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

[marksman]

Do you live in the real world? Either the phone works for you or it doesn't. If it doesn't work for you, then how can you say you love it? You cannot have it both ways. You show them your displeasure by returning the phone that does not work for you. You can buy it again if and when they fix it to your satisfaction.

I got to agree with this. It is annoying when people rant endlessly about how bad the phone is then get insulted and outraged when told to return it, because "they love it so much." It does not compute. You can't love the iPhone 4 and rant about it the way some of you do, unless you are being completely dishonest in one direction or the other.

I bet Apple will release this software fix at a time most early adopters won't be able to return their phones.

As others have stated, as well as myself, if you are having connectivity problems now, and can't stop touching the soft spot and don't want to use a case, then just return the phone now. Don't wait. They are not trying to trick you or get you to hold out past your return deadline.

They will give you all your money back now. Feel free to buy it again in 3 months if something changes that might make you change your mind.

Return it. It is NEVER going to work in the area you use it. The antenna design attenuates more than the prior designs. ALL ANTENNA ATTENUATE.

This is physics. Put you hand on any phone and it will happen. The only thing that differs is the degree. Most phones attenuate less than the iPhone 4. Some attenuate more.

Phones with antenna designs that attenuate a lot require a stronger starting signal to work. iPhone 4 falls into that category. This is a HARDWARE issue. It cannot and will not be solved with software.

So if you are unfortunate enough to live in an area where the signal is not strong enough to overcome the antenna attenuation characteristics inherent in the iPhone 4 then return the darn thing.

That's the only option you have.

I agree with this 100%. The iPhone 4 is the iPhone 4 and it is not any other phone. In some circumstances it performs more poorly than other phones and in some circumstances it performs superior. What it does not do is perform exactly the same as any other phone all the time. No phones do.

This is ridiculous.

Based on the testing posted earlier, there's obviously a real issue. Covering it up with a different grading scale is not a real fix. I'm pretty disappointed that this is what they came up with...

What tests?

Apple specifically said that the iPhone 4 and other phones have degradation caused by how people hold the phones. Nothing on this has changed. The real issue is in areas of poor reception, if you hold the iPhone 4 in a certain way you may have problems. This same criteria exists for every cell phone out there. It just happens that the specifics are different for every phone.

So the iPhone's signal is worse than other phones because it has an antenna on the outside. Why doesn't Apple admit that then, instead of playing it off like its simply a miscalculation as to how bars are displayed??

No the signal is different. Indeed in some cases it might be worse, in a lot of cases it seems to be better. There are lots of reports people have made where they can now make calls where they could not previously. This is because the iPhone 4 is different. This is why putting a 3GS next to an iPhone 4 in one location is not a real test. If you want to compare an iPhone 4 vs a 3GS and make calls from both of them over 100+ locations then you might start to begin to have some valid data to claim one is better or worse than the other.

 

[xgman]

This blurb from Gizmodo today actually make pretty good sense to me:

"Like Apple explains, the iPhone 4 doesn't display signal bars correctly. So you may have five bars and your signal may be excellent or your signal may be regular, while it probably should be displaying three bars.

This disparity explains why—when you touch the problematic antenna spot—some users can't get the display to drop from five bars. No matter how hard they try the death grip, the iPhone still shows five bars and the data will keep flowing. But then, other people with five bars will see the phone drop to one bar the moment they hold their iPhone in their hand, touching the bottom left corner dead spot.

As the graphic shows, in the best case scenario starting with five bars, a 19.8dB attenuation has no effect on the iPhone bar display or performance. In the worst case scenario starting with five bars, however, grabbing the iPhone will make both the signal bars and the quality of the signal to drop to bad levels.
By making the bars display the actual signal strength, Apple will avoid the bars going from five to zero. THey will fix a perception problem. But if you have experienced it already, the data loss will still happen when you hold the phone. The only difference is that, after the update, touching the dead spot will make you go from three bars to one or zero. The jump in bars won't be as dramatic, but the signal attenuation will still happen."

