iPhone 4 Drops Calls when Left Corner is Touched

[Anuba]

The "openings" in the metal aren't pretty, they better act like great antennas. The signal shouldn't deplete based on your hand position, that's very un-apple.

"un-Apple"? Isn't that what they said about the screws, the seams, in fact the entire design of the iPhone 4?

Au contraire... it all seems very Apple to me. They badly want the product to look a certain way, to the point where they bend or plain ignore the laws of physics and use materials and/or designs that are unorthodox and untested by the market at large.

It's what happened with the Cube (a fanless design that cracked from heat), the Titanium PowerBook (the hinges snapped like twigs)... and now this funky antenna... Apple's design department has the same mindset as early adopters who install a shaky beta version over a perfectly stable older release, because they just have to be first with the latest. And then when their systems crash like mad, everyone else goes "told ya so".

I think this was OK with the small fan base, they thought going along with the Apple ride was worth the price of admission (paying to be a guinea pig), but now Apple is much more mainstream and mass market, and those consumers are much less tolerant of weird design experiments.

 

[skew]

Mine is bad too. I received my I4 around 11:00am made about 10 phone calls 7 of them dropped within 1-2 mins. Then I saw this and I can touch the seam and my phone instantly goes to no service after about 10sec of touching it. I am trying a rubber case today to see if that helps. It seems to be working so far.

 

[onutz]

...So it seems (no pun intended) that shorting the two antennas together is causing the problem.
.

Besides the obvious solution – the bumper, I may suggest another one, more design-friendly: some Zagg cut strips all over metal antennas, but (!) separated in the black rubber places, where the antennas themselves get separated.

The idea is this: the real issue is not touching the black separation strip between antennas, but short-circuiting the distinct antennas! While you’re touching 2 distinct antennas, the signal gets noisy because of frequencies mix-up. Actually, touching the black rubber band puts in contact 2 frequencies that should never be mingled.

A small strip of Zagg insulation (or whatever transparent thin foil you may find) that prevents touching 2 different antennas in the same time will do.

(see here )

 

[Sowelu]

Apple didn't bring the 'Bumper' to the iPhone accessory world to cover up anything, they just wanted to make more cash in this huge market (and it looks like their going to make about $28 profit per bumper sold).

Since this looks like an iOS 4 issue, lets just wait it out - I am sure a fix is coming.

 

[Poll Smoker]

K so everybody gets a free bumper case or a refund if they already bought it.

Too ez

No offense, but are you retarded?

 

[Gagoots]

"un-Apple"? Isn't that what they said about the screws, the seams, in fact the entire design of the iPhone 4?

Au contraire... it all seems very Apple to me. They badly want the product to look a certain way, to the point where they bend or plain ignore the laws of physics and use materials and/or designs that are unorthodox and untested by the market at large.

It's what happened with the Cube (a fanless design that cracked from heat), the Titanium PowerBook (the hinges snapped like twigs)... and now this funky antenna... Apple's design department has the same mindset as early adopters who install a shaky beta version over a perfectly stable older release, because they just have to be first with the latest. And then when their systems crash like mad, everyone else goes "told ya so".

I think this was OK with the small fan base, they thought going along with the Apple ride was worth the price of admission (paying to be a guinea pig), but now Apple is much more mainstream and mass market, and those consumers are much less tolerant of weird design experiments.

QFT. except for the bold.

 

[NAG]

"un-Apple"? Isn't that what they said about the screws, the seams, in fact the entire design of the iPhone 4?

Au contraire... it all seems very Apple to me. They badly want the product to look a certain way, to the point where they bend or plain ignore the laws of physics and use materials and/or designs that are unorthodox and untested by the market at large.

It's what happened with the Cube (a fanless design that cracked from heat), the Titanium PowerBook (the hinges snapped like twigs)... and now this funky antenna... Apple's design department has the same mindset as early adopters who install a shaky beta version over a perfectly stable older release, because they just have to be first with the latest. And then when their systems crash like mad, everyone else goes "told ya so".

I think this was OK with the small fan base, they thought going along with the Apple ride was worth the price of admission (paying to be a guinea pig), but now Apple is much more mainstream and mass market, and those consumers are much less tolerant of weird design experiments.

