If EVERYONE has gone from 5 bars to 3........

[goobot]

didnt upgrade yet

 

[Chase817]

Went from 5 to 3 as well.

 

[albeli]

From 4/5 (mostly 5) to 2/3 (mostly 2). Unbelievable--no wonder that even with "5 bars" I used to get serious lag in Safari. Yet other people I know with ATT service get 5 bars on their phones (not iPhones).

 

[r2b2007]

5 to 3 and exact same problem goes to 1 when held and returns now to 3 when not holding. Used to have 5 all the time now none of the time...

 

[VSMacOne]

My office used to get 2/3 bars, now it's down to 1. Looks like a little turd

 

[mackmgg]

I use the decibel amount rather then bars. -89 here, not sure what that equates to with the new bar system. Used to be 5 bars

 

[zizo79]

went from 5 to 4 so far....did network reset and my data speeds are even crappier now

 

[Eric8199]

I still get five bars outside at my house. Five bars right now where I'm sitting in our computer room (well, it was the computer room until we got an iPad, now the house is the "computer" room. haha).

 

[rburly]

im on constant 2 i drop to one with deathgrip

I'm on constant 3 with drop to 1 bar bridging the gap (doesn't go to 0 bars)

I haven't made a phone call yet to see how many dropped calls I get. Can't wait.

 

[b166er]

before updating I generally had 5 bars at home. Now I'm showing 4 after the update. We'll see what happens when I go to work tomorrow. Sadly, those are the two places I am the most

 

[gr8tfly]

Mine fluctuates anywhere from 3-5 in my office now when I'm holding it. When it's on my desk it stays on 5. It used to only be on 5 no matter what.

That's exactly what Apple wanted to happen. Getting rid of the compression between 5 and 4 or less bars gets rid of the sudden drop in indicated signal strength. Obviosly, in doing so, it also more accurately represents a poor coverage area (the main goal of the fix).

Before the update, I would have seen 5 bars at -93 dbm (3GS). I always thought that was a bit low to be calling it "best signal". Now, I have 4 bars at -80dbm (dbm as indicated by the iPhone itself), which makes a lot more sense (I can't get 5 at all, now). (I've worked with RF systems as an engineer for most of my career; also hold an Amateur Extra license.).

The new scaling helps explain the frustrating situation I use to have when I thought I had "full" signal, but still had a less than perfect connection (distortion, noise, etc.).

 

[falconeight]

Im still at 5

 

[mikechan1234]

5 to 3-4 bars. Sigh... Although my brothers iPhone gets 5 bars.... Weird...

 

[iPhone4sux]

I had all the bars before, now at mostly at 2 :\

 

[Slip Jigs]

So what does it all mean?

 

[Narzist]

I went from 5 to 3. What the heck?

So this whole time when I had my iPhones, I really thought I had FULL service but I really only had three bars? Why is it the two other people next to me with AT&T and ****** flip phones have FULL service?

Cool story, bro

 

[Daj27]

Im in NY and get five bars still after the update. It does fluctuate between 4 and 5 sometimes though.

 

[LordOBoogie]

I still have 5 bars and no dropped calls.

 

[BlondeBuddhist]

Why are people freaking out? You're going to get the exact same signal you got before, it's just the graphic showing you a representation of that signal has changed.

Obviously, it's not a fix for the antenna, and Apple has never said as such. This has been their intended fix from their announcement of it.

Why are people on these forums such bizarre cry babies?

Logic rules.

 

[Slip Jigs]

Cool story, bro

LOL.that's pretty funny. Sarcasm rules!

Hey let's all start using that maybe it will become a catch phrase, and we can say we started it!

 

[gregnauman]

Then are we even sure this really is a TRUE reading???? Surely if it was a true reading....some people would be on 2....some 4, some 5 some 1 etc etc....but 95% of ppl seem to be showing 3 bars like me.

God knows what to think any more

This actually goes to show you how CRAPPY ATT is.

I honestly did a test with my 3GS last year when I switched from Sprint.

I was getting 4 or 5 bars at home but would go into service mode and it was -90 to -110 db. I knew right then and there that the iphone was not reporting bars correctly.

If they didnt have the iphone Id be outta here. They sucked when they were SBC, sucked when they were cingular and now they are ATT and still the same old crap.

I had sprint for 12 years and it was pretty good, but I wanted an iphone instead of my ipod touch.

Id be really curious about reception reports in other countries with GSM and iphone

 

[gregnauman]

Then are we even sure this really is a TRUE reading???? Surely if it was a true reading....some people would be on 2....some 4, some 5 some 1 etc etc....but 95% of ppl seem to be showing 3 bars like me.

God knows what to think any more

This actually goes to show you how CRAPPY ATT is.

I honestly did a test with my 3GS last year when I switched from Sprint.

I was getting 4 or 5 bars at home but would go into service mode and it was -90 to -110 db. I knew right then and there that the iphone was not reporting bars correctly. This has been going on for a while now.
Probably to save ATT's face. Now they need to save their own!

If they didnt have the iphone Id be outta here. They sucked when they were SBC, sucked when they were cingular and now they are ATT and still the same old crap.

I had sprint for 12 years and it was pretty good, but I wanted an iphone instead of my ipod touch.

Id be really curious about reception reports in other countries with GSM and iphone

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

After updating my iPhone now goes from 3 bars to NO SERVICE instead of from 5 bars to NO SERVICE when using death grip at home. Great job Apple! So now I'm supposed to be happy because I'm losing 3 bars instead of 5?

I'm waiting to see what happens at the press conference Friday. If a design solution and replacement program are not announced, I will return the iPhone 4, keep the 3GS it replaced and call it quits until next year. I refuse to pay for a product with a design defect, whether it affects my everyday use or not. Unless Apple deploys a fix, the iPhone 4 will remain a stigmatized product and we can call this the beginning of Apple's second decline.

 

[schoff0310]

5 bars to 3 with case and without case(I have been holding phone in "deathgrip" for 15 minutes with 3 bars.

 

[gr8tfly]

After updating my iPhone now goes from 3 bars to NO SERVICE instead of from 5 bars to NO SERVICE when using death grip at home. Great job Apple! So now I'm supposed to be happy because I'm losing 3 bars instead of 5?.....

Yes. You missed the point of the fix's new scaling. Starting with 3 bars (in 4.0.1) shows you are in a weak signal area - NOT a strong, 5 bar area as was previously displayed. If you actually HAD 5 bars, chances are good that doing a "death grip" would leave you with some useable signal.