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*** iPhone 4 Antenna Issue MAY BE FIXED VIA SOFTWARE (Video Proof)

I

iPadThai

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 25, 2010
547
0
I am uploading a video to prove that there is something wrong with the iOS 4.0 software. The SAME SIGNAL LOSS OCCURANCE HAPPENS WITH AN IPHONE 3GS as well!

This has to do with something with iOS 4.0 software. There are no external antennas on the 3GS, however. But the same type of attenuation happens to the 3GS which NEVER happened before iOS 4.0.

Note: 720p video still processing (for clarity, view it in 720p)

iPhone 3GS with iOS 4.0 software installed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmVtLLEkxO8

original iPhone 4 signal loss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ-b56MdVjo
 
I could believe that iOS4 has caused a reception issue (it seems like my 3GS is getting worse reception since I upgraded), but it makes absolutely no sense that a drop in reception by touching a part of the hardware could be fixed by a software update.

No sense at all.
 
Surely said:
So touching that part of the phone causes the frequencies to switch?
Click to expand...

Dunno the technicalities but from what I understand, placing your hand over an antenna (not necessarily touching it) will alter the signal field around the phone. So the iPhone would then attempt to choose a better frequency to alleviate the loss of signal. But somewhere in that code, it messes up, losing reception.

The fix is expected to address a issue in iOS 4 related to radio frequency calibration of the baseband. Readers who saw the original forum discussions say that the issue is believed to occur when switching frequencies; because the lag is allegedly not calibrated correctly, it results in the device reporting "no service" rather than switching to the frequency with the best signal to noise ratio.
Click to expand...
 
This has nothing to do with placing your hand over the antenna. I can encase the 3GS in my hands and get down to one bar, but I would expect that.

The problem with the iPhone 4 is you touch a particular point with a fingertip and it loses service faster than touching the G spot brings a woman to... well, you get the idea.

Ask yourself, "why is it losing a particular frequency in the first place when you are holding it normally and covering up very little of of the antenna?"
 
sammich said:
Dunno the technicalities but from what I understand, placing your hand over an antenna (not necessarily touching it) will alter the signal field around the phone. So the iPhone would then attempt to choose a better frequency to alleviate the loss of signal. But somewhere in that code, it messes up, losing reception.
Click to expand...

I dunno, still seems more like a design flaw to me. There's a reason they left a little gap between the antennae. How could they think that people wouldn't bridge the gap with their hand/finger? How did they not discover such a blatant issue (whether it turns out to be hardware or software) during testing?:confused:

Hopefully some sort of software fix does remedy this problem, but I have my doubts.

I'm just glad that I decided to wait a little bit before I buy.
 
Videos uploaded
check them out for yourself. This isn't suppose to happen on an iPhone 3GS with 3.1.3 - well, never had a signal issue while holding but on the same phone running iOS 4.0, it has the SAME PROBLEM as the iPhone 4 - but the 3GS has NO EXTERNAL ANTENNA!

This only means that there is something with iOS 4.0 that may be causing these issues!

Software fix, I now believe more.
 
Surely said:
I dunno, still seems more like a design flaw to me. There's a reason they left a little gap between the antennae. How could they think that people wouldn't bridge the gap with their hand/finger? How did they not discover such a blatant issue (whether it turns out to be hardware or software) during testing?:confused:

Hopefully some sort of software fix does remedy this problem, but I have my doubts.

I'm just glad that I decided to wait a little bit before I buy.
Click to expand...

Not all the phones have this problem, maybe they have that clear coating that stops the bridging effect. I don't think that they over saw this problem in the design, people saw this coming from after Jobs' revealed the design. It would have to be a monumental failure if they didn't see this coming. But yeah, hopefully it's just a software fix.

If it's a design fault, then why do other phones have this problem?
If it's a iOS 4 problem, then why doesn't every iPhone (3G - 4) have this problem?
 
At first when i heard about the antenna problem I thought it must be a software problem, just because I could not believe apples engineers could let something like this be produced.

Then the second I heard about the email from SJ I pretty much made up my mind that its a hardware issue because why would SJ come out with a statement like that if there was any hope that it wasnt a hardware problem, damage was already done after that statement, and he probably cost himself and his company millions of dollars.

I think they knew about the problem, (how could apple not know about a problem when the public found out about it within a few hours of the wednesday release, Im sure they have been testing the phone for many months, if not a year before it was released) but figured the increased signal and overall effectiveness when holding the phone the "right way" outweighed the negatives.
 
This has to be a software issue - it's hard to just blame 100% of fault on iPhone 4 because the same iOS 4.0 software runs on the 3GS which exhibits the exact same funky signal loss as the iPhone 4. It really may be fixable via software.

but with iOS 3.1.3, the iPhone 3GS did not have this issue.
 
I'm really hoping it is a software issue so i don't have to deal with exchanging it for a new one, if it comes to that of course i will but it'll save me a trip to the mayhem that is the apple store.
 
