Actually, the best scenerio would be to replace the metal band with a solid metal band around the phone (no gaps, they won't be needed), hollow on the inside, and run an insulated copper strip inside the band to serve as an antenna. This would eliminate the possibility of shorting anything and, in two ways, reduce the capacitive effect of your hand on the antenna while allowing it to remain outside the body of the phone and minimally away from the electronics inside for better reception. Simply replacing it with an insulated metal band identical to that on the phone now would be better than nothing, but when the coating starts to flake, chip or wear away, and it will, the problem will slowly resurface. Plus it does nothing about the capacitive effect which will also hit the iPhone hard due to your hand being on the antenna itself.
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For Those "WAITING FOR FIX"...WHY?
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Actually, the best scenerio would be to replace the metal band with a solid metal band around the phone (no gaps, they won't be needed), hollow on the inside, and run an insulated copper strip inside the band to serve as an antenna. This would eliminate the possibility of shorting anything and, in two ways, reduce the capacitive effect of your hand on the antenna while allowing it to remain outside the body of the phone and minimally away from the electronics inside for better reception. Simply replacing it with an insulated metal band identical to that on the phone now would be better than nothing, but when the coating starts to flake, chip or wear away, and it will, the problem will slowly resurface. Plus it does nothing about the capacitive effect which will also hit the iPhone hard due to your hand being on the antenna itself.
Thank god! Someone with a brain. I thought I was going crazy, as I could NOT for the life of me, see what the hell that Cocoa Puff was talking about. I guess he is kookoo for cocoa puffs.
My mileage varies, even in a weak signal area. I have no idea why that is, and not for others. I also have no idea how many are in my boat or yours. If I were you, I'd take it back and see if a replacement helps. Or you can assume that this problem is on every phone, and wait for Apple to do something. Your choice.
Are you INSANE? I saw the chart and understand why you think the way you do, but that is just numbers. If YOU actually READ the whole ARTICLE, YOU would SEE that it SAYS what I have been TRYING to TELL YOU.
Even WITH the chart findings, the tester STILL concludes that he still is able to receive better signal in EVERYDAY USE. Re-read the article. Maybe you'll get it next time.
Alright, I concede that I might have over generalized the article.
But the point of citing the article is to debunk the shenanigan crap that iPhone 4's reception issue doesn't exist.
iPhone 4 may be equipped with better antenna, but it is certainly not performing as it should. Plus the article was inconclusive (data wise) in comparing iPhone 4's actual performance to 3GS. It simply concludes that he was able to complete phone calls at low reception levels that 3GS isn't able to do.
But the point of citing the article is to debunk the shenanigan crap that iPhone 4's reception issue doesn't exist.
iPhone 4 may be equipped with better antenna, but it is certainly not performing as it should. Plus the article was inconclusive (data wise) in comparing iPhone 4's actual performance to 3GS. It simply concludes that he was able to complete phone calls at low reception levels that 3GS isn't able to do.
yawn...you just admitted that you can't understand what I was saying. let's not pretend you do now.
I still don't understand what I don't understand. Can you please let me know how I didn't understand what I posted.
TTYTT, that sentence didn't make much sense when I read it. It still doesn't. The author did things like that throughout, and then at the end he stated the phone needs coating or a bumper. I think that's the point CocoaPuffs is making (i.e., the 4 would not be better than the 3GS w/o this stuff). Fact is, mine is great w/o it.
Enlighten me. Your intellect knows no bounds and I am truly honored to be speaking with such an intelligent creature such as yourself. Surely myself, and the others in this thread are wrong and you are right.
Please supply excerpts from the article to support your findings. And in BIG FONT AND BOLDED IF POSSIBLE.
My understanding is that if this was a analog phone those numbers would mean much more than they do. With this being digital they aren't as important. Seems that this antenna is able to hold on to the digital signal with worse "numbers" than the 3GS.
Again I might be totally off the mark and that is why I'm asking for an explanation.
One last thing....my wife ordered her phone a week or so after mine arrived and it will take, more or less, another week to get here. If the problem is gone, I'll demand an exchange. If it's still there, I plan on checking back every now and then and demanding an exchange as soon as a batch arrives that doesn't have the problem. Being an EE, it's almost unfathomable that someone could design such a piss poor implementation of an antenna and have it actually go out the door. Reminds me of the Brian Regan joke about food portions and how the guy that designed the ice cream box was just messing around but it went out the door that way and now they're stuck with it.
Common sense. That´s also the reason why the white phones are late.
Waiting for the white one.
I apologize for my previous comment about your reading comprehension, again I was generalizing you with other typical commentators in this forum.
I guess we're shifting subject from what the OP was originally talking about.
My point was that although iPhone 4 is equipped with better antenna than 3GS, its hardware design may have rendered this "improvement" almost pointless. Therefore it is reasonable to consider NOT upgrading to iPhone 4 until better resolution has surfaced.
