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

Come on guys, did you read the thorough review from Anandtech on the receiption of iPhone4?
Here is the link:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review/2

iPhone 4 did better than 3gs/3g during low signal. Signal should be reported by Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR). We noted that iPhone 4 did far better than 3gs while low signal.

Please see the following quotes:
"From my day of testing, I've determined that the iPhone 4 performs much better than the 3GS in situations where signal is very low, at -113 dBm (1 bar). Previously, dropping this low all but guaranteed that calls would drop, fail to be placed, and data would no longer be transacted at all."

"There's no doubt in my mind this iPhone gets the best cellular reception yet, even though measured signal is lower than the 3GS."

Even though the phone design might impact the signal, but the phone reception has improved.

In the end, if you think you can't stand iPhone 4 signal problem (which should be offset which the improved antennae), you can always return the phone before 30 days of the purchase. Just return it and stop complaining.
 
citrate2 said:
Ok. So you've told us what you don't want to achieve here, let you know what you do want achieve by your posts. It's already been proven that some iPhone 4's are defected. What hasn't been proven is that some aren't by taking them to the same location.
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And it has been proven that people having the issue can take their phone elsewhere (2 1/2 miles away in my case) and not have the issue.

So, at this point, I would say there is more proof that the issue is area-based, and not phone-based.

But for the people that state they see this reception issue (I'm talking about dropped calls and no data upload/download, not just dropped bars) with one iphone 4, and not the other, outside of the Apple store, I am ready for the proof. This would be great to know.
 
Millah said:
This really just seems like a case of people making such a big deal out of it just because they know it's there. If none of you who are making such a big deal out of this were aware that it was there, and just used the phone normally, I bet 8/10 of you would be praising the phones much improved reception. But since you guys KNOW it's there, you MAKE yourselves get affected by it. It's like a little kid constantly picking at his scabs.

Seriously, its very easy to not put your finger over that black line or move your hand to not cover it. I'm not trying to sound like Apple can do no wrong, but it's really not that big of a deal. It's almost like its just a minor tradeoff for the much improved reception performance. The phone can now make and hang onto calls where older iPhones never would have, the tradeoff being you can't cover the black line. It's three steps forward, one step back, which means its still two steps forward.

Yes, I do think Apple could have done more to prevent this, and perhaps added a second antenna inside, but then the tradeoff there would have been a device that's not as slim. So there's always tradeoffs, and I would gladly take the current tradeoff over a thicker device.

Seriously, how many of you that are bitching would have put your phone in a case anyways?? You guys are just bitching out of principle, and not because its truly a giant nuisance. And if it truly was, you would have returned your phones by now. So get over it.

For the record, I AM one of those who are affected by this, and will drop calls if i cover the line. I'm sure the majority of you who are complaining ARENT and you're just making noise for the sake of it. You people do this every gimp apple releases something, its always noise for the first month of an Apple release and then it dies down and people go on with their lives enjoying the product like they should have been.
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I'm holding my iPhone 4 the same as I did the 3G and 3GS and I lose all signal at home. Am I holding it wrong?

NT1440 said:
I'd continue our discussion but I don't think I can with someone who so blatantly broke forum rules. Sorry.
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Nice cop out.
 
citrate2 said:
I'm holding my iPhone 4 the same as I did the 3G and 3GS and I lose all signal at home. Am I holding it wrong?
Click to expand...


So do I. Did you even bother to read my entire post? However i find it AWFULLY easy to move my finger 1 cm up to fix the problem.

Jesus Christ. Read my post again because you seem to have missed the point.
 
Millah said:
This really just seems like a case of people making such a big deal out of it just because they know it's there. If none of you who are making such a big deal out of this were aware that it was there, and just used the phone normally, I bet 8/10 of you would be praising the phones much improved reception. But since you guys KNOW it's there, you MAKE yourselves get affected by it. It's like a little kid constantly picking at his scabs.
Click to expand...

But it is a big deal because that is how I've held my phone for 3 years. I understand if you don't hold your phone that way, it seems trivial, but it's tougher than you think - Trust me -- I start conversations with my hand off the 'sweet spot', but as the conversation continues, you inevitably move your hand back to the comfortable position.

But can't you at least agree that Apple should give you a free case? It's not like this sweet spot is in a position no one would normally hold their phone.

