Jobs says Signal Strength a "non issue"

[hasanahmad]

I just called Apple Support to let them know I am having these issues and it is affecting my usage. I swore by the 2G and 3GS - never had any problems. But I simply cannot reliably use the 4 as a telephone. After 15 mins on hold, the service rep was very friendly, said she would see what she can do. She put me on hold for another 5 mins, then hung up on me. Le Sigh.... I really am trying to make this work.

Call them again

 

[482123]

Call them again

and ask for a supervisor.

 

[sneeks]

Comparison photos of my signal with and without the bumper fitted.

 

[macpro2000]

I know 6 other people besides myself and we all share the same sentiments..

1) Insane that you can't hold the phone in a comfortable position when talking and lose, many times, completely lose reception. This position where you can't hold the phone, is the most comfortable position when using 3G and using apps and internet. Everyone, virtually EVERYONE will have to buy a case.

2) Yes, the screen is gorgeous, the new cams are great, speed is good. However, the actual 'feel in hand' is no where near as good as the 3G,3GS. We all tried to convince ourselves that the new one was better, but reality set in.

3) Obviously still an upgrade, but definitely not without compromises.

4) By Jobs' comments, respect has been lost...pretty sh***y way to respond to a major issue...it's not like the phones were free.

 

[Westyfield2]

Actually, O2's 3G coverage is the second most expansive in the UK

ORLY? http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/...and/cellular/3g/maps/3gmaps/coverage_maps.pdf

 

[kernkraft]

guys I have this issue too... I got the phone from att should they fix it or should I go to apple care?

You can have AppleCare with Stevo's signature on it, it does not make the slightest difference.

If a product is defective, you already have statutory manufacturer's warranty to rely on. Of course, when it happens to millions of handsets - over a million of which might have already been sold - the manufacturer will do everything to play down the situation. They are happy to sell defective products but they are not very keen to take them back.

 

[SonicBoom1981]

I'm glad I'm waiting for white. By that time this will have sorted itself out, with either an acceptance of the problem for current iPhone 4 users, or a update with a fix. Either way, I don't want one now.

 

[uberamd]

By personal I mean speaking/writing as a person, not a head of a company. An identity of a person on the internet, which never meant to be a voice of a company, yet wanted to be recognized as who he is. Personal does not equal private.


That's the thing. People saw it in an ad or a presentation and assumed they can use it as the source for legal and official company statements. Yet it can only be used to talk to Steve, the Jobs -- not Steve, the CEO of Apple. He doesn't even sign his messages with anything of that sort.

But that's just my understanding. I could be wrong.

By the way, we have a local design studio (which is the most famous, expensive and credible in our country), CEO of which has his own blog (by coincidence, one of the most visited in our internet zone) and he can say oh such vulgar, horrible and discrediting things on his blog, but no one even thinks to assume his words somehow reflect the position or points of view of his company. Because his personal social life on the internet is his personal and not company's.

Er, sorry but this doesn't work. His blog is likely not hosted on company servers.

I emailed sjobs about an issue I was having with refurbished systems having out-of box issues (dead screen, dead fan, etc). I got a nice reply from Apple's corporate offices and a replacement computer (a new system with better specs), free of charge (which I talked about here). SJobs@apple has been known as a way to communicate with higher ups at Apple for a long time.

The CEO of a company is emailing you from his company email address, that isn't personal at all. Emails from companies that ARE personal in nature include that line at the bottom that says "This is confidential and is intended for the recipient only.", etc.

When the CEO of a company emails you from his company email address, it might as well be a company statement. There is no way around that.

 

[Steviejobz]

No, it only proves my immaturity. But, that's irrelevant to the criticism of the content of your post (which you failed to address). Your blind defense of Apple is nauseating. I just hope you would defend friends and family with as much vigor as you do for a corporate logo.

I do not think it is blind defense. I am a proponent of consumer right and as such, I strongly feel that if you are unhappy with the phone, you should be able to return it without cost and without any 2-year commitment.

My point is why you would continue to own a phone that, in your belief and per the way you use it, is broken or defective in some way. Sure, complaining a little is fine, but then do something about it. Wanting Apple to fix it for you is unreasonable. Vote with your wallet. If enough people return or do not buy it, then I am sure they will fix it. Otherwise, to put it bluntly, you are SOL.

But 70 pages of complaints is what should be nauseating.

