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

[parapup]

Could they not easily switch the Cell Antenna from the side to say the top or bottom? I think if I remember correctly there are antennas on all 4 sides of the phone - Bluetooth, GPS, Cell and Wi-Fi - so simply swapping positions such that the normal holding position of the phone does not interfere with Cell Antenna should solve the problem? No?

Then it would just be a matter of recalling those 2-3 million already sold - Car companies do that with cars, shouldn't be a big deal for Apple. While they are at it they could fix the proximity sensor as well.

 

[MacPhilosopher]

In low-signal areas? So the specific problem of bridging the antennas is special to the iPhone 4 due to it's antenna configuration. Sounded logical to me from the get go. However, everyone I know with the phone reports no problems and loves the device. Just like any product out there, it is not right for everyone. If you live in areas with low-signal problems and are a lefty, then this phone is not for you. The problem would be solved completely if Apple allowed the iPhone on Verizon. They should have at least recommended it for right handed people. Ha!

 

[cmaier]

Always, always, always test your product in its final form. I bet all of their final prototypes were tested using that iPhone 3GS disguised case.

When they discovered the problem, it was too late. Orders were placed (millions) and all they could do is come up with the bumper solution.

Prediction: In the Sept/Oct time frame, we will see the iPhone 4.1. It will be idential to iPhone 4.0 except it will have some sort of clear covering over the entire metal case.

I doubt it. The first thing that would come to any engineers mind when exposing the antennas is that they might be subject to detuning effects. I'm sure they tested them, and made the determination that greatly improved reception under ideal conditions was worth greatly reduced reception under many other conditions.

CR (and I) say they chose wrongly.

 

[2005CTS]

Could they not easily switch the Cell Antenna from the side to say the top or bottom? I think if I remember correctly there are antennas on all 4 sides of the phone - Bluetooth, GPS, Cell and Wi-Fi - so simply swapping positions such that the normal holding position of the phone does not interfere with Cell Antenna should solve the problem? No?

Then it would just be a matter of recalling those 2-3 million already sold - Car companies do that with cars, shouldn't be a big deal for Apple. While they are at it they could fix the proximity sensor as well.

There is already a seam on the top of the phone if I am not mistaken. The size of the antenna demands that there be a seam on the side of the phone. What they need to do is develop something that will ground the antenna so that skin won't short it out.

 

[silk4747gto]

I never owned an iPhone so I cannot comment as an experienced user but I did own a Dual Power Mac G5 with a grounding issue/hum that was kind of ignored by support for Rev 1's entire life cycle.

 

[wigby]

apple will profit from this

let's be honest. this is mostly a pile on. everyone that is sensitive to this story is staring at their signal bars all day. when they drop a call, they freak out. meanwhile these same people have been dropping calls for years on iphones and all other brand of phones. when apple issues the software fix, it will shut up 85% of the complaints because they're all opportunists looking to get a stupid, free bumper. apple will never give away a bumper for free and they will never issue a blanket recall. that is costly and admits failure. there are far too many iphone 4 units out there already and most of them are trouble-free. apple will offer to fix (external antennae coating) the iphone 4 for free and they might offer a half price coupon off the bumper. that way they solve the problem and still profit. that's the way any smart company does business. it might not be right but right has no place in this economy.

 

[MacPhilosopher]

Could they not easily switch the Cell Antenna from the side to say the top or bottom? I think if I remember correctly there are antennas on all 4 sides of the phone - Bluetooth, GPS, Cell and Wi-Fi - so simply swapping positions such that the normal holding position of the phone does not interfere with Cell Antenna should solve the problem? No?

Then it would just be a matter of recalling those 2-3 million already sold - Car companies do that with cars, shouldn't be a big deal for Apple. While they are at it they could fix the proximity sensor as well.

Why recall 3 million phones when the problem is limited to certain users in certain areas? Under 10% of people are left-handed and only a certain number of them will have the problem in low signal areas. I'm sure Apple figured this problem would be limited and easily solved with bumpers, cases or holding the phone in an alternative way. What Apple failed to account for is the vitriol created by those out there that choose to hate and b1tch rather than compromise if they really want the phone's other features or just choose another phone without the problem.

