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This is amazing to watch. The amount of sheer hysteria over being able to reproduce an undesirable behavior that's existed virtually unbemoaned in previous generations of the phone. The examples of the Nexus One, the older iPhone, and the old Nokia are good ones, but its not convincing for people who think their phone should not behave negatively in ANY circumstance.

I just tried to reproduce the problem for a few minutes without success. I'm thinking my hands need to be a little sweatier or maybe the humidity in my area needs to be higher. It's unfortunate that people think this is something worth getting uptight about. I'm going to put my bumper back on and ignore this entire conversation for the foreseeable future.

Whenever someone brings it up to me, I pledge to say, "Oh, yes... that sounds awful. You shouldn't get the phone then." When they ask if this happens with me, I will simply respond, "No." If they then say, "Don't you think it needs to be fixed?" And I'll respond, "Here, try it on my phone." And we'll play it all out in a practical way.

~ CB

Another "Mine's fine, you're overreacting." Thanks.
 
There IS a reason I am getting a replacement phone. Certainly, I wouldn't make the time and effort to get another phone with the same problem. Apple support says an early batch of phones shipped without a non-conductive coating on the SS band. Later shipments are not having the dropped signal issue.
Thanks for the info. I hope this corrects your "non-issue." :D

("Non-issue" not my words, but the words of many iSheep in this thread.)
 
That's a pretty callous answer. You shouldn't have to hold your phone a certain way to use it. I don't have a smartphone, but I do have a less than year old Verizon LG ENV3. I can hold it without losing signal. However, I do have a Verizon network extender in my apt, so that may have something to do with it.
 
I just didn't like the way the resonse came out from Steve J. That would be like going to McD's and getting a partially cooked burger and being told it's still a good burger, throw it in the microwave for a bit and it'll be fine.

When the iphone4 MAJOR feature is the new attennas, and now reception is worse when I hold it, shouldn't be considered "normal".
 
My wife currently owns a 3GS. We are relatively happy with it and I was thinking about buying a new iPhone 4 for myself.

Thanks to the wonderful people on these forums who have shared their problems via video, and the crass response Jobs and Apple has given to this design flaw... I am not going to buy an iPhone 4.

Currently I am going to wait to see how the Droid X fairs with reviewers and early adopters. If it doesn't do well I'll get an Incredible.

My brother has an Incredible and I have to admit it is a sweet phone. My brother bought a better battery for it and it runs for several hours without any problems.

I do like Apple's UI a little better and the fact that most things "just work" but this new phone doesn't appear to be one of those things.

Posts like this really show me that ignorance is bliss. First, help yourself, if you don't want to go for the iPhone 4 then don't but make it sound like your punishing Apple, they already have your money from the current iPhone plus a portion of the monthly recurring charge your paying.
You play around with your brothers Incredible phone and already you have an opinion that it's a sweet phone. Yeah, news flash, that happens with people that play around with their friend's iPhone, they think they are a sweet phone, haven't heard any issues because they don't care about tech news and think the iPhone is "Perfect".
You're short-sighted if you think leaving Apple for a Droid or an Incredible phone will solve your problems. Droid has issues just like the iPhone and any other tech product.
Do yourself a favor and just wait a couple of months and these issues will be corrected. This is the second day since the iPhone was released and already you're convinced it's junk based on the problems that "Arrogant Apple won't address. :rolleyes:

Sometimes I wonder if people write these" I'm leaving Apple for another company's product" posts for therapy? You won't sway people here with posts like this. Not with the hundreds of people waiting in lines around the world for the last 2 days for the iPhone 4. Are people doing this for the Droid? Would people do this for the Droid?
 
Starting to sound like this is more of a production issue with some phones rather than a design/engineering issue with all the phones, otherwise the problem would be universal.
 
