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iPhone 4 Reception Issue? [Video]
- Thread starter FFArchitect
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This will be epically huge if this problem is widespread and a hardware issue. A software issue at launch is one thing, but a hardware issue with a million plus phones shipping out is epic!
I sure hope Engadget or someone else picks up on this soon and starts testing. There's NO way I want to buy this phone with the requirement of using a bumper or case.
I sure hope Engadget or someone else picks up on this soon and starts testing. There's NO way I want to buy this phone with the requirement of using a bumper or case.
i remember my 3g use to do this. when i would pick it up the bars would lower but on the table it would go up again. so im wondering if thats it. maybe the software update will fix it. for me it would go off 3g to edge when i would hold it. that was when i first got the 3g 2 years ago though.
So in 10 hours, im going to an apple shop to get my iphone and will look for the one which doesnt drop reception, or will ask for a lifetime supply of free bumpers
the notch isn't the antenna, the whole steel strip is the antenna. the reason for the notches is to separate the two antennas so that they don't steal signal from each other.
ok so is everyone having this? if its nto everyone then its def. something with towers near some people. i saw one video but only thing that happened was the bars went to 1 -2 instead of the 4.
well im glad im in the second batch of iphones. i really dont have the time to take a day out in order to get to an Apple Store.... whos going to reimburse me for that 
£599 for a phone which dont fricking work
£599 for a phone which dont fricking work That doesn't make any sense. They'd also know that tons of people would be using the phone without a bumper and thus, a public relations explosion would occur (which it might anyway). Now they may very well have known about this problem relatively recently, but there's no way they introduced the bumper to mask it.
Well, you're obviously not an RF engineer. (Nor am I, but I am an ex-licensed amateur radio operator, have built my own equipment, etc.)
When you touch an antenna, you totally screw-up it's RF characteristics. Yes, that's a technical term. "Tuning" a "human antenna" involves a chain saw and limbs. It's not terribly practical.
I don't know WHAT they were thinking. How many RF engineers quit Apple over this bull-headed determination favoring form over function? Jon Ive may be perceived as a great designer, but this is a prime example of elegant design triumphing over usability.
I think this has been a persistent issue at Apple, you can see it in a number of their products - the non-flat back of the iPad is another example of design that doesn't function well. The curved back of older iPhones is much less of a problem than with iPad. You can't type on iPad on a flat surface without it "rocking". And, I'm sorry, but little square keyboard keys with minimal throw are non-optimal. Pretty, but pretty non-functional.
The gap that allows you to bridge the antenna is the most stupid blunder of all.
I suspect that the bumper was their last-minute attempt to paper-over this goof.
Hopefully, the connection from whatever internal antenna there is to this silly doo-dad is made through some sort of electronic switch, so that they can turn this silliness off with firmware and just use the internal antennas.
Eh, because they're going to sell a LOT fewer iPhones if they have this type of problems... not MORE $30 bumpers.
Wow, I tried to replicate this problem with my iPhone 3G and it actually does the same thing, it went from 5 lines to 1 line. I then tried to replicate the problem with a plastic case that I have and it went from 5 lines to 3 lines. I'm not as worried as when I initally read the first post as I would have never noticed that problem if it wasnt for this thread. I havent had a dropped call or bad service where I live since I got my iPhone 3G almost 2 years ago.
Good observation though....
Good observation though....
I held my hands on the phone just like the guy in the video did for the duration of the video and all I saw was a drop from 4 bars to 3 bars which isn't out of the ordinary even if you weren't touching the phone.
An excellent point.
Is anybody who is not on AT&T in the United States having this problem?
Guess u are right. but this can also be a possibility that the idea for the bumper came up recently after the fault was detected and it was too late to bring any major changes. Come to think of it, this new design is one of the key selling points for iphone 4.
Sure enough mine does the same thing. That's really weird.
On top of that, compared to my 3GS in my office today, iPhone 4's reception was MUCH worse.
Hopefully there is a fix for this otherwise not good. Heck, even my gf's 3G was doing better on reception than my new 4.
On top of that, compared to my 3GS in my office today, iPhone 4's reception was MUCH worse.
Hopefully there is a fix for this otherwise not good. Heck, even my gf's 3G was doing better on reception than my new 4.
Think about it. If it's going from 4 bars to NO SERVICE, it means you can't make or receive calls. And what happens when you're in an area where you don't get 4 bars? It'll go to NO SERVICE even quicker.
It seems very unlikely this is a software problem, which means this will be an explosive public relations nightmare for Apple. I'm seriously thinking of waiting things out, even if it means I don't get my phone tomorrow as planned. I know Apple has good customer service and will take care of the problem, but it could be quite involved, including a long wait while they test and confirm the problem, and then decide how to remedy it (send in your phone, recall, etc). You really could be stuck with this problem for some time, and I don't want to risk that.