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Apple on iPhone 4 Reception: Signal Strength Display Issue Only, Software Update Coming
- Thread starter fruitbat04
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Because they dumped years of labor and R&D into this thing, not to mention all the testing and approvals from wireless carriers and government agencies. You think they can just redesign it overnight?
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.
It's obvious! Phone.app continually checks Signal.app. If Signal.app reports too low of a signal, Phone.app drops the call automagically, sparing the user the indignity of dropped calls because of actual physical and electromagnetic phenomena, like owners of "lesser" phones.
No complaints here. I will most likely be sending it back. I'll miss the screen, it is beautiful. But Apple made a mistake on this one. If enough people return it, maybe they'll learn something here. It is not acceptable for any company to release a defective product and not correct the issue.
I'm typing this in a strong signal area and tried to make it drop bars - it didn't. But it will happen at home where I don't have the best 3G signal.
This fix makes sense to me. We're seeing a bad representation of signal - a lie if you'd like to call it that - and it should stop with the update.
This fix makes sense to me. We're seeing a bad representation of signal - a lie if you'd like to call it that - and it should stop with the update.
I was at a restaurant yesterday with a coworker who has an iPhone 3G. His phone? Poor signal, had fallen back to EDGE, and couldn't browse the web. My iPhone 4? 2 bars of 3G, 2 megabit downloads in speedtest.net app, browsed the web fine.
Sounds like my phone has better reception than his at least.
Now, i *do* have a bumper on my iPhone 4... So maybe that's a road Apple should still be going down, i'm sure they could spin positively somehow
Laughably predictable. One can make the bars read whatever they choose to have them read.
If it is a hardware problem, what a convenient way to make the problem go away!
On the other hand, if there isn't a problem with reception then so be it.
This will be resolved by empirical evidence eventually.
If it is a hardware problem, what a convenient way to make the problem go away!
On the other hand, if there isn't a problem with reception then so be it.
This will be resolved by empirical evidence eventually.
On my 3G (running OS 3.1.2) I just tried that Field Test from the number Anandtech provided. I got the following message:
Error performing request
No Network Service
That was with 3 bars. I wonder if Apple disabled Field Test through AT&T for all iPhones. Or maybe my iPhone is reporting 3 bars when I actually don't have any....
True, but on no other phone I have ever used does the data instantly stop.
I think you are grossly exaggerating your drop-call statistics there. If it really dropped 13 calls with Apple (which implies you were talking to them for a LONG time to have them call you back each time), you should return your phone immediately. You must live in a 1-bar area.
I am well aware of this, I was waiting to make a decision until Apple released a statement. They did, and it will likely be going back after I work it out with AT&T.
Having said that, I can have my Nexus One and iPhone 4 side by side using cellular data over 3G in my office and the iPhone data use INSTANTLY stops and the Nexus One data doesn't. That is unacceptable design. Just terrible. And I am certainly not a Android fanboy (read my other posts here
)
Right now I have my "dirt phone" I use this phone when i go fishing or into the woods or doing some dirty job at home. I put in my hand (it shows 3 bars) covering the back and it goes to "Searching" after 3 seconds. This is Nokia phone by the way.
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.
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.
So the 3Gs has different software? Because it doesn't show the same signal fluctuations as the iPhone 4 does.
I thought both machines were running iOS 4?
I thought both machines were running iOS 4?
This.
The biggest problem here is that AT&T's service has sucked, but Apple basically hid that (rightly or wrongly), so many people were happily making calls with '1 bar' of service when the phone was displaying 4 or 5.
This fix makes perfect sense to me. It's not so much a 'fix' though b/c it is a fact that when you hold the phone a certain way it gets less signal, but at least it's not quite so misleading.
Dude if you have an Iphone 4 and you are having issues then by all means take it back! There is a 30 day return policy! Most of the iphone 4 users have no issues. If yours is broke then take it back! It is so easy. I know of 10 Iphone 4 users and they have no drop calls or any issues to speak of. ATT is good where they are too. We are all getting 3G 4.0+ meg download speeds and 1.2 meg upload speeds using the SpeedTest App.
http://www.speedtest.net/iphone/42955971.png
Just face it, the Iphone 4 is the best phone right now. 2 Million sales in 1 week prove it. Sure there are bad apples out there but that is why you take them back.
