Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Let me preface this by saying that, yes I do think there is an effect whereby the signal is degraded significantly in certain conditions due to the antenna design, and it can result in dropped calls or stalled data transfers. What I don't think is that it is the earth shattering, universe ending problem it is being made out to be. Both statements are my opinion. What is a fact is that there is a ton of hyperbole and speculation as to what the problem is, how widespread it is, the evil apple conspiracy theory, and what the resolution is or is not. None of those actually contribute to having a rational discussion of the problem.

I'm tired of people telling us to return the phone. That doesn't solve anything. I want the phone that I bought to work as advertised. So for those who are saying return the phone, you either don't have the phone or you have it and you haven't (but you will) experience the dropped calls, internet drop outs.

Actually, it does. In most cases the response of "return it" is to someone who has posted something to the effect of "OMG EVERY IPHONE4 EVER MADE CAN"T EVER MAKE A SINGLE CALL EVER AND APPLE IS EVIL AND THE PHONE IS SO LAME FAIL!" If you bought the product and it doesn't work for you the way you expect then you get your money back and go buy something that does work for you. Otherwise you are just wasting money. Ultimately it is your decision whether or not the product meets your standards in all areas. If it is short in some, then it is your decision whether or not the benefits of the rest of the device outweigh any issues you are having. So now you have decided a) the phone doesnt work the way I expect and I'm returning it, b) it works well enough for me to keep it, or c) it works well enough for me to wait to see if they fix the problem. Problem solved.

I just had a friend try the "death grip" on his phone and he swore it worked and nothing was wrong, then he tells me now he's having issues too. Everyone has a well duplicated flawed device. You're not from a special batch or anything, its flawed plain and simple.

Well, doesn't that just demonstrate how much of an overblown issue this is? I think your friends case is probably pretty typical. If people aren't noticing that there is an issue until they go looking for it, follow the exact steps to duplicate it and then become hypersensitive to it, then, of course, they are now going to see it everywhere. Just like when you see a certain model of car pop up everywhere because someone you know bought one. Just like when you notice a small scratch on your new phone/car/whatever which drives you nuts for days, but you can't really see it unless you are looking for it. Additionally, sometimes just the act of learning how to make it happen can change your behavior so that you exacerbate the problem.

Again, I'm not in any way arguing that there isn't an issue, what I am arguing is that the severity of the issue is being blown way out of proportion. Unfortunately until Apple makes a statement that is reasonable and/or fixes the problem it will continue to be.

Meanwhile, I'll continue happily using my iphone4 that does actually have much better call performance and reception than my 3G everywhere I've used it.
 
Well, doesn't that just demonstrate how much of an overblown issue this is? I think your friends case is probably pretty typical. If people aren't noticing that there is an issue until they go looking for it, follow the exact steps to duplicate it and then become hypersensitive to it, then, of course, they are now going to see it everywhere.

I think this is true in a lot of cases. I'm not saying that the phone doesn't have issues, because it does. However I think a lot of people would never notice issues like:
  • Reception issue on iPhone 4
  • Yellow dots on iPhone 4
  • Yellow tinted screen on 3GS
  • Blue off-color mark on iPhone 4 pictures of white paper
  • iMac screen issues
  • etc
  • etc
  • etc
The fact is that a lot of people only notice issues after people on a forum start pointing them out. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that, knowledge is power after all. But I must say that I was a lot happier with the performance of my electronics if I never read forums that pointed out all these little flaws to me.
 
Well, doesn't that just demonstrate how much of an overblown issue this is? I think your friends case is probably pretty typical. If people aren't noticing that there is an issue until they go looking for it, follow the exact steps to duplicate it and then become hypersensitive to it, then, of course, they are now going to see it everywhere.

I get the decreased signal strength when I hold it a certain way - sometimes. However, even as my signal strength falls, I do not drop calls. I think in some cases this is a case of "too much information" where people see the bars drop and think "ZOMG, my phone is defective too!"

Now, I am not saying that NO ONE drops calls or that NO ONE has a problem. I am saying that while my bars drop, calls do not and that is the most important thing. If you ARE dropping calls, then that is an issue, but if it is just bars dropping I do not think it is something to be worried about.
 
I dunno. Why can't I replicate this problem at home no matter how I hold the phone (and I have 5 bars of 3G) but I was able to replicate the problem on another side of town in my car (an area where I also had 5 bars of 3G)?

Others have reported the same. No problem at the office but problem at home. Or vice-versa. Why is this?

If it's a hardware-only problem, wouldn't the issue be reproducible no matter where you are?

Unlike many others here, I'm not going to hit the Panic button yet. Still holding out hope for a firmware fix.

I, too, have been unable to reproduce the problem - burying the corner into left hand, bridging the antenna, hell, even the death grip - 5 bars.

In very low signal areas, if I do the above, the signal will drop from two bars to one, while calls remain unaffected.

I now have better reception with the iPhone 4 in areas where it had been weaker with the 3GS - the antenna's design does seem better, in this respect.

There have been several cases where people experiencing signal loss have swapped out their phone for one that didn't - the antenna's design is not necessarily the culprit here.

For those cases involving signal switching issues, I imagine that a software/firmware update will remedy that as well.
 
There have been several cases where people experiencing signal loss have swapped out their phone for one that didn't - the antenna's design is not necessarily the culprit here.

Indeed. I've read instances where people will test two iPhone 4s in the same location and have the problem with one phone but not the other.

Here's hoping it's an intermittent manufacturing issue and not an overall design flaw.
 
prediction

iPhone 4.2 will include an additional $2/mo Apple fee (or cost $224!)

Bumper/antennae tax.


M@
 
I have what I believe are the actual procedures! Please note: Mine are an actual screenshot and not just text typed into a web page like BGR! I do not have an "Apple Connect" who can provide me with compelling evidence like a gray DIV, but I can hit SHIFT-COMMAND-4!

Well seems like you pegged them just right.

Now we all know Boy Genius has no credibility, so the idea that these memos never existed seems pretty plausible at this point. There is certainly no legitimate evidence of them existing.

Good job Boy Genius. Making up news one day at a time.

Nice catch on this by the way, I think you were the first one or maybe even only one calling BS on this story as well.
 
Well seems like you pegged them just right.

Now we all know Boy Genius has no credibility, so the idea that these memos never existed seems pretty plausible at this point. There is certainly no legitimate evidence of them existing.

Good job Boy Genius. Making up news one day at a time.

Nice catch on this by the way, I think you were the first one or maybe even only one calling BS on this story as well.

Can't wait to see what they will make up tomorrow..
 
I'm giving this to Friday in the hopes that they'll finally admit to there being a legitimate issue and bring out a roadmap toward fixing the issue. After that, I'm returning my phone, canceling my AT&T contract (reception issues have always been horrible in my area, but the iPhone itself was able to keep me on the line with them), and moving to a Nexus One on T-Mobile.

Disappointing, all around. I really like the iPhone 4, but it is utterly failing me in one of its key components, being a ****ing PHONE.

How is the Nexus One treating you?
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.