The evidence would be more convincing with 2 3GS iPhones side by side both running different baseband or iOS versions. You can't confirm a software issue when you're testing it with 2 different hardware models. I'd like to see someone try this with a 3GS with iOS 3.1.3 and baseband 05.12.01 or lower and a 3GS with iOS 4.0 and its included baseband version 05.13.04.
 
wr1020 said:
I'm really hoping it is a software issue so i don't have to deal with exchanging it for a new one, if it comes to that of course i will but it'll save me a trip to the mayhem that is the apple store.
Click to expand...

I have exchange my iPhone 4 today. I have also called apple corporate to complain and they have escalated to the seniors.

I will hold my breath until they release 4.X to fix this. It is very plausible now that the iPhone 3GS that once did not have this issue all of a sudden after having iOS 4.0 installed, causes the SAME issues seen on the iPhone 4 but it does not have an external antenna like the iPhone 4!
 
PoitNarf said:
The evidence would be more convincing with 2 3GS iPhones side by side both running different baseband versions. You can't confirm a software issue when you're testing it with 2 different hardware models. I'd like to see someone try this with a 3GS with iOS 3.1.3 and baseband 05.12.01 or lower and a 3GS with iOS 4.0 and its included baseband version 05.13.04.
Click to expand...

My iPhone is running with 4.26 baseband. It never had this issue with OS 3.1.3.

iPhone 3GS was JB'd with 4.26 baseband, but iOS 4.0
 
iPadThai, if you think it is a software problem, please answer this question:

What is causing the iPhone 4 to lose the original signal in the first place by touching the lower left seam?

Your reasoning for the software bug doesn't come into play until the iPhone has already lost the signal, tries to find a better frequency, then fails and displays no service.

Furthermore, if it is software, how come the 3GS running iOS 4.0 doesn't display the same symptoms? Yes, it loses the signal, but it doesn't search for a better frequency, fails, and displays no service. If it were the software, it should behave exactly like the iPhone 4 does and lose service completely.

It's not a software issue, sorry.
 
sammich said:
If it's a iOS 4 problem, then why doesn't every iPhone (3G - 4) have this problem?
Click to expand...
Extremely saturated coverage. I'm always at 5 bars unless in my basement I go to 4. If I palm it while not in my basement it stays at 5, if in my basement it drops down to 1-2 bars.
 
Eso said:
Furthermore, if it is software, how come the 3GS running iOS 4.0 doesn't display the same symptoms? Yes, it loses the signal, but it doesn't search for a better frequency, fails, and displays no service.
Click to expand...

Uh, yes it does, the searching isn't part of ip4, its part of ios4.
 
Eso said:
iPadThai, if you think it is a software problem, please answer this question:

What is causing the iPhone 4 to lose the original signal in the first place by touching the lower left seam?

Your reasoning for the software bug doesn't come into play until the iPhone has already lost the signal, tries to find a better frequency, then fails and displays no service.

Furthermore, if it is software, how come the 3GS running iOS 4.0 doesn't display the same symptoms? Yes, it loses the signal, but it doesn't search for a better frequency, fails, and displays no service.

It's not a software issue, sorry.
Click to expand...

Right.

explain how an iPhone 3GS running OS 3.1.3 with baseband having NO issues at all while holding it with left hand AND the fact it has NO EXTERNAL ANTENNAS - how does this all become so similar to iPhone 4 exhibiting the exact same problem? It's only this way after iPhone 3GS runs iOS 4.0

It has to be software related. I'm not discounting the fact the external antennas on the new iPhone 4.0 isn't contributing but come on, my 3GS never had this issue with 3.1.3. Now all of a sudden it acts just like iPhone 4 after upgrading to iOS 4.0?

Perhaps it will be more software than hardware - but it has to do with a combination of both perhaps. I did not engineer the iPhone 4 - but I'm damn sure my 3GS did not have this skin holding phone issues like the iPhone 4 until iOS 4.0 was installed.
 
xmtgx said:
Uh, yes it does, the searching isn't part of ip4, its part of ios4.
Click to expand...

Do you know how to read? I know it's part of iOS 4. If iOS 4 was the problem, then the 3GS would also search for a better frequency, fail (due to the "bug"), and display no service.

It doesn't show no service, therefore there is no bug, therefore it's a hardware issue with iPhone 4.

Look at the front page. It demonstrates that you can tightly wrap your fingers around any cell phone and lose most of your signal bars. This includes the 3GS which iPadThai demonstrates himself in the video.

It doesn't requires wrapping your hand tightly around the iPhone 4, however. All it takes is touching the seam in the lower left corner with a single finger. Not only do the signal bars drop, it often loses the signal entirely. This is a completely separate issue.
 
iPadThai said:
explain how an iPhone 3GS running OS 3.1.3 with baseband having NO issues at all while holding it with left hand AND the fact it has NO EXTERNAL ANTENNAS - how does this all become so similar to iPhone 4 exhibiting the exact same problem?
Click to expand...

You are incorrect that it doesn't happen with the iPhone 3GS running 3.1.3, plain and simple. It doesn't happen when you hold it in your left hand - it happens when you tightly squeeze your entire hand around it, just like any other cell phone.

There's a video on the front page from 2008 that shows it on the 3G.

Now, please answer my question.
 
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