I don't know if it's my phone but when I cover the bottom black slit the signals disappear in a matter of seconds and when not covered up I have full strength.
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iPhone 4 Signal Declines While Being Held? A Longstanding Issue?
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Yup - and this place will post anything that tries to bust anyone BUT Apple's balls and will happily post any old crap if it means a negative Apple story can head south on the front page.
Here we go again!
Apple has always said, on their public web pages, that the 3g and 3gs metal bezel is part of the antenna system; so the iPhone 4 metal ring as part of the antenna is not totally new.
ANY cell phone (Nokia, Motorola's, etc) when held in the hand will change signal strength. This is normal. Nokia would even state so in their manuals. It has to do with impedance changes in the circuitry that is now part of the cell antenna and your hand. RF engineers design take this into account, from day one. Sometimes even designing into the bias, this affect. Also the same is true when you hold the phone and place it next to your ear! Cell phone antenna design, and the complex environment when used next to one's head is very well known and studied. A cell phone sitting on a table, in free space cannot be compared to what will happen when next to your head. So a very good reason to use BT headsets by the way, with any cell phone
The effect shown here is/was also true for the 3G and 3GS (and true of all my Nokia's too...nothing new), and has very little to do with dropped calls, etc.
Shame on media for picking up this non story from the naive consumer.
Apple has always said, on their public web pages, that the 3g and 3gs metal bezel is part of the antenna system; so the iPhone 4 metal ring as part of the antenna is not totally new.
ANY cell phone (Nokia, Motorola's, etc) when held in the hand will change signal strength. This is normal. Nokia would even state so in their manuals. It has to do with impedance changes in the circuitry that is now part of the cell antenna and your hand. RF engineers design take this into account, from day one. Sometimes even designing into the bias, this affect. Also the same is true when you hold the phone and place it next to your ear! Cell phone antenna design, and the complex environment when used next to one's head is very well known and studied. A cell phone sitting on a table, in free space cannot be compared to what will happen when next to your head. So a very good reason to use BT headsets by the way, with any cell phone
The effect shown here is/was also true for the 3G and 3GS (and true of all my Nokia's too...nothing new), and has very little to do with dropped calls, etc.
Shame on media for picking up this non story from the naive consumer.
All good here
I'm sure that this is an issue for some people, radio waves tend to act weird sometimes like when touching the antenna on a tv when I was a kid would either mess the reception up or make it better. I for one did not have this issue with my 3gs nor have I noticed this issue with my iPhone 4 (arrived today) though I did notice that my desk actually blocks cell signals when I set it down it dropped to 2 bars then when I picked it up it went back to full bars, go figure. By the way the iPhone 4 rock.
I'm sure that this is an issue for some people, radio waves tend to act weird sometimes like when touching the antenna on a tv when I was a kid would either mess the reception up or make it better. I for one did not have this issue with my 3gs nor have I noticed this issue with my iPhone 4 (arrived today) though I did notice that my desk actually blocks cell signals when I set it down it dropped to 2 bars then when I picked it up it went back to full bars, go figure. By the way the iPhone 4 rock.
People also seem to forget the minority is ALWAYS the most vocal, and yes anyone who read tech blogs are quite firmly in the minority
Iphone reception has stunk since the first one. I can loose the signal and my wife's phone still has a good signal. I'm on T-mobile but it also happened when we were with AT&T. Happened with my 1st gen, 3g, and 3gs. I've just come to accept that Apple just can't seem to figure out how to make a phone that works outside of strong signal areas. This is one thing that Apple really stinks at.
I look at it as compromise. In order to get the wonderful features of the iPhone I just have to deal with a subpar phone. Still love my iPhone.
I look at it as compromise. In order to get the wonderful features of the iPhone I just have to deal with a subpar phone. Still love my iPhone.
