Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Does the bumper fix your problem?

Does a bumper fix your reception issues?

  • Yes, with bumper my phone is fine and I have no signal issues when held

    Votes: 18 19.8%

  • No, with bumper my phone still has signal issues when held

    Votes: 7 7.7%

  • I don't have a bumper and don't plan on accepting this as a fix

    Votes: 36 39.6%

  • I don't like your poll

    Votes: 30 33.0%
  • Total voters
    91
F

Ferris23

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Sep 24, 2007
2,231
0
Yes, without bumper I can recreate the problem in low signal areas. With bumper on I have no signal loss regardless of how the phone is held.


I can create the signal loss 100% (less so in strong signal areas which may seem obvious but worth noting. Strong signal=less of an issue when being held) when holding it in my left hand or with a gorilla grip.
 
Totally understandable and not what I meant by fix, by fix I meant remedy the signal issue. It will be unacceptable if Apple uses the bumper as a permanent band aid.


That being said I am enjoying the hell out of this phone and am confident Apple will do right, I'm just not in any rush and will take it to the genius bar when the dust settles after launch.
 
lol To the punks that don't like my poll, what's your issue or are you just being smart asses?


:D
 
frozencarbonite said:
I think they're just being smart asses because you actually gave them a choice to not like it.

I actually think the poll is helpful.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I probably shouldn't have opened up myself for the smart ass option. lol

Oh well, I like feedback positive or negative.

Keep it coming folks!
 
Any other case will have side protectors, why do you need a bumper?

You will be selling this phone at some point and the last thing you need is to leave that back unprotected considering how prone it is to scratches and dings.
 
wishman35 said:
Any other case will have side protectors, why do you need a bumper?

You will be selling this phone at some point and the last thing you need is to leave that back unprotected considering how prone it is to scratches and dings.
Click to expand...

Because we dont want to cover up the beauty of the back panel. The bumper is a good design because the phone wont be touched in a fall, just the bumper.
 
Ferris23 said:
Yeah, I probably shouldn't have opened up myself for the smart ass option. lol

Oh well, I like feedback positive or negative.

Keep it coming folks!
Click to expand...

Despite the fact that you're only querying people with reception problems, many people may want to vote. You don't have an option for, "I don't have reception issues with or without a bumper." Perhaps those are the people that don't like the poll.
 
With the bumper installed, the signal strength issue is not present. When I removed my bumper, called my coworker and held it in my hand as those videos demonstrate, making sure to have a good grip covering the lower left corner of the phone, service dropped to almost nothing. It didn't actually drop the call, but I watched the bars go down in a matter of seconds.


While It is nice that the bumper fixes the issue, it certainly isn't acceptable by any means. If Apple is going to say "the bumper fixes the signal strength issue" they Apple needs to issue bumpers for FREE with every phone, because lets not forget.. this is afterall A PHONE, so before every single bell and whistle, it should perform its original task flawlessly.

I'm not sure how they are claiming it's a software issue, when it seems to me that it has to be a hardware issue, since it's only produced by physically touching the metal in the lower left corner of the phone.
 
Ok, so yes, I do have the signal issue as reported. I did not put a bumper on the phone though. I did have a TPU case for it that I got from HandheldItems.com though, and when I put that on it, it got rid of the problem totally. No drop in signal at all. So likely, any type of case that you put on the phone will take care of the issue. Hum, interesting. I wonder what Apple will do about this.
 
It's difficult to say without further long-term testing. I've picked 'no' but it's a 'yes and no' - where I'm sat right now, it doesn't seem to help. But it's a really weak signal and even the 3GS if I pick it up also tends to lose it so it could be natural degradation from a hand being in the way.

When out and about earlier the bumper definitely seemed to fix the issue. BUT I didn't test it extensively, AND I noticed it frequently had a decent signal but wouldn't lock on to data (no GPRS, EDGE or 3G symbol) so that could be related.
 
Would one of those $1 "Livestrong" wristbands work? Wonder if it would stretch enough?
 
fishmd said:
Ok, so yes, I do have the signal issue as reported. I did not put a bumper on the phone though. I did have a TPU case for it that I got from HandheldItems.com though, and when I put that on it, it got rid of the problem totally. No drop in signal at all. So likely, any type of case that you put on the phone will take care of the issue. Hum, interesting. I wonder what Apple will do about this.
Click to expand...

Ha, now I take it back what I said, Now even with the TPU case on the phone, the signal still decreases significantly when holding the phone in my left hand and touching the bottom left corner. This is very odd, as I would have thought it has something to do with flesh touching the metal itself, but obviously it does not. :confused:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back