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iPhone 4 Reception Issue? [Video]
- Thread starter FFArchitect
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So, as I mentioned at reply #3, it looks like just bridging the gap of the lower left corner notch causes it to happen on the iPhone 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gb3aQ5XoQw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gb3aQ5XoQw
I think AT&T may be partly to blame also.
I have an iPhone 3G on 3.1.3, normally (since I've had this phone) I only get edge in my house, but if I step outside I get 5 bars and 3g. Starting this morning, if I don't touch my phone, and leave it o. The desk for the first time since I have had this phone. I have 4+ bars and 3G inside the house. I have never had that before!!! But if I pick up the phone, it loses signal completely and goes to searching or no service. I have tried this in every spot in this house. I noticed it at 8 am this morning, because normally I have edge with atmost 2 bars all the time.
Something weird is going on, like I said, I have never got 3g in this house. Until today...
I have an iPhone 3G on 3.1.3, normally (since I've had this phone) I only get edge in my house, but if I step outside I get 5 bars and 3g. Starting this morning, if I don't touch my phone, and leave it o. The desk for the first time since I have had this phone. I have 4+ bars and 3G inside the house. I have never had that before!!! But if I pick up the phone, it loses signal completely and goes to searching or no service. I have tried this in every spot in this house. I noticed it at 8 am this morning, because normally I have edge with atmost 2 bars all the time.
Something weird is going on, like I said, I have never got 3g in this house. Until today...
And none of Apple's 100,000 developers noticed this during beta-testing? Or did NDAs prevent them from reporting the obvious?
It could be an issue specific to the GM build rolled out at WWDC last week. A fix for something else caused a new issue, which is why it wasn't reported on prior builds?
When I held my iPhone in my hand without its leather case it seemed to do as they said.
When I put the phone in its leather case it didn't happen. Short unscientific answer is your hand may be shorting out the antenna. Bumpers or any non metallic case will prevent this and there is no problem.
When I put the phone in its leather case it didn't happen. Short unscientific answer is your hand may be shorting out the antenna. Bumpers or any non metallic case will prevent this and there is no problem.
How software update can fix this.
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.
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.
Hey, I'm just quoting the dude in the video, hence the quotation marks.
I'm just saying that I believe him
Hey, I'm just quoting the dude in the video, hence the quotation marks.
I'm just saying that I believe him
I know, but then why are some people (70% I guess) reporting this issue and the rest (including me) cannot for the life of us get the phone to exhibit this behavior. If it was software then 100% would be having this issue as it's easy to replicate with your hands.
So far we have heard of this issue happening on all models of the phone while running each of the last two software versions. We have also heard reports of people who don't experience this issue with all of these configurations.
Is it possible that it is, as others have suggested an issue of AT&T causing some adjustments to their network which is causing the iPhone models to cross some threshold which causes its signal reporting to go haywire and that the iPhone 4 is the most vulnerable due to its hardware design and therefore crosses this threshold more often?
It has been stated that the bar display is not a perfect representation of signal strength, what if "searching..." status prevents the phone from sending/receiving data due to a software issue rather than a true lack of signal, sort of like a killswitch to prevent unintelligible calls from being made and thus clogging the network needlessly?
I believe that if the people posting their results would also post their location we may begin to see a pattern. Perhaps areas with a stronger base signal provide more of a "buffer" before the signal loss causes a loss of bars.
Just a thought, I'm certainly no expert on the mater but it seems like it may be a convergence of several factors that are hopefully temporary.
Is it possible that it is, as others have suggested an issue of AT&T causing some adjustments to their network which is causing the iPhone models to cross some threshold which causes its signal reporting to go haywire and that the iPhone 4 is the most vulnerable due to its hardware design and therefore crosses this threshold more often?
It has been stated that the bar display is not a perfect representation of signal strength, what if "searching..." status prevents the phone from sending/receiving data due to a software issue rather than a true lack of signal, sort of like a killswitch to prevent unintelligible calls from being made and thus clogging the network needlessly?
I believe that if the people posting their results would also post their location we may begin to see a pattern. Perhaps areas with a stronger base signal provide more of a "buffer" before the signal loss causes a loss of bars.
Just a thought, I'm certainly no expert on the mater but it seems like it may be a convergence of several factors that are hopefully temporary.
Goes from 5 to zero bars in a matter of 20 seconds holding it in my right hand. Holding it the same way but on the other side with my left hand no signal changes. And holding it horizontal with both hands seems to have no changes either. iPhone 4
This is apparently an issue with all iPhones regardless of the iOS4. I've tried it with an iPhone 3G running iOS3 and iPhone 3GS running iOS4. Both were sitting next to each other on a table with 5 bars and both have cases on them (one with silicone and the other with a plastic case with rubber sides). Cupping each, one in each hand, both went down to 1 bar (never went to searching). However, holding the iPhone like I normally do when making a call (with only my index finger on the back and fingers holding the sides) or when holding it normally when using apps/browsing the internet, I only lost 1 bar if any bars with each phone.
I think this has been an issue that no one really saw with all of the iPhones. Your hand cupping over the back is blocking the antenna's reception. Unless you cup your phone when you talk (which I'm guessing the majority of people don't), it won't make a difference. If you do cup your phone, you may want to change the way you hold your phone.
I think this has been an issue that no one really saw with all of the iPhones. Your hand cupping over the back is blocking the antenna's reception. Unless you cup your phone when you talk (which I'm guessing the majority of people don't), it won't make a difference. If you do cup your phone, you may want to change the way you hold your phone.
