Jobs says Signal Strength a "non issue"

[dark5]

I'm a grown-ass man and I'm not about to adopt some queer new way of holding my phone. This is completely cocked.

i vote THIS the best response of the week.

This seems to be the sentiment among most people around here, but honestly, if this is the worst issue the iPhone 4 has, consider yourselves morons for not realizing that every other phone released this year has considerably worse hardware/design flaws. Ie: any device with an AMOLED screen has a terrible half-life.

Count me in with the group of rational people who believe this is an issue that is being blown way out of proportion. Of course SJ's response was terrible in terms of PR, but for such an easily fixable issue, I don't entirely blame him.

Now some of you are saying you don't want to change the way you hold your phone or you don't want to switch to your other hand, both of which would fix the issue for $0. I ask you this: how on earth are you using the internet?? Do you know how often software, especially UIs change in order for you to adapt to a new way of thinking? Surely just because you are left-handed doesn't mean your right hand is dead weight? Do you not type with both hands consistently??

 

[Nicklaus]

It may be because it's the far end of the transmission line vs. the near end, compared to where it goes into the phone. Connecting the far end makes it look like a longer antenna, connecting near the near end might make it look smaller to the radio. It deals with electromagnetic propagation.

Do you know of a way or think it could have been done better? Could they possibly just have reversed the way it was wired?

 

[hackum]

Another image with the correct hand posture. Study it carefully.

 

[VSMacOne]

Steve to iPhone customers: F off.

Amazing. To think my Droid Incredible doesn't care how it's held.

lol... if Verizon is smart, they'll do an ad campaign with the Droid phones telling people Hey look, I don't care how you hold me, i still work! .. I can already see the different shots of people holding the droids in different ways.

what a mess..

 

[Nykwil]

Dude, what more evidence do you need? This is a MAJOR issue. MOST of the iPhone4 customers are experiencing this. I love the phone and it has very good features, but you'd have to be stupid to defend apple on this one.
They pulled a fast one and if they don't react to this the right way, I feel like they might lose some customers.

Most? The majority voice you ever hear in a thread like this are the ones who have something to complain about. What you never hear are the ones who have nothing to complain about, and honestly who knows how vast or small those numbers are.

 

[garp]

Ouch, one is held in my hand, the other on my desk (as another commentator posted). I'm actually very surprised.

I though the issue was 3G connectivity, dropped calls etc. You are testing WiFi speed

 

[ricb]

The old man doesn't want the stocks to take a hit. I guarantee within a week or 2 we will have a solution. We have 700+ posts on this issue and the issue is leaking to major news media. He will have to come up with a better answer that what he has quoted.

Yup, that IS true. These CEO guys don't want this type of attention and perhaps his initial response was more out of frustration -- I'm convinced he knows damn well this is a big problem. There will be a solution soon. It's just a disappointing situation, though. Wow.

 

[davidjf]

I wonder if the batch of phones Australia will receive at the end of next month will have this issue, or whether they'll silently fix the problem (non-conducting coat on the band, etc.)?

It'll be interesting, that's for sure.

 

[MisterDisney]

Just give everyone $29 store credit for a Bumper?

 

[Anuba]

Customer Ryan Merket complained to Palo Alto Apple Store manager and received a replacement phone that doesn't exhibit the issue. Since Merket could demonstrate the issue on the first phone but not on the replacement, apparently some phones don't have the issue.

Give Merket a few days with the new phone and I'm sure the issue will rear its ugly head eventually... it's completely hit and miss. When he started up the new phone it might simply have stumbled upon a stronger connection than the old phone, even if he was standing in the same spot. If you have a strong, solid 5 bar signal, nothing happens... if you have 3-4 bars you'll see it drop.

 

[sneezingdog]

This seems to be the sentiment among most people around here, but honestly, if this is the worst issue the iPhone 4 has, consider yourselves morons for not realizing that every other phone released this year has considerably worse hardware/design flaws. Ie: any device with an AMOLED screen has a terrible half-life.

Count me in with the group of rational people who believe this is an issue that is being blown way out of proportion. Of course SJ's response was terrible in terms of PR, but for such an easily fixable issue, I don't entirely blame him.

Now some of you are saying you don't want to change the way you hold your phone or you don't want to switch to your other hand, both of which would fix the issue for $0. I ask you this: how on earth are you using the internet?? Do you know how often software, especially UIs change in order for you to adapt to a new way of thinking? Surely just because you are left-handed doesn't mean your right hand is dead weight? Do you not type with both hands consistently??

ow is it being blown out of proportion if I have 4 to 5 bars of 3 G signal and simply holding in my left hand naturally results in a dropped connection? Have you ever used a phone in an hour long conference call. I switch from hand to hand and am not going to think about how to hold the phone. The phone is not merchantable with a defect like this.

 

[VSMacOne]

This seems to be the sentiment among most people around here, but honestly, if this is the worst issue the iPhone 4 has, consider yourselves morons for not realizing that every other phone released this year has considerably worse hardware/design flaws. Ie: any device with an AMOLED screen has a terrible half-life.

Count me in with the group of rational people who believe this is an issue that is being blown way out of proportion. Of course SJ's response was terrible in terms of PR, but for such an easily fixable issue, I don't entirely blame him.