 

[citrate]

Resorting to ad hominem attacks just proves the immaturity of the vast majority of those in this thread complaining about this issue. There are probably a small amount, including the OP, who have legitimate concerns. The rest are trolling or whining as it fills them with a sense of purpose.

Best of luck with your broken phone.

You don't know what you're talking about so give it a rest hey?

 

[TroyBoy30]

i just got off with apple tech support. they acknowledged that it's an issue and sent me out a free bumper. I already have one on they way and they simply told me to return it for a refund! They assured me that the engineers are working on the issue and the bumper is simply a temporary solution to the problem. My phone does not drop signal. I drop 1 bar at the most. I have never seen it even come close to going to searching

 

[fatboyslick]

ORLY? http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/...and/cellular/3g/maps/3gmaps/coverage_maps.pdf

Ah....I was thinking of that report but obviously over estimated my memory.
Still, the whole "deep pan / thin crisp" is relevant - Vodafone's is certainly larger bandwidth

 

[gazmac]

Proximity sensor, MobileMe's Findmyiphone not working

I just made a call and discovered that proximity sensor doesn't appear to be working properly. As I was talking my cheek inadvertently 'dialed' an asterix and number two twice. Anyone else noticed this?

Also I have a MobileMe account and although I get a green 'go' icon and the iPhone 4 comes up in the list in the right-hand column, it doesn't find it because it claims 'location services are disabled' on on my phone, which is not the case! Perhaps it's because my old number was only ported over to my new phone about 5 hours ago.

 

[samcraig]

We have a local design studio (which is the most famous, expensive and credible in our country), CEO of which has his own blog (by coincidence, one of the most visited in our internet zone) and he can say oh such vulgar, horrible and discrediting things on his blog, but no one even thinks to assume his words somehow reflect the position or points of view of his company. Because his personal social life on the internet is his personal and not the company's. And I think it's how it should be. One has the right to be open in society, whoever he is and what his or her job is.

Well that CEO you speak of on his own blog needs to wake up to the new social media and tech world we live in. Because if he's publishing something that is available for PUBLIC consumption - it reflects on his company. Don't believe me? Think of all the twitter comments made by people on their accounts which have BLOWN UP in their faces. Blogs/facebook as well.

Unfortunate or not - if you want something private/personal - then put it in a place/lock it down where the general public doesn't have access.

If any CEO - let's say the CEO of Wal-Mart was at bar and speaking very loudly. I don't mean having a private conversation - but speaking loudly so that the whole bar could hear that he hates women. You don't think that the statement he made is legit to go public with?

A public blog - or the sjobs@apple.com email address is no different. Unfortunate (like I said) or not - there are new privacy boundries that need to be considered. And if you're the CEO (and frankly - WHOEVER you are) it's a lesson to be learned the hard way.

I deal with a lot of people in the entertainment industry. And I know very well how private matters/pictures/comments/etc - even when supposedly LOCKED down (let alone on their twitter/website/etc) can blow up.

 

[uberamd]

I do not think it is blind defense. I am a proponent of consumer right and as such, I strongly feel that if you are unhappy with the phone, you should be able to return it without cost and without any 2-year commitment.

My point is why you would continue to own a phone that, in your belief and per the way you use it, is broken or defective in some way. Sure, complaining a little is fine, but then do something about it. Wanting Apple to fix it for you is unreasonable. Vote with your wallet. If enough people return or do not buy it, then I am sure they will fix it. Otherwise, to put it bluntly, you are SOL.

But 70 pages of complaints is what should be nauseating.

Because the phone is covered under a 1 year warranty, which should allow us to get this fixed for free. Returning the phone means we need to pick up a different AT&T device, and short of the iPhone there are NO good devices at the $200 price range.

 

[Blaenk]

i just got off with apple tech support. they acknowledged that it's an issue and sent me out a free bumper. I already have one on they way and they simply told me to return it for a refund! They assured me that the engineers are working on the issue and the bumper is simply a temporary solution to the problem. My phone does not drop signal. I drop 1 bar at the most. I have never seen it even come close to going to searching

can you ask them if by temporary solution they mean that you will eventually qualify for the real fix?

 

[nooaah]

I do not think it is blind defense. I am a proponent of consumer right and as such, I strongly feel that if you are unhappy with the phone, you should be able to return it without cost and without any 2-year commitment.

My point is why you would continue to own a phone that, in your belief and per the way you use it, is broken or defective in some way. Sure, complaining a little is fine, but then do something about it. Wanting Apple to fix it for you is unreasonable. Vote with your wallet. If enough people return or do not buy it, then I am sure they will fix it. Otherwise, to put it bluntly, you are SOL.

