iOS 4.1 Beta Includes Apple's Planned Signal Bar Changes

[MikePA]

Neither of you have a problem so neither of you have a reason to bitch - that doesn't mean that other people don't have a problem. Get it? Am I using small enough words?

Yes, everyone gets it and has for a long time. I wish the mods would create a whiners forum where everyone with a problem, who refuses to do anything productive like use a bumper and if that fails, return it, could go and pi$$ and moan to each other. Almost every thread gets polluted by such people who think crying on the Internet is doing something.

 

[ChrisTX]

No, because despite the loud complaining a small but vocal minority, most people are happy with their iPhone 4.

There are always some dud units that need to be replaced. Funny enough, almost everyone had a case for their 3G/3GS but people on these boards act like it is a bad thing to buy a case. Had everyone bought a case, I doubt this would even be a story because it would have most likely masked the issue with the small number of defective units.

This is my third iPhone and I have had a case on every iPhone I've owned. I'm not carrying a $300 phone without one!

 

[alectheking]

I'm getting pissed off that there has been no word on word on 4.0 for iPad still. My 3G prob uses the same ******** bar codes as the iPhone for service, were is my iPad update??

 

[jacollins]

...Apple still haven't figured out how to properly "calculate" and display signal strength?...

You seem to be under the assumption that Apple and AT&T can't properly calculate it. Of course they can calculate it correctly, they just choose not to.

 

[thirdwaver]

No, because despite the loud complaining a small but vocal minority, most people are happy with their iPhone 4.

There are always some dud units that need to be replaced. Funny enough, almost everyone had a case for their 3G/3GS but people on these boards act like it is a bad thing to buy a case. Had everyone bought a case, I doubt this would even be a story because it would have most likely masked the issue with the small number of defective units.

I recently had a party here and four of my guests had iPhone 4's. ALL FOUR of them had 5 bars until I grabbed the phone in the "forbidden way" in which case they all dropped to 1-2 bars. A loss of 3-4 bars! I couldn't believe my eyes! So if you think that the problem is that we all don't have cases, I think you're cutting Apple an immense amount of slack. I have a case for my 1st Gen to protect the phone, not to make it function.

 

[T-Will]

The new bars don't look proportional anymore. My OCDness is making me a little crazy right now.

 

[jacollins]

Apple's display of bars can take a flying leap. I want my -dBm back and field test mode back.

Actually, that's a question I have. Has anyone checked to see if the field test mode back in 4.1?

 

[marksman]

You would be if you paid $300.00 for a phone that COULDN'T EVEN WORK LIKE A PHONE!

I suspect he would likely return it if it did not even work like a phone.

I know. It's ridiculous, why cant people who dont have a problem realise that there are people out there that have a problem. And it's not limited to 1000 Macrumours members

Why can't people who have a problem realize most people don't have a problem and just because someone has a working phone does not make them a zealot fanboy.

 

[MikePA]

you fanboys make excuses about everything

it's obviously important to you because you're posting here

I am doing my part to help Internet babies turn into adults. I read this thread to learn about the new release and guess what, another thread of complainers. All that's missing are the people whining about when the iPhone4 jb will be released cuz they need it soooooooo bad.

 

[DrDomVonDoom]

I can only speak for my own experience but the two hours I was able to play with my friends iPhone 4 I was only able to slightly reproduce the effect, and only once. I tried covering the bottom held my finger on the black stripe, then all three of them. No dice :/ also perhaps he FCC should create a bar standard. Because the way I look at it a "bar" has no real value to me. It's just a random asinine measurement that is based off a algorithm that also has no basis to the average user.

 

[ghostface147]

I'm getting pissed off that there has been no word on word on 4.0 for iPad still.

What are you talking about? A fall release was announced when iOS4 was first revealed before WWDC.

 

[merlinw]

Taller bars? Are you effing kidding me? What is happening at Apple?

Edit: I'm adding the taller bars comparison graphic here for people who won't see it buried in the later posts. I compared the 4.1 vs my 4.0 on my iPhone 4 in Photoshop and colored in the difference. The new 1st bar is twice as tall as the old one! Haha:

Taller bars, I guess to make it look better than it really is.
Reminds me of a guy I knew in the US Army, before we went into town on a pass he would put a rolled up sock in his pants.

 

[ChrisTX]

Try telling that to a couple of million people (minus you) that their phone isnt defective. Even with my iP4 in a very strong signal area can kill the service by holding it with my left hand. Most of the time is "okay", but I've had plenty of dropped calls from it.

Couple of millions? I'm willing to bet it's more like couple of hundreds IF that. People aren't stupid. If your phone doesn't work, return it. You would with anything else, do it with the iPhone and quit complaining. Don't try to play it off like every iPhone owner has a defective device. The news of hoards of dissatisfied iPhone owners returning their handsets would be far greater than the overblown reception issue. Why is it that no one I talk to in person has any reception issues, but theres always a handful of loud mouth people on the internet that insist EVERYONE is having issues?! Just go buy a cheap Motorola droid, and leave the issue alone.

 

[317342]

Again, if you hate the iPhone 4 so much--return it. Only a lunatic would keep the phone if he/she was having problems with it and could easily return it.

I think people just like to hear themselves complain. Here's a kleenex.

 

[choddo]

With or w/o a bumper? If with, why don't you return the phone?