BTW, Apple and AT&T should have enough retail locations and resources to handle this case by case.

 

[LaMerVipere]

I'm happy that other organizations like engadget and Consumer Reports are confirming what those of us who have had the iPhone 4 since the day it came out have always known: It's the antenna, stupid.

Having mine in a case helps, but does not work miracles.

 

[xbjllb]

How many parents are buying their teenagers iPhones?

I don't know. How many parents are complete idiots?

haha, its officially over for apple inc

Not if they kick Jobs to a new iToy division. Or out the door completely.

Take it back and buy a different phone that does work!!!

Better yet.... support Apple and drop it already so you can be forced to buy a new one anyway. That's the point of all the mobile iCrap to begin with, Geniuses. The more you move stuff around, the more it breaks and the sooner you replace it and the more money Apple makes. GET OUT THERE AND DO YOUR DUTY!

That is a pretty damning report, especially if they have evidence that the signal DOES drop, just by touching that one spot on the antenna, and alternate phones do not experience similar symptoms.

It looks like they also had diagnostic equipment / software that could measure the actual signal the phone was receiving.

Apple has been pretty quiet about all these things the past few weeks. I will be interested to see what their next move is.

Demoting Jobs to an iCrap iFad iJunk division or bankruptcy a few more months down the line. Their call.

I would like to say thank you to the innovators and early adopters for buying this product and dealing with the issues so I don't have to.

Now that's genius. And an experienced Apple customer.

But better you never buy the product, period.

Based on some of these posts on here, if Apple dropped an A-Bomb on a major city, the Apple fanboys on here would blame the city for being there.

STOP DRINKING THE KOOL AID.

This is utterly AMAZING. Truly amazing on the depths some of you fanboys will go. TRULY amazing.

w00master

Chances are the boiler rooms at Apple are also going full blast with paid shill boys doing as much damage control as possible. Don't kid yourself, it's the way Jobs does business.

Remember Jobs + Ives = genius.

It doesn't take a genius to remarket old fads and tart them up for today's 10 year olds. It apparently does take more genius than Jobs has to service an established pro app high ticket bread and butter base PROPERLY, however.

 

[QCassidy352]

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Auch! BURN!!

Apple denied this way to long already. Don't get me wrong, I love Apple, but their arrogance is getting way over the top. First Apple direct us not to have blu ray. Now they direct us how to hold our phone, and simple deny a serious design flaw. They almost screwed me with my macbook air, where the hinge have a serious design flaw and break. My Iphone 3 is almost unusable after the update, and works as bad as a PC, crashes, sluggish, no battery life anymore. Enough is enough!

In general, It seems ease to become successful, but way harder to keep success. Especially with serious competition on the corner.

As long Apple keep thinking the customers are a stupid sheep who eat this kind of crap, they will be wrong at the end of the story. People won't accept this.

The gap between Apple and the rest (Microsoft) become smaller too.

I forced my Girlfriend a lifetime windows user to go for Mac. But after a few months she still isn't impressed with MAC OS-X and find it hardly an improvement over WIN7. Wake up Apple. You are not longer the most unique in the universe anymore. There are alternatives. And if you keep treating your customers as stupid sheeps, they will go for that "alternative" eventually.

With kind regards,
Bas

Hi! Welcome to the world of Apple computer users, and how they've been treated for the past decade.

The stock drop is most likely due to the class action lawsuit filed for ATT and Apple anti-trust.

More due to stockholders waking up and realizing the Emperor IS naked, always WAS naked, and now dump before everyone else does.

Thank you Consumer Reports for doing your job. As for Apple...

I'm not saying this is a design flaw because there are people out there whose iPhone 4s work fine, but there's obviously enough people out there now complaining about the problem to warrant looking at some kind of defect in specific batches of phones.

We need a recall based on serial number. It just can't be a software problem if some phones are working and others aren't. All of the iPhone 4s have the same software, so in theory they should all be affected, but they are not. Therefore, logic dictates that there is something physically wrong (antenna, sim card, etc.) with some of the phones.

Apple, get your head out of your ass and fix the problem. I know you're in short supply, but you owe it to your insanely loyal customer base to admit the problem and fix it.

