Consumer Reports 'Can't Recommend' iPhone 4 Due to Signal Issues

[stationstops]

I can't recommend it either - worst iPhone I have ever owned. Only iPhone that has ever been in my home that has no reception at all in my living room and bedroom.

I am going to return mine, because it doesn't seem that Apple has any plans to fix this problem except to fix the meter to tell you how bad your signal *really* is.

 

[furi0usbee]

Mine works fine. Besides who buys an iPhone for the phone. The camera is superb, love the zoom and the video. Straight to Facebook and YouTube.

Now if they would fix my iPad always dropping the WiFi connection and changing strength all the time.

Not me. I already knew how terrible the Apple + AT&T combo works. I need an iPhone because of all it's software features, syncing my data, etc. The phone is secondary. But, I'd like not to be lied to by Steve Jobs, et al. Between the way Apple has handled things with iPhone 4 and iPad (unlimited data) and AT&T screwing us, I'm really at my wits end.

 

[Ping Guo]

This whole thing has gotten blown way out of proportion, and people are now worried about what Consumer Reports says? You have to be kidding. Consumer Reports is a has been organization that is trying to milk their past success in a new world that they can't compete in. I stopped caring what they had to say about 5 years ago as did most people that really care much about anything to do with technology.

You might not care, but the Washington Post, MSNBC, and The Wall Street Journal do. This isn't some boiler room blogging outfit, and Apple needs to start taking this seriously.

 

[cmaier]

So how is it I can hold my iPhone in my left hand without killing the signal or dropping the phone? Am I the only person with fingers? Is it imperative to bury the corner of the phone in your palm to hold it? Not for me. I guess I'm weird that way.

First, no one said the signal goes away EVERYWHERE. The signal drops everywhere, but only if the signal is weak to start with (albeit "weak" meaning 5 bars due to an apparent display bug) does it result in a dropped call.

And good for you that you can hold the phone in your fingers and not have it touch your palm or the webbing between your thumb and forefinger. You're very special. All of us lame-o's that find it more comfortable to hold the phone differently than you, and have done so for years, bow at your feet. Please PM me your address and I'll mail you your gold star sticker.

But perhaps Apple could fix the damned phone to cater to those of us who are too inept to hold the phone by our finger tips for extended periods of time.

 

[aidym]

1) No, most (all) people do NOT have this 'problem'.
I've yet to meet an owner who DOES have it... and this in the most notoriously bad reception area in the country... SF.

Oh yeah... that's because the new antenna actually IMPROVES reception, and doing the dances to make it drop brings it down to previous levels.

I know 20+ people with ip4's and they all have this problem, and we live and work in a very good reception area!!! I sent mine back because of dropped calls which is something I have NEVER experienced in this area with any other phone and that includes all previous iP's.

 

[furi0usbee]

Also, my friend just had her replaced at the Apple Store. She got it on day one. They said it has a bad modem, so they gave her a new one.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

Try actually returning the thing. For me it was a hassle. Trying to charge me an open box fee on the phone. Finally got my money back. I think I am going to be moving on to an HTC EVO. 4G is pretty awesome in my area and after switching from Sprint to AT&T when the first iPhone came out, I can say I won't miss AT&T. I am however very disappointed at the iPhone 4. I held on to my 1st gen iPhone waiting for the ground breaking new iPhone.

 

[rwilliams]

- This is complete B.S and conspiracy from Google, Nokia, RIM, MS, SonyEricsson, ... well, you name it

You can't be serious.

 

[DotCom2]

But I've been told here that it's purely coincidental that Apple decided to start selling bumpers when they introduced a phone that has antenna issues that are somehow magically alleviated by these same bumpers.

Curious isn't it?

 

[i.mac]

or went over the return date if they signed a contract with a phone company such as I in the UK. We only get 7 or 14 days to return it.

You, sir, are in a bad situation . Go tell apple that you cannot afford a case. Maybe they'll have pity and give you a free one.

 

[Tonewheel]

ROFL

Cant wait to hear what the Macrumors iP4 Defense Squad has to say.

Break out the popcorn

"ROFL"? Really? Did you "throw up in your mouth a little" as well?

 

[cmaier]

But... That makes no sense... Sorry dude...

Which part? Do you dispute that the dimensions of an antenna are critical in determining its ability to tune a signal? Or do you dispute that detuning occurs when you touch the antenna, resulting in a change of effective antenna length? Or do you dispute that no signal reaches the signal processor unless the antenna first tunes the signal?

 

[BobVB]

Did Apple just think they could slip this one by us and no one would notice?

I think it was all Steve's ego - I can see the discussion:

"I bet you a dollar I can not only get them to buy it with the design defect but get them to pay me an extra $30 to make it usable."

As to those concerned even something as thin as Ghost Armor prevents the dropping of calls (at least it did for me).

 

[InfinitiG]

haha, its officially over for apple inc

 

[RidleyGriff]

Remember the delay with the white iPhone??? It was to fix this antenna issue. Don't let anyone fool you. Apple isn't following the "do no evil" mantra that Goole set out to follow.

I was with you until your last line. Most folks here I think would agree that the bumper and antenna issues are an interesting confluence, and infers Apple knew something. However, Apple's flat-footed response on launch day infers that they didn't see this coming. Either way, it is an issue that needs to be dealt with immediately.

But if you really buy Google's Do No Evil mantra, I've got a bumper to sell you.

 

[valkraider]

I don't think you understand what software can do. The signal IS reaching the signal processor, it's just garbled. It's possible that a software update can help to filter out the noise so the phone can "workaround" this hardware bug. Also, those bumpers are cheap... I'll be getting an iPhone 4 soon, and if I see the same signal problems, I'll just hop on the bumper wagon, no big deal as far as I'm concerned. Don't worry, be happy.