Using a similar analogy, would it make sense to purchase a new model of car that advertises itself as capable of more horsepower, but is only capable of actually performing at "slightly" higher horsepower than its predecessor?
Common sense. That´s also the reason why the white phones are late.
Waiting for the white one.
So no source.
Well of course there will be a hardware fix, otherwise Apple would be selling broken phones, it´s that simple.
But the thing is, if people are so stupid that they are fine with broken phones (literally taking it up the "posterior" from Apple) and don´t return the broken phones like common sense would make you do, I guess there won´t be a hardware fix. But if there will be, it will be a silent one, we´ll never know it. Some will have broken phones and some will have fully working phones.
I´m buying iPhone 4, but if it´s broken, I´m gonna return it, that´s just common sense folks.
But it´s your right to be stupid of course.
But the thing is, if people are so stupid that they are fine with broken phones (literally taking it up the "posterior" from Apple) and don´t return the broken phones like common sense would make you do, I guess there won´t be a hardware fix. But if there will be, it will be a silent one, we´ll never know it. Some will have broken phones and some will have fully working phones.
I´m buying iPhone 4, but if it´s broken, I´m gonna return it, that´s just common sense folks.
But it´s your right to be stupid of course.
Well of course there will be a hardware fix, otherwise Apple would be selling broken phones, it´s that simple.
But the thing is, if people are so stupid that they are fine with broken phones (literally taking it up the "posterior" from Apple) and don´t return the broken phones like common sense would make you do, I guess there won´t be a hardware fix. But if there will be, it will be a silent one, we´ll never know it. Some will have broken phones and some will have fully working phones.
I´m buying iPhone 4, but if it´s broken, I´m gonna return it, that´s just common sense folks.
But it´s your right to be stupid of course.
Apple isn't selling broken phones. It is that simple
Well of course there will be a hardware fix, otherwise Apple would be selling broken phones, it´s that simple.
But the thing is, if people are so stupid that they are fine with broken phones (literally taking it up the "posterior" from Apple) and don´t return the broken phones like common sense would make you do, I guess there won´t be a hardware fix. But if there will be, it will be a silent one, we´ll never know it. Some will have broken phones and some will have fully working phones.
I´m buying iPhone 4, but if it´s broken, I´m gonna return it, that´s just common sense folks.
But it´s your right to be stupid of course.
I don't get it. Was that intended to be informative or just insulting?
Metal is an excellent (probably the best) shield for RF signals. Placing the antenna within a hollowed out metal band would guarantee no signal.
The actual solution can be ridiculously simple. Glass is an excellent material for having RF signals pass through. The antenna in most phones is very thin.
Apple could simply place the antenna on the inside of the back glass panel. Reception would be excellent and no risk of touching it.
I think thats what most RF engineers assumed Apple had done when everyone saw the Gizmodo leaked phone. Trouble is, that even if Apple attempted to do that, it would require extensive redesign, retesting and recertification through the FCC and therefore would take months. By that time the Verizon phone will be out and Apple will be getting ready for iPhone 5.
Don´t mean to insult anyone, but my opinion just happens to be that if someone buys a broken phone and don´t return it = that´s pretty stupid.
There´s been many "silent fixes" with many Apple products and I believe there will be also with iPhone 4.
As long as the band wasn't grounded it wouldn't make any difference. A brushed metal looking plastic band would work, also. You're probably right about FCC testing, tho. I'm not sure if my method would require retesting or not but if I had to guess, it would be no as it would be essentially the same antenna in the same place with no effect on the radiation pattern or power from the final stage. I'd be loathe to putting it back inside the phone simply because it's closer to the electronics and therefore closer to all kinds of shielding and low level RF problems.
I bought an iPhone for a couple of specific reasons. Getting something else isn't really an option without a whole series of other expensive changes that I don't really care to undertake. In addition, the new phone has superior reception compared to previous iPhones. I can stay on the phone as long as I'd like now whereas before, for two years, not a single call lasted more than 5 minutes before being dropped. All I had to do was put it in a case. Therefore, I hardly think buying and keeping my iPhone 4 makes me "stupid". Just saying.
Officially I'm waiting for the white iPhone. I don't run my phones bareback, so
the signal thing isn't an issue for me.
But in the meantime I bought a Nexus One since after nearly three years, I
was getting the itch to try something different and the N1 w/ Froyo is
definitely a contender.
I'll (most likely) get an iPhone4 when I can walk into an Apple store and pick
the color I want without waiting in line or sleeping with a Genius.
the signal thing isn't an issue for me.
But in the meantime I bought a Nexus One since after nearly three years, I
was getting the itch to try something different and the N1 w/ Froyo is
definitely a contender.
I'll (most likely) get an iPhone4 when I can walk into an Apple store and pick
the color I want without waiting in line or sleeping with a Genius.