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iPhone 4 Reception Issue? [Video]

jimithing1 said:
In Mossbergs review he reported that this was a known issue and a fix is coming soon.
Click to expand...

Stop misquoting what happened. Mossberg said he reported that the bars went down, but Apple assured him it the reception was fine it was just the bars incorrectly reporting low signal. But these cases are not like that. People have lost there connect altogether, cannot make calls and Speed Test slow down and fail altogether when you touch both antenna's at the same time. This is not the issue Mossberg was on about.
 
Ok I did some further messing around with it. I can put a single finger over the gap that separates the bottom piece of the metal rim from the top metal rim, and the symptoms manifest.

Connecting the two metal pieces of the rim kills the signal somehow.
 
Wow this thread grew quick. Me and two others in my office who got the phone today do not have the reception problems or yellow blob issues. I watched those videos and we all tried to replicate the issue throughout the office but so far the phone seems fine.

Time will tell how bad the error rate is.
 
donbenjy said:
No-one is saying that it's JUST a software issue. It's how the software deals with fluctuating signals. If the threshold was set too low, for example, the phone might try to search for a stronger signal, or something might be wrong with the way that it connects. Clearly the issue is to do with how the iPhone picks up and interprets the signal, but that doesn't conclusively mean that its either just yet.

Some people say that they can do it on a 3GS - most probably a software issue
or
Some people say they definitely can't do it on a 3GS - points to hardware
Click to expand...

if it has to do with the way the phone interprets the signal then yes its fixable, but doesnt explain dropped calls and no service messages.
there is a reason no one put the antenna where apple put it on the iphone 4, it cant be because no one thought about it before
 
Concur, also happens w/ iPhone 3G

I have a 3G w/ ios4 (jailbroken & unlocked) but still on AT&T network. Bars drop from 5 to 1-2 when I cup my hands around it - just like someone else posted earlier.
 
Yep this works for me but I have to squeeze it. Wouldn't happen the way I hold it.
 
msduncan said:
Ok I did some further messing around with it. I can put a single finger over the gap that separates the bottom piece of the metal rim from the top metal rim, and the symptoms manifest.

Connecting the two metal pieces of the rim kills the signal somehow.
Click to expand...

thats why the slots are there to separate them I believe.
 
I've gotta believe this problem is more complex than "oops, Apple forgot to account for people grounding the antenna with their hands". I'm SURE they spent a lot of time on that issue. So what happened then?

Mossberg said:

And Apple said it also tuned the phone to try to grab whatever band on the network was less congested or less affected by interference—to stress the quality of a signal over its raw strength. AT&T said it, too, made some changes to its network with the new iPhone in mind.
Click to expand...

Another poster in this thread (ChrisJSNh) said:

i called apple 5 hours ago, after 2 hours on hold, (thank god for my land line and speakerphone)
They told me it is an At&T issue, i said but my 3G works great and i can cover it with both hands.
They told me again it is an at&t issue , they said at&t has to upgrade all their towers to work with 4G
Click to expand...

So my guess is this fancy software Mossberg is talking about is a combo of software on the iPhone and software on the towers, doing all kinds of complex interference checks and such, and it turns out that someone's hand on the antennas in particular situations (weak signals, etc.) can cause a problem, particularly on cell towers that have not been software upgraded yet. And maybe the iPhone's software is still immature.

Plus we have our phones a day early and maybe AT&T needed another day to get it done.

We do need an official response from Apple ASAP, but hopefully this can get sorted out. Some people are reporting GREAT signal, better than before.
 
Top left and bottom left? Well that would make sense, but wouldn't side to side also cause the same issue?

Screenshot2010-06-23at74806PM.png
 
S1njin said:
I've got the same deal. Bumper arrives from FedEx tomorrow. I wonder if it will help. This is ********.
Click to expand...

The bumper will solve the issue, but I wouldn't accept that. This is either the biggest oversight by Apple on hardware, ever - or a software update can save their reputation. This is a MAJOR BIG DEAL.

I wonder is this because they were testing the phone with those dummy cases on them, they never got to see what happened when you touched both antenna's at the same time in the real world. If that is this case, and this is a hardware issue. This is HUGE!!!
 
I can replicate this on my 3GS running iOS4.

