MacRumors Poll: iPhone 4 Signal Loss by Region

[iphones4evry1]

I'm afraid to buy a new iPhone now until Apple resolves this problem.
It is more important to have a dependable phone in case of emergencies than to have extra bells and whistles.




AT&T + iPhone 4 = NO BARS IN ALL PLACES !

 

[wigby]

poll makes no sense

polls like this only go to complicate and confuse matters. there should be a distinction made between seeing a signal loss problems (bars) and experiencing a signal loss or dropped call problem. i've seen my bars disappear but am still able to make extended calls without issue. besides, apple has already said it's a software issue with the signal bars not updating properly. why don't we wait for a fix before taking a faulty, pointless poll?

 

[Aries326]

Notice the large percentage of the US iPhone 4 owners having this problem. Maybe it's because statistically, we're the fattest nation on earth and we have fatter hands than everyone else that is causing signal attenuation.

Anyway, to those who have seen the signal meter drop down, were you still able to make a call? How was the reception? Now Apple claims this is all a software issue and how iOS 4 calculates the number of bars to display.

I haven't bought an iPhone 4 yet, but I can tell you for a fact that I can replicate the test on my 3GS. In my pocket, signal goes down. In my hand, the signal goes down. Up to my ear, the signal goes down. This affects me more when I'm in a low signal area like at work. When I put the phone down on the table and place it away from me, signal improves and I can receive texts and calls.

It's common sense, people. The antennae is inside the phone. Put the phone close to anything, you will get some signal loss. The only way you can probably avoid signal loss is if you had some huge antennae like in those "walkie-talkies" in WWII.

I'm not sure how this non-story became a story. Sorta reminds me of all those commercials for fibromyalgia. Now you've got all these people with aches and pains coming out of the woodwork looking for disability benefits claiming they have fibromyalgia.

I guess we'll have to wait and see some real data with real world scientific testing, not just anecdoctal evidence.

I apologize in advance to those with fibromyalgia. I didn't mean to make light of your condition.

 

[ComputersaysNo]

Am i the only one who thinks Apple amplified the receiver to cope with dropped calls due to poor networkcoverage, and therefore the iphone4 became extra sensitive to interference?

 

[BobVB]

Oh for cryin out loud let it go! Anybody that thinks hand position doesn't effect signal strength on all cell phones is clueless.

More people who try to conflate this with expectable holding signal strength attenuation are clueless.

In my just 5 bar area if I hold the phone naked I will lose all bars and have the call dropped every time. Put it in an old 3GS case and hold it and I lose one bar. And last Night in a high coverage area I could hold it naked and it kept all 5 bars.

This is 3 issues; normal holding attenuation, 'shorting' the antenna, and the 4.0 iOS not handling rapidly dropping signal strength well. A bumper and an iOS update are going to fix these problems but any fanboy who tries to pretend there is no problem is just embarrassing themselves.

Since holding a $300 phone with 3 fingers like a princess is not an option my bumper is on order.

 

[ntrigue]

Wonderful Reception Improvement

Three days ago, I drove from Santa Cruz to Carmel attempting to chat with my fiancee. Four dropped calls on 3GS.

Yesterday, same exact drive, perfect clarity. In fact, I looked at my iPhone 4 every spot that had dropped a call previously, five bars in three spots, four bars in the last.

 

[DMann]

I do not believe this proves a thing, tho.
Imagine how many trolls voted?!

This ought to be factored in.

Any poll limited to macrumors members who choose to respond is unscientific.

Especially considering the massive 'troll' population.

Having said that, I haven't been able to reproduce this issue. I do live in an area with very good AT&T coverage (I get a good signal in my basement), which may or may not matter.

Just got one for my GF - also no issues with reception of discoloration. Tried demos in the store - none had reception issues.

Perhaps problems exist mainly with the earlier shipments - the 'latest' ones seem to function well.

Three days ago, I drove from Santa Cruz to Carmel attempting to chat with my fiancee. Four dropped calls on 3GS.