I dont think that'd be a good marketing strategy. It would effectively ruin Apple's reputation. And unlike other problems they had with their phone - this is pretty much unacceptable. No one's going to argue on that I suppose - why would I need a phone I can't touch to make phonecalls with.
Think there'll be a solution for this by tomorrow.
(btw. none of my friends with 3Gs and 3GS had that kind of problem (with Orange, in Austria. Not AT&T - all of them run iOS4)
Don't you think it's highly unlikely that NO ONE ever noticed up until now? After 3 years? :S Not like i look at my reception all the time, but I do from time to time.. and when it's down to 1 bar I'm usually like "whaaaaaat? (really high voice)" or somewhere in the alps ^^
To me the ironic part of that is that the antenna on the left is the wifi/gps/bluetooth one
leads me to believe it's a configuration problem.
I can't really see how bridging that antenna to ground could cause any problems that couldn't be resolved.
It's possible that upgrades to AT&T's network coincidentally happening the day before iPhone's official launch could have also created this issue. My 3G had all kinds of signal issues today (running iOS4 - not saying that's the reason) working near Philly (usually full signal). Back home near NYC, I have no issues per usual.
My bear hands generally are too clumsy to operate an iPhone anyway - I have to lay it flat on my paw and use my nose.
Now that's funny.
And none of Apple's 100,000 developers noticed this during beta-testing? Or did NDAs prevent them from reporting the obvious?
It might only be a problem with the Golden Master / Final version of iOS, so the problem wasn't there when the testers were using it?
There's a reason Apple put the seams in the phone's casing/antenna and it's separated by a non-conductive (I'm assuming) material to keep the antennas separate. Touching both antennas will complete a circuit as well as introduce impedance issues. I would assume that Apple's RF engineers have assessed the situation and did some engineering magic to make things work. If they didn't...things could get very ugly.
My original iPhone "2G" from 2007 running 3.1.3 does not exhibit this problem, only my iPhone 3GS running 4.0.
If its the software's reception of cell signals then it couldn't be consistent, because signal strength and abundance varies everywhere.
Maybe it's just sunspots. Or El Nino.
Speedtest.net Results
Date ConnType Download Upload Latency ServerName Hold Type
6/23/2010 21:48 Wifi 9532 710 89 Clifton, NJ Left Hand Gorilla Grip (with 1 bar)
6/23/2010 21:47 Wifi 9798 708 95 Clifton, NJ Left Hand Gorilla Grip (with 1 bar)
6/23/2010 21:47 Wifi 9700 626 116 Clifton, NJ Left Hand Gorilla Grip (with 1 bar)
6/23/2010 21:46 Wifi 10351 658 89 Clifton, NJ R-Hand Thumb and 3 finger
6/23/2010 21:46 Wifi 9777 673 109 Clifton, NJ R-Hand Thumb and 3 finger
6/23/2010 21:45 Wifi 8561 672 94 Clifton, NJ R-Hand Thumb and 3 finger
6/23/2010 21:45 Wifi 10860 668 101 Clifton, NJ L-Hand Thumb and 3 finger
6/23/2010 21:44 Wifi 10082 670 94 Clifton, NJ L-Hand Thumb and 3 finger
6/23/2010 21:44 Wifi 10603 664 114 Clifton, NJ L-Hand Thumb and 3 finger
6/23/2010 21:43 Wifi 10569 512 105 Clifton, NJ No Hands Touching Phone
6/23/2010 21:43 Wifi 9909 669 97 Clifton, NJ No Hands Touching Phone
6/23/2010 21:43 Wifi 9673 656 108 Clifton, NJ No Hands Touching Phone
Waited 10 seconds after each hold change to allow the phone to adjust. On the 'regular' holds my thumb was held like the length of a phone and my fingers were the tips. Like you'd hold a valuable baseball card or something.
Edit: After editing the spaces into the chart to make it look nice the autoformatting took over and so you're left with a mess. Sorry
Date ConnType Download Upload Latency ServerName Hold Type
6/23/2010 21:48 Wifi 9532 710 89 Clifton, NJ Left Hand Gorilla Grip (with 1 bar)
6/23/2010 21:47 Wifi 9798 708 95 Clifton, NJ Left Hand Gorilla Grip (with 1 bar)
6/23/2010 21:47 Wifi 9700 626 116 Clifton, NJ Left Hand Gorilla Grip (with 1 bar)
6/23/2010 21:46 Wifi 10351 658 89 Clifton, NJ R-Hand Thumb and 3 finger
6/23/2010 21:46 Wifi 9777 673 109 Clifton, NJ R-Hand Thumb and 3 finger
6/23/2010 21:45 Wifi 8561 672 94 Clifton, NJ R-Hand Thumb and 3 finger
6/23/2010 21:45 Wifi 10860 668 101 Clifton, NJ L-Hand Thumb and 3 finger
6/23/2010 21:44 Wifi 10082 670 94 Clifton, NJ L-Hand Thumb and 3 finger
6/23/2010 21:44 Wifi 10603 664 114 Clifton, NJ L-Hand Thumb and 3 finger
6/23/2010 21:43 Wifi 10569 512 105 Clifton, NJ No Hands Touching Phone
6/23/2010 21:43 Wifi 9909 669 97 Clifton, NJ No Hands Touching Phone
6/23/2010 21:43 Wifi 9673 656 108 Clifton, NJ No Hands Touching Phone
Waited 10 seconds after each hold change to allow the phone to adjust. On the 'regular' holds my thumb was held like the length of a phone and my fingers were the tips. Like you'd hold a valuable baseball card or something.
Edit: After editing the spaces into the chart to make it look nice the autoformatting took over and so you're left with a mess. Sorry