I have 5 bars if it's sitting on my desk, pick it up in my left hand an inch off the desk and the bars drop off 1 at a time down to 1 (haven't hit searching for signal).

I haven't noticed a call drop issue, but the signal strength meter is definitely operating strangely with iOS4.
 
jsgreen said:
I have a 3G w/ ios4 (jailbroken & unlocked) but still on AT&T network. Bars drop from 5 to 1-2 when I cup my hands around it - just like someone else posted earlier.
Click to expand...

also find it interesting that from what ive read its always either the iphone 3g or the iphone 4 having this issue with ios4, not the 3gs, interesting, either way tomorrow its gonna get a whole lot worse
 
sdsvtdriver said:
This whole thing is inconclusive. Disorganized troubleshooting by drive by forum members doesn't help solve the issue, especially when JB'd phones are involved.

To actually start an organized troubleshooting process, can someone who is experiencing the issue with an iPhone4 that is not jailbroken post a video of their hot girlfriend in a bikini demonstrating the issue? Until then, all your evidence is irrelevant.

:p
Click to expand...

OMG Post of the year!
 
carrako said:
While this is disappointing news... It is happening to my phone also.... I am not worried.

In the end, if its a hardware issue, Apple will replace parts/issue new units for people who are having problems at no cost to the consumer. If its software, then it will be a simple update.

Yeh it sucks, but im not worried. If they have to replace 1,000s of units at their cost, they will. Simple as that.

Only question is, How long before Apple issues a response and/or fix for the problem.
Click to expand...

That's exactly how I feel. Apple will resolve this one way or another.
 
Mac Fly (film) said:
The bumper will solve the issue, but I wouldn't accept that. This is either the biggest oversight by Apple on hardware, ever - or a software update can save their reputation. This is a MAJOR BIG DEAL.

I wonder is this because they were testing the phone with those dummy cases on them, they never got to see what happened when you touched both antenna's at the same time in the real world. If that is this case, and this is a hardware issue. This is HUGE!!!
Click to expand...


Personally, it makes more money for Apple to sell more bumpies to alleviate the "issue".
 
OMG THE SKY IS FALLING THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!!
I'm GONNA JUMP OFF A BRIDGE, LIFE JUST ISN'T WORTH LIVING ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Mac Fly (film) said:
The bumper will solve the issue, but I wouldn't accept that. This is either the biggest oversight by Apple on hardware, ever - or a software update can save their reputation. This is a MAJOR BIG DEAL.

I wonder is this because they were testing the phone with those dummy cases on them, they never got to see what happened when you touched both antenna's at the same time in the real world. If that is this case, and this is a hardware issue. This is HUGE!!!
Click to expand...

Bumpers will not solve it. I have a silicon case on mine and can easily replicate this.
 
phas3 said:
21 pages and it's all the same mumbo jumbo no one has tried any of my fixes:

- covering the aluminum trim with vaseline
- trying to make a call with the phone in your mouth
- phone on one hand, index finger from other hand on your nose
- try the above step while standing on one leg.

lets get to the bottom of this guys
Click to expand...

The ignore option was created because of dullards like you.
 
How about developers that can place the GM build on the phone 4? Any difference? Some are saying this is iOS4 related. Maybe a slight build difference can show us something?

I have the dev version of iOs4 on my 3GS and I only have a problem when I put as much flesh around the phone as I can. No normal holding positions.
 
I don't even know how the hell to take a video of this without dropping the camera. Then again, my camera won't even focus enough in video to show the numeric reading of my reception. I took a bunch of screenshots in a timeline that show that the numeric reception doesn't change when it's covered but the bars do.

Of course, that won't be sufficient for most since they'll think I'm protecting Apple. So, anyone else with a previously JB phone want to help?

http://yfrog.com/jcimg0055op - Holding it (db)
http://yfrog.com/b8img0056p - Not holding it (db)
http://yfrog.com/5himg0057rp - Holding it (bars)
http://yfrog.com/htimg0058wp - Not holding it (bars)
http://yfrog.com/mrimg0059p - Not holding it (bars) 10 seconds later
http://yfrog.com/16img0060kp - NOT holding it (db) 5 seconds later

I wait about 15 seconds to 30 seconds between each pic besides the last two. You'll see why.
 
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