Apple owes the bargain basement iCrap crowd nothing, who are now getting a taste of how Apple has been treating high ticket high end pro app users and workstation purchasers have been treated for at least five years now. It's now systemic, and fatal until the board kicks Jobs to an iFad division or completely out the door.

Apple, Meet your Windows Vista

Worse. Software can be updated. Hardware can only be recalled and replaced.

Stop man, you're embarrassing yourself. Love him or hate him, jobs is routinely acknowledged as one of the most successful CEOs in the world. The brand is acknowledged as one of the most admired in the US every year. Customer service and user satisfaction are are the top of the industry. They have a market cap about equal to MS, and they have $30b in the bank with no debt.

Believe me, the day Jobs leaves will be a nightmare for shareholders.

 

[axual]

Really?

It's breaking news all over the media now. AAPL is dropping.

Your comment will have more impact than the antenna problem ... so be careful what you say.

 

[axual]

Consumer Reports

I would like to know how many of the tens of thousands of cell phones Consumer Reports has tested, and would like to compare those to the iPhone.

There are millions of dropped calls (daily), so this is hardly an iPhone 4 issue. I found it interesting that a 20db drop would cause a dropped call.

How many cell tower antennas has Consumer Reports tested?

I'm not trying to minimize whatever issue there may be either the iPhone 4 antenna design, but there are many other variables.

 

[xbjllb]

I don't agree with this. Most of Apple's iDevice clientele are not young as you suggest. In fact, most people that purchase iMac's, iPhone's, etc. are in the 35-50 year age group.

Do you ever see the lines lining up to get this stuff early? All kids and their ignorant badgered parents.

As a prosumer user, I am discouraged by Apple's focus on the consumer market. This is apparent with a blatant disregard for their display lineup, and an extreme focus on the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Apple does not make their money through iTunes sales, they make their money through the products sold that iTunes requires for use. While I am seemingly disregarded as an important consumer to Apple, Inc., the company has made billions from their iDevice market. For that I am thankful.

A blackline bottom line BUBBLE that will soon pop as quicker faster BETTER cheaper competition INEVITABLY comes along and quashes it, is NOTHING to be thankful for. Especially when the pro computer base left along the way and there will be no one to fall back on.

 

[fastfinger]

I'll be using a case but since I'm left handed and no decent cases are out yet I'll wait. I cancelled my order for now.

 

[parapup]

Why recall 3 million phones when the problem is limited to certain users in certain areas? Apple and AT&T should have enough retail locations and resources to handle this case by case.

Except that the problem isn't limited at all. You see everyone's iPhone 4 is designed and built the exact same way. What that means is that no matter who you are and where you are - you are going to drop signal if you just hold the phone the normal way. Depending on where you are located the signal loss may be bearable or it may not be bearable. Plus it's a cell phone - so people move around and if where they move normally has just enough signal strength to make a call with another sanely designed phone, at the same place the iPhone4 makes it impossible to make a call.

 

[QCassidy352]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A293 Safari/6531.22.7)

I don't agree with this. Most of Apple's iDevice clientele are not young as you suggest. In fact, most people that purchase iMac's, iPhone's, etc. are in the 35-50 year age group.

Do you ever see the lines lining up to get this stuff early? All kids and their ignorant badgered parents.

As a prosumer user, I am discouraged by Apple's focus on the consumer market. This is apparent with a blatant disregard for their display lineup, and an extreme focus on the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Apple does not make their money through iTunes sales, they make their money through the products sold that iTunes requires for use. While I am seemingly disregarded as an important consumer to Apple, Inc., the company has made billions from their iDevice market. For that I am thankful.

A blackline bottom line BUBBLE that will soon pop as quicker faster BETTER cheaper competition INEVITABLY comes along and quashes it, is NOTHING to be thankful for. Especially when the pro computer base left along the way and there will be no one to fall back on.

You sound exactly like the iPod critics circa 2001

 

[cmaier]

Do you ever see the lines lining up to get this stuff early? All kids and their ignorant badgered parents.

Because the adults have better things to do and just pre-order and avoid the lines.

 

[jlblodgett]

I don't know. How many parents are complete idiots?



Not if they kick Jobs to a new iToy division. Or out the door completely.



