New form factor - better signal strength?

[wjlafrance]

Hey guys,

Several months ago, I bought an iPhone and put down my school as my primary usage location, despite the fact that AT&T said iPhone wasn't available in my area. I looked at their 3G coverage map and I'm good on that, so I figured, whatever - I can return it.

I got home with my shiny new phone. I had two bars of EDGE in my drive way, no service throughout most of my house, and one bar for brief periods in window sills, etc. My point is, there's ALMOST service in my house.

It's no secret the previous iPhones were riddled with poor antenna engineering. With the new case being an antenna itself, what are my chances of actually getting signal?

Thanks.

 

[lorenwade]

Hey guys,

Several months ago, I bought an iPhone and put down my school as my primary usage location, despite the fact that AT&T said iPhone wasn't available in my area. I looked at their 3G coverage map and I'm good on that, so I figured, whatever - I can return it.

I got home with my shiny new phone. I had two bars of EDGE in my drive way, no service throughout most of my house, and one bar for brief periods in window sills, etc. My point is, there's ALMOST service in my house.

It's no secret the previous iPhones were riddled with poor antenna engineering. With the new case being an antenna itself, what are my chances of actually getting signal?

Thanks.

I would say greatly higher. I wouldn't be so quick to blame the phone though either. There are many variables that could cause that situation.

Either way, the entire design of the phone was based around it being an antenna. I expect it to be a signifcant difference from previous models.

 

[Michael CM1]

I can almost never get a call through in my bedroom. I go to my den and it usually sometimes almost works. I walk into the back yard and can usually get 2 or 3 bars. Ah, the bloody awesomeness of semi-rural living. If the iPhone 4 doesn't improve this, I may have to break down and get one of those AT&T MicroCells. I would hate paying more for just getting phone service, but it's hard to rely on spotty reception as your only phone. I have a landline for stuff like emergencies, but damn.

 

[wjlafrance]

I can almost never get a call through in my bedroom. I go to my den and it usually sometimes almost works. I walk into the back yard and can usually get 2 or 3 bars. Ah, the bloody awesomeness of semi-rural living. If the iPhone 4 doesn't improve this, I may have to break down and get one of those AT&T MicroCells. I would hate paying more for just getting phone service, but it's hard to rely on spotty reception as your only phone. I have a landline for stuff like emergencies, but damn.

I don't have a landline (still live with my parents), and I can't even get a MicroCell because I have satellite internet (epic latency, limited bandwidth / day). I'm sort of worried about getting / returning another iPhone, since it might affect my credit.

 

[Jemi9OD]

I'd see if anybody you know locally is going to get an iPhone 4, and if so, if they'd be willing to either come to your house to test signal strength once they get it, or let you borrow it. (Probably the former, hehe)

That's how I tested the iPhone 3G signal strength at our house - Alltel's signal is really bad here, so I wanted to know if AT&T's was any better. I borrowed a coworker's iPhone for lunch and took it home with me and tested it at various points in the house. AT&T was a clear winner where I live.

 

[LFSimon]

...I had two bars of EDGE in my drive way, no service throughout most of my house, and one bar for brief periods in window sills, etc. My point is, there's ALMOST service in my house....

have you considered getting a Microcell? http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/why/3gmicrocell/

 

[kdarling]

A while back I found what I think could be the patent application (not under Apple's name) for this antenna.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20100007564.pdf

It doesn't claim that it's better at anything except saving space. And that the bezel can add case strength to prevent breakage when dropped.

Interestingly, one of its variations is electrically bridging isolated bezel sections to accomodate different frequency ranges, although the iPhone probably doesn't use that.

 

[thelatinist]

It doesn't claim that it's better at anything except saving space. And that the bezel can add case strength to prevent breakage when dropped.

Still, the iPhone 4's antennas are clearly larger than the antennas on previous versions. It seems reasonable to think that they might get better reception.

 

[-aggie-]

A while back I found what I think could be the patent application (not under Apple's name) for this antenna.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20100007564.pdf

It doesn't claim that it's better at anything except saving space. And that the bezel can add case strength to prevent breakage when dropped.

Interestingly, one of its variations is electrically bridging isolated bezel sections to accomodate different frequency ranges, although the iPhone probably doesn't use that.

It doesn’t claim anything, but does point out how it can improve antenna efficiency.

[0006] A typical antenna may be fabricated by patterning a
metal layer on a circuit board substrate or may be formed
from a sheet of thin metal using a foil stamping process. Many
devices use planar inverted-F antennas (PIFAs). Planar
inverted-F antennas are formed by locating a planar resonating
element above a ground plane. These techniques can be
used to produce antennas that fit within the tight confines of a
compact handheld device. With conventional handheld electronic
devices, however, design compromises are made to
accommodate compact antennas. These design compromises
may include, for example, compromises related to antenna
height above the ground plane, antenna efficiency, and
antenna bandwidth. Moreover, constraints are often placed on
the amount of metal that can be used in a handheld device and
on the location of metal parts. These constraints can adversely
affect device operation and device appearance.