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Called Apple technical support. They have no idea about this issue. Told me to try removing the SIM card. I don't have a SIM card removal tool...
 
Wow. This is shaping up to be the worst design failure in Apple's history, in fact one of the worst product failures in corporate history, period. What will they do? They only sell one model of phone. I guess they will have to keep producing the 3GS until they can eventually redesign the iP4.

I'd hoped this phone would solve AT&T's reception problems. So long, AT&T, and so long iPhone. All those apps I bought will be useless... sigh.
 
I find it odd that no one is reporting wifi signal degradation. If this is in fact an issue of grounding or interference on the antennae, wouldn't the wifi be affected as well?
 
All I can say is that it's a damn good thing I have this headset that came in the box because while it was working fine earlier, now I can't make any calls when I'm holding the phone. It's just a small issue... :mad:
 
the good news


1. It seems easily reproducible
2. It will have global visibility by 10am tomorrow
3. It will get addressed one way or the other
 
That's EXACTLY what my iPhone 3GS is doing. Again, this is not isolated to iPhone 4's. This is also affecting older iPhones with iOS 4.

The last piece of the testing puzzle we need is someone to test on an older phone WITHOUT iOS4 just to confirm it is the OS and not a fundamental design flaw in hardware dating back to early iphones.
 
I've found a video demonstrating exactly what you're talking about. Sorry if it's a repost, I can't bother to read 27 pages (I stopped after 12, so that's at least some effort): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84Lpt2YkF3Q

After seeing this video I'm fully convinced:

"This is not an issue with iPhone 4, this is an issue with iOS4!"

Which means they'll fix it within a week or three--people need to stop freaking out!
 
However, on at least six occasions during my tests, the new iPhone was either reporting “no service” or searching for a network while the old one, held in my other hand, was showing at least a couple of bars. Neither Apple nor AT&T could explain this. The iPhone 4 quickly recovered in these situations, showing service after a few seconds, but it was still troubling.

Tomorrow could be an embarrassment for Apple when all the TV reporters show people walking out of the store saying.... "hello? Are you still there?"

I emphasized the most important part of the Mossberg quote above. :eek:

Do you think Verizon will jump all over this? Can you hear me now? :D
 
I tested my 3G running iOS4.. I get no signal degradation no matter how I hold it including trying to bridge any and all metallic surfaces. I did notice today since I put iOS4 on it that my signal has been fluctuating (I usually have a consistent 4-5 bar signal).. today it was all over the place and twice the phone just shut off. I'm hoping this is either a software screw up, or AT&T tried to prepare their network and created some other issue. Can people specify WHERE they're testing? Maybe it's a problem where AT&T is rolling out mods to their network?
 
You know this is why GRAY POWELL was testing the basebands of the iPhone 4 out, if it wasn't for him losing the phone it would have probably been resolved. I blame Gray Powell.
 
I've tried for the past two hours to try and get my iPhone to replicate this issue and I cannot for the life of me get it to do so.

Is there a chance Apple used diff. companies to make these antenna parts or GSM chips and this is the cause?
 
I remember seeing this a number of years back with the NEXTEL i730. The way the antennae was when you held it a certain way it would deplete the signal and render it useless. Since the iphone now has the antennae on the outside (not actual outside) where the chrome used to be, maybe it is seeing the same thing.

I wonder if that is why Apple invented the "Bumper" because they saw the issue to late in the process and had invested it in so much that they could not pull it but rather put the rubber bumper on it, keeping it from touching your fingers and the problem might go away?

Can anyone with a bumber test this theory. My bumper and dock are here, but iphone 4 will not be here until mid July.
 
I tested my 3G running iOS4.. I get no signal degradation no matter how I hold it including trying to bridge any and all metallic surfaces. I did notice today since I put iOS4 on it that my signal has been fluctuating (I usually have a consistent 4-5 bar signal).. today it was all over the place and twice the phone just shut off. I'm hoping this is either a software screw up, or AT&T tried to prepare their network and created some other issue. Can people specify WHERE they're testing? Maybe it's a problem where AT&T is rolling out mods to their network?

Suburban Philly on Iphone 3G OS4 GM. Weird reception issues today. Not usually though.
 
I tested my 3G running iOS4.. I get no signal degradation no matter how I hold it including trying to bridge any and all metallic surfaces. I did notice today since I put iOS4 on it that my signal has been fluctuating (I usually have a consistent 4-5 bar signal).. today it was all over the place and twice the phone just shut off. I'm hoping this is either a software screw up, or AT&T tried to prepare their network and created some other issue. Can people specify WHERE they're testing? Maybe it's a problem where AT&T is rolling out mods to their network?

I'm in Haverhill, MA with an iPhone 3GS and I can confirm that I'm having this same, exact malfunction. I can only conclude that while not completely all encompassing, this is an issue in iOS 4's included baseband.
 
Suburban Philly on Iphone 3G OS4 GM. Weird reception issues today. Not usually though.

I work in Lakehurst, NJ where I had crazy signals all day (about an hour from Philly). Live closer to NYC and have a perfect signal here.
 
Here is how the phone knows your touching the sides and it can be a software glitch.

Picture the bars as your fuel gauge in your car and your car is set to shut the engine off at 98% empty because its not good to run at 2% or less.

Now imagine your fuel gauge miss calibrated and its reading empty at 75% so your engine shuts off but you still have gas... strange if only the fuel gauge was working you would be able to drive.

Looks to me like the radio in the iPhone is too sensitive and touching the phone drops the signal lightly but the phone thinks is a lot and poof searching...kinda like the squelch on a CB sp.

This is what it sounds like to me.
Considering that the issue tends to co-incide with small towns versus large cities (judging only by random samplings from this thread) I'm thinking that; maybe when it has a strong, steady signal, touching it is just enough to signal the phone to switch to another cell tower or frequency (or whatever)

If there's no other tower, it goes to searching... which signals to hang up a phone call or prohibit a phone call. If there is - it switches and calibrates itself (or whatever) to the new signal strength.

Either it's something like that, or it's an embarrassingly overlooked design flaw on Apple's part that went entirely untested and unnoticed throughout the whole R&D process.

honestly... I'm not sure which is more likely.
 
I'm in Haverhill, MA with an iPhone 3GS and I can confirm that I'm having this same, exact malfunction. I can only conclude that while not completely all encompassing, this is an issue in iOS 4's included baseband.

And none of Apple's 100,000 developers noticed this during beta-testing? Or did NDAs prevent them from reporting the obvious? :rolleyes:
 
I remember seeing this a number of years back with the NEXTEL i730. The way the antennae was when you held it a certain way it would deplete the signal and render it useless. Since the iphone now has the antennae on the outside (not actual outside) where the chrome used to be, maybe it is seeing the same thing.

I wonder if that is why Apple invented the "Bumper" because they saw the issue to late in the process and had invested it in so much that they could not pull it but rather put the rubber bumper on it, keeping it from touching your fingers and the problem might go away?

Can anyone with a bumber test this theory. My bumper and dock are here, but iphone 4 will not be here until mid July.

good theory but if that was the actual case, apple would not be gauging people for $29

it would either come in the box or be less than $10
 
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