Good point. This is Apple at it's best and worst. The Cube was just the first of the whole fanless fan computer designs. The Macbook Air hinges also had problems at first.

I find the trade offs acceptable but many won't. Just like how some people find the EVO 4G's battery to be completely acceptable but I don't.

Hopefully the iPhone 4G isn't as bad as the Titanium case.

 

[bob.loblaw]

+1

I can reproduce this on my 3GS on ATT in the US. I've never had a problem with dropped calls or call quality though.

Just tried the same on my iPhone 3GS and holding the phone in my left palm will reduce signal strength from 4 bars in my home to 1 bar or no connection.

 

[Robkhb]

Big time oops

The issue is 100% real, 100% reproducible, 100% of the time. It has nothing to do with the right or top side bands, or touching the bottom simultaneously. It is specific to covering up the left hand side band... My phone will literally go from full or 4 bars to 1 bar or searching. This is an amazing screw up/design flaw. I'm disappointed in Apple, either they knew and did nothing which makes them sleazy or they didn't know which makes them incompetent. I'll be curious to see how this is addressed, I don't think a bumper case is going to fix it.

Worst part is, this isn't some weird isolated, unlikely, arbitrary way to hold your phone- this is how 95% of the phone wielding world does it naturally. In the left hand....

Ouch

 

[hackum]

Isn't it too much of a coincidence that bumpers were revealed days before the iPhone started shipping. And these are specifically designed to cover the side/edges of the phone. When have Apple done anything like this before.

They CLEARLY are aware of this problem.

 

[NAG]

Yet another test with my left hand. Bars went from 4 to 1 to 3 to 5 and then held steady all while holding it still.

This has to be partly a software issue. No way can it jump all over the place like that unless AT&T is screw with the towers for giggles.

 

[ded]

RF EE here. Will everyone experiencing the problem please stop ranting and provide sistematic feedback?

Most importantly: Everyone who is using neither Wi-Fi nor GPS nor Bluetooth doesn't have a signal coming from the left antenna, so there's nothing to irritate the right antenna when connecting both by touching.

This has nothing to do with "signal coming" or not coming. It's not about signals. Wi-Fi and GSM/UMTS signals are on different bands. They won't interfere with each other. If they would, you could not have these two antennas so close together, on any cellphone, either shorted or not. (Remember? High frequency signals propagate through air...)

This is about impedance matching. The moment you are shorting the two antennas together (and your sweat is salty, so a moisty palm is quite like metal, as far as RF is concerned), you are modifying the antenna impedance. So the transmission circuit won't work as good as before.

However, things may change wether the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth transmitter is turned on or off (this, again, changes the circuit impedance). BUT, it may work better when it's ON, and work worse when it's off. So, please, try to repeat the left hand test before and after having turned ON both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (or either one of them).

See previous posts for proof:

I have been able to reproduce this issue now. WiFi MUST be OFF in order to cause this issue. With WiFi off, when the bottom-left seam is bridged with a conductor [...] the signal slowly drops from 5 bars to 2 bars every time. [...] With WiFi enabled, I cannot reproduce this issue.

Can anyone confirm this? Thanks.

If this speculation is correct, a software fix may improve things. But I don't think it will improve battery life.

Dan

 

[NAG]

Isn't it too much of a coincidence that bumpers were revealed days before the iPhone started shipping. And these are specifically designed to cover the side/edges of the phone. When have Apple done anything like this before.

They CLEARLY are aware of this problem.

What? I'm sorry but were you asleep during the iPhone 4 keynote? They announced these things during the show. This is just Apple trying to make a quick buck off a high margin market ($30 for a piece of plastic).

 

[mossme89]

Can anyone try putting on a piece of scotch tape on the opening in the bottom left and see if it changes anything? Theoretically, it should work by covering the gap so it doesn't short out

 

[saxman]

Have you tried putting the phone on its side then putting a nickel on the lower left corner and waiting a minute?

I typically don't make phone calls with change in my hands. But I'll try to find a nickel

 

[kdarling]

How did they not catch this is testing? How?

1) Too much secrecy. Groups not allowed to talk to each other.

2) Constant use of cases to hide prototypes in the field.

3) Desensitization to dropped calls on AT&T. Testers were used to losing signal so they don't pay extra attention.