Posts like this really show me that ignorance is bliss. First, help yourself, if you don't want to go for the iPhone 4 then don't but make it sound like your punishing Apple, they already have your money from the current iPhone plus a portion of the monthly recurring charge your paying.
You play around with your brothers Incredible phone and already you have an opinion that it's a sweet phone. Yeah, will news flash, that happens with people that play around with their friend's iPhone, they think they are a sweet phone, haven't heard any issues because they don't care about tech news and think the iPhone is "Perfect".
You're short-sighted if you think leaving Apple for a Droid or an Incredible phone will solve your problems. Droid has issues just like the iPhone and any other tech product.
Do yourself a favor and just a couple of months and these issues will be corrected. This is the second day since the iPhone was released and already you're convinced it's junk based on the problems that "Arrogant Apple won't address. :rolleyes:

Sometimes I wonder if people write these" I'm leaving Apple for another company's product" posts for therapy? You won't sway people here with posts like this. Not with the hundreds of people waiting in lines around the world for the last 2 days for the iPhone 4. Are people doing this for the Droid? Would people do this for the Droid?

Dear me you sound so bitter at the fact people might want another phone that isn't an iPhone. Get real mate, you sound like a pathetic fanboy who is getting annoyed that people are not buying an apple product.
 
It is an issue of ignorance, nothing more.

my 2G, 3G and 3Gs DO NOT experience this.

I guess the issue is a design flaw with our hands, since the iPhone is PERFECT:confused:

I don't mean for that subject title to be unkind but to state literially that the problem revolves around people being technically illiterate when it comes to RF communications. The fact is the electromagnetic field generated by a transmitting device is impacted by the surrounding environment. It is just a fact of life.

As to iPhone 4 it is no more flawed than any other cell phone or device with an RF transmitter. At times the operator has to use his intelligence to optimize local conditions. It is no different than one adjusting his TV antenna to maximum signal strength and minimal multipath for local conditions.

In this case Jobs is correct hold the unit so you optimize local conditions. Really folks this is a case of unreasonable expectations feed by technical illiteracy. An antenna is an antenna be it on a cell phone or a TV or a two way radio. They will and do interact with the surrounding environment.



Dave
 
I would agree, a phone that doesn't make calls is defintely not something to complain about. Also, have you seen the bumpers apple made? I hear they are nice, and $30 is a pretty cheap price to get a $300 phone to make calls.
 
The common factor is AT&T

People on AT&T seem to be able to reproduce this problem but I cannot on Fido in Canada. It seems that there might be a bug in the iOS 4 release which incorrectly displays signal strength and possibly does not correctly select the best tower in areas with a weak signal.

The most I was able to do was bring my 3GS running iOS 4 down by one bar to 4 bars from 5 on the Fido network in BC.

As others have suggested, try holding it in the other hand or try holding it with fingers across the back rather than against your palm.
 
Exactly, from a different location you would see each device behave differently.

Are you sure? I was skeptical about buying the new iphone alter all this, but was amazed when I picked up my BlackBerry Bold 9700 and it did exactly the same thing, I just never noticed it. Seems like all cell phones behave that way, as I also tried it with a Friend’s Android device.

Yep. How each of those phones would behave someplace else is very depedent on where that place is with respect to the devices cell tower, the person holding it and the surrounding environment.



Dave
 

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Let's see

To all the people on NOT having signal issues. Where are the video to prove it. I have yet to see a video where the lower left corner is bridged and the signal not be affected. Mine goes to searching And then no service every time..
 
Doesn't makes calls, but it's the thinnest smartphone in the world. Stop complaining.

Correction: Doesn't make calls SOME of the time, but it's the thinnest COOLEST smartphone in the world WITH THE BEST SCREEN EVER, AND UI. Stop complaining.

If you bought it and don't like it, just return it and move on, stop bitching and moaning waiting for a fix so that you can still have the coolest phone around. If you have yet to buy it, just don't. Period.
 
Dear me you sound so bitter at the fact people might want another phone that isn't an iPhone. Get real mate, you sound like a pathetic fanboy who is getting annoyed that people are not buying an apple product.


Firstly, I could care less about who buys what from Apple. They've made more money in one hour than I've ever spent in my life. I don't get threatened by people switching to something else. But instead of telling us (like anybody cares), just do it.

