does anyone else get pissed off...

[PaulieORF]

And you don't seem to grasp that you can't take a measurement of something using two completely different devices and then have issues with the disparate nature of the results such as you would with the signal being measured by two different phones. The effective power/signal levels may be relatively "close enough" but because the two devices making the measurements aren't the same, the end result means it's irrelevant. Maybe you do get it, I don't know - I think we're both saying the same things here in many respects.

I'd try that Anand hack on my iPhone 4 and see if I could enable the numeric signal strength reading; unfortunately I don't have a 3GS so I can do the mods to it after rolling it back to 3.1.3 and then Jailbreaking it and making the configuration backup to apply to the iPhone 4.

Hrmmm... maybe I can find someone with a 3GS I can borrow overnight. I live line-of-sight with an AT&T cell site/tower, only about 750 feet away and about 20 feet higher than my 3rd floor balcony. Pretty sure at this distance and with zero obstructions to the signal off the antenna array I'd be getting around -55 dB as expected.

I get what you're saying, I do, really, and I'm not harping on it - it's just that the antenna design on the iPhone 4 and the new radios in it are going to make all the difference this time out, as well as how the radios are handling the attenuation because of the metal antenna band which I feel is the biggest mistake Apple has yet made with respect to their iPhones.

If I'm proven wrong in the long run, oh well... I don't believe that I'm wrong, and lots of people believe the new design is flawed as well.

I think we're pretty close in our thinking here, for the most part. I also agree with you that making the outer metal band the antenna was a bad decision, especially since they're saying that this is how the phone was designed and it's supposed be held differently. They were going for improved signal, and while they technically seem to have done that, unfortunately it's only an improved signal when it's not being held directly by a human

 

[wongster41]

Seems like you're the ignorant one.


Enjoy not having an iPhone 4

You must enjoy nuthugging steve jobs

 

[Sinfire]

Maybe it is the 1.6 million users that are not having problems and the few hundred that are having problems. The people that are having the problems are the ones that are complaining.

What I don't understand is why waste your time writing posts on a forum that apple does not read to complain about a device that does not work for you. Save yourself a lot of grief and either get the 3GS or return the phone and get something else. I am sure the engineers at apple are trying to come up with a fix but it may be several months and by then it would probably be a new iPhone or a new software fix.

Yes it does piss me off. I had an Apple CS keep repeating the "script" that was posted yesterday. I told him he didn't have to say it, as I had already read it.

He just kept repeating it until he really pissed me off. Apple is very delusional to think people will just stop reporting a problem.

Another thing pissing me off is all these "fanboys" that say there is nothing wrong with the phone because their 1 phone is fine. Well guess what. 1 person reporting no problems does not mean 1.7 million other folks are not having problems.

I love my iphone 4 and think it's far better than any other phone on the market, however my phone does have reception problems. If a PHONE cannot make PHONE calls then it does not matter how great anything else about the PHONE is; it fails as a PHONE. Remember folks the #1 reason for an iPHONE is to make PHONE calls.

</rant>

 

[deeddawg]

Folks need to get a grip.

When you buy a brand new design/model there's ALWAYS a chance something will be wrong with the initial production/software/design/etc. That's the risk you take buying something new to the market. So suck it up, you gambled and you got burned.

Any idiot can figure out that Apple is going to sort the issue out as quickly as they can. In the meantime you'll get some marketing-speak pablum. That's what happens. No surprise these.

Who cares what the low-paid CSR says? They're going to follow their script; why would he or she risk losing their job? In case nobody's noticed, jobs can be difficult to come by these days.

So all this boils down to a simple choice: If you're having an issue, you can either stick it out and wait until a fix comes out or you can return the phone and go with something else until the issues are cleared up. Getting into arguments or p!ssing matches on the Internet won't do a thing in terms of your phone.

 

[Fant]

I think we just need to all start returning our iphone4 and go back to our old phones (with our contract date restored) ... I dont think they will do anything until it affects sales significantly ... i would think the press alone they are getting on these issues would be causing them to address it. I really just pisses off their loyal customers to not hear anything from them.

 

[br0adband]

Any idiot can figure out that Apple is going to sort the issue out as quickly as they can.

There's a big flaw in your argument(s).

Steve Jobs says there is no issue.

And everybody else - well ok, not everybody but a pretty significant amount of iPhone 4 owners, including myself, and more by the minute, are saying "No, there IS something wrong."

And that's the gist of it.

If he had the balls (maybe he lost them in some operation we're not aware of, who knows) to flat out say "Ok, there's a problem, we'll address it soon." or anything even remotely similar, this "heat" being laid upon Apple from all directions wouldn't nearly be as bad.

But he didn't, and the heat is rising...

 

[DynaFXD]

This is my first iphone. Had an ipod touch before that I used for apps, but sold it when I bought this phone thinking I wouldn't need it anymore.

Return the iPhone, get your money back, go buy a Touch. It worked for you before, it will again. Come back when things have settled down.

Well I am a medical resident working 80+ hours a week and not getting paid much at all)

Then you shouldn't have an iPhone. You don't need 3G, the Touch has worked for you previously, and you shouldn't be burdened with the monthly fees cell phone charges and the required data plans if you are on a string.