Haven't you heard? Gizmodo/Gawker is the 'National Enquirer" of the web. They aren't journalists. They are a bunch of speculators, betting on who's story will bring the most page views and, thus, the most money into their pockets as the clueless and ignorant visit their site.
Whenever I'm in line at the grocery store, it always seems like it is the extremely overweight, raggedly dressed, grungy looking person that is buying the National Enquirer (or rags like it). If the person speaks (usually to one of their 8 children, all running around without shirts), it seems obvious that they are not well read or particularly gifted in the English language.
That right there is your Gizmodo reader!
Mark
I wonder what happens when the iPhone4 is used in a case? Where the hands are not touching the stainless steel antennas?
Anyone try this while using a case?
Anyone try this while using a case?
Solution
Never noticed this before, but I can easily replicated this issue with my 3GS. And I'm in Australia on Telstra
So is obviously a technical issue.
Has anyone tested it on other brand phones?
Also, it doesn't happen if my hand is not in contact with the phone.
So, solution, put your iphone in a case/cover
EDIT: Actually, i just tried mine in a silicone case, and it lost a bar of signal
Never noticed this before, but I can easily replicated this issue with my 3GS. And I'm in Australia on Telstra
So is obviously a technical issue.
Has anyone tested it on other brand phones?
Also, it doesn't happen if my hand is not in contact with the phone.
So, solution, put your iphone in a case/cover
EDIT: Actually, i just tried mine in a silicone case, and it lost a bar of signal
Doesn't work for me. As soon as I pick it up, touching either side it goes from full to 1... every time.
Damn
I don't want him (or her) to get overly cocky, but marksman is the best poster I've ever read on these forums.
Thanks much for the laughs!
I don't want him (or her) to get overly cocky, but marksman is the best poster I've ever read on these forums.
Thanks much for the laughs!
problem, solution
Human and other types of contact will affect signal, especially at the frequencies where these things operate. I have never seen it so pronounced before, however. The effect will likely be more pronounced if someone is close to the edge of a tower's coverage area - signal will appear to be stronger than it really is when unobstructed, but add an obstruction and it pushes the limits over the edge.
With the iPhone 4, the problem could be exacerbated due to physical contact with the antennas, instead of someone's hand just being an obstruction as with the previous models and other brands.
While the iPhone 4's design is a really cool piece of engineering, it's not really smart from a practical point of view, because you don't really want electrical contact with the antennas. Humans conduct electricity (a little bit) and at cellular frequencies, touching the antennas will cause a big enough impedance change to be a problem. I also predict that the external antennas will cause further problems down the road as impurities (moisture, dirt) settle in the spaces between the antennas and start to short them to each-other.
The solution? For the current model, get one of the 'bumper' covers and keep your phone clean. For the future, Apple needs to put the antennas where they belong - at the TOP of the phone behind a plastic panel.
Human and other types of contact will affect signal, especially at the frequencies where these things operate. I have never seen it so pronounced before, however. The effect will likely be more pronounced if someone is close to the edge of a tower's coverage area - signal will appear to be stronger than it really is when unobstructed, but add an obstruction and it pushes the limits over the edge.
With the iPhone 4, the problem could be exacerbated due to physical contact with the antennas, instead of someone's hand just being an obstruction as with the previous models and other brands.
While the iPhone 4's design is a really cool piece of engineering, it's not really smart from a practical point of view, because you don't really want electrical contact with the antennas. Humans conduct electricity (a little bit) and at cellular frequencies, touching the antennas will cause a big enough impedance change to be a problem. I also predict that the external antennas will cause further problems down the road as impurities (moisture, dirt) settle in the spaces between the antennas and start to short them to each-other.
The solution? For the current model, get one of the 'bumper' covers and keep your phone clean. For the future, Apple needs to put the antennas where they belong - at the TOP of the phone behind a plastic panel.
Is the reception issue/problem reduced when you have one of those protective plastic or silicon rims on it? The steel rim is itself the antenna.
Rocketman
Rocketman