One Possible iPhone 4 Antenna Fix With Mixed Results

[Macmel]

1) Wasn't it clear that the problem has to do with bridging the antennas?

2) Didn't Apple and Jobs acknowledge the problem and said that it was normal as in many other phones?

3) Didn't Apple and Jobs suggested that people should get a rubber case to solve the problem.

4) All of the above being said, why don't you stop playing with the SIM and buy a F..ng case por almost nothing?. Expect the problem solved for rev B, but not for this one.

 

[Big Fat Lies!]

For what it's worth, I wanted to relay this story...

I have not experienced the signal loss problem many others have, but a few days after taking delivery of my phone indeed I did. It really seems to be location specific, as I cannot replicate the issue in Midtown Manhattan of all places, yet I can 50% of the time at home in Queens.

Now, just for yucks,, while "death gripping" the phone and watching my bars slowly tick away into oblivion, I switched Airplane Mode on and then off again, just enough to kill the cell signal and have it reacquired immediately. Wouldn't you know it, they came back full 5, and there was no looking back!

I read something about the new iOS in the iPhone using a different method of which frequency band it chooses and which tower it locks on to, looking for the least traffic as opposed to the strongest signal. Have you ever had full bars and lousy reception and/or dropped calls? This new feature is supposed to alleviate that phenomenon.

This may or may not work for anyone else, and may not be a long term fix, but if anyone here can try it and report your own findings it might be beneficial. The one thing that I take from my experiment is that perhaps it is indeed a software issue after all and not the world's biggest hardware design blunder in the history of electronics, by the world's most savvy tech corporation that ever was...

...or maybe the chorus of Internet nerds is smarter.

I can confirm this result. I gave my iPhone the old death-grip and watched the signal-strength life drain from it glass-encased heart. While still holding it I placed it in Airplane mode for about 15 seconds and then turned off Airplane mode and much to my amazement it's silicon heart strarted beating again and all bars returned. Not only did the bars return but I was able to confirm the robustness of this with the Speedtest app which showed the following:

Test Date: Jun 30, 2010 6:25:05 AM
Connection Type: Cellular

Download: 1532 kbps
Upload: 937 kbps
Ping: 300 ms

I do have to add that this test was conducted on a train heading from NJ to NY so I get pretty crappy connections to begin with. This may indeed be resolvable through software. And the problem may indeed be more complex and subtle then most people think. Who knew?

 

[whooleytoo]

I think it would be interesting to do test in steps:

1) Hold the iPhone in the death grip and see how long it takes to lose the signal (perhaps 3 times).
2) Remove and replace the SIM card, and repeat the above test (3 times). This verifies if merely powering down the phone and taking out the SIM is enough to give a temporary fix.
3) Remove the SIM card and apply the tape, and test again (3 times).
4) Wait a few hours, and test again (3 times).

(And yes, I am lazy. I am asking a lot. And I would do this myself if I had an iPhone 4 already )

 

[orange.x]

Let's face it for once and for all...
iPhone 4 has an epic design flaw... and that's it... the antenna, which was supposed to revolutionise the design of mobiles , is a big failure.

Apple thought it could teach something to Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola or HTC... but it failed badly

I don't have an iPhone 4, but since it's not a 100% failure on all the devices you just can't say it's a design flaw. You can only say it when the problem is found, and then IF it IS a design flaw, jep.... THEN it's a design flaw. But simply saying that it is is just not true.

 

[markcres]

I don't know if this helps..but as my reception bars were dropping (holding the phone in the 'death grip' manner), I starting stroking my cat...and all of a sudden the full 5 bars appeared. I then took my hand off the now purring pusscat and the bars start dropping sequentially like a dramatic '24 Jack Bauer' bomb explosion countdown sequence.

I now have to find a way of carrying my cat in a rucksack everywhere I go, in case I need to make a phone call. For all that...it is still a magical device that changes everything...again !

 

[Popeye206]

My own Curiosity - worked for me!

Okay.... I had to try this as I've been getting poor reception and tons of dropped calls.

I took a small strip of electrical tape and put it on the suspect edge. Now, I was getting 1-2 bars before I did this in the chair I'm sitting in now. Now I have full 5 bars.

First impression is: it made a huge difference for me. But we will see if it lasts.

Personally... I think it's a software problem more than anything and that the process of resetting the card just resets things and it will degrade again. But right now... I'm excited to see 5 bars!!!!!

 

[G5isAlive]

Science is not bad

Why is everyone trying to make a scientific study out of it. It's like when people complain that their iMacs have a yellow spot, or their iPod doesn't turn on. The response is NOT "well, I don't believe it's a real problem, we need a randomized controlled multicenter study to see if it's real."