Yesterday, same exact drive, perfect clarity. In fact, I looked at my iPhone 4 every spot that had dropped a call previously, five bars in three spots, four bars in the last.

Agreed, reception has been more consistent and robust than that of the 3GS, overall. Very pleased.

Personally, I thought the first iPhone 4 launch issue was going to be the 10,000 couples claiming to be first to use Face Time for phone sex.

Personally, I'm looking forward to some quality Face Time later tonight.

 

[Mad Max24]

I'm not going to update the software next week or anytime soon. My phone is running great with none of the issues! I have no bumper or case(never used a case on any of my iphones) I think I read that the software update will disconnect the bottom left portion of the antenna.

 

[aristotle]

I'm wondering how many people actually hold their phone that way when they are talking on them. I certainly don't and I never did when I had a smaller slider.

 

[summerpeach]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8A293)

I believe that location (in addition to the obvious hand placement) is the difference maker. I didn't have any reception problems no matter how I held it in southern California, where I live. However, now that I am on vacation on the border of Arizona and Nevada, I am experiencing problems when I hold it certain ways to text and surf the Internet.

Btw, I am a small, right-handed woman with small hands.

Funny thing is that my iPhone 4 is doing better than everyone else's 3G's at getting a signal out here. Haha.

 

[rhanley]

My reception while holding the phone is bad enough that I think I will be returning the phone. I ordered a bumper (another $29 that I didn't expect to pay because I don't use a case for my iphones -- never have and have never dropped my iphone with 3 years of use).

If the bumper doesn't resolve the issue, I'll definitely be returning both the phone and case and I'll just stick with my current 3G, or maybe get a 3GS.

I'm holding my iphone exactly as I have for 3 years now and my connection drops. Sure, all phones may degrade a bit when in-hand, but nothing compared to what the iPhone 4 does... even when I completely consume my 3G with my hands, it only drops a bar... iphone 4 drops all 3 bars at my house.

It's such a shame because the phone is amazing aside from that -- or maybe I should call it an iPod touch..

I'm in Eugene, Oregon.

 

[wentwj]

I'm afraid to buy a new iPhone now until Apple resolves this problem.
It is more important to have a dependable phone in case of emergencies than to have extra bells and whistles.




AT&T + iPhone 4 = NO BARS IN ALL PLACES !

Then buy with confidence. This is not something that prevents calls from being made. Don't hold that one area and everythings fine.

It should still be fixed, but everyone saying it makes the device unusable as a phone are being drama queens. Signal is 100% fine unless you apply some presure or moisture to one small area. Don't touch it and there's no problem.

 

[apixel]

It varies by person, indeed!

You got it.

It definitely has to do with something about the individual person. I can't make any phone in my household go down. Neither can my brother. Our neighbor, though, can make both our phones lose one bar.

I don't know the science either, but I remember I was the freak of my class during the "Van de Graaff generator" experiment. When I was in the loop, nobody would get shocked. In the end, they made me sit out the experiments.

I think the reason this is affecting some people and not others is not a case of location, but a case of the person using it. I get signal loss on my UK iPhone 4 so I went back to the store and they had no idea what I was on about, they said their demo phone was fine. I try their demo phone, signal gone within 30 seconds. The store manager then went on to try my one I'd been experiencing the issue with, nothing happened.

I think this is caused dependant on how conductive you happen to be, does anyone scientific have any idea if humans can be more or less conductive than one another?

 

[MatLu]

I do not believe this proves a thing, tho.
Imagine how many trolls voted?!

I don't doubt that a lot of trolls voted, but if you account for the in-denial fanboy vote, everything might even out.

Though I agree, this poll will prove very little no matter what the results are. And why is there even an "I don't own an iPhone" option? How is that relevant to the issue?

 

[ndriver182]

Ditto for me (mostly.) Where I live in South Pasadena, I had always had 4 bars on my 3G; with the iPhone 4, no matter how I hold it, full 5 bars (even when cupping it with two hands!) So the external antenna improves the signal and holding it however which way doesn't affect it when you have a fairly solid signal to begin with.

