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are the iphone 4 problems as bad as everyone makes them out to be?

I guess I'll bite on this one. I love the phone except I have experienced a dropped call due to the "death grip" issue that has been reported. It happened yesterday, as a matter of fact, while I was on a work-related call. Mind you, I had full signal all day and my office is literally right around the corner from one of AT&T's corporate offices. While I was on this particular call, I was trying to multitask so I held the phone in my left hand so I could shuffle through some papers with my right. Just a minute or two into the call, it dropped. I then realized that I was holding the phone in my left hand near the base (where I would normally hold it in my right hand), and the lower left corner of the phone was covered by my palm. Sure enough, I had no bars whatsoever. When I moved the phone to my other hand, my signal immediately recovered.

I am by no means complaining. As I mentioned at the start, I really love the phone and this is a minor annoyance for me (for now). I just went to Best Buy after work yesterday and bought a silicone "shell", which I had planned to do anyway and it seems to have fixed the problem. It's a temporary fix until Apple comes out with their own solution (if any) or I can find a more attractive case for the phone. :)
 
Amnesia87 said:
The antenna issue is not QC related, and everything else is really rare. No electronic product on earth has a perfect 100% yield. Of course there are going to be imperfect devices that slip through when you ship 1.7 million phones in 3 days...

My phone works great, as do the iP4's my friends purchased. You have to realize that people with issues are substantially more vocal than those without. Especially on forums.
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The proximity sensor problems have twice as many posts on Apple's support forums compared to the reception problems.

Apple has attempted to lie to the world regarding the nature of the antenna problems. Yet you continue to attempt to minimize all of these problems. That is why I would tell anyone to never use this forum to attempt to gauge the true extent of these issues. They'll always be minimized by people like yourself.
 
valkraider said:
People who have no problems rarely pour over iPhone forums posting comments. A lot of people might have little problems and not even realize it because they are just not that big of deal. Most people only ever post because they have problems - or because they want to start a fuss. That is why it will look like there are so many problems even when there are not.

There have been 2 million iPhone 4 sold, and maybe 4 or 5 sites have discussions about problems, and on those sites its mostly the same people posting the same junk over and over instead of actually having helpful troubleshooting and analysis.

Here is my experience with two pre-launch-day iPhones.

1. I was not able to duplicate the death grip problem, but I believe it does exist. I believe that firmware updates will improve this, but not cure it completely (I am not talking about changing the signal bars display - that is simply to help people understand better when they are in poor coverage, I am talking about improving how the radio in the phone handles the signal issues when the antenna are bridged) I also believe that in real world use it will end up impacting almost no one. Our signal reception has been great, and the only time we have been traveling outside of good signal areas with our 4 - we didn't have any problems with signal. I think it is simply way way way overblown.

2. I have had a bug when you do a "reset all settings" on the phone, it screws up the available options for "passcode lock" times. This is not an iPhone 4 problem, it is iOS 4, and happens on the 3GS as well when using iOS 4. The bug has been accepted and verified by Apple which means it will be fixed.

3. If you port a number from another carrier, FaceTime may not work. Apple released a knowlege base article with a solution, which resets FaceTime with your correct number and solves the problem. Probably will be completely fixed with the first software update.

4. AT&T has had problems with the new radio in the iPhone 4 which is HSUPA enabled. In some AT&T markets that use a particular network hardware - any device (not just the iPhone 4) was causing problems with the HSUPA. AT&T has disabled HSUPA in those markets and is working with the hardware vendor on a fix which will be deployed soon. This did not affect all AT&T markets.

5. Bluetooth connectivity in iOS 4 has been fairly unstable. Apple is looking into the bugs. I believe this is a problem with iOS 4 as it also seems to affect 3GS models when using iOS 4. This will be fixed with a software update.

6. We have had some problems with the Auto White Balance in pictures on the iPhone 4. The problem, as far as I can tell and have read is fairly limited to very specific lighting conditions - usually involving compact flourescent lights. This can cause pictures to look yellow. I have experienced this problem but only in 1 situation of my probably 30 or 40 places I have taken pictures. AWB is a software function, and I believe this will be improved if not fixed. AWB is tricky for every camera made - not just the iPhone 4. Photographers know this is not an unusual problem with point and shoot type cameras with AWB.

7. The iOS iMovie app has a bug that would crash when exporting movies. It has been fixed with an update yesterday.

There, that is my complete list of everything that I have either experienced or that I know is happening.