Without. I think they look terrible, the phone will probably not slip in & out of my pocket so easily, and are a massive rip-off but I might end up getting one anyway with a gift voucher someone bought me so it's not real money. I even asked at our Apple Store the other day but they were out of stock so clearly I'm in a minority of bumper haters.

I don't return it because I can workaround the problem by not holding it like that (although I'd rather not as having the phone tucked in my left hand is the most secure & comfortable way to use its browser & many apps but who ever said life was perfect?) and there's no better alternative product for my needs at any price.

Having said that, if I could get every app that I regularly use on Android, I'd probably change to the Samsung Galaxy S.

 

[spiritlevel]

and I have YET to have any problems with call reception!
What the hell is all of this about, and why has it become a nationwide issue?
so far as I can tell, a few cranks who probably work for Nokia are posting flames about their competition, and the rest of the world is eating it up.
I'll repeat, I've had my iPhone4 for almost a month now, and use it daily, with NO, ZERO, NADA, NILL, NOT ONE iOta of signal problems!

YOURS is fine!, well why didn't you tell us earlier? How can there possibly be a problem with anyone else's phone if YOURS is fine? We must just all be imagining our dropped calls and data grinding to a halt because if YOURS is fine how could it be possible that ours aren't? It doesn't make any sense...

Anandtech
Antennasys
Consumer reports
PC World
CNN
BBC
WSJ
Forbes
Business Week
etc etc etc

yeah, just a few cranks who probably work for Nokia...

 

[jackbandy]

I'm running 4.1 and...

REGARDING THE SIGNAL
I'm at my house, and at first it only picked up 2 bars (in the past it's picked up 5 from my house.)

I then took off the case and plugged the infamous gap with my left hand... The signal went up to 3 bars. I got excited, but...

Once I left the phone by itself for a while, it seems like it settled on 4 bars. When I plug the gap, it goes down to 3, sometimes 2... Fine with me!

The thing is, I USE A CASE ALONG WITH 90% OF ALL OTHER IPHONE USERS!! The case fixes everything! Along with protecting your multi-hundred-dollar investment. The ultimate fix is to just get a case.



REGARDING THE PROXIMITY SENSOR
It can be fixed in 4.0 with a simple reset of your settings, from the settings app on your phone. I'm not sure if 4.1 addresses this directly, mine was working fine after a settings reset in 4.0.



REGARDING GAME CENTER
Apple's artwork isn't iPhone 4 resolution? What on earth?!?! Owell, I'm sure they'll fix it.

 

[Alexwithad]

It's only a matter of time before I can test this for myself yayy

 

[Jimrod]

Yes, everyone gets it and has for a long time. I wish the mods would create a whiners forum where everyone with a problem, who refuses to do anything productive like use a bumper and it that fails, return it, could go and pi$$ and moan to each other. Almost every thread gets polluted by such people who think crying on the Internet is doing something.

It's filled with just as many apologists and deniers too - it's a forum where people come to discuss their issues not just worship. Whiners and moaners have just as much right to be here as fanboys. I've praised Apple many times in the past so I will moan if they mess up too - if i need a bumper for my phone to work then it should be in the box, I don't buy a car then have to spend extra on tyres. It's great that you have no problems - don't deny that others do. I can't return it, we only get 2 weeks on contract - I'm waiting for Apple's fix - if they continue to ignore it I simply won't buy Apple again.

 

[choddo]

This is my third iPhone and I have had a case on every iPhone I've owned. I'm not carrying a $300 phone without one!

It's an $800 phone. The AT&T subsidy masks it but you can buy it without a SIM in the UK for £500.

I still don't ruin mine with a case and neither do most of my friends. Never did with the 3G or 3GS either. Although those weren't slippery little buggers like this one is.

 

[spiritlevel]

Why can't people who have a problem realize most people don't have a problem and just because someone has a working phone does not make them a zealot fanboy.

Why do people who think they don't have a problem bother posting in threads about the problem?

 

[Brien]

Taller bars in less places, heh.

 

[alectheking]

What are you talking about? A fall release was announced when iOS4 was first revealed before WWDC.

Yea i know that but where are the beta's? It's gonna need plenty of testing as in my opinion 3.2 blows. I'd imagine it should have been beta by now as 4.1 is now creeping up.

 

[res1233]

Okay, for everyone out there who doesn't understand, software CAN mitigate SOME hardware problems if the software is aware of the problem and is capable of dealing with it to an extent. It most likely wouldn't be perfect, but if apple can at least mitigate the problem, it would probably be sufficient for some users who have the problem, which many don't.
Yes I don't know too much about this specific issue, but I do know enough about software/hardware cooperation in general to know that this is a possibility. Also, nobody is really sure exactly what the problem is. It clearly is antenna-based, but how far does the problem go? It's anybody's guess at this point. It's possible that all apple has to do is cover the antennas with a thin layer of glass or plastic, which wouldn't really change the design much, but would solve the problem, if it can't be solved with a software update.

 

[Stephen123]

iPhone 4 has a 25db signal loss if you hold it in a certain way. Most cell phones have about a 15db signal loss if you hold them a certain way. But the iPhone 4 has about 10db better reception than the 3Gs. The new way of calculating the bars shows more clearly what is going on.

Apparently this is too complicated for most of the press (including MacRumors) to report.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review/2