For the record, I just talked to my girlfriend... I held my finger on the bridge and immediately she couldn't hear me.. I held it there for no more than 3 seconds, the call dropped.

Please people, at least admit that a free case should be in the deal. Believing I can use my phone 'naked' in all locations I could use my naked 3G is logical, isn't it?
 
I might add that I do believe, at least in part what apple said in its press release.

Before anAndtech released their report on the reception, my experience was that my bars would only drop if in a semi poor reception area. If I was in a really good reception area, it would not drop at all.

I also experienced this with or without the bumper as well.

After anAndtech's report found here http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review/2 I just knew what they were reporting was true.


So not only have they been reporting the reception quality wrong. In IOS4 they blocked us from finding out the real db ourselves by disabling the service check.
 
rhanley said:
But it is a big deal because that is how I've held my phone for 3 years. I understand if you don't hold your phone that way, it seems trivial, but it's tougher than you think - Trust me -- I start conversations with my hand off the 'sweet spot', but as the conversation continues, you inevitably move your hand back to the comfortable position.

But can't you at least agree that Apple should give you a free case? It's not like this sweet spot is in a position no one would normally hold their phone.

For the record, I just talked to my girlfriend... I held my finger on the bridge and immediately she couldn't hear me.. I held it there for no more than 3 seconds, the call dropped.

Please people, at least admit that a free case should be in the deal. Believing I can use my phone 'naked' in all locations I could use my naked 3G is logical, isn't it?
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That I can respect, since you're making a mature and rational argument against it.

And yes, I do absolutely think Apple should be giving a free case to people that are having a hard time with it.

Like I said in my post, its not like i think Apple can do no wrong. I think they have handled this whole thing terribly. I think instead of just telling people to return their phones, that they should offer a free bumper to anyone who goes so far as to try and return the phone, seeing as that almost completely eliminates the problem and the phone performs incredibly with.

The point I was making is that it just isn't as big a deal as the Internet is making it. Seeing as it can be solved by either slightly moving your finger/palm, or purchasing a case (which 90% of users would have done ANYWAY). Like i said, it's a minor tradeoff for the huge improvement in cellular performance. Everything has tradeoffs. Not to mention every phone is affected by this in SOME way as well.
 
citrate2 said:
Nice cop out.
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I've laid out my arguments, you reject them when they are based off the same amount of circumstantial evidence as yours. Some have agreed with me while others don't.

I've done what I can. The difference is I'm not willing to state I know what the problem is, you on the other hand somehow are more than certain of your opinion. I'll take the honest approach. :)
 
I just don't understand it. My Blackberry Curve had 5 bars until I cupped it on the bottom. It went to zero bars in less then a minute. Released it and all the bars returned. I can repeat it easily. It's on Sprint.

Should I return it? It seems to work fine, drops a call once in a while, Sprints data is a little pokey but works as long as I don't need a lot of images downloaded.

Does sprint need to fix their signal strength indicator software?
 
People who have reported this issue have tried connecting calls on the table THEN picking it up right? How about a test showing a non iphone on AT & Ts compared to a current phone, anyone tried that?
 
Millah said:
So do I. Did you even bother to read my entire post? However i find it AWFULLY easy to move my finger 1 cm up to fix the problem.

Jesus Christ. Read my post again because you seem to have missed the point.
Click to expand...

Do you agree that you should have to move your finger 1cm to make you expensive phone work? Have you ever done this before for another phone?
 
spiritlevel said:
To be fair, I was arguing the point that all IP4s have this issue, not whether the issue is caused by hardware or software.

I feel that the external Antenna design certainly plays at least a part. I am not discounting that the issue may be improved by a software update.
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My bad...I agree that the issue is across the board like you do for the iPhone 4 hardware with the new hardware design. This was the first hack at getting the code to match what the hardware does so it'll get tuned in time.

I just wanted to throw in my $0.02 to those who are new to the Apple experience that yes, hardware issues happen, but this is not the case with the iPhone 4. There is no inherent "flaw in the design" demanding a recall or free goodies like many new owners believe is their fundamental right by <insert law / belief / opinion here> for Apple to make them happy, whatever that means to them and "it should be done immediately".

Any 2009 Nehalem Mac Pro users reading this affected by the audio playback issues causing their machines to crash on command? Everyone was convinced it was hardware, yet a little software patch fixed it (again, Apple took a long time to release it, and never said anything until after it was released).