I am happy with our two iPhone 4s and AT&T. And I have lots of experience with Apple fixing or improving things with subsequent releases. Every single hardware problem Apple has ever had they have either fixed or mitigated with software patches, or they have had replacement or refund programs (some times even long after warranty coverage has expired). All of the people I have dealt with at AT&T have been very nice, professional, and helpful. And my network coverage has been good and I have had no problems with network aside from the previously mentioned 3G HSUPA problems (we are in one of the affected markets).

I recommend the phone, and believe that even the minor bumps will be worked out. As with any brand new product with brand new software there will be issues. If you are worried, wait a few months for the kinks to be ironed out, then pick one up. They will still be available then.
Click to expand...

Good informative post. Other people are having a couple more issues, but you seems to have covered a good bit.
 
To whomever it may concern,

Just buy the freaking phone . This will be the best decision you may make in your dull life.

Your wife girlfriend etc may not like it, but you will be the happiest person on your block.

To take full advantage of this phone, you will need to spend 20-30$ in apps. To get like wi-fi printing and downloading. some games. etc. You can get whatsapp and chat free with any other iphone and BB user.

The phone is lighting fast. It is beautiful to look at. It has the right weight.

I got it from Radio shack, and they offer the phone + car charger + stereo male to male cable + dermashot anti-slip case + apple care + 5 universal screen protectors. for 298$( i am not sure if it is still valid). I got mine without reservation etc. Just walked in the store and they had one waiting for me. The best experience ever.

JUST GET IT
 
I experienced the antenna problem and a decent case took care of that. Now reception is superior to that of every other iPhone and the rest of the phone is very nice. Unless you detest cases, I don't see any reason not to buy one and quite a few reasons why you should. MLB at Bat is one, Slingplayer is another. Well, why I should. :)
 
BruiserBear said:
The proximity sensor problems have twice as many posts on Apple's support forums compared to the reception problems.

Apple has attempted to lie to the world regarding the nature of the antenna problems. Yet you continue to attempt to minimize all of these problems. That is why I would tell anyone to never use this forum to attempt to gauge the true extent of these issues. They'll always be minimized by people like yourself.
Click to expand...

Since post count = Unique people with issue.

The proximity sensor issue is a much more obtrusive problem than the reception problem, which will most definitely lead to more complaints. But to use that to gauge the number of people with an issue is idiotic.

Using ANY forum to gauge the true extent of an issue is simply idiotic.

My point was that with 2 million phones, some imperfect ones would slip through, and that using a forum to gauge how many of those phones exist is pointless.

I'm not minimizing any issue, and your insinuation that I am is childish.

The proximity sensor is a real issue, I never denied that, but I'd be willing to wager that it's no where near as prevalent as you make it out to be and at most affects like 1% of the phones shipped, and to be honest I think that's a high guess. 1% is an issue, but it's not really unexpected with 2 million units shipped. That's actually pretty good QC.

Wanna see bad QC, buy a samsung bluray player lol..
 
The prox sensor is more of an issue to me than the reception. I dropped two calls just today. One because the the Muted itself and before I figured out what was going on (other end kept saying, hello) they hung up. The second call was my wife and I must of hit the End Call button and hung up on her. I really hope the prox sensor can be adjusted via software. Being a hardware programmer I would think it was more of an analog device that can have a threshold adjusted.
 
My experience:

Negatives:

Reception. Better actually than my 3G, but still not great when i travel (depending on area obviously). I go to a lot of smaller towns in midwest and some of them have bad reception. Not sure how different this would be with other phones. In city (i live in Chicago) no reception issues. I can duplicate the death grip problem in areas with weaker signal, but i don't naturally hold the phone that way so really hasn't inconvenienced me any. Imo the whole death grip thing is way overblown. I'm sure it affects some users but generally not near the issue many make it out to be.

Dropped it twice. Put a small notch in bottom part of phone just outside of the glass. You'd have to look pretty hard to notice it actually. That was it. Maybe this should be a positive.../shrug. I am afraid to drop it because of the stories of shattered glass. Patiently waiting for a white bumper (walked into an Apple store this evening that had probably over a hundred black bumpers available...hey Steve...PEOPLE WANT WHITE ONES TOO!)

Can't really think of any other negatives right now. Haven't experienced the proximity sensor issue a single time yet.

Positives:

Screen. It's the best i've seen on a phone.

Camera: The fact you can take HD film on this thing is impressive. I have close to an hour of film already just on family trips in the two weeks i've had the phone. Quality is great. Have taken some great still pictures as well. Love the new camera and for a 5 megapixel lense the quality is top notch.

Speed. the typing, switching between apps...basically everything is a lot faster and has a definite impact on my enjoyment of using the phone.

