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Apple on iPhone 4 Reception: Signal Strength Display Issue Only, Software Update Coming
- Thread starter fruitbat04
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I think that holds true for certain individuals on both sides of the fence.
T.
PS: Not refering to you personally .. just for the record.
As if rigging the display signal bars for 3 years doesn't made them look daft. if they have done this for 3 years straight, why not cover up a hardware flaw?
Improvements and/or different trade-offs. Anywhere you put an antenna (except maybe in outer space), some things will get better, some things will get worse. Different radiation patterns, different things that can cause parasitic losses, etc. Bigger super-computers allow simulating a greater range of antenna choices. The RF chips will possibly get better and allow more flexibility in the possible trade-offs and choices.
For instance, they could make an alternate device that was so big that there was plenty of room inside for a big internal cellular antenna... and also, say, put a 9.7" display on it.
I'm by no means a novice when it comes to computers / software or hardware, Although the iPhone 3gs is the first Apple product Ive owned since 1982 I will not profess to be a expert in the Apple arena! How ever , I do know that since updating my 3GS to iOS 4 I have the signal degradation issue when I have out of the Ottter Defender case which did not manifest until recent OS Update on June 23rd. I do not have the iPhone 4G so I cannot assume that its exclusively a software issue as I see in the 3GS.
I do hope this goes well for everybody concerned myself included! I was and am really hell bent on having a iPhone 4 for the Camera with Flash so I can have a decent camera in lieu of bring out my Nikon D60 which is anything but portable! Also I find "Zero Worth in having a new iPhone if I need to have the damn thing in a case impeeding the camera function and quite honestly I was also looking forward to having a iPhone 4G with just ZAGG shield on it and having it be able to fit into a sleek non bulky belt case.
If I cannot I will not purchase it as my 3GS works without any issues what so ever!
But basically this looks like a Bull ***** Cover up to me and a major recall via class action lawsuit in the making if you want my opinion. I certainly hope I am wrong on this one gentleman but I am thinking no!
I don't see anything on the iPhone Dev Center that I belong to for iOS "Beta" so doubtful it will come Monday as some places on the NET say!
The more I think about it, the less inclined I am to believe that this fix would affect performance at all.
I had originally entertained the idea that, hey, if Apple is displaying the wrong signal strength, maybe they're using the wrong signal thresholds to determine tower swaps, call failures, etc. But that doesn't make sense for two reasons:
1) Apple said the bars are reporting higher than they should be. A 5-bar call shouldn't be more likely to fail than a 1-bar call.
2) Unless they did something dumb with the programming, they would base all cell operations off of the actual signal strength, not an arbitrary 5-bar ranking system.
So yeah, they're reverting the display issue that they purposely implement two years ago... but they aren't fixing the real issue that affects performance.
I had originally entertained the idea that, hey, if Apple is displaying the wrong signal strength, maybe they're using the wrong signal thresholds to determine tower swaps, call failures, etc. But that doesn't make sense for two reasons:
1) Apple said the bars are reporting higher than they should be. A 5-bar call shouldn't be more likely to fail than a 1-bar call.
2) Unless they did something dumb with the programming, they would base all cell operations off of the actual signal strength, not an arbitrary 5-bar ranking system.
So yeah, they're reverting the display issue that they purposely implement two years ago... but they aren't fixing the real issue that affects performance.
Video proving it's a hardware issue
I just recorded a video accessing 3G data on my iPhone 4 before and after holding it in my left hand. Instead of just looking at the reception indicator, I used speed test apps to see if the 3G signal is affected. It completely lost all 3G reception.
YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqe0tBuBR20
I just recorded a video accessing 3G data on my iPhone 4 before and after holding it in my left hand. Instead of just looking at the reception indicator, I used speed test apps to see if the 3G signal is affected. It completely lost all 3G reception.
YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqe0tBuBR20
So basically, we're going back to using the "real" signal strength measurement that was present in firmware 2.01. Good
If you forgot the story behind that display change, users complained the iPhone had poor signal strength in 2.0 and 2.01. Apple then issues firmware 2.1 which "adjusted" the signal strength indicator to reflect more bars, thus eliminating the poor signal strength complaint. 2.1 gave everyone ~5 bars unless there was basically no usable signal.
If you forgot the story behind that display change, users complained the iPhone had poor signal strength in 2.0 and 2.01. Apple then issues firmware 2.1 which "adjusted" the signal strength indicator to reflect more bars, thus eliminating the poor signal strength complaint. 2.1 gave everyone ~5 bars unless there was basically no usable signal.
I'll state this simply and truthfully...
In my home office, I never dropped a call with my iPhone3G. Ever. No matter how I held it. With my new iPhone4, I can easily drop the call and kill data throughput by holding it normally. 5 bars to zero folks.
