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This is quite bad, no other phone has an exposed antenna, I guess there's a reason for that. For the same reason you don't have exposed electronics either, no matter how cool it would look...

I think the bumper case looks great though and makes the iPhone 4 look better than without it, but I think it should not cost more than 1 £/$/€/whichever currency applies. And now it should come free with the phone, not as an accessory but as part of the phone. Just like you get neck and wrist straps with cameras, you should also get a bumper case with the iPhone 4, and I'm sure most people would be happy with that. I mean this isn't a solution but it's better than saying "there is no signal issue" and "just don't hold the phone that way".

I hate phones that have buttons on the side that get pressed when you hold it normally. Getting a dropped call for holding the phone in some way is probably just as annoying, lets just hope that it can be easily avoided here.
 
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Jony I've is bringing Apple down all by himself.

-iPhone external antenna = fail
-iMac yellow screen = fail
-iMac flickering = fail
-iPad huge bezel = fail
-Mirror for a screen on macbooks = fail
-Cracked iPod screens = fail


How much longer do we have to deal with this magical moron???

Using the overworked phrase "xyz = fail" = fail.
 
ok not the best place to put an antenna thats admitted by me, but with a bumper case there is no problem with the iphone itself.

I don't understand why people stop complaining about it do something buy a case or demand a case from an apple store or even return the phone and get a different smartphone.

Why do people think nagging about a problem on an internet forum is gonna do something about it.

I myself can't replicate the signal issue with or without the bumper case on. But then again i'm right handed and i hold my phone with my left hand :D
 
my droid-loving friends are having the time of their lives bashing on me and my iphone 4 antenna.

The problem is, i can't argue with them, it really does suck.

What is worse is that Apple treats us like the fool.

If you can't argue with them, then you don't understand the problem. It's a visual issue that will be addressed with the software update. An iPhone 4 in the same spot as an iPhone 3GS would have just as good if not better reception, period. And Apple is not treating anyone like a fool. Sheesh!
 
I wonder what Apple is going to do about this if a software update doesn't fix things? Offer replacements/repairs to people who are affected?

Also, I'm wondering if the further delayed release of the white 4G has anything to do with this issue? Maybe they've realized it's a problem and they're fixing the white ones before they have a chance to ship?
 
That is the one thing that is really funny. Apple Fanboys defend apple so much its not even fun. To me Apple is the new Microsoft. The way Apple looks now it makes Microsoft look like the good guy...and Steve Jobs arrogance is amazing....apple needs to get sued big time...
 
If you can't argue with them, then you don't understand the problem. It's a visual issue that will be addressed with the software update. An iPhone 4 in the same spot as an iPhone 3GS would have just as good if not better reception, period. And Apple is not treating anyone like a fool. Sheesh!

Wait a minute.... I do understand the problem and MORE IMPORTANT the fix Apple said it is going to release to mitigate the problem. Just changing the way signal strength is displayed will not have any practical effect on how well you can make calls/data connections. If the antenna impedance is affected by human contact across the left side of the phone, software won't change that. It can change how it gets interpreted but the actual signal will be what it will be.
 
Besides, who... would buy a glass phone... without protecting it? :rolleyes: Most people use a case. And yes, there are very nice slim cases available that do not take away from the iPhone's elegance. Everyone likes the iPhone 4 anyway. :cool: Nuff said.

Who would make a glass phone? I wonder.... That's a pretty silly argument you have. I didn't see Steve Jobs use a case/bumper/protector when he introduced it, did I miss something? If a case is going to be a requirement, not an option, then provide one inside my iPhone box please. Nuff said.
 
That would be $200 million dollars, guess again. :D

A drop in the bucket when your company is debt free and has $30,000,000,000 in the bank drawing interest.

It's also a cheap price for improving customer relations and faith.

So far, I've not experienced this problem. I'm loving the speed especially coming from a 2G. But, I recognize that others are having problems and that Apple needs to rectify it.

Coachingguy
 
Also, I'm wondering if the further delayed release of the white 4G has anything to do with this issue? Maybe they've realized it's a problem and they're fixing the white ones before they have a chance to ship?

This is my hope exactly. :)
 
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ziggie216 said:
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Why do the people with this issue have so much trouble believing it's not universal? Some people really don't have it, regardless of signal strength.

If actual download / upload speed drop a little because my hand is over that section, thats some what acceptable. If it drop until my speedtest is below 10kbs and Apple is telling me that I'm holding it wrong, that is a freaking joke.