Not everything needs a scientific study for it to be real.

I agree the problem is varied and somewhat vague, but there are clear extremes of examples of problems (signal stopping cold with a touch). You can't simply ignore all the evidence under some bastardized call for "science".

arn

You may not need a scientific study for it to be real, but you do need quantitative measurements to correctly identify what the cause is (not the symptom) so that it can be properly fixed. And in the example you state, no one questions that someone's iMac has a yellow spot except if that person tries to insist we ALL have yellow spots when clearly some of us do not, and then MacRumors perpetuates the yellow spot for everyone rumor over and over and over.
Those that actually know something about cell phone antennas have already stated watching bars is not an accurate measure. 99% of what I read on this topic is pure anecdotal, reading tea leaves. If I stare at my phone long enough the bars fluctuate in areas of bad signal. So is it my blinking that is causing it?
We now have people going into their phones and cutting sim cards. Does anyone really think this is a good idea? People are getting desperate because they have convinced themselves watching bars is meaningful.
In the meantime, there is a solution that everyone agrees fixes the problem and actually protects their glass iPhone too. It's called a case. Most of the phones I see on the street already have one. So why are people desperate enough to cut their sim cards not getting one?
MacRumors has been hijacked by this issue. I feel for people who have it, but to the majority of us that do not have this problem, either because they haven't seen it to begin with or elect to get cases, yes, we would like to see a little more science and a lot less bar watching.

 

[zacman]

When you hold the iPhone 4 naturally, you lose almost 20dB (3GS lost 2dB). Even in an open palm the iPhone 4 loses 10 dB, while the 3GS only loses 0.2dB. All results based on the iOs 4.0 firmware.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review/2

 

[arn]

And in the example you state, no one questions that someone's iMac has a yellow spot except if that person tries to insist we ALL have yellow spots when clearly some of us do not, and then MacRumors perpetuates the yellow spot for everyone rumor over and over and over.

No one is saying everyone has yellow spots, or that everyone has the signal problem.

arn

 

[anthdci]

tried it on my week 24 iPhone4 and it made no difference. But I have to really grip and wait awhile for the signal to start dropping.

 

[Popeye206]

In the meantime, there is a solution that everyone agrees fixes the problem and actually protects their glass iPhone too. It's called a case. Most of the phones I see on the street already have one. So why are people desperate enough to cut their sim cards not getting one?.

I have to disagree.... I have a case. Had one from the get go and I was having poor reception. I do think there may be something to this. If you look at the SIM card, it barely touches the tray and I think that was shorting something out internally, or soaking the signal (for lack of more technical speak).

With a small strip of electrical tape to keep the metal part of the SIM from touching the tray I now have 5 bars where I had 1-2 before.

Again... I had a case and was dropping calls like crazy where I never had calls dropped. I've worked out of my house for 3 years with an iPhone and this one has been the worst for reception. But we will see... a day or two of use will tell me if this works. But again... if I look at my phone now... 5 bars... so far, so good.

 

[Idleratchet]

Looks like it worked for me

I was sceptic when I first read this but I tried it and it seemed to have worked. I tried a broadband test afterward and have gotten the best results yet.

 

[wovel]

This is getting to the point of lore now. Does the phase of the moon matter when you reinsert the SIM card too?

All the testing so far (even before the "fix") has been subjective and open to inumerable unaccountable variables. It has been lore since Gizmodo "broke" the story and in the same post Lam said the iPhone finally works from his house and he made 3 hours of calls without issue. (the part of the story most everyone ignores)

Could this cause a problem? Who knows.. We don't know if there is a problem. Maybe the sim cars was screwing up the proximity sensor!

That's fitting. Voodoo fix for a voodoo problem...

You just described this entire issue in one word.

 

[FFArchitect]

No change here.

 

[wovel]

I can confirm this result. I gave my iPhone the old death-grip and watched the signal-strength life drain from it glass-encased heart. While still holding it I placed it in Airplane mode for about 15 seconds and then turned off Airplane mode and much to my amazement it's silicon heart strarted beating again and all bars returned. Not only did the bars return but I was able to confirm the robustness of this with the Speedtest app which showed the following:

Test Date: Jun 30, 2010 6:25:05 AM
Connection Type: Cellular

Download: 1532 kbps
Upload: 937 kbps
Ping: 300 ms

I do have to add that this test was conducted on a train heading from NJ to NY so I get pretty crappy connections to begin with. This may indeed be resolvable through software. And the problem may indeed be more complex and subtle then most people think. Who knew?