"Michael Anderson, who used to work at Motorola's FCC testing lab, points out that "it's a fundamental flaw that can only be fixed through a redesign. If that is redone, all the FCC will have to be completed again. This may be a long slow process to fix."

 

[Apollo33]

It will be interesting to see how it fares to other phones. Apparently this new antenna is better than on the 3Gs. I don't see why some people are worked up over this, it seems to be a matter of meter calibration.

That's not it at all. It entirely has to do with the antenna becoming de-tuned when your hand bridges the gap between the two pieces of metal. That's hardware. This fix won't really solve anything besides to show where AT&T's service really sucks.

They claim to be 1 or 2 bars off. However, I can make my iPhone 4 go from a full 5 bars down to nothing. 2 bars off, fine... But you can't tell me they're going to be able to fix a full 5-bar drop with SOFTWARE.

Moreover, when I remove my hand... the 5-bars return. So this is clearly a hardware issue. I noticed it the first day I got the phone (before reading about it online) because I just happen to hold my phone in my left hand.

I don't understand why Apple is so reluctant to give away iPhone bumpers (which can't cost more than $5 to produce) but is more than willing to fully refund a $600 phone. (assuming a $300 subsidy by AT&T... the subsidy may actually be different, but I know AT&T's new ETF is $375)

Doesn't Apple want to make sales? Though, I suppose in admitting that you NEED a bumper, they're also admitting that their hardware design sucks.

Apple's far too full of themselves to admit they made a mistake.

 

[mdriftmeyer]

Cool, so now the signal strength indicators will more accurately display the hardware error!

Actually, it puts the focus on AT&T.

 

[CBR900RR]

We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit taller so they will be easier to see.

So APPLE is making the bar taller to compensate for less bar.

 

[xgman]

Okay, based on this post, exactly what did you want them to do? Please answer.

See my above post. Pretty well explains it I think. Redesign over some time and admit that we need to use cases. Not much else they can do right now. Contrary to their current policy, I would not rule out free bumpers if the heat on Apple doesn't cool soon. If they weren't so busy being secretive with filed tests of the iphone 4 all covered up, maybe we wouldn't be having this issue.

 

[rhanley]

Apple can't change the laws of physics.

Hey Firewood -- I know you're on the other side of the fence from me on this, but I do have a question for you..

Do you think that next year's iphone will be left with the same antennae without any further changes?

The reason why I ask is because you have made it clear that things change and sometimes hand positions need to change (as in your camera examples).

But, if Apple does make a change to next year's model, what would you take that as?

Just curious

Have a happy weekend!

 

[potaco]

Actually, it puts the focus on AT&T.

Which did a fine* job with all other phones until this one.

*This is a move to deflect blame from Apple to AT&T and the other carriers around the world. Their service hasn't been perfect, but it's not the reason for these new dropped calls and data problems.

 

[mdriftmeyer]

I think, for some of you, who are blaming this on AT&T are on crack!! Take it from someone who HAS to be on Verizon's network because AT&T is not here( coming soon). Verizon's network is just as terrible as the next one's.....To be honest, I don't think your EVER going to see an iphone on Verizon's network, they keep bashing apple. And as far as this "problem" goes...IMO I blame Apple and Gizmodo.

All Telcos are going to be mediocre, because the deployed spectrum coverage is far less in overlap than they let on. 3G density is much narrow than all Telcos want to admit.

People somehow actually believe that 3G from Verizon blankets the Nation. Not even close.

 

[thedoctor9]

Let's just wait for the fix and see how that goes....
Hopefully, they'll have the update by next week and really fix the problem.

To all iPhone/Apple haters and Android lovers, prepare your new complaints for another round/chapter of arguments. To apple fanboys, prepare your defenses.

Let us all keep the discussions rolling!!!

 

[kernkraft]

Actually, it puts the focus on AT&T.

...and O2, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and all the others networks around the world. Now, back to Apple!

 

[_Refurbished_]

An 8-star phone?

Hilarious.

 

[cmaier]

I

All of these solutions also happen to be better if you are at all worried about SAR exposure (the i4 rating is not at the low end of the scale for this).