When I went to Best Buy to pick up a case, I attempted to demonstrate the issue to a curious salesman. I could not do it. The five bars never budged.
Clearly the signal there was different (stronger) than at home. This regional variability is causing the varied experiences of users.
OK, that said... I would NOT give up the new antenna system for one dumbed-down. I would MUCH rather use a case (as I always intended to anyhow) and have the superior reception of the new antennas. In places where my old phone struggled to get any signal, my (ahem properly held) new iPhone connects easily.
We just can't have the best of both worlds. I prefer the option of superior reception mitigated by changed grip or a simple case.
That said... Apple SHOULD ABSOLUTELY provide a free or low cost option to phone owners. Honestly. These things cost pennies to make (the basic ones). It would be a nice courtesy to Apples most ardent fans who purchased early and faithfully (and hopefully not foolishly).
Pony up Steve! A drop in the bucket.
You should apply for one of the antenna engineering jobs at Apple and use the video as your resume.
This is a perfect example of why we have wars. Someone tells the truth, and someone else thinks they're lying.
You can hold it that way if you are located in an area where the cellular coverage provides a signal better than, say, -80 dBm, and the i4 will work just great.
That's probably why they are fixing the bars display.
This is complete utter BS. I continue to be amazed at the contempt Apple is displaying to it's iPhone customers. If it was just a display issue then why are the calls being dropped ? As I noted before Apple is very lucky I can not stand working with Windows because Apple has fast become "The lesser of the two evils" when choosing between Microsoft and Apple.
apple is throwing ATT under the bus for ip4's crappy antenna design. The anandtech review clearly shows that the antenna design is flawed.
Okay, I gotcha. But would it really make you happy or be satisfactory? I mean, Apple admitting something and telling people that they screwed up in the hardware design and offering to use cases doesn't really solve anything other than for the customer to see Apple with a tail between their legs.
Honestly if it's really a hardware issue then the only solution would be to do a recall, which is what I thought you were going to say. I could care less if a company walks with their tail between their legs and comes out to the public admitting their are stupid and made a mistake in manufacturing. See, that may not be true and at this point all anyone can do is allow Apple to put out the fix that they said they were going to do and then go from there.
Public humiliation would not make you or anyone else happy and it certainly wouldn't help the stock holders. You have to look at it from a business standpoint, not just from an individual customer.
They can't "fix it". They took a gamble hoping this antenna design wouldn't bother anyone. It didn't go as well as they hoped. And now they have 3 million phones out there (and counting). Recalling them will do nothing. The antenna is an integral part of the physical design of the phone, they can't replace it without having to start from scratch with the whole thing.
What they could do to alleviate the problem now is to include white bumpers with white phones and black bumpers with black phones, and tell people if they want other colors they have to buy bumpers. But being the greedy cheapskates they are, they'd rather go down in flames than include bumpers for free. If you ever catch a billionaire on all fours trying to pry loose a nickel stuck to a chewing gum on the sidewalk, it's probably Steve Jobs.
Wait a second apple.....since when did anyone say the main issue was not having enough bars in the display. The issue is loosing reception when covering the antenna. Who cares if you change the stupid bar calibration. How will that help the customer? I think you need to give a refund to those customers who bought bumpers.
I don't think that is the case anymore. What has MS done recently that justifies the bad name?
It looks like this could be a software issue.
But you may ask, why do I lose signal when I put my hand over the left corner and my signal drops to 1 bar or less ?
The answer may be in the software as well. Could it be that when the iPhone calculates a signal strength and sees that it is really low, that it will either drop the call or suspend data until it can get a better signal ?
It will be interesting to see what happens when the patch is made available in a few weeks.
Thankfully, I do not have any issues with my phone, so I will be looking forward to what everyone else reports.
But you may ask, why do I lose signal when I put my hand over the left corner and my signal drops to 1 bar or less ?
The answer may be in the software as well. Could it be that when the iPhone calculates a signal strength and sees that it is really low, that it will either drop the call or suspend data until it can get a better signal ?
It will be interesting to see what happens when the patch is made available in a few weeks.
Thankfully, I do not have any issues with my phone, so I will be looking forward to what everyone else reports.
Good point. I was hoping that would be the issue as well, but they are stating differently.
They could report how many bars you would get after you cover the antenna, rather than before. Then you would move to where you got a better signal before trying. Plus the i4 would be even better at getting reliable calls with 0 bars on the display, especially if you buy one of their "magic" bumpers. A much better marketing message.
And the "Mac in-crowd" would know the "secret Mac handshake hold", and be able to surprise their friends with how well they could make calls with 0 bars, even without the Steve's "it's just magic" bumper.