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iPhone 4 Reception Issue? [Video]

Guys...this is definitely real. I've been seeing this on my iPhone 4 and I know at least 3 of the 4 people I know with iPhone 4s are seeing this exact same behavior.

With my iPhone 3G i always had full service in my city/apartment and never once worry about losing service or dropping calls. Since the iPhone 4, I have dropped a few calls and routinely run around 1-2 bars with constant fluctuation.

This is badddd news!
 
Mark Booth said:
Same here! No issues! But I'm actually using the thing instead of sitting around staring at it and constantly measurbating! :)

Mark
Click to expand...

Thanks Mark. This is exactly what I'm saying.

People think this is a huge issue, but trust me, there are many people with perfectly working iPhones out there.

They just aren't on the forums.
 
Depends on your location. If you live close to a tower like my friend and only get 5 bars all the time, you won't notice it. Other than that I know tons of folks who have the problem.
 
purell said:
Depends on your location. If you live close to a tower like my friend and only get 5 bars all the time, you won't notice it. Other than that I know tons of folks who have the problem.
Click to expand...
exactly my experience. if your in a very strong signal area, you wont see it. go to a 'marginal area', and its obvious.
 
Thanks. Me, too

I too am having the exact same reception problems. My old iPhone 3g had better reception. My wife's old cheap Ericsson has a much better reception. I found that laying on the desk the reception was excellent. Picking up created a problem where in some places I lost reception all together. I called Apple. They had me restore my phone. Several hours later, after loading my password and ringtones back, I still had the same problems. I hope they find a fix very soon.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMgSGp-ns3c

My turn, I made this for a few of my friends to watch. I did a sub par job explaining it well, I was just in a hurry. But you get the point, my ****ing phone does it too.


Sorry about the language and excessive use of the phrase "as you can see" lol

(oh and the heavy breathing sigh)
 
It's like everything else in this world. Once you know there's a problem you can't help but think about it. When I try to be as casual as possible about answering the phone and not think about where my fingers are I find I have no problems, I naturally avoid connecting the antennas. Texting is another matter all together. I find that the way I usually hold the phone to text/type causes me to bridge the antennas, but I'm sure I can find a different way to hold it.

While it may not be that big of a deal to everyone, and it can be resolved by hand placement, you have to admit that a phone that looses service when you touch it in one specific place is a bit of a downer.
 
vitasenza said:
It's like everything else in this world. Once you know there's a problem you can't help but think about it. When I try to be as casual as possible about answering the phone and not think about where my fingers are I find I have no problems, I naturally avoid connecting the antennas. Texting is another matter all together. I find that the way I usually hold the phone to text/type causes me to bridge the antennas, but I'm sure I can find a different way to hold it.

While it may not be that big of a deal to everyone, and it can be resolved by hand placement, you have to admit that a phone that looses service when you touch it in one specific place is a bit of a downer.
Click to expand...

Of course it is. It is absolutely unacceptable.

Take yours in and return it for a new one.
 
There are so many pages here, I just can't read through them all.

I have a big question though - is this HAND contact only? Would the Apple Bumper (or anything similar, which doesn't allow your hand to touch the metal) resolve this issue?

Has anyone tested this idea?

thanks
 
Mine does it too. It's obviously a design flaw. Anyone who says theirs doesn't do it is probably touching it wrong.

It happens when you connect the two antennas on the lower left side of the phone by putting a finger directly on the black strip for 5-10 seconds. Nothing happens on the right side.

Apple needs to give all of us free bumpers to solve this problem.
 
Jakimo said:
There are so many pages here, I just can't read through them all.

I have a big question though - is this HAND contact only? Would the Apple Bumper (or anything similar, which doesn't allow your hand to touch the metal) resolve this issue?

Has anyone tested this idea?

thanks
Click to expand...

Your hand doesn't touch the metal when it's on a table, for example. However, the 3GS, which also experiences this issue, doesn't have the same construction as the 4, so I'm wondering what the problem actually is.
 
I just tested for a while calling myself on my home phone. Anytime my palm was near the bottom of the phone (on those black seams) my voice cut out immediately. If I held in there for a few seconds, the call drops completely.
 
CashDude said:
Mine does it too. It's obviously a design flaw. Anyone who says theirs doesn't do it is probably touching it wrong.

It happens when you connect the two antennas on the lower left side of the phone by putting a finger directly on the black strip for 5-10 seconds. Nothing happens on the right side.

Apple needs to give all of us free bumpers to solve this problem.
Click to expand...

No, they need to fix the damn phone. I can't believe you'd even settle for a bumper. A phone that doesn't work properly on its own when you're using it as a phone is unacceptable. And the bumpers totally ruin 4's awesome aesthetics.
 
With my friends, we held and cupped it in all sorts of ways (kinky.)

We couldn't replicate this.
 
From the multitude of videos I've been checking out all over the place, the issue seems to be most prevalent on the left side (the side with the volume buttons) and down in the seam/crack between the two bands. People doing videos showing contact on the right side (the side with the microSIM slot) don't appear to have issues however, if they switch hands and then make that connection on the left side in that seam bridging those two points wham, the signal chokes.