I don't worry about SAR exposure health risks, the easter bunny, santa clause, or many other things that don't actually exist.

 

[subsonix]

That's not it at all. It entirely has to do with the antenna becoming de-tuned when your hand bridges the gap between the two pieces of metal. That's hardware. This fix won't really solve anything besides to show where AT&T's service really sucks.

Yes, but that is true will ALL antennas on all phones. Read up on the articles by some real experts in this field.

They claim to be 1 or 2 bars off. However, I can make my iPhone 4 go from a full 5 bars down to nothing. 2 bars off, fine... But you can't tell me they're going to be able to fix a full 5-bar drop with SOFTWARE.

Yes but the dB scale is logarithmic, I think apple should get the chance to put out a fix for this. At this point I trust them more than Gizmodo, they are under criminal investigation for gods sake.

Moreover, when I remove my hand... the 5-bars return. So this is clearly a hardware issue. I noticed it the first day I got the phone (before reading about it online) because I just happen to hold my phone in my left hand.

What I'm trying to say is that in a general case (meter calibration aside) you do control hardware from software, things like signal strength and frequency can theoretically be controlled from software.

 

[potaco]

So APPLE is making the bar taller to compensate for less bar.

So instead of lllll, it'll be lllll. Much easier to distinguish.

 

[firewood]

No one expects to be able to take a photo with his hand in front of the lens.

Please read up on the history of early photography, and how many consumers had to eventually learn to take the lens cap off, and not chop off heads, and not have grubby fingers in the way. If my old high school photography instructor was still alive, he would probably be able to quantify how far the answer was away from "No one".

 

[marksman]

I might actually believe it. I was at the Apple store where my iPhone 3G was showing 1 bar and the iPhone 4 showed 3-4. When I held the phone in my left had, the bars dropped dramatically. One thing I still don't understand is how holding the phone will cause the OS to recalculate the number of bars differently.

You hand/grip alters the quality of the signal the phone is receiving. The phone detects this and changes its representation. The phone is constantly monitoring the signal and updating the display with the signal strength. Apple admits that you can impact the quality of cell reception by how you hold the phone. The same as you can with any other cell phone.

This will be resolved by empirical evidence eventually.

Would have been nice if it started with a shred of empirical evidence. There has not been any to date.

LOL what a joke Apple...I want to see this. How could a display error SW fix could solve the issue of drop calls?

So let's say i have 4 bars...I "death grip" the iPhone and it goes down to no bar/signal within 30sec...then with the SW fix what? I will have 2 bars and they will still go down to no bar/signal...
Did i miss something? If so i am glad to learn about it.

No you didn't miss anything. You have it exactly right. Apple is simply going to more properly show you when you are in an area with a poor signal to begin with.. and by griping the phone in an obstructive way you cause the signal to potential drop below a usable level. No magic to it.

Somehow the incorrect formula is duping my Speedtest application into thinking that I get massive data speed loss when I hold it with the death grip then.... right??? Right???

NO! What is happening is exactly what I thought was going to happen: Apple is covering the problem by patching a mask into the OS so that you think the bars don't move when you hold it that way. Less responsive bars = less people noticing = Apple doesn't' have to do a damn thing to fix our legitimate problems.

You get massive speed loss because your cellular connection is much weaker when you put it in the "death grip". That is why your speedtest is slower. The formula has nothing to do with it. The speedtest slowdown is caused by poor cell reception. They are just going to try and more accurately portray that information so you can know what might be contributing to the problem.

 

[reactions]

i am just shocked at apple's response.

i am a huGE huge fan of the iphone and this is such a bS statement by them.

It's proven FACT that it does cause dropped calls.

You know what though? my good friend - apple fanboy - says so what - the phone is still awesome.

lol - if it were any other product - heads would roll - i am amazed at this fanboy attitude -

what do you think?

 

[kernkraft]

Let's just wait for the fix and see how that goes....
Hopefully, they'll have the update by next week and really fix the problem.

To all iPhone/Apple haters and Android lovers, prepare your new complaints for another round/chapter of arguments. To apple fanboys, prepare your defenses.