If they really do find anything fundamentally flawed with iPhone 4 hardware and/or design, we won't know until they release a hardware update in a year from now - iPhone 4s or whatever...

Any consumer has a choice (contrary to popular sentiment): Keep it or return it. The 30 day window is available, Apple has committed to fixing the issue, and you purchased the iPhone 4. No one is forcing the consumer to keep it. If they do, that is their choice.

My choice is to keep it - I'm happy, even with the said "design flaw"!
 
NT1440 said:
I've laid out my arguments, you reject them when they are based off the same amount of circumstantial evidence as yours. Some have agreed with me while others don't.

I've done what I can. The difference is I'm not willing to state I know what the problem is, you on the other hand somehow are more than certain of your opinion. I'll take the honest approach. :)
Click to expand...

My evidence is backed up, yours isn't. It really is that simple.
 
Should Apple let iPhone 4 owners purchase a case for less?

Given the two major issues that have cropped up regarding the iPhone 4 antenna "death spot", and the inaccurate signal strength meter -- it seems it might be a terrific piece of good-will if, upon showing a valid iPhone 4 receipt, Apple would let owners purchase a basic case for a much reduced price of $9.99. Stamp the receipt showing a case has been purchased to stop cheaters. This policy would show that when Apple does make a mistake (pretty rare), they are willing to step up to the plate and take a small bite out of their profits to help make things right.

Any one else think this is a good idea? :rolleyes:
 
What, a joke! With the 3G the were too few bars so they changed the formula to increase the number of bars. Now with the iP4 they change the formula so that, when you hold the phone in your left hand, or when the signal drops for other reasons, the decrase in the number of bars that are displayed is minimal. This does not change the actual reception. ,!!

Personally, Im going to spend the weekend deciding which Android phone to upgrade to.

:D
 
******** !!!!!!!!!!!!!!


What a lame move by Apple.

They are basically saying that everyone on this site is sheeple ( Not People )

Hawkeye411 said:
What, a joke! With the 3G the were too few bars so they changed the formula to increase the number of bars. Now with the iP4 they change the formula so that, when you hold the phone in your left hand, or when the signal drops for other reasons, the decrase in the number of bars that are displayed is minimal. This does not change the actual reception. ,!!

Personally, Im going to spend the weekend deciding which Android phone to upgrade to.

:D
Click to expand...

I will be watching the developments in the Android development sector while refraining from any more iPhone purchases for the next 2 years
 
c1trate said:
Do you agree that you should have to move your finger 1cm to make you expensive phone work? Have you ever done this before for another phone?
Click to expand...

And there you go, you're completely proving my point. This bothers you because you HAVE to do this. Not because it's really something that bothers you. You're bothered by the principle of it. You probably wouldn't have been affected at all by this if the Internet didn't tell you it was there.

And for the record, yes i have had to do this with another phone. A Treo 755p on Sprint. Apple isn't lying when they say all phones are affected by this in one way or another. Because it's true, which is why phones used to have antennas external on the top of the phone, until the FCC told them they couldn't do this anymore.
 
fruitbat04 said:
I don't really see how it can just be a misrepresentation of the signal strength if people are reporting dropped calls and data grinding to a halt.
Click to expand...

I have a 3gs and I believe it. I live in an area where I have POOR reception. Barely can get calls and make them. My phone says I get 3-4 bars sometimes 5. Whenever I try to call or pick a call up it, the bars drops to 1-2 or even searching. I thought it was normal and how AT&T is really crappy in my area.
 
Given how it should only take like 2 hours to fix the code that displays the bars, do you guys think they'll be implementing other fixes as well for the poor data transfer speeds when held?
 
Millah said:
And there you go, you're completely proving my point. This bothers you because you HAVE to do this. Not because it's really something that bothers you. You're bothered by the principle of it. You probably wouldn't have been affected at all by this if the Internet didn't tell you it was there.

And for the record, yes i have had to do this with another phone. A Treo 755p on Sprint. Apple isn't lying when they say all phones are affected by this in one way or another. Because it's true, which is why phones used to have antennas external on the top of the phone, until the FCC told them they couldn't do this anymore.
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I didn't have to go out of my way to find it. It was a natural hold. Principle doesn't matter to me, I want a phone that works as it should for £599.
 
So does this mean that my constant 1 bar of service now will now be no reception from now on? sweet!
 
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