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Jobs says Signal Strength a "non issue"

No worries, it's a long damned thread and getting longer all the time... ;)

It's not an absolute thing so far, that's the biggest issue, because some folks are experiencing it and some aren't. But after I got mine I decided to do testing from inside my apartment as well as outside since that puts me line-of-sight to the antennas on the cell site tower itself - there is zero blockage possible from where I stand on the balcony.

I even took my laser pointer out last night and was shining it directly on the antenna(s) so my Wife could understand what I meant by line-of-sight. :D

I would expect some degradation, especially in weak service/shoddy coverage areas but, direct line-of-sight to a cell site antenna array that's practically the same height (it sits about 20 feet higher than my 3rd floor balcony is) and losing service completely because of a touch, that's just unacceptable and something is terribly wrong with this thing.

And I am 100% convinced they've known about this issue for quite a long time as I previous explained since the existence of the bump case only accounts for "coverage" of the metal band which is where the problem lies. Nobody else makes such a covering in spite of their being dozens of case makers for iPhones... it's all Apple and only Apple because they are well aware of the issue, the cause, and the "fix"...

Telling people to hold the phone differently, man that's gotta be the most absolutely lame response ever. The fact that he responded at all to samcraig's email was enough, but then telling him to hold it differently (in not so many words) just proves it:

Defective by design...
 
Mine would drop to 1 bar in about 45 seconds, all day long. Now it wont drop at all, thats good I guess.
 
br0adband said:
It's defective by design, period.
Click to expand...

I just downloaded a speed test app. My phone is flat on a desk with 4 bars 3G signal. I run the test and get download speeds between 1700 kbps and 2200 kbps. If I pick the phon up and hold it in my left hand, the bars start to disappear and I lose the signal completely. The test will not even run, because I have no connection.

If Apple knew about this and will not fix this, then it is indeed time for the lawyers. I don't care if they get rich. What I care about is sending a message back to Apple: don't mislead; don't a product out into the market that can not perform its primary function; don't treat me like a fool when I bring the problem to your attention.
 
Apple knew about the prob. Hence the bumper case.

Does anyone really think that Apple didn't know about the reception problem?
Click on the accessories on Apple.com. Up jumps the bumper case.
Solution to a known problem, complete with an obscene, built-in profit.
Tell me I'm wrong.
 
sneezingdog said:
I just downloaded a speed test app. My phone is flat on a desk with 4 bars 3G signal. I run the test and get download speeds between 1700 kbps and 2200 kbps. If I pick the phon up and hold it in my left hand, the bars start to disappear and I lose the signal completely. The test will not even run, because I have no connection.

If Apple knew about this and will not fix this, then it is indeed time for the lawyers. I don't care if they get rich. What I care about is sending a message back to Apple: don't mislead; don't a product out into the market that can not perform its primary function; don't treat me like a fool when I bring the problem to your attention.
Click to expand...

... If the software thinks it has a bad signal, regardless of the reason, then it will operate as such, so yes, it would be quite easy for the software to say there's a bad signal and make the phone operate as if there is no connection.
 
sceptic62 said:
Does anyone really think that Apple didn't know about the reception problem?
Click on the accessories on Apple.com. Up jumps the bumper case.
Solution to a known problem, complete with an obscene, built-in profit.
Tell me I'm wrong.
Click to expand...

This is an obscene DISASTER for Apple.

Can you even imagine the late night comics this coming week?

There's not a media outlet in the world that isn't carrying this story in a high profile way. It's a disaster.
 
br0adband said:
No worries, it's a long damned thread and getting longer all the time... ;)

It's not an absolute thing so far, that's the biggest issue, because some folks are experiencing it and some aren't. But after I got mine I decided to do testing from inside my apartment as well as outside since that puts me line-of-sight to the antennas on the cell site tower itself - there is zero blockage possible from where I stand on the balcony.