Peace
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.
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.
Well, according to Apple, your iPhone will now display "no service" all the time to correctly reflect the signal while holding it in your hand.
It's not about bars, Apple. It's about reception.
It's about antenna design.
Boy, am I tired of hearing about the iPhone 4 reception issues. Can we start moving these stories to Page 2?
What's peculiar about this press release is that it is no different from what apple told walt moss berg when he reviewed the iPhone, saying that there were signal display issues. Imagine the heartache that would hAve been avoided if apple had either delayed the introduction or made an immediate announcement about erroneous signal bars and moved on from there.
I do agree with those who are suggesting that there may be more to it than that, in that software may govern what the phone decides to do when it is looking for the best signal. It may be dropping calls when the signal is just fine. As for data going to zero while the phone shows five bars -- my situation -- well I don't know what's up with th at. Perhaps if apple had been upfront about the "mind the gap" antenna issue we all would have been given the heads up and felt very different about our experiences.
Whoever is managing their PR needs to find a néw job. This is so rich in mismanagement that it would merit a write up as a classic harvard business school case on how NOT to manage a pr crisis.
I do agree with those who are suggesting that there may be more to it than that, in that software may govern what the phone decides to do when it is looking for the best signal. It may be dropping calls when the signal is just fine. As for data going to zero while the phone shows five bars -- my situation -- well I don't know what's up with th at. Perhaps if apple had been upfront about the "mind the gap" antenna issue we all would have been given the heads up and felt very different about our experiences.
Whoever is managing their PR needs to find a néw job. This is so rich in mismanagement that it would merit a write up as a classic harvard business school case on how NOT to manage a pr crisis.
If you are dropping calls while not holding the phone it is NOT the antenna issue. Try going to AT&T and getting a new sim card. May solve your problem.
Get ready for a surprise then. The only reason this fix will take a couple weeks is so people wont be able to return their phones. This is a fix that could be implemented tomorrow if they cared about it - it's a tiny change. This whole PR was aimed to shut people up, and probably only occurred because lawsuits have officially been filed. Apple has already shown since the phone's release that they don't care about the inidividual consumer, and as much as people complain, they know there won't be a major impact on sales.
People keep saying this, but I think people absolutely love their iPhone 4, except for this issue. So it sucks that they have to return a phone they love in all other respects simply for one issue. They therefore want to keep the phone but have Apple resolve the issue somehow, which seems unlikely since its probably a hardware issue that would entail an entire case redesign. So that makes them angry that the only solution is returning this beautiful phone that they can't get enough of.
So saying, "just return it," is not a good answer and just makes people more upset, since they don't want to return it, they love the phone!
I actually believe Apple.
Why?
Because my iPhone 4 gets better reception than the iPhone 3GS I had. I have been ignoring the bars on my phone ever since the reports of antenna issues surfaced.
I base my findings purely on the actual use and call quality of my phone. No dropped calls. Excellent sound quality.
People are getting on my nerves saying that some folks are blind or are drinking too much of Apple's kool-aid. I can tell you, I'm not.
I would return the phone in a heartbeat if it did not meet my needs, instead of crying about it.
Well, the phone works great for me and my wife. This one is a keeper!
Sincerely,
Happy, Satisfied iPhone 4 user
Why?
Because my iPhone 4 gets better reception than the iPhone 3GS I had. I have been ignoring the bars on my phone ever since the reports of antenna issues surfaced.
I base my findings purely on the actual use and call quality of my phone. No dropped calls. Excellent sound quality.
People are getting on my nerves saying that some folks are blind or are drinking too much of Apple's kool-aid. I can tell you, I'm not.
I would return the phone in a heartbeat if it did not meet my needs, instead of crying about it.
Well, the phone works great for me and my wife. This one is a keeper!
Sincerely,
Happy, Satisfied iPhone 4 user