Now some of you are saying you don't want to change the way you hold your phone or you don't want to switch to your other hand, both of which would fix the issue for $0. I ask you this: how on earth are you using the internet?? Do you know how often software, especially UIs change in order for you to adapt to a new way of thinking? Surely just because you are left-handed doesn't mean your right hand is dead weight? Do you not type with both hands consistently??

If it ain't broke, don't change it. There was nothing wrong with the way I've been holding my phone for the past year. I watched 5 iPhone owners around me today, and that's EXACTLY how they all held their phones... the WRONG way according to apple.
And you think this is just OK??!! You're freaking brainwashed... I LOVE apple, and their products. I talk about them all day long. I didn't get ANY work done on Wednesday because I was playing with this baby all day long. HOWEVER, this is a KICK in the nuts.

 

[kjs862]

Just give everyone $29 store credit for a Bumper?

That would be very nice, but still I rather just use my 3GS with no case...

 

[ricb]

I wonder if the batch of phones Australia will receive at the end of next month will have this issue, or whether they'll silently fix the problem (non-conducting coat on the band, etc.)?

It'll be interesting, that's for sure.

Nah - if they tried to silently sneak in a fix such as a coating on a new batch of phones, that would be noticed immediately and it hurt them more than just fessin' up and admitting to the flaw.

 

[troop231]

 

[3282868]

I though the issue was 3G connectivity, dropped calls etc. You are testing WiFi speed

Yes, I was curious if this issue effected WiFi as well. I did this test about three times all in the same manner. Any one now if this issue effects WiFi as well? A few FaceTime calls had issues, my WiFi signal on my iPhone just dropped even though my Mac Pro never lost it. I checked and there was no IP address on my iPhone. I had to turn it off and on, then forget the network, reconnect, and it's happened once since.

 

[interestingbit]

I am curious if it also has to do with how sweaty your hand is and the environment you are in. I ask those who can not reproduce this problem try wetting your hand a little and make it moist then try holding it again.

 

[ramuman]

Am I the only in this thread that cannot get the bars to go down from 5 no matter how I hold it? I also tried this on my 3GS before I sold it yesterday and it too did not have this issue.

EDIT...bars are not affected, but Speedtest is somewhat....from about 2.8Mbps upload to about 2.1 upload.

 

[troop231]

Am I the only in this thread that cannot get the bars to go down from 5 no matter how I hold it? I also tried this on my 3GS before I sold it yesterday and it too did not have this issue.

Try using the hot dog method. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/949909/

 

[Nykwil]

also, i dont think some of you realize how sporadic a radio frequency is when it comes to cellphones. the number is always ever changing. Manufacturers of cellphones have to use their better judgment to determine how to properly report a signal in terms of bars, so that our obsessive compulsive minds dont flip out when we see bars jumping up and down sporadically. Just because you see zero bars on a reception signal, doesnt mean you cannot make a phone call. It could mean a number of things, signal not being represented properly, etc.

 

[MotleyGrrl]

Seriously, no matter how hard I try, I cannot get my phone to drop bars. The natural way I hold it covers one line with the meat of my thumb/palm and the other side is close to being covered with a finger. Nothing happens. I even tried covering all the lines and nothing. I'm tempted to post a pic, but I know others aren't experiencing issues. I dunno, maybe I don't have sweaty hands? I haven't had any issues, not a one. I love the IPhone4.

 

[Kevlar]

Just give everyone $29 store credit for a Bumper?

So if that is the solution why didn't they manufacture the bumper as apart of the phone? Covering the problem is not a solution, the phone on it's own should work as is no matter how it rests in you hand. As it is a device you hold in your hand.

 

[VSMacOne]

Most? The majority voice you ever hear in a thread like this are the ones who have something to complain about. What you never hear are the ones who have nothing to complain about, and honestly who knows how vast or small those numbers are.

I hate complainers who complain just for the sake of complaining. Can't stand them. But THIS is a significant issue, and unacceptable in today's technological advancements. It's like they give with one hand, and take with the other.

I'll be close to an Apple store next weekend and I plan on going by to have my iPhone replaced. If this TRULY is a non-issue, they should have no problem replacing the phones that DO show this "MINOR" problem.. right?!

 

[sneezingdog]

Customer Ryan Merket complained to Palo Alto Apple Store manager and received a replacement phone that doesn't exhibit the issue. Since Merket could demonstrate the issue on the first phone but not on the replacement, apparently some phones don't have the issue. This seems to be supported by other users who cannot reproduce the problem on their phones.

Perhaps Apple is initially stonewalling in order to deplete current spotty inventory in hopes that most customers won't return the problem phones and will just modify their grip or use the Apple rubber bumpers. Once problem phones are out of inventory Apple will then only ship confirmed good phones like the one that Merket received after his complaint.

The iPhone 4 I received today has this issue and personally I find it unacceptable as my previous 3GS never exhibited this level of signal diminishment under the same circumstances. Clearly this is a flaw and I'm very disappointed as both a customer and shareholder if Apple knew of this problem prior to the phone's release and decided to ship it anyway.

Link to news report:
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/business&id=7519401

EVERYONE with this issue should call Apple support and report and open a case. It is BS that they have released a phone with this issue. I have 4 to 5 bars of 3G signal from ATT and I completely drop connection when I hold the phone naturally in my left hand.

 

[drew0020]

Most? The majority voice you ever hear in a thread like this are the ones who have something to complain about. What you never hear are the ones who have nothing to complain about, and honestly who knows how vast or small those numbers are.

People always say this but there is no proof to back this up one way or the other.