Let us all keep the discussions rolling!!!

It's difficult to keep a meaningful discussion, if one party is in denial.

 

[RebelScum]

Apple is making a fool of themselves to anyone with half a brain, unfortunately that leaves legions to support them.

...from the guy with 4 iphones at home.

 

[subsonix]

So instead of lllll, it'll be lllll. Much easier to distinguish.

No it's the opposite. Instead of: lllll , it'll be lllll.

 

[Jimrod]

To "Firewood" and "Marksman"

Since you two (amongst others) seem to hang on Apple's every word as gospel truth (if you don't actually work for them) - how did you cope when Steve told you to hold the phone different, different than all their advertising material shows and even how Steve himself holds it?? All I can think is that you burst a blood vessel of some kind or mentally imploded and passed out...

There is nothing I would find funnier than for one of these "my phone's fine - there's no issue" blinkered idiots to actually leave their mother's basements and go out in the real world - see an Apple billboard and stop for a photo op with their friend (mother/sister), have billboard fall on them - then with their waning strength try to call the emergency services and have "No Signal" pop up on their iP4... Their dying breath blubbing "you lied to me Steve! Why Steve whyyyyy????"

It's a design flaw, nothing less, you WILL get the problem if you're not in an ideal area - the magazines that can't replicate it are no doubt in city centres - you see a coincidence? The rest of us that don't worship at the altar of Steve can see this phone is worse at making phone calls than our previous iPhone 3G/S - maybe you will one day too. Until then my phone is in the process of being returned ready for an iP4"S" or iP5 - you see we don't hate Apple like you think, but we won't be fed crap either.

 

[tbrinkma]

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.

No, Apple is now saying that they discovered a *bug* in the code relating to signal strength display. They're letting people know they're releasing a fix for that issue shortly.

As for whether the change to that code will effect anything else, that's unknown at this point. There are two possibilities there:
1) It won't change the end behavior, except that it will display a more accurate representation of your signal strength.
2) The newly accurate signal strength estimate will alter how the software controls the hardware, reducing or eliminating the issue to some extent be it completely or partially.

Software can't make hardware do something it is utterly incapable of, but it can enhance the capabilities of hardware in certain ways. For example, software can't turn your roller-ball mouse into a digital camera. On the other hand, signal processing algorithms (aka software) can clear up noise from an optical sensor or radio antenna (to a degree).

 

[Avatar74]

…I think you guys are ridiculous.

It's just difficult to understand why and how you guys get so irate, but I think it locks you guys off from Ockham's Razor. Of course, the "number of entities" you have to assume to explain something depends on how you've articulated you're theory. Sometimes you can make a complicated theory sound simple: "Apple simply f*ed up, and now they're blaming it on someone else" sounds simple enough.

But I've run my own tests, and people out there have run the same tests. When I "death grip" the phone, the signal drops to 1 bar: but my internet throughput is still passable. Hell, it's better than my 3G's throughput. Some of us get the dreaded "Searching…" prompt, though. That means that the phone, sometimes, acts on the information it has about the signal, which is (as Apple claims today) incorrect.

This variance from person to person means either:

1. There is a manufacturing defect that varies the effect of the signal issue from phone to phone. Apple has to diagnose the problem and replace the phone on a case-by-case basis—after which they'll fix the broken phones and sell them as refurbs to recoup costs.
   
   I doubt this is the problem—it is too weird to be a mere defect. The hairline cracks on the 3GS were a manufacturing problem with the plastic. This, however, is both consistent (bars usually drop on phones when touching the band) and inconsistent (the bars don't correspond to the performance of the phone most of the time).
   
2. There is a software bug that not only displays the signal strength incorrectly, it takes actions that make no sense given the signal information. I have no idea what the baseband software does to deal with interferences, voltage drops, and other RF problems. We do however have every indication that Apple—in its quest to make the iPhone work better on ATT's network—has tweaked the software that does all of the work!
   

iFixit's iPhone 4 teardown explains that Apple has been working on this software for some time; and, correctly implemented, it could improve (has improved) call quality:



How did iFixit know it was "buggy?" More importantly, what would such bugs look like?