Signal strength really depends on your location, geographically and how close you are to a cell tower. I can test it out in two different location while one would only slowly drop a bar, another location can drop until an iPhone becomes an iTouch

Yes but what I'm saying is that some iPhone 4s don't do it regardless of signal strength. There are even posts in this thread from people saying they had the problem on their first ip4 and see totally different behavior on a replacement unit.
 
That is the one thing that is really funny. Apple Fanboys defend apple so much its not even fun. To me Apple is the new Microsoft. The way Apple looks now it makes Microsoft look like the good guy...and Steve Jobs arrogance is amazing....apple needs to get sued big time...
well bill gates is saving africans from malaria while steve jobs is sending swat teams to tech writer homes.

(paraphrased from jon stewart)
 
I wonder what Apple is going to do about this if a software update doesn't fix things? Offer replacements/repairs to people who are affected?

Also, I'm wondering if the further delayed release of the white 4G has anything to do with this issue? Maybe they've realized it's a problem and they're fixing the white ones before they have a chance to ship?

I will take a "white" replacement for my defective black phone!
I just had a co-worker ask me about the defect (after he read the CR article).
I took my bumper off and was able to show him, holding the phone in my left hand, palm covering the left slit where the antenna's meet.
 
Are you serious? The quality of the parts is Johnny Ive's fault? This guy pretty much saved the company.

When Steve was running the company, everyone was held accountable for their department. What happened? Now it's, "Uhh, that's someone else's job".

No longer the underdog, and acting like it.

Jony I've is a prime example of sloth!
 
I for the record do not have this problem. I am able to grip my iphone 4 in a death grip and don't have any signal problems, but I'm in downtown San Antonio, and have great signal strength.

My iphone 3gs, when i used to live in a suburb of Seattle, used to drop bars dramatically when held......but I was in a poor signal area. When the phone was set down, it would have 5 bars, when held, it would drop to one bar. The same formula problem applies there....it should never have displayed 5 bars to begin with....

“none of those phones had the signal-loss problems of the iPhone 4.” - CS
 
Steve Jobs is still the one signing off on Ive's designs. If Ive's ideas are causing so many problems, then the onus is on Jobs to put a stop to it, but obviously, he's not doing that.

Design is one thing.... manufacturing is another. Ive can design the perfect computer, but if glue isn't drying... and LCD panels are bad.... Ive doesn't have anything to do with that. He just puts his vision down on paper, and Apple goes and gets the parts he needs. Now, I think the iPhone 4 does have problems, and they may be at the design level, we'll have to see for sure.
 
The software fix always seemed a ridiculous response. So they would make the bars show reality? Great and they should but when a call drops it drops no matter what the bars look like. Kind of like in Spinal Tap: "but this one goes to eleven."
 
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Yes but what I'm saying is that some iPhone 4s don't do it regardless of signal strength. There are even posts in this thread from people saying they had the problem on their first ip4 and see totally different behavior on a replacement unit.

who got a replacement??? I didn't think they even had enough made for replacements, or even new orders
 
No problems with my iPhone 4. I was able to replicate this issue once, in another part of town, by burying the corner of my phone in my palm as the Internetz taught me to ("Now squeeze real tight, hold, and watch the signal bars!"). But holding it as I normally would I have no problems.

Same here - no signal drop while having the naked iPhone 4 buried in left hand.

In very weak signal areas, I can get it to drop two bars, yet calls and data are not perceptively disrupted.

In related news, my iPhone camera won't take a decent picture when my finger is covering the lens. WHY CAN'T APPLE DESIGN A CAMERA PHONE THAT WORKS THE WAY I WANT TO HOLD IT??? :mad: :rolleyes:

It's because you're holding it wrong, duh!

Most find it reasonable to be mindful of blocking a camera lens, yet are vexed at the notion that a "death grip" will attenuate the signal on a cell phone.

If I'm in a very weak signal area, I have no problem holding the phone with fingers only, to maximize the reception.

For those who'd rather keep it simple, the bumper solution seems viable.

Apple should just give out free bumpers (a complete rip-off at $30 anyway) and put out the PR fire (surely being fueled in part by its competitors). It's not that hard.
Free bumpers would be a consolation, as CR did confirm in their tests that duct tape alleviated the problem. Perhaps, CR ought to have tested the phone while using a bumper case as well.
 
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