I know some folks are saying it's just a signal display issue, it's not actually doing anything even in spite of the signal indicator fluctuating so drastically, but when I see the phone disconnect and lose service, well... damned straight that's a design/functionality problem.

The one video with the guy not moving the phone but just applying light finger pressure on that specific seam on the lower left side bridging those two surfaces was more than enough to say "Oh crap, that's a problem..." for me. I've been a licensed Ham radio operator for over 30+ years and when I heard about the new iPhone's design and how they intended to use the actual chassis/frame for the signal propagation, my first instinct was "Oh, no, that's not gonna work, Steve..." but, it's not like he's gonna answer my emails. ;)

It's a big pooch screw and I for one am absolutely confident Apple knew/knows about it - the past iPhones never saw Apple selling their own branded/first-party cases, and now they are with the "bumper" ones.

This wasn't a mistake, it was planned and it's all part of the same money making machine.

"That's my story and I'm stickin' to it..."
 
Jakimo said:
There are so many pages here, I just can't read through them all.

I have a big question though - is this HAND contact only? Would the Apple Bumper (or anything similar, which doesn't allow your hand to touch the metal) resolve this issue?

Has anyone tested this idea?

thanks
Click to expand...

probably. someone posted a video using a normal 3g rubber case and it solved it. i think this issue was a last minute problem, and obviously apple isn't going to say "hey no phones, sorry." of course they're going to release something...and the bumper was the last minute, cheap solution. I don't find that acceptable...practical yes, so I can't really blame them
 
Xander7 said:
No, they need to fix the damn phone. I can't believe you'd even settle for a bumper. A phone that doesn't work properly on its own when you're using it as a phone is unacceptable. And the bumpers totally ruin 4's awesome aesthetics.
Click to expand...
**** and pay your $30 for the 60 cent piece of rubber!
 
Xander7 said:
No, they need to fix the damn phone. I can't believe you'd even settle for a bumper. A phone that doesn't work properly on its own when you're using it as a phone is unacceptable. And the bumpers totally ruin 4's awesome aesthetics.
Click to expand...

You have a point, but I was going to buy a bumper anyway, because the stainless steel trim is kinda slippery and I feel like I'm going to drop the phone. I had the same problem with the slippery plastic on the 3G. A free bumper would satisfy me.
 
br0adband said:
From the multitude of videos I've been checking out all over the place, the issue seems to be most prevalent on the left side (the side with the volume buttons) and down in the seam/crack between the two bands. People doing videos showing contact on the right side (the side with the microSIM slot) don't appear to have issues however, if they switch hands and then make that connection on the left side in that seam bridging those two points wham, the signal chokes.

I know some folks are saying it's just a signal display issue, it's not actually doing anything even in spite of the signal indicator fluctuating so drastically, but when I see the phone disconnect and lose service, well... damned straight that's a design/functionality problem.

The one video with the guy not moving the phone but just applying light finger pressure on that specific seam on the lower left side bridging those two surfaces was more than enough to say "Oh crap, that's a problem..." for me. I've been a licensed Ham radio operator for over 30+ years and when I heard about the new iPhone's design and how they intended to use the actual chassis/frame for the signal propagation, my first instinct was "Oh, no, that's not gonna work, Steve..." but, it's not like he's gonna answer my emails. ;)

It's a big pooch screw and I for one am absolutely confident Apple knew/knows about it - the past iPhones never saw Apple selling their own branded/first-party cases, and now they are with the "bumper" ones.

This wasn't a mistake, it was planned and it's all part of the same money making machine.

"That's my story and I'm stickin' to it..."
Click to expand...

I don't think they planned to make extra money buy selling a bumper, but I do think this was a last minute mistake and the bumper was their last minute solution
 
br0adband said:
From the multitude of videos I've been checking out all over the place, the issue seems to be most prevalent on the left side (the side with the volume buttons) and down in the seam/crack between the two bands. People doing videos showing contact on the right side (the side with the microSIM slot) don't appear to have issues however, if they switch hands and then make that connection on the left side in that seam bridging those two points wham, the signal chokes.

I know some folks are saying it's just a signal display issue, it's not actually doing anything even in spite of the signal indicator fluctuating so drastically, but when I see the phone disconnect and lose service, well... damned straight that's a design/functionality problem.

The one video with the guy not moving the phone but just applying light finger pressure on that specific seam on the lower left side bridging those two surfaces was more than enough to say "Oh crap, that's a problem..." for me. I've been a licensed Ham radio operator for over 30+ years and when I heard about the new iPhone's design and how they intended to use the actual chassis/frame for the signal propagation, my first instinct was "Oh, no, that's not gonna work, Steve..." but, it's not like he's gonna answer my emails. ;)

It's a big pooch screw and I for one am absolutely confident Apple knew/knows about it - the past iPhones never saw Apple selling their own branded/first-party cases, and now they are with the "bumper" ones.

This wasn't a mistake, it was planned and it's all part of the same money making machine.

"That's my story and I'm stickin' to it..."
Click to expand...
If this is something they knew about and they don't provide a free solution soon then they're going to have a CALS on their hands and they're going to lose.
 
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