Multi-tasking. I know it's not exclusive to the I4, but I couldn't do it on my 3G. It's limited, but any multi-tasking is an improvement for me.

Facetime, i can't really put as a positive yet as i haven't even used it. But when my wife gets an iphone (or when you can use facetime with other applications/hardware), i will use it a lot as she travels a lot and will love to see the little one when she is out of town. Nice to at least know the capability is there when i need it. (and as i write this...facetime commercial on TV lol)

That's pretty much it. Over all i've had a very positive experience with the phone, and glad i made the purchase.
 
thanks all, ill more than likely get one then. also im in australia where it hasnt been released yet, which im guessing means that the batch to hit us will most likely be bug free. thanks again.
 
Is the iPhone 4 antenna issue really as bad as everyone's saying?

Or is it exaggerated a little? Just ordered mine and I'm curious. Do the bumper cases really fix the problem?
 
Just don't hold the phone like you're supposed to ;)


























jkjk I don't know. I'm waiting for the White model to see the sun. I'm sure it's one of those "OMFG! Apple Failed again" ; over exaggerated claims.
 
iTravis said:
Just don't hold the phone like you're supposed to ;)

jkjk I don't know. I'm waiting for the White model to see the sun. I'm sure it's one of those "OMFG! Apple Failed again" ; over exaggerated claims.
Click to expand...

It drops bars on mine. It's definitely worse when I'm in an area with worse coverage and doesn't do it as bad when I'm in town, better coverage areas. I haven't dropped any calls because of it so.....
I'm sure that some people on here are a little, um, over-dramatic about what they deserve, such as replacements and free bumpers. If they bought a microwave that didn't work as expected, you would take it back, you wouldn't harass GE until they sent you something free.
I love my iP4 and I'm sure Apple is not going to try to fix the bugs associated with a almost completely new product.
 
As with any phone, if you grip the phone tightly around the band the bars can drop. Fortunately, most people don't hold their phone like this. Today I had awesome 3G speeds with one bar. All things considered, it does get excellent reception.
 
Probably by this point, 3+ million iphones have sold.... even with CNN, tech blog sites, NBC, etc etc broadcasting the "problem".
 
PhaserFuzz said:
Or is it exaggerated a little? Just ordered mine and I'm curious. Do the bumper cases really fix the problem?
Click to expand...
Having an external antenna where you can touch it is a poor design. No way around that. Big signal drop if you hold it especially on the left side bridging the two antennas. If you're in a strong signal area, it may not affect you. Bumper should help the major part of the problem. There seems to be another variable at work, possibly the cell frequency used at particular locations, that determines if the problem is severe or not.
I find it upsetting that Apple would produce their flagship product with such a defect. I'd wait until Apple redesigns it. I'd rather not encourage Apple to produce products with problems like this.
 
I'm one to complain pretty easily (returned the original iPhone five times because of bad screens then returned it altogether) and i've been incredibly happy with the iPhone 4.
 
I get much better reception than I did with the 3G, the download speed is better and the upload speed is incredible, much faster than my home broadband. The "death grip" isn't exaggerated but it definitely isn't an issue for me. I've had a lot less dropped calls as well ... can't remember if it's dropped one yet actually.
 
It happens. I tested it at the AT&T store. I put my finger over the little black line on the bottom left and the bars dropped. I removed my finger and they went back up. It's like pressing a button that was intentionally designed to do that. (I know how sensitive people are about this, so read that sentence again if you have to. "It's like pressing a button that was intentionally designed to do that.")

What's strange is that the signal drops on my 3Gs when I press my hands against the bottom left too. There are a few videos of it on YouTube. Search for "iphone 3gs death grip" or "iphone 3gs antenna issue"
 
CSpackler said:
As with any phone, if you grip the phone tightly around the band the bars can drop. Fortunately, most people don't hold their phone like this. Today I had awesome 3G speeds with one bar. All things considered, it does get excellent reception.
Click to expand...

Show me one other phone that has had this problem reported to this magnitude or even close.

@ OP it seems like some people just have it bad and most people dont. The newer batches are probably a safe bet though. Im more worried about getting a bad proximity sensor.
 
ARF900 said:
Show me one other phone that has had this problem reported to this magnitude or even close.

@ OP it seems like some people just have it bad and most people dont. The newer batches are probably a safe bet though. Im more worried about getting a bad proximity sensor.
Click to expand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2g5J4qPp54&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaiRxRybK9E

Older iPhone's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeLjZps-Ygo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrYbPCSQWRI
 
Dear OP,

No.

ps Not everyone is saying it is bad, not most people, not even a statistically significant number of people given how many have been sold.
 
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