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iPhone 4 Drops Calls when Left Corner is Touched
- Thread starter dagomike
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Don't right handed people hold the phone with their left hand when they're typing? If they're typing with their left hand, they're left handed, in which case they suck... right?
Right you seem to be. I can duplicate a reduction in signal strength IF I turn off WIFI and IF I really work hard to completely cover the bottom left AND touch the top at the same time... (no dropped calls but I had 3 bars to start)
BUT
I put on the free iFrogz case I got from AT&T, and end of problem. No signal strength loss. Great sounding calls. Problems solved. I appreciate learning about this but to all those crying end of world... shrugs. Get a case.
BTW I made plenty of calls before putting on the case with no problem. Its only when my attention was called to this and when I tried to duplicate the problem, that I saw it. Not even sure I am going to leave the case on.
So far I am really liking my iPhone. Screen is insane.
I have the same problem. When held in my left hand and my palm is touching the bottom right hand corner of the phone signal goes from 5 bars to 1 EVERYTIME then comes right back up when I set it down or switch hands. I haven't tried the dropped call thing yet but here's some speed tests. I'm pretty sure you can figure out which ones are which. (Hint: 4 of them were done while the phone was sitting on a table)
I have restored multiple times to fix an unrelated problem and it hasn't fixed it. Hopefully in the meantime I can get a free bumper case from apple to see if that helps.
I have restored multiple times to fix an unrelated problem and it hasn't fixed it. Hopefully in the meantime I can get a free bumper case from apple to see if that helps.
I can reproduce this issue with my 2 year old iPhone 3G. I can only get 2 or 3 bars down though. When I put the phone on the desk it has full signal, but when I hold in my hand (left or right, it doesn't seem to matter) the signal drops, sometimes losing 3G connection.
Funny I didn't realise this until I saw this news today. I don't think this issue is particularly new or isolated to iPhone 4. It may be worse on iPhone 4 because of the antenna design though.
Funny I didn't realise this until I saw this news today. I don't think this issue is particularly new or isolated to iPhone 4. It may be worse on iPhone 4 because of the antenna design though.
Considering I've seen a ton of videos already this morning that are dropping calls because of this issue, I'd say you are wrong.
This is an issue. It does affect calls and data speeds, there's evidence of that in this thread and the other thread in the news forum.
Picked mine up at the ATT store this morning, 32GB Black, strong signals, no signal drop whatsoever, no matter how i hold my fingers, hand, tongue and little pinky.
Mine is doing it too with wi-fi on. Just glad my screen is perfect at least. And the signal thing can be avoided at least. eventually we'll get a fix. either a new phone or something.
Thank you, that's all I was asking for. It's not a difficult thing to do and eliminates the possibility of different software tweaks causing the problem.
The British know what to do
Every Brit or visitor to the UK knows this, because it is in every Underground (i.e. subway station).
Mind the Gap!
(meaning the space between the subway car and the platform).
Also, I wouldn't be placing nickels across the gap either. Possibly might burn out your RF amplifier and then you are screwed trying to prove a point.
Every Brit or visitor to the UK knows this, because it is in every Underground (i.e. subway station).
Mind the Gap!
(meaning the space between the subway car and the platform).
Also, I wouldn't be placing nickels across the gap either. Possibly might burn out your RF amplifier and then you are screwed trying to prove a point.
But Engaget reportedly tried to put on heavy-duty rubber cleaning gloves and tested it. The same problem occured. I have no idea how to explain this. Nevertheless, this is just one more reason just to get a case. The smudges on the black look downright horrible.
Calls drop from the exact same couch that the 2g and 3GS never failed. I have now dropped over 10 calls unless I hold the phone like a teacup. What more testing do you want? This device should make calls out of the box. It is a major failure.
The bold? When I wrote "...when their systems crash like mad" I was referring to the analogy with the early adopters, not Apple's products.
A simpler example of the risks involved with ignoring the laws of physics in favor of being "different" is Lady Gaga who decided to wear these platforms...
...only to fall flat on her nose...
It reminds me of her performance on SNL where she was wearing some kind of gyro-outfit with planet rings spinning around her. They kept hitting her in the face. The obvious solution to the problem would be to wear normal clothes, but I'm sure she solved it by putting rubber bumpers on the rings...
So, by applying decades of computer troubleshooting process' to possibly eliminate a possibility, I'm armchair quarterbacking?
Sorry, maybe I should never try to help anyone if I'm not experiencing the same problem.
Anyway, someone tried it, that's all I was asking. You spent more trouble being an ass in the thread then someone did to say "yup, I tried that" and effectively eliminate that possibility.
Peace out.
Then they have it bad, because with a bumper or a cloth separating my hand from the phone I have 100% full bars at all times, remove the layer between my hand and the device and go lefty....goodbye signal.
So, either Apple released this product knowing fully of this problem or there has been some kind of problem in the manufacturing of the phone. I just don't know how you can explain the latter situation. I know there may be a lemon here and there, but this is a widespread problem. Foxconn had the blueprints for this darn thing, how could they have managed to make so many, so differently that the ones tested? Unless there was a Apple-dictated change in the way they manufactured it mid-way through production.
Talking on a cellphone is so 80s'. I'm not having the problem at all but then I live on a hill right next to a tower. I'm going to wonder out today and see if I can find a poor reception area, which shouldn't be too difficult, in an attempt to replicate the problem.
I think this may be either good news or bad news but...
Just got into my office and my colleague was playing with his new iPhone 4. I asked him if he had any screen issues. He wasnt aware of the problems so we looked. His screen was fine. I then asked him to see if the phone had reception issues as i had tested my phone yesterday and experienced no issues.
Sure enough, when he held the phone in his left hand, he went from 5 bars to 1. I then tried his phone as well and same thing happened to me!!!
But when we both tried it on my phone, could not replicate it no matter how hard we tried.
This makes me think this may be a massive hardware QA problem.
Ill do some more tests with him and report back. But the good news is that if its a hardware problem related to QA, then at least its not a design issue.
Just got into my office and my colleague was playing with his new iPhone 4. I asked him if he had any screen issues. He wasnt aware of the problems so we looked. His screen was fine. I then asked him to see if the phone had reception issues as i had tested my phone yesterday and experienced no issues.
Sure enough, when he held the phone in his left hand, he went from 5 bars to 1. I then tried his phone as well and same thing happened to me!!!
But when we both tried it on my phone, could not replicate it no matter how hard we tried.
This makes me think this may be a massive hardware QA problem.
Ill do some more tests with him and report back. But the good news is that if its a hardware problem related to QA, then at least its not a design issue.
It isnt a matter of whos phone is defected, because when it comes to the antenna issue, they ARE ALL EXACTLY THE SAME.
The only difference in the videos, is the exact location of where the person is.
If someone with an iPhone 4 was in a strongly covered area and held it with their left hand, it wont go down (or will barely go down)
If someone with poor coverage does the exact same thing, their bars will drop dramatically.
So again
THIS ISNT A HARDWARE ISSUE, as much as it is just a simple design flaw.
I suspect Apple will cover the antennas with a special coding to rid the bridging, and it wont even be noticable, it will just be like any other batch.