Better to sound like a pathetic fanboy than to sound like a pathetic hater since you've resulted to childish name calling. :rolleyes:
 
Please go away, Apple doesn't need customers that make knee jerk decisions.

My wife currently owns a 3GS. We are relatively happy with it and I was thinking about buying a new iPhone 4 for myself.
That is nice.
Thanks to the wonderful people on these forums who have shared their problems via video, and the crass response Jobs and Apple has given to this design flaw... I am not going to buy an iPhone 4.
This isn't so nice. First you are making a decision based on the ignorance of a lit of people in this forum. Second what you are calling a design flaw is at this time an open question. I can tell you one thing though, the so called problems being described in this forum are experienced by every cell phone ever made. Every phone will show signal strength variations as it is moved around and handled.

It is the nature of RF devices.
Currently I am going to wait to see how the Droid X fairs with reviewers and early adopters. If it doesn't do well I'll get an Incredible.
Then why post here? If some idiot post videos on the net of signal strength variations, on either of those devices, will you run to yet another product?
My brother has an Incredible and I have to admit it is a sweet phone. My brother bought a better battery for it and it runs for several hours without any problems.
Incredibly the phone isn't even in the same league.
I do like Apple's UI a little better and the fact that most things "just work" but this new phone doesn't appear to be one of those things.

And just what do you base that point of view on? I hope it isn't videos of signal strength variations as such videos can be made with any cell phone.

I actually don't care if you buy a different cell phone, the problem is doing so on a baseless reason. Worst is offering up that reasoning as a fact.

Dave
 
Try this nifty trick. Put your iP4 on its side, volume buttons up. Now lay a nickel across the bottom seam. Went from 5 bars to 1 bar in about 30 seconds. This is sad, but I am confident Apple will make it right. Think about the iMac 27". Anyone with a screen problem have any problem getting it fixed???
NOPE.


Oh, by the way, I can not accept a call with the 1 bar.
 
That is nice.

This isn't so nice. First you are making a decision based on the ignorance of a lit of people in this forum. Second what you are calling a design flaw is at this time an open question. I can tell you one thing though, the so called problems being described in this forum are experienced by every cell phone ever made. Every phone will show signal strength variations as it is moved around and handled.

It is the nature of RF devices.

Then why post here? If some idiot post videos on the net of signal strength variations, on either of those devices, will you run to yet another product?

Incredibly the phone isn't even in the same league.


And just what do you base that point of view on? I hope it isn't videos of signal strength variations as such videos can be made with any cell phone.

I actually don't care if you buy a different cell phone, the problem is doing so on a baseless reason. Worst is offering up that reasoning as a fact.

Dave

Excellent post! Thank you!! Exactly everything I said earlier to this same poster. :)
 
it is disheartening...

... to see all these people conflating the expectable attenuation of signal strength by having a mass near any phone with the ability to 'short out' the antenna by touching the case in this particular phone.

Are they really ignorant that there is a different, phone specific issue involved here? Like the previous post suggest, turn it on its side, and put the smallest bit of conductive material you have bridging the case gap on the bottom left side - you will get the signal reduction. Are people really trying to say that if you put the same mass on one of these 'every other' cell phones you would see a similar reduction in signal strength?

This is a design flaw of this particular phone and trying to confuse it with the general signal attenuation of all phones is just confusing the issue. Please  screwed up, let them fix it, don't try and rationalize why they shouldn't have to.
 


Several readers have pointed out that, as per Steve Jobs statement, other mobile phones also suffer from similar signal degradation while being held tightly. In fact, a support thread for Google's Nexus One described a very similar issue back in February:Another user filmed this video of his Nokia 6230 showing the same phenomenon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_RP7Fn1w8Q

Apple's official response is that this is "normal" for any mobile phone:
Obviously, depending on your natural hand position while using the iPhone this may or may not be easily avoidable. Another simple solution that has been said to work is placing some sort of tape on the bottom portion of the iPhone 4's antenna which should prevent