I even took my laser pointer out last night and was shining it directly on the antenna(s) so my Wife could understand what I meant by line-of-sight. :D

I would expect some degradation, especially in weak service/shoddy coverage areas but, direct line-of-sight to a cell site antenna array that's practically the same height (it sits about 20 feet higher than my 3rd floor balcony is) and losing service completely because of a touch, that's just unacceptable and something is terribly wrong with this thing.

And I am 100% convinced they've known about this issue for quite a long time as I previous explained since the existence of the bump case only accounts for "coverage" of the metal band which is where the problem lies. Nobody else makes such a covering in spite of their being dozens of case makers for iPhones... it's all Apple and only Apple because they are well aware of the issue, the cause, and the "fix"...

Telling people to hold the phone differently, man that's gotta be the most absolutely lame response ever. The fact that he responded at all to samcraig's email was enough, but then telling him to hold it differently (in not so many words) just proves it:

Defective by design...
Click to expand...

Just want to see if I understand your theory.....Apple, who is now one of the biggest companies in the world and has two of the hottest tech products on the planet has released a flawed device intentionally, in order to sell $30 rubber covers; not considering the damage it would do to both it's image and its potential financial future. Um yeah, it sounds feasible.
 
picktaylor said:
Jobs was being honest, maybe too direct, but honest. It's a known issue with anything that has an antenna...example: I work with live music production and we have to tell people to change the way they hold a wireless microphone because some people hold it too low, touching the antenna and causing signal loss.
Click to expand...

Maybe that's why the antenna should go inside the phone, except that would violate the prime design directive: make it as thin as possible.

fPeople are making WAY to big a deal out of this.
Click to expand...

Yeah, why would anyone care that they can't use their iPhone as a phone unless their fingers are positioned just so? All I can say is that my HTC Droid doesn't care how it's held.
 
sneezingdog said:
I just downloaded a speed test app. My phone is flat on a desk with 4 bars 3G signal. I run the test and get download speeds between 1700 kbps and 2200 kbps. If I pick the phon up and hold it in my left hand, the bars start to disappear and I lose the signal completely. The test will not even run, because I have no connection.

If Apple knew about this and will not fix this, then it is indeed time for the lawyers. I don't care if they get rich. What I care about is sending a message back to Apple: don't mislead; don't a product out into the market that can not perform its primary function; don't treat me like a fool when I bring the problem to your attention.
Click to expand...

+100
 
PhoneI said:
Just want to see if I understand your theory.....Apple, who is now one of the biggest companies in the world and has two of the hottest tech products on the planet has released a flawed device intentionally, in order to sell $30 rubber covers; not considering the damage it would do to both it's image and its potential financial future. Um yeah, it sounds feasible.
Click to expand...

They're $29, for the record, and considering the only thing they do is prevent skin-on-metal contact as well as the fact that nobody else is making them for the iPhone 4 except the company that makes the phone itself... it leads an intelligent person to see that it was made for a very precise and specific reason, and it's not to protect the metal.

It's to keep you from touching the metal.

Yeah, it's feasible all right and a (dare I say it) brilliant way to make an absolute ton of profit. Such a bump case can't be more than probably $.20 to manufacture, seriously. Twenty freakin' cents and selling it for $29... 14,400% profit...

Oh yeah, it's feasible all right.
 
PhoneI said:
Just want to see if I understand your theory.....Apple, who is now one of the biggest companies in the world and has two of the hottest tech products on the planet has released a flawed device intentionally, in order to sell $30 rubber covers; not considering the damage it would do to both it's image and its potential financial future. Um yeah, it sounds feasible.
Click to expand...

Dude.. you're missing the point. The bumpers are a flailing attempt to "band-aid" what has become the biggest DISASTER in the company's history.

Dude, a good number of their phones are bricks if you hold them. That ain't good.

It's on all the major front pages and all the major networks. Apple to Houston: WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
 
Rat-Boy said:
Maybe it's not.

But it IS is a condescending asinine reply that he should have never sent.