Wake up tomorrow, take the iPhone back, and get a Touch and a paygo phone. The iPhone is not for you. Get out from underneath the frustration, it is just a phone. Maybe consider a low end iPad which will make for much easier data reading and entry. The money you get back from returning your iPhone and the money you save for monthly fees will pay for the iPad in a few months easy.

^^Others who are "frustrated" can do the same. Why torture yourselves? The world doesn't need another martyr. Take your iPhone back, NOW. Get something else that fits your needs and come back when the dust has settled.

 

[br0adband]

While returning an iPhone 4 may address the individual user's issue(s), it's just a Band-Aid as Apple will box it up as a refurb and dump it on someone else - they're out to make nearly twice the profit on said products in such practices.

Returning the phone isn't really enough, seriously.

Doing so only brushes it under a carpet, so to speak, or onto someone else's shoes. Honestly I'm not about to return this iPhone 4 I have anytime soon since I know it'll just get boxed up and sold to someone else and Apple will laugh all the way to the bank (which they're doing already anyway).

It's not as simple as just taking it back...

What will it take before Apple comes forth and admits that those of us having problems - and our numbers are rising quite fast - really are having problems and does something about it?

With the Toyota brake pedal fiasco, it was a combination of many things but, the biggest catalyst was some people died because of it. What if someone has a brand new iPhone 4 and needs to call for help because of some emergency and - sorry, they don't have time to stop and consider "Am I holding it right?" - and can't make a decent phone call with the phone in their hand because the phone simply doesn't work for them as a damned hand-held cell phone? What happens if someone dies because of such a situation and it's discovered that the phone simply wouldn't connect even in a situation where every cell phone in use in the area by everybody else - maybe the rescue personnel, etc - seems to work just freakin' fine?

Is that what it'll take? Because it can happen... anything can, really.

 

[Sinfire]

You are basing all this on an email that Steve Jobs sent to some annonymous user that told him he was having an issue with his phone ?

I have not seen an official statement by Steve Jobs released to the media that states there is no issue with the phones.

For all you know, he has a room full of engineers trying to figure out why some phones work and others don't and when they can figure out the issue, there will be changes made. Apple is not a company that is going to ignore their customers and pretend that there is nothing wrong.

There's a big flaw in your argument(s).

Steve Jobs says there is no issue.

And everybody else - well ok, not everybody but a pretty significant amount of iPhone 4 owners, including myself, and more by the minute, are saying "No, there IS something wrong."

And that's the gist of it.

If he had the balls (maybe he lost them in some operation we're not aware of, who knows) to flat out say "Ok, there's a problem, we'll address it soon." or anything even remotely similar, this "heat" being laid upon Apple from all directions wouldn't nearly be as bad.

But he didn't, and the heat is rising...

 

[br0adband]

You are basing all this on an email that Steve Jobs sent to some annonymous user that told him he was having an issue with his phone ?

I have not seen an official statement by Steve Jobs released to the media that states there is no issue with the phones.

For all you know, he has a room full of engineers trying to figure out why some phones work and others don't and when they can figure out the issue, there will be changes made. Apple is not a company that is going to ignore their customers and pretend that there is nothing wrong.

I see you're firmly entrenched on Side 3. Good for you.

Apple never admits anything, even when something is wrong. They simply release a fix of some kind, typically a firmware update, perhaps a new physical product if necessary, and in one case of a class action lawsuit, cash in the hand for the nano screen issue years ago.

But they have never admitted there's an actual problem. All they ever do is imply that there might be a problem as in "You may <this>" or "You might experience <that>" and words to that effect. That's how they operate, deceptive, non-committal, and with extraordinary levels of implication.

Implication: "The glass on the iPhone 4 is 20x stiffer and 30x stronger than plastic."

Fact: Who cares about plastic?!?!?!?! Now if they'd said it was 20x stiffer and 30x stronger than the glass on the iPhone 3GS, the previous generation, that would mean something. But the implication by making the statement is very plain and clear: "The glass on this iPhone 4 is some damned tough stuff, bub, damned tough stuff indeed, not like the old stuff."

But they didn't compare it to the iPhone 3GS, now did they?

Why is that? Why is almost everything else compared to the iPhone 3GS - the camera, the screen, the battery, the antennas, etc etc etc. Yet they didn't compare the actual properties of the glass on the display itself with the previous generation product, the iPhone 3GS. They decided PLASTIC was a better item for comparison. Right. WHAT PLASTIC, specifically? We'll never know.

Riddle me that one...

Steve Jobs is Apple which is the biggest implication of all.

 

[deeddawg]

There's a big flaw in your argument(s).
Steve Jobs says there is no issue.

No, there's no flaw in my argument, just a difference in our assumptions. I believe Jobs' statement is marketing speak and a delaying tactic until the internal teams figure something out. I can see that someone else may feel that Jobs' statement means Apple will not do anything or make any changes until the next model comes out next year.

Actually, that second way of thinking would make it easier for people to choose what to do. Knowing nothing will happen for another year would make it pretty obvious that the best solution is to return the phone while you still can instead of waiting hopefully for a fix.