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jer9542

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 20, 2010
85
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I read rumors and reports dating from mid-July about iPhone 4 now being manufactured and shipped with a coating on the antenna (thus eliminating signal loss). I haven't heard anything recently about it and the signal issues are the main reason i have not bought one already (i have a 3g). I'm also a lefty so if anyone can confirm, or deny this, that would be greatly appreciated. (Apple won't tell me, and ATT doesnt know..)
 
99.9999% chance that NOTHING will change on the iPhone 4. You'll just have to live with all the problems, it's not worth getting sadly
 
I think it really depends on your location. I have had no dropped calls at all, and I have a full signal at all times, home and work.

And no, there will be no revised iPhone until iPhone 5 comes out.
 
It's true... all new iPhone4s are being shipped with a candy coating shell. You can get sour apple or wild cherry.
 
It's true... all new iPhone4s are being shipped with a candy coating shell. You can get sour apple or wild cherry.

The limited "white" coconut one is due out by next summer. They are apparently having production problems and it tastes like ass.
 
A coating would do nothing to help the signal issue. Distance between your hand and the antenna is the only thing that helps. If they make a change to improve it they will move the antenna inside the casing.
 
A coating would do nothing to help the signal issue. Distance between your hand and the antenna is the only thing that helps. If they make a change to improve it they will move the antenna inside the casing.

There were 2 problems people were reporting. Attenuation and bridging.

A coating certainly would help with bridging. That said, I don't know that briding was ever a real problem. It may be something people just guessed at on the internet and made up.

So I'm not saying coating WILL help. I'm saying it's possible it would have helped in a certain situation. (I just don't know if that situation is true or not.)

That said, I absolutely don't believe Apple is doing this. Why? Because they would have LOVED to have been able to say this at their press confrence. It would have looked really good to point out a physical change like this to the press. But they didn't say it. It's not gonna happen.
 
There were 2 problems people were reporting. Attenuation and bridging.

A coating certainly would help with bridging. That said, I don't know that briding was ever a real problem. It may be something people just guessed at on the internet and made up.

So I'm not saying coating WILL help. I'm saying it's possible it would have helped in a certain situation. (I just don't know if that situation is true or not.)

That said, I absolutely don't believe Apple is doing this. Why? Because they would have LOVED to have been able to say this at their press confrence. It would have looked really good to point out a physical change like this to the press. But they didn't say it. It's not gonna happen.

The problem is so overblown in my opinion. My iphone works great, better than my 3gs. Only sometimes am I able to replicate the "death grip", and that is only when Im in my room where Ive never been able to make calls on ANY cell phone, not my Verizon phones, or my 3gs. Strangely enough, although I am able to replicate the death grip, I am now able to make calls in my room with the Iphone 4.

Also, I bought the bodyguards full body protection, which puts a strip all around the metal edge. It protects my phone, and solves the death grip issue. If you love the phone otherwise, it is NOT an issue. If you are lefthanded, it might be an issue. If you are right handed and your experience is affected that much by the death grip, you probably live in an area where you shouldnt go with at&t anyway. (By the way, I traveled to San Francisco with my 3gs and had no problems making calls. I recently traveled to NYC and stayed at a hotel in times square with my Iphone 4, and had no problems at all. These are notorious for being bad areas for iphones, but I had no issue whatsoever except with some data connection issues my first day right in the heart of times square. Once I got in my hotel or out times square itself, problem solved)
 
I have a week 32 build and it does not have signal issues nor does there look to be any coating on the band.

That said, I believe it is:

The signal melts in your hands and not in your mouth.
 
I agree with this article from 9to5mac.com. This article has to do with the possible Verizon iPhone, but I think it holds truth that Apple isn't concerned with changing anything about the antenna.

Apple won't re-design antenna for Verizon iPhone, says "expert"

"Computerworld reports Apple won't be changing the antenna design for the purported Verizon iPhone coming in January. According to their source, Spencer Webb, "The antenna design is architecturally fixed in the design, and it would take them a while to make whatever the next design is." The report also states that Apple is likely planning to keep that antenna design around for a few years to match their previous three year iPhone design roadmap.

It makes sense that Apple would not have enough time to design an entirely new antenna for a device supposedly launching in only a few months. An antenna redesign would call for a device redesign, as the iPhone 4s new slimmer casing is based on the antenna not being internal. It also makes sense that if Apple waited until June 2011 to unveil the first Verizon-compatible iPhone and 5th generation AT&T iPhone, the antenna could change."


http://www.9to5mac.com/apple-wont-redesign-vzw-iphone

I'm also going to agree with Solange82200 and that I have had far less dropped calls on my iPhone 4 than I did with my 3GS, the media made the story out to be something it wasn't.
 
The next time they will redesign the antenna will probably be for the next revision iPhone. Not that I bother, no reception issues here. (Week 29 production)
 
This might sound weird, but yesterday I got a new replacement phone ( a week 31 production) and when I first looked at the antenna band it looked different from my earlier week 26 i4. I might be wrong, but the new one had the metallic paint look on the antenna, you know with the small sparkles, while the earlier one I had did not have that, as far as I remember it was just the regular stainless steel look.
Am I imagining things??
 
This might sound weird, but yesterday I got a new replacement phone ( a week 31 production) and when I first looked at the antenna band it looked different from my earlier week 26 i4. I might be wrong, but the new one had the metallic paint look on the antenna, you know with the small sparkles, while the earlier one I had did not have that, as far as I remember it was just the regular stainless steel look.
Am I imagining things??

What was the reason you got a replacement?
 
This might sound weird, but yesterday I got a new replacement phone ( a week 31 production) and when I first looked at the antenna band it looked different from my earlier week 26 i4. I might be wrong, but the new one had the metallic paint look on the antenna, you know with the small sparkles, while the earlier one I had did not have that, as far as I remember it was just the regular stainless steel look.
Am I imagining things??

Um, I have a week 32 phone and there is no metalic looking paint on my band.

Also - the "bridging" issue is not what is causing attenuation in my personal opinion... I have the zagg shield on the side of my phone and it still loses bars.

I do not drop any more calls than I did with my razr 2 - in fact I would say I drop less. I do however notice that I get poorer signal in my house. I have to try turning off 3G.
 
Um, I have a week 32 phone and there is no metalic looking paint on my band.

This is what I meant.. Does all i4 look like this?
 

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This is what I meant.. Does all i4 look like this?

mine does not look like that. That looks like it has something stuck on it like a shield, and not painted (edit - I take this back... it does look like paint)

Mine is just silver... smooth and pure, no glitter look to it at all. Serial is 88032.
 
mine does not look like that. That looks like it has something stuck on it like a shield, and not painted (edit - I take this back... it does look like paint)

Mine is just silver... smooth and pure, no glitter look to it at all. Serial is 88032.

That's what I thought.. Mine is 7T031, it might be a refurb, although the Apple genius guy promised it was not!
 
They'll be keeping the design around for sure. If anything, they'll just improve the insulation.

Also, is it just me, or is the metal for the sim tray slightly different on some phones? The way some pictures are taken, the tray really stands out as a different color.
 
mine does not look like that. That looks like it has something stuck on it like a shield, and not painted (edit - I take this back... it does look like paint)

Mine is just silver... smooth and pure, no glitter look to it at all. Serial is 88032.

Yeah mine doesn't look like that at all.
 
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