Software absolutely CAN solve hardware problems, in many cases. In fact the software is completely written to work with hardware design, and software can be adjusted to better perform with any given hardware. This is absolutely true 100% of the time. Software and Hardware work together.

It remains to be seen whether or not software will FIX this particular problem. But at a bare minimum, software WILL be able to reduce the impact of the problem - and that may be enough to make it a non issue.

The entire signal process is digital, and is controlled by software. That software can be adjusted to match what is happening with the hardware. The iPhone 4 radio software is doing several new things which have not been done before. How and what they are doing will be tweaked as Apple learns more about the phone's real-world performance.

Will a software fix completely get rid of the problem? While that is possible, I seriously doubt that in this case software will completely solve the problem. But I do believe that software will mitigate the issue to where it is almost non-existent.

Apple changing the signal display has nothing to do with the real signal problem - but will help people better understand what is really happening with their signal. But I think if *all* they were doing was adjusting the way the bars are calculated, they would have had the patch out already. I think the fact that it is taking longer to get a patch out implies that they are working on more in-depth software adjustments that they are not going to release in a press statement or tell AppleCare to get chatty about.

Software will improve the situation.

I find it funny that people think Apple is doing nothing about this. They probably have had people working 20 hour days on this problem since June 22nd when it was first exposed - probably earlier in fact. Do you people think the Apple iPhone engineers just sit around and count money all day? They are real engineers who take pride in their work and work very hard to make good products.

You make a phone that does what the iPhone does and sell it to 2 million people in a weekend and see if it is completely bug free on the first shot!

This whole thing is *exactly* why companies make software up-datable!

 

[spblat]

haha, its officially over for apple inc

Been hearing that one for awhile.

 

[spazzcat]

I am still willing to give Apple the benefit of waiting for their software fix. If it doesn't fix the issue then I could see all the outrage. Even though I have the issue, I still can make calls places I have never been able to before.

 

[tivoboy]

indeed

In my apartment I could not carry on a call for more than 2 minutes on my 3GS without dropping the call. (Worked fine on edge, but not 3g) However, with my iPhone 4 I carried on a 2 hour call without a drop or any voice quality issues. One thing I do have a problem with is the proximity sensor and point people on mute or calling other people and eventually hanging upon people. I think most people are hanging up on people because the sensor is not working properly and they think it is a dropped call.

Indeed, nearly EVERYONE gets better reception with the iphone 4, but if you touch it most likely equally as many can completely degrade that signal to essentially useless (only in 1-4 bar areas, NOT FIVE BAR areas)

I get what APPEARS to be much better reception here at home. But, if I forget HOW I am holding it during a call it will drop about 9/10 of the time. Totally unacceptable.

 

[byron_hinson]

You, sir, are in a bad situation . Go tell apple that you cannot afford a case. Maybe they'll have pity and give you a free one.

I can afford a case, but I don't want one - get it now? you know, I kind of expected a phone to work as it is without needing to buy extras to get it to do an advertised function. Good try at wit though.

 

[RebootD]

I shouldn't throw fire onto the flames but the defenders are cracking me up. Something tells me if this team came to your home with their testing equipment and showed you the signal loss you would still shut your eyes and cry out "LA LA LA LA CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

I also agree it looks suspicious that Apple released a $29 Bumper at launch which covers up the offending design flaw. It seemed so random and out of place but now it makes perfect sense.

 

[buc]

Well, there is no doubt some people are having reception issues (duh). In my experience though, i'm getting better reception and dropping fewer calls than i ever did with my 3G. I've found that when i'm on a call, while right-handed, i typically hold my phone in my left hand but with my fingertips instead of in my palm. That's the only explanation i have. I have been able to purposefully replicate the "death grip" in areas of weaker signal (my basement, at the office which is a huge brick building), but it's totally unnatural for me to hold my phone that way and it hasn't affected me at all. Also, i couldn't even get reception half the time in those same areas with my 3G.

while i still think this whole thing is overblown based at least on my personal experience, i'd probably say if you live in an area with weaker signal, and naturally hold the phone in the palm of your left hand, and don't like using bumpers/cases, then you might want to look at the droids.

As for myself though...i get better reception that previous phone, no proximity sensor issues, and all in all could not possibly be happier with this phone. Hell i even dropped it on a concrete driveway once and nary a scratch on front and back glass.

 

[aristobrat]

That's just it. Why is it so hard to believe that people's phones ARE working?

If the iPhone 4 works for you, that's great. I believe it.
If the iPhone 4 doesn't work for you, that's too bad. I believe it.

My point was simply that people who fall into the "iPhone 4 doesn't work for me, but I'm not going to return it" are more delusional fanboys than the group of owners that are saying that they have no problem with it.

 

[spblat]

...

Software will improve the situation.


...

Excellent post, well said

 

[furi0usbee]

NEWSFLASH!!! You can still love Apple products and be critical about them as a company at the same time. This doesn't make you disloyal!!!!

Apple is a big company, they don't need all the MacRumors apologists out in full-force, trying to tell the guy who can't talk on his iPhone 4 that there is something wrong with *him* and not his phone. I've seen the "vanishing bars" act with iPhones in hand, with and without an Apple Bumper.

I'm a bit disappointed Apple has lied to us though, and doesn't acknowledge a problem. Just for the fact they made a bumper to cover up this beautiful piece of hardware... that has to tell you something is wrong. Steve doesn't like seems, screws, covers, plastic, etc.. yet he is OK with covering up his new design? Sorry, $5.00 and that story may get you a Starbucks ice coffee.