Better yet.... support Apple and drop it already so you can be forced to buy a new one anyway. That's the point of all the mobile iCrap to begin with, Geniuses. The more you move stuff around, the more it breaks and the sooner you replace it and the more money Apple makes. GET OUT THERE AND DO YOUR DUTY!




Demoting Jobs to an iCrap iFad iJunk division or bankruptcy a few more months down the line. Their call.



Now that's genius. And an experienced Apple customer.

But better you never buy the product, period.



Chances are the boiler rooms at Apple are also going full blast with paid shill boys doing as much damage control as possible. Don't kid yourself, it's the way Jobs does business.



It doesn't take a genius to remarket old fads and tart them up for today's 10 year olds. It apparently does take more genius than Jobs has to service an established pro app high ticket bread and butter base PROPERLY, however.

Didn't Forbes just tab Jobs as the "Smartest CEO in Tech"?

 

[QCassidy352]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A293 Safari/6531.22.7)

Why recall 3 million phones when the problem is limited to certain users in certain areas? Apple and AT&T should have enough retail locations and resources to handle this case by case.

Except that the problem isn't limited at all. You see everyone's iPhone 4 is designed and built the exact same way. What that means is that no matter who you are and where you are - you are going to drop signal if you just hold the phone the normal way. Depending on where you are located the signal loss may be bearable or it may not be bearable. Plus it's a cell phone - so people move around and if where they move normally has just enough signal strength to make a call with another sanely designed phone, at the same place the iPhone4 makes it impossible to make a call.

Simply not true. Read this thread for examples of people who have seen different results with replacement iPhones. The engadget mobile podcast from the 2nd or 3rd also had two people in the same location each try two iphones - one showed the issue far more than the other (so one lost a bar or two but worked fine and the other lost signal).

 

[xbjllb]

Always, always, always test your product in its final form. I bet all of their final prototypes were field tested using that iPhone 3GS disguised case.

Where've you been the past ten years? Apple has been beta testing everything with its early adopters for at least a decade, from hardware to updates of the OS itself.

It's corporate policy. Do you know how much money they save, until there's a problem?

It's the BP (British Petroleum) way of doing things. Also Apple's.

 

[tivoboy]

FCC requirements

Could they not easily switch the Cell Antenna from the side to say the top or bottom? I think if I remember correctly there are antennas on all 4 sides of the phone - Bluetooth, GPS, Cell and Wi-Fi - so simply swapping positions such that the normal holding position of the phone does not interfere with Cell Antenna should solve the problem? No?

Then it would just be a matter of recalling those 2-3 million already sold - Car companies do that with cars, shouldn't be a big deal for Apple. While they are at it they could fix the proximity sensor as well.

I think the FCC requirement is BOTTOM only or TOP WITH an extendible antenna. So, I don't think apple could simply put the GSM antenna at the top of the phone that would be right in the SWEET spot EXACTLY where the FCC does not allow the antenna to be

 

[hissyfit]

30 days...

if you don't like your iPhone 4 than stop complaining and return the damn thing. i love mine.

 

[einmusiker]

That would be $200 million dollars, guess again.

well, more accurately 200 million bucks that would have to be spent at an apple store so... not really 200 million more like 10 million or something

 

[rcandre2]

This engineering design issue gets interesting by the weeks.

I'm glad Consumer Reports tested the iPhone4 due to the customer complaints. I'd rather a third party test the issue than rely on AT&T or Apple to tell us there is nothing really wrong and deal with it.

Now consumers have a source to back up thier complaints.
I don't understand why some people are dogging Consumer Reports.

These would be undercover Apple spies sent here to minimize any negative impact Consumer Reports would have on sales of their defective iPhone 4 design.

 

[xbjllb]

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Stop man, you're embarrassing yourself. Love him or hate him, jobs is routinely acknowledged as one of the most successful CEOs in the world. The brand is acknowledged as one of the most admired in the US every year. Customer service and user satisfaction are are the top of the industry. They have a market cap about equal to MS, and they have $30b in the bank with no debt.

Believe me, the day Jobs leaves will be a nightmare for shareholders.

A bottom line iCrap bubble is nothing to be shilling. ALL BUBBLES POP.

Now, about your sig: Inaccurate as your view. Half of Apple users would want the wine they asked for, not grape juice.