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Guys! I tested this with my 3GS and the results were exactly the same!

I have an Incipio Feather case on. It went from 5 bars to one or two bars the minute I picked up the phone in my hand. Couple times it even lost the connection for a few seconds. Weird!

If thats so, then maybe its an issue with the new baseband and/or iOS?

And if thats the case, Apple will be all over it and release 4.0.1
 
Surely you would need to cover enough that you couldn't make the connection, i.e. most of the metal?

Though I'm thinking that invisibleshield material would probably do the job brilliantly!

No, i think its when your hand makes contact with two or more of the metal bands as they represent different frequencies . Just would theoretically cover that little bit on the side where your pinky ends up contacting the other antenna. That way as you hold the phone you don't "cross streams" :)

Just a guess.
 
Was just messing with the reception issue and while it initially went from four bars to two, it eventually went back up to four bars. No loss of service though.
 
I wouldn't worry too much.

If it's the worst case scenario and it's a hardware problem, then obviously Apple foots the bill. Apple is the one who is going to have to regain the trust of a legion of loyal customers and sort the problems out for you.

One way another, the consumer has rights.. you won't be disenfranchised.
 
are the 3g and 3gs's that are experience the same problem using IOS4? Just wanted to see if it has ANYTHING to do with the operating system or software
 
actually, i barely passed clown school, but at least i know that i should FIRST make a call, THEN pick up the phone. so.....that masters in EE ya got........fail.

For your own benefit you should know that you come across as about 15. Keep on playing that 'edgy' joker game!

As for the larger discussion, I'm still in shock as to such a major oversight. Not going to directly affect me however, as I dont own shares and I gave up owning a cell phone two years ago.
 
I wonder if the phones the apple stores have are of different batch and maybe just shipped iphones are having the problem?
 
No, i think its when your hand makes contact with two or more of the metal bands as they represent different frequencies . Just would theoretically cover that little bit on the side where your pinky ends up contacting the other antenna. That way as you hold the phone you don't "cross streams" :)

Just a guess.

Yeah, I agree, but what if you had bigger fingers or sweaty hands? If they were conductive enough you could connect the top left corner (on your index finger) to the lower right corner with the base of your thumb. That would probably be much less of an issue, but I would want to feel that it was impossible to short out by accident.


I don't understand why people aren't electrically connecting the sides with wire to test it. I still maintain that we can't know if its hardware or software until somebody proves, using a reliable, predictable method, that it can be caused by electrical shorting using a reliable electrical conductor. i.e. not our hands!
 
I'm also experiencing the same. I did do a reset (home button + sleep/wake) and it seemed like my internet cnx over 3G was slightly better, but the moment I hold it, I can watch the bars degrade to nothing.

When my husband gets home we'll test calls iPhone 4 --> iPhone 4 in diff parts of the house over 3G and see how it goes.

Wish that silly pink bumper I ordered came with the iPhone today... hope it makes a difference when it does come in.
 
are the 3g and 3gs's that are experience the same problem using IOS4? Just wanted to see if it has ANYTHING to do with the operating system or software

I have a 3GS with iOS 4 and I do not get ANY dropped bars holding the phone many different ways. It's definitely an iPhone 4 issue, not an iOS4 issue.
 
My 3G that has not been updated to iOS 4 has no problem at all. No matter how I hold it I don't drop any bars.
 
Shaddow825,

can you try using a piece of scotch tape over the lower part to see if that creates enough separation? I wonder if we can get around this problem aesthetically (i.e. caseless) and invisibly enough.


I tried scotch tape, no go. So i tried electrical tape, and it still does it but not quite as fast and maybe not as severe.

At work I can get it to drop service, but thats in an office where i had to walk near a window to get a clear call on a 3gs, and when I dont touch the side I have 4 or 5 bars and very good quality, better than my 3gs was in that office.

At home I can get it only down to 1 bar but never a dropped call or no service, and on the 3gs call quality was fair to ok, and the iphone 4 when not touching is also very good here.
 
I'm also experiencing the same. I did do a reset (home button + sleep/wake) and it seemed like my internet cnx over 3G was slightly better, but the moment I hold it, I can watch the bars degrade to nothing.

When my husband gets home we'll test calls iPhone 4 --> iPhone 4 in diff parts of the house over 3G and see how it goes.

Wish that silly pink bumper I ordered came with the iPhone today... hope it makes a difference when it does come in.

You paid $30 for an Apple branded piece of plastic? Its such a little amount of plastic too.:rolleyes:
 
For your own benefit you should know that you come across as about 15. Keep on playing that 'edgy' joker game!

As for the larger discussion, I'm still in shock as to such a major oversight. Not going to directly affect me however, as I dont own shares and I gave up owning a cell phone two years ago.

Tested during this again. Full bars on my patio. I then gripped it AS I WOULD FOR A CALL and watched the bars slowing tick off. i tried placing a call during this process. The call would NOT go through.

This is a Major ass issue as this is also my business phone. My guess is this must be an iOS 4 or AT&T issue. There is no possible way this escaped testing. No F@#king way possible.

If this is truly hardware, then Apple is akin to a frigging clown car.
 
this antenna issue will manifest itself and become the leading killer of iphone users. Sorta like how your cell phone can cause a gas station to blow up or give you cancer, but this is the real deal.
 
are the 3g and 3gs's that are experience the same problem using IOS4? Just wanted to see if it has ANYTHING to do with the operating system or software

While I generally do get a good signal here at my house.

I can completely cocoon my 3GS in both hands and I don't loose a single bar (5 bars), and my phone does some whacky stuff sometimes with the signal.
 
Tested during this again. Full bars on my patio. I then gripped it AS I WOULD FOR A CALL and watched the bars slowing tick off. i tried placing a call during this process. The call would NOT go through.

This is a Major ass issue as this is also my business phone. My guess is this must be an iOS 4 or AT&T issue. There is no possible way this escaped testing. No F@#king way possible.

If this is truly hardware, then Apple is akin to a frigging clown car.

PLEASE test the same, but using a paper clip to bridge the gap between left and bottom. That will give more indication of hardware/software issues
 
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