Even the choice of field testers can play a part:

In a situation eerily similar to this one, we once had a problem with a casino touch system that would glitch only with certain customers. It took a while before we spotted that it was only left-handed people who could make the certain motion required to cause our problem.

And finally, I wonder if the loss of Powell's prototype played a part. What if Jobs decided at that point to have everyone stop testing them in the field?

 

[bitslap47]

I'm almost sure it has to do with the new logic to select the cellular signal with the least noise rather than best strength.

You're inducing noise into the antennae when you touch it. It may be as simple as an increase of a hard-coded threshold.

One thing I know for sure... somebody has been working a long time with no sleep by now fixing and testing the fix

 

[Robkhb]

Yet another test with my left hand. Bars went from 4 to 1 to 3 to 5 and then held steady all while holding it still.

This has to be partly a software issue. No way can it jump all over the place like that unless AT&T is screw with the towers for giggles.

My signal doesn't go back up until I move my hand. Every single time...

 

[Steven Mattera]

Got my iPhone 4 yesterday and notice this happening. (mostly because I had less than 5 bars in my apartment.) I tried it again today and brought my signal down to 1 bar and called my work. The call quality was great no cutting in and out or anything. I know Apple said it's a bug in iOS 4. And I think I may have to believe them.

Test it for yourself don't just take the bars going down as a sign you don't have signal. Try browsing the Internet and making a call.

 

[NetScheduler]

??

What's wrong with you MS trolls. The iPhone 4 is just gorgeous, elegant, and the THINNEST smart phone made. I say this is a conspiracy between Gizmodo, AT&T, and George W. Bush. Apple never does anything wrong. Who cares about reception? It's all about the iPhone experience!! 220,000 Apps (you can't run those on some crappy and clunky Android phone!!!!!). And those gorgeous yellow stains on the front make it look even more elegant!

Go watch porn on your crappy Android phones (you're all probably too poor to buy an iPhone anyway). I'm going to stick with Steve and skate to where the puck is going to be. No one cares if you can get reception! Steve will get it fixed. And if he doesn't, I know that I won't be damaging the planet's ecosystem when I toss it in a landfill (one of the iPhones greatest selling points is that it's safe to throw away!!) !!

Wooo Hooo, Go Apple - Go Steve!!!!

 

[Vignutz]

1st time poster...

And I love the information and tips that everyone gives here.

But did anyone notice that the "Face Time" option is not allowed for the "Kelly" call?

Is this a setting in contacts that needs to be set up. I noticed that when you add a contact, you can now ID the type of phone the person has. Does Face Time activate for those contacts ID'd as iPhone users?

Thanks for the help...

 

[iMattvfs]

Just dont grab onto both of the god damn antennas and you will be fine.

 

[RjaylinS06]

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is unexceptable!!!!! This aint a software issue. This looks like a hardware issue that cant be fixed until we get new phones and I'm certaintly sure they aint replacing everyones phones. Can't wait to hear what excuses they will dish out.

 

[hackum]

What? I'm sorry but were you asleep during the iPhone 4 keynote? They announced these things during the show. This is just Apple trying to make a quick buck off a high margin market ($30 for a piece of plastic).

So they knew about this issue from day one? That makes it even worse.

 

[Blues003]

RF EE here. Will everyone experiencing the problem please stop ranting and provide sistematic feedback?

This has nothing to do with "signal coming" or not coming. It's not about signals. Wi-Fi and GSM/UMTS signals are on different bands. They won't interfere with each other. If they would, you could not have these two antennas so close together, on any cellphone, either shorted or not. (Remember? High frequency signals propagate through air...)

This is about impedance matching. The moment you are shorting the two antennas together (and your sweat is salty, so a moisty palm is quite like metal, as far as RF is concerned), you are modifying the antenna impedance. So the transmission circuit won't work as good as before.

However, things may change wether the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth transmitter is turned on or off (this, again, changes the circuit impedance). BUT, it may work better when it's ON, and work worse when it's off. So, please, try to repeat the left hand test before and after having turned ON both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (or either one of them).

See previous posts for proof:


Can anyone confirm this? Thanks.

If this speculation is correct, a software fix may improve things. But I don't think it will improve battery life.

Dan

This. Someone with the iPhone please post feedback on this?