But 70 pages of complaints is what should be nauseating.

It's the third day of owning it. I continue owning it because I expect Apple to provide a prompt solution. If there's no fix within several weeks, the phone will get returned.

Really, you want us to go through the trouble of terminating our contracts, returning our phones, and finding suitable replacements/go back to our old phones so YOU don't have to read a thread full of what you perceive to be whining. Are you an only child?

 

[Squeaky]

i just got off with apple tech support. they acknowledged that it's an issue and sent me out a free bumper. I already have one on they way and they simply told me to return it for a refund! They assured me that the engineers are working on the issue and the bumper is simply a temporary solution to the problem. My phone does not drop signal. I drop 1 bar at the most. I have never seen it even come close to going to searching

Sounds like my experience with Tech Support, aside from the fact that they also FedEx'd me a new phone - arriving today - in hopes that the new one might be somehow different

 

[con500]

Seems the tabloids are having a field day with this "non issue" heres the UK suns response.... If this keeps up its only a matter of time till its rectified.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3030162/iPhone-4-hold-it-in-the-right-way.html

 

[nooaah]

i just got off with apple tech support. they acknowledged that it's an issue and sent me out a free bumper. I already have one on they way and they simply told me to return it for a refund! They assured me that the engineers are working on the issue and the bumper is simply a temporary solution to the problem. My phone does not drop signal. I drop 1 bar at the most. I have never seen it even come close to going to searching

I was told 30 minutes ago the same thing, except the guy got an email from corporate telling me to buy the bumper while we were still on the phone. Haha.

 

[Steviejobz]

I spoke to a very nice person at Apple. I played dumb about the issue in hopes they would offer me free stuff. No dice. However, she said that they are aware of this and engineers are working on a solution. She said they could not give out any more bumpers as they were "on hold" in terms of how to respond to callers on this matter. They are apparently awaiting word on an "official" fix which is expected in the next few days.

So I guess stay tuned? I hope there isn't some bogus software fix that merely fakes the signal strength. All I wanted was some free swag.

 

[bova80]

technically if it was due to something shorting wouldn't the same thing happen if you put your finger across the seam by the headphone jack?

 

[aidym]

Today I finally picked up my micro-sim from O2 and my iP4 is now activated

Unfortunately however, I am having signal issues

My home town has very strong O2 reception, and neither my wife or I have ever had any signal issues (or dropped calls) with previous iPhones (2G, 3G and 3GS) no-mater how we hold them, until today that is...

I have made 5 calls today, with my iP4, and two of them have dropped. Every time I hold my iP4 in my left hand (i am a cackhander), the signal drops from full bars to one or none within 20 seconds.

P***ed off would be an understatement, especially considering the "official" response to this problem from apple.

Have any others with this issues contacted apple CS or visited an apple store to report the problem, and what was the response?

 

[Blaenk]

It's the third day of owning it. I continue owning it because I expect Apple to provide a prompt solution. If there's no fix within several weeks, the phone will get returned.

Really, you want us to go through the trouble of terminating our contracts, returning our phones, and finding suitable replacements/go back to our old phones so YOU don't have to read a thread full of what you perceive to be whining. Are you an only child?

several weeks? dont we only have 14 days to return it? please correct me if i am wrong

 

[Mark.Lee]

Er, sorry but this doesn't work. His blog is likely not hosted on company servers.

I emailed sjobs about an issue I was having with refurbished systems having out-of box issues (dead screen, dead fan, etc). I got a nice reply from Apple's corporate offices and a replacement computer (a new system with better specs), free of charge (which I talked about here). SJobs@apple has been known as a way to communicate with higher ups at Apple for a long time.

The CEO of a company is emailing you from his company email address, that isn't personal at all. Emails from companies that ARE personal in nature include that line at the bottom that says "This is confidential and is intended for the recipient only.", etc.

When the CEO of a company emails you from his company email address, it might as well be a company statement. There is no way around that.

I think you have very wrong laws (is there even such law) there, attaching legal things to a company's domain. I tend not to make any correspondence serious, unless it says something like "John Smith, CEO of Google, Inc, bla bla bla" or "John Smith, President of USA, White House, Washington". If I were to talk Barack Obama via his official email, I wouldn't consider his words to be of any value to the press, unless he signed it officially. But that's just me. Maybe I really should start taking everything so serious and fear conspiracy of secret services.