I did go to an area in Arcadia (where my friend lives) that I knew had bad reception and once I got there I had only 2 to 3 bars; when I held the phone in the bottom left corner (like I did at home with no affect) it did drop down to 1 bar. So it definitely depends on if you have a strong signal to begin with and it is not isolated to the iPhone 4 only; my Arcadia friend has the original iPhone and her's jumps around from 1 to 3 bars and almost always drops the call when we are talking. Same thing happened to her with her Razr she used to have and to her neighbor's iPhone 3G. So if you have a bad signal, you will have a bad signal...

I can confirm what you're saying. However, I want to make a slight edit for my situation. In my apartment I get 5 bars when holding the phone and not shorting the antenna, but if I short it, then it drops all the way from 5 to one. That being said, I have to go out of my way to do this. On the other hand, at work (about 25 miles from my apartment) I get 5 bars and I can hold the phone and cup/grab/cover it in any way you could imagine and the thing doesn't budge from 5 bars.

I live in Ventura, CA and work in Thousand Oaks, CA.

 

[bushido]

this non-issue is so over exposed in the news its getting redic

maybe it's just me but i had to try really hard and even looked into "instruction" to get my iPhone 4 to lose signal

 

[ski1ski1]

Three days ago, I drove from Santa Cruz to Carmel attempting to chat with my fiancee. Four dropped calls on 3GS.

Yesterday, same exact drive, perfect clarity. In fact, I looked at my iPhone 4 every spot that had dropped a call previously, five bars in three spots, four bars in the last.

You obviously don't know the other factors that affect dropped calls. One of the main reasons a dropped call can occur is because during a cell phone switch to another tower, the new tower doesn't have enough bandwidth at the time to handle your call. This along with numerous other causes for dropped calls make your test worthless. And nobody is saying the iPhone 4 doesn't have better reception *at times*. The issue is that if you hold the iPhone 4 at the antenna seam, a place many people naturally hold their phone, signal quality is greatly reduced.

 

[tomitom]

No issue in UES new york

i have been playing with the phone around NYC everywhere i can think off including the empire stated building and the only time i lost ONE bar was in the elevator

i tried holding the phone in any way waiting up to 2 minutes in some position and NO LOSS OF BARS

is something wrong with my iphone should i ask for a replacement to the dancing bars version

 

[firewood]

It is more important to have a dependable phone in case of emergencies than to have extra bells and whistles.[/B]

My iPhone 4 gives me 1 or 2 more bars than my 3GS did if I hold it by the top. So in an emergency it is more likely to give me coverage when far from the nearest cell tower.

And if I lay it on the ground in speakerphone mode while giving someone CPR, my hand won't be blocking the antenna gap near the bottom.

 

[rhanley]

this non-issue is so over exposed in the news its getting redic

maybe it's just me but i had to try really hard and even looked into "instruction" to get my iPhone 4 to lose signal

Just because it's a non-issue for you, doesn't mean that's the case for all. I hold my phone as I've always had and the call drops.. I have to continually remember to change my hand position on the phone when I'm on a call -- usually it starts getting really choppy before it drops, so if I'm quick enough, i can keep from losing the call, but this is most definitely a serious issue for me, and I will revert to an older iphone if a case (which I've had to purchase) doesn't resolve the issue for me.

It's hard to change your phone holding position that you've used for 3+ years...

 

[jeff33702]

I have some other evidence that points to a potential hardware issue. Working on video now.

I had my phone replaced this morning - they gave me 0 problems doing this. I've felt that my phone is worse than others because when even gingerly touched in the bottom left corner, all data ceases to transmit and the call is dropped. This didn't occur in the Apple store but they said that they have an actual AT&T repeater IN the store (it was over my head!). It does occur at my home in St. Petersburg, FL.

FYI - I wanted to just return the phone this AM - but they convinced me to give it another try with the new phone. It wasn't hard to convince me because I LOVED my old 3GS and I really don't want to get a different phone. All of the complaining that I do on here is for no other reason than I want my phone to work.

