there is a hardware design issue and will be sued for the iPhone 4 rev A antenna issue.

Overall, I think Apple needs to do a recall. The statement released today was because of the class action started yesterday,and that is it, it was not released to appease the customers. Apple put a clear non-scratch non-conductive coat on the antennas, and move forward. The earlier this is done the less money it will cost Apple.

We know one thing, the next iPod Touch is going to be great!
 
I just don't buy this. At home in my office sitting at my desk I get dropped calls if I hold my iPhone 4 in my left hand like I would any other phone. I did not get dropped calls when holding my 3GS or 3G. There is a design fault in the aerial of the iPhone 4, no question.
Of course phones will lose signal if you hold them in certain places but phones are usually designed so that holding the phone in a normal natural manner will cause these signal losses. If you cover up the very top or very bottom of pretty much every mobile phone you lose signal - you don't lose signal holding it in a normal manner in the same way that phones have been held since the invention of the phone handset over a hundred years ago.
 
pic620 said:
haha yes, oh i did not see that part! they said it works fine! so it must be! so simple! how didnt i see it before ...
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ok let me explain it simple then for the hard headed:

1. Even after the fix and the more accurate method of signal strength display, even then you wont be able to judge reception between Apple's handsets and other manufacturers. Imagine those bars as variations of worst, better, mid, good, great. That is all.

2. Same as the battery indicator: you have learned by experience than no two devices batt indicator says anything other than for the device itself. Therefore you cant judge the 5bars of say the i4 against a moto X

3. Apple says this is its best phone ever in wireless performance, and believe it or not they have got date to back this up. So, if you do like how the 3GS or 3G works, then this one will work even better.

As simple as that. k?
 
pdjudd said:
Which sort of makes sense. Apple cannot override the return policy at retail channels that they do not own. That's why the letter says Apple retail stores and Apple online. They control the return channels there.
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Yes but all these Apple defenders are telling me thats what I need to do.....its not a big deal so just return it........except i shouldnt have to pay the restocking fee.
 
pistolero said:
What else do you want.? A personal apology and a $1,000 check? Just return the phone and switch to Verizon or Sprint etc it the AT&T signal in your location is too weak!. That's the solution to this nonsense.
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Jeez. It's not AT&T's fault here. I've owned iPhones since the first generation and none of them had this much dropped calls ever. Why do I have to abandon the iPhone brand and service I like because of Apple's design flaw in the iPhone 4? Why can't they man up and admit that they have a antenna design flaw and issue a mass recall or give us a proper fix via firmware if it is a software issue? Not this BS signal bar fix that does nothing to help the common drop calls. Why do they falsely display better reception to begin with? They say the iPhone 4 has the best wireless performance they have ever shipped but why can't it outperform what my 1st gen, 3G, and 3GS iPhone's did better reception wise?
 
samcraig said:
to further... Apple is NOW using ATT's formula. Why weren't they using it before? Simple. Because they didn't want their phones looking like they grabbed less of a signal than a blackberry or some other device.

The press release is great spin, but unfortunately to anyone with half a brain, painfully transparent.
Click to expand...

maybe that's a part of Apples next step: bringing the iPhone to a better carrier: verizon
 
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