The "theory"—and what I once thought was an untested theory is starting to look like the fact of the matter—is simple: our problems are caused by buggy baseband software. It's dropping our calls, picking the wrong signals, and missing the mark overall. This explanation makes sense of why all iPhones are having similar, but not the exact same, problems: the software was Apple's attempt at improving signal for all users, not just iPhone 4 users!

Of course it sucks to wait for a lame software update, but at least it can be fixed. —and it makes sense. —and it doesn't require us to give up all hope.

Of course, this mundane explanation doesn't have the added benefit of making our lives seem more dramatic. We all could use a little action in our lives. Going to the Apple store to return our phone, having to argue with Apple's "Geniuses," and so on… we tell these stories like war stories. But we should not let our desire to have interesting things happen to us cloud our judgment. I know it sounds nice to say, "That shady, back alley company is ripping us off because they knew this was a problem. Now they want us to buy bumpers. They intended for this to happen! It's a conspiracy, bro!" —but conspiracy theories don't help us in the long run.

Cheers, guys.

This is probably the most intelligent, reasoned and sound argument I've seen on these discussions of Apple's signal issue/non-issue. It also happens to fit the known facts. Anandtech's tests and other user tests show that the performance of the phone does not necessarily correlate with the signal strength that is displayed, which itself may be inaccurate.

But that doesn't mean the phone performs poorly. It means that the wrong expectations were set and a bad perception ensued. That's still going to impact Apple negatively, but unless you're Steve Jobs I really don't see how that should be relevant to the individual consumer.

Problem is... people have been acting like Apple is this magical wonderland, and Steve Jobs some kind of god. They move mountains in the fanboy's mind. They have rainbows coming out of their ass. Naturally, when a problem comes along, you must whip it... wait, no that's not what I meant to say. Sorry, I got sidetracked. When a problem comes along, the fanboys are the first to scream bloody murder because their precious Apple, their precious Steve, has betrayed their unrelenting (and nonsensical) devotion to a brand.

I'm saying this as an individual who has been there from the beginning. I've owned or used almost every Apple product since 1980. Apple's had its ups and downs like any other company. Its stock price, heavily overvalued by my financial estimates, is an indication of enormous hype around its brand at present... but believe me, they are capable of mistakes. That doesn't mean they're out to get you. It means they're capable of mistakes, as is any operation consisting of thousands of people.

Ever wonder how some awful films get greenlighted? There a lot of moving parts... the film concept that was approved isn't necessarily what the studio ends up with because thousands of people can be involved in a production and no one person has direct control over it all.

Remember how Jobs mentioned bringing the Sony microfloppy to the mainstream? If Jobs knew everything that went on at every level of product development (and the drive choice was pretty high level by the way), the Sony drive would have never made it in. Macintosh senior engineers made a deal with Sony as a contingency because it was possible that Jobs' insistence on an Apple proprietary design wasn't going to make the Mac ready to ship by the deadline.

As for the reason Apple is insistent on this not being a big issue, the answer is twofold:

1. It isn't a catastrophic issue. The explanation does seem to fit the facts, based on my read of Anandtech's test results and Apple's explanation.

2. That's Steve Jobs for you... he's a human, not a god. He does have an ego, and that ego, ladies and gents, is partly why Apple products are never designed by committee. If they were, you'd despise the result. Your admiration for their industrial design owes a lot to Steve Jobs' management style where Apple focuses on making the products THEY believe that customers will want once they see them... not Frankenproducts that attempt to please everybody with every little button, light, bell and whistle that customers demand.

So there's an upside and a downside to accepting the Gospel of Steve. Just like there are tradeoffs in everything else in this world.

Maybe it seems like this is the end of the world for some of you, but trust me... From someone who has lived through the multitude of mishaps under John Sculley, Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio, this too shall pass.

 

[wreckshop]

Apple is making a fool of themselves to anyone with half a brain, unfortunately that leaves legions to support them.

that's sad and true and funny as hell at the same time lol.