I'll be back soon - probably start a new thread to discuss the video.

Here it is:


Make sure you LISTEN to this video. Note the progress bar in Safari and how it moves in conjunction with the antennae being touched.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzn8QhrYIvI


I've been having a horrible time with my iPhone 4. The Apple store even replaced it this morning and the new phone has the same issue (thank you Apple store, you were 0 problems and I believe you're trying!). If you touch the phone on the bottom left (bridging the two antennae) while on a call or the internet, data stops instantly and calls are dropped.

I placed the phone near some desktop speakers so that you could hear the interference typically heard when cell phones transmit data. When I touch the phone, you can actually hear AND see the data stop transmitting. I refreshed a website that I frequent and as it loaded you can see the progress bar pause and start as I touch and release the phone. This isn't a death grip of any kind. I and many others cradle the phone in their left hand while typing with the right - which is going to make this problem occur.

In all fairness, I could not create this problem in Tampa this morning, but at various St. Petersburg, FL locations, it was 100% repeatable - leading me to believe some of the other information coming out that indicates it might have something to do with the towers that you are currently using.

Either way, it seems clear that if you are near a "problem" tower or don't have the STRONGEST signal to begin with, the signal drops/shorts to a point where you can not make a call or receive 3G data when this spot is touched.

So this is two different phones, same exact problem.

 

[Ori]

I've been watching the problem and peoples reaction here on the forums and obviously there is a problem. I have tested my new iphone 4 here in the UK and if I do hold it in the most natural way in my left hand I get a loss of 3G connectivity from 5 bars. This isn't right and while I have a choice to make on wether to return the product or keep it. I refuse to put a band around it as I have always had my iPhones naked.
What I do not know is if this issue is common place in other phones.

Saying all that, I have never had a problem browsing as my hand doesn't stay in the same place while browsing and my grip is different if I am only using my thumb to browse. (my grip changes and doesn't bridge the contacts)

So my choice is the same. Either change the way I hold my very expensive phone or take it back. I don't think Apple will address this issue until the next model next year where they will quietly change the antennae layout.

Ps. I'm right handed. I use my right hand to touch the screen like Mr Jobs did in his presentation.

 

[1984]

It has nothing to do with location. It has to do with electrical conductivity of the body or electrical capacitance in the skin. Everyone's body is different. Also, people also have different size hands. Someone with smaller hands would be less likely to cover up the two antennas with the skin of their palm or their fingers.

Starting with a strong signal with a consistent 5 bars, when I hold it in my left hand to use the screen I am holding it normally by the way the skin below my thumb partially covers the two antennas and it will drop down to 1 bar over the course of about 20 seconds. (In a location where I only have 1 or 2 bars to begin with holding it will result in a complete loss of service) Holding it abnormally so that this antenna dividing area of the phone is sticking out and therefor in the clear results in it surging back to 5 bars in about 10 seconds but this is an awkward way of holding as it is practically slipping out of the hand at this point. I have tried this dozens of times to rule out it being a coincidence.

I have also tested this with six different people using my iPhone. The signal dropped from 5 bars down to 1 for two of them, from 5 bars down to 3 for one of them and no change for the remaining two.

 

[gkarris]

I'm wondering if it is specific to a single carrier. Anybody overseas in a mult-carrier iPhone country?

 

[-aggie-]

I don't doubt that a lot of trolls voted, but if you account for the in-denial fanboy vote, everything might even out.

Though I agree, this poll will prove very little no matter what the results are. And why is there even an "I don't own an iPhone" option? How is that relevant to the issue?

+1. This poll shows absolutely nothing, so why did they even do it? So, we got 28% yes and 24% no for the U.S. Based on the “no” answers, one could mistakenly assume 76% have the issue. All we really know is that of the 12,000 or so that answered the forum for the U.S., around 7,000 said yes and 5,000 said no. Who knows how many looked at the poll and thought “meh” or for that matter, didn’t even see the poll.