I mean, God forbid iPhone customers hold the phone the way HE held it when he was demoing it. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I agree, but I was pointing out that he didn’t call anyone an idiot, like that article made him out to have emailed (by the crappy title….many people don’t read past that). Had he called people idiots, then I would think he’d gone by Monday.
 
-aggie- said:
I agree, but I was pointing out that he didn’t call anyone an idiot, like that article made him out to have emailed (by the crappy title….many people don’t read past that). Had he called people idiots, then I would think he’d gone by Monday.
Click to expand...
Well.

Personally, I think I would rather have had him call me an idiot than to try to tell me I don't know how to hold a phone.

I mean, what IDIOT doesn't know how to hold a cell phone? :D
 
So I guess Apple will release 4.1 in a few days. I guess it will change the way the 'bars' are calibrated, fix a few software issues....
..... and magically change the location of the antenna.
 
br0adband said:
They're $29, for the record, and considering the only thing they do is prevent skin-on-metal contact as well as the fact that nobody else is making them for the iPhone 4 except the company that makes the phone itself... it leads an intelligent person to see that it was made for a very precise and specific reason, and it's not to protect the metal.

It's to keep you from touching the metal.

Yeah, it's feasible all right and a (dare I say it) brilliant way to make an absolute ton of profit. Such a bump case can't be more than probably $.20 to manufacture, seriously. Twenty freakin' cents and selling it for $29... 14,400% profit...

Oh yeah, it's feasible all right.
Click to expand...

I so totally agree. I think it is sad, but I really think, based of the evidence that Apple knew full well that this was going on before the release.
Apple might have found out about this earlier (before the manufacturing of the final product) IF it had tested the new iPhone WITHOUT the fake case.
 
Eric S. said:
Maybe that's why the antenna should go inside the phone, except that would violate the prime design directive: make it as thin as possible.



Yeah, why would anyone care that they can't use their iPhone as a phone unless their fingers are positioned just so? All I can say is that my HTC Droid doesn't care how it's held.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see many people totally wrapping their entire palm around their cell phone when they talk on it...that would be really uncomfortable. Plus you don't have to buy the bumper, seems like any case would work and don't most people use cases with their phones? I don't have the problem and can't replicate it so maybe there are just a few out there that are having issues. I just think this whole thing is getting blown out of proportion.
 
picktaylor said:
Maybe it's just me, but I don't see many people totally wrapping their entire palm around their cell phone when they talk on it..
Click to expand...

Because I don't want to accidentally drop my phone and have the back or front of the phone cracked
 
Informal Poll

Would you think a 'fair' solution would be for Apple to drop the price significantly to say $10?

Or would that have collateral damage on all the 3rd party guys by screwing them. Of course I've always thought that all the cases made are way over priced anyway.
 
thatguysmells said:
Is everyone forgetting that Apple already said there is a problem in software that inaccurately shows how the bars react to actual reception? This was covered a few days ago and Apple said they would release a fix.
Click to expand...

Apple first says 'hold it the correct way' and now says 'we will conceal this problem with a software fix which will shows how many ever bars you're happy with' and you fall for that??
 
sneezingdog said:
I just downloaded a speed test app. My phone is flat on a desk with 4 bars 3G signal. I run the test and get download speeds between 1700 kbps and 2200 kbps. If I pick the phon up and hold it in my left hand, the bars start to disappear and I lose the signal completely. The test will not even run, because I have no connection.
Click to expand...

This is the test I've been showing people with my phone and others because there is a tangible difference that people can see with their own eyes. The problem is that I lose my connection pretty quick with and without the Apple bumper. That's not good!

For anyone saying they haven't dropped a call yet, how is your data usage on 3G? Is the phone even usable for that task? I've not yet dropped a call, but my phone is worthless for data usage on 3G because of this damn problem. The rub here is that it's precisely during data usage when we hold the phone in a manner that is most vulnerable to the issue because the lower left corner is tucked into the palm of the hand.
 
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