Would have been good to run the speed test before and during to, but it is interesting. I also think it might be a better test sitting still.

 

[Max(IT)]

thanks to the people who have no life other than standing in a line for iphone - apple has become arrogant. like i said apple can sell brick for 500$ .. they just did. iphone is a brick. why are people still lining up .. they dont know the news maybe because they are obviously insane , i pity them.

And your point is?

I know, I know ....
You hate Apple so much and you do have to join the forum just to let us know.

 

[Lesser Evets]

The problem is not consistent between phones, thus there is some kind of manufacturing fault in some part. It's just a matter of time before they figure it out properly, unless you believe this is a case of pure magic.

Doesn't seem to be stopping sales of the phone by the millions.

And your point is?

I know, I know ....
You hate Apple so much and you do have to join the forum just to let us know.

Precisely.

 

[TroyBoy30]

Does adjusting or trimming the iPhone 4's micro SIM fix the antenna issue? Probably not.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/30/does-trimming-the-iphone-4s-micro-sim-fix-the-antenna-issue-pr/

 

[jclardy]

I like how some people are calling this 'voodoo' when it is the same thing as holding the phone on the bottom left.

In both cases, electric contacts are being bridged by a conductor.

I don't have any electric tape at the moment so I can't try this myself, but if you are dismissing the problem as a 'hardware issue' then you have to take the fact that the sim contacts are also touching metal into account, considering the sim card stores information about the network.

Also can someone tell me why bridging the antennas at the top of my phone does nothing, while the bottom left corner loses signal? Also, why can I reproduce the effect with a bumper case on?


The 'issue' doesn't affect me in daily use, but some people seem to think they know everything about the problem, but they simply do not, they only know what they can see.

 

[jeff33702]

A good way to quantitatively judge the effectiveness of any "fix" is to download the Speedtest.net app and then turn off wifi. I am able to completely halt any upload activity while gripping the left.

^^^yep - you can hear and see the data stop in this video. Easy to say "don't hold it like that" - but most right-handed people cradle the phone in their left hand when browsing the internet...which will bridge that spot on the phone causing NO internet. lame.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzn8QhrYIvI


I'm happy that this isn't an issue for some people... but I'll tell you - it's not an issue for me most places that I travel around town. A few places, including my home, the problem is very real and it acts like a different phone.

The problem is not consistent between phones, thus there is some kind of manufacturing fault in some part. It's just a matter of time before they figure it out properly, unless you believe this is a case of pure magic.

Doesn't seem to be stopping sales of the phone by the millions.



Precisely.

In my experience, it IS consistent between phones. I had a pre-order phone and now I've exchanged it at the Apple store - same issues. People are ignoring the fact that all of these people who's phones are working correctly are NOT in the same location as someone who has a problem. It's location related, in my experience.

 

[spiritlevel]

In the meantime, there is a solution that everyone agrees fixes the problem and actually protects their glass iPhone too. It's called a case.

Wrong. Plenty of people are still experiencing the problem with a case/bumper. Apple are aware of this and that is why they only say it "might" help, not it "will" help.

The problem is not consistent between phones

Wrong. It is consistent between phones. There is a thread currently running to 14 pages which challenges anyone to provide proof of 2 iPhone 4s exhibiting different behaviour in the same location (1 suffering from the reception issue, the other not). No one has been able to.

The fact is, every single iPhone 4 is flawed and all IP4s will behave the same way in the same place. Some people just haven't realised this yet because they have not been to a location with lower signal strength yet. It's only a matter of time before they do.

 

[LondonCentral]

I have a feeling this situation will rage on for another 12 months until we get the iPhone 5, at which point we'll most likely have a whole set of new niggles to iron out.

 

[stanley125]

the electrical tape works

I was not wiling to cut my sim card but i tried the electrical tape and i went from 2 bars to all 5 bars. Holding it does decrease to 3 bars but it's better than no bars. thanks for the tip

 

[Plutonius]

Tested this theory here, not good results.

I took a tiny strip of Scotch tape and insulated that edge that is "touching," no difference observed. (Still drops bars when "gripped" and still can halt upload speeds with the speedtest.net app)

Also, that micro sim tray looks painted on the area where the sim's contacts would touch.

Do not use scotch tape. Use electrical tape.

 

[Steviejobz]

Financial news outlets picking this up now. Nice work people!

http://www.mysmartrend.com/news-bri...le-fix-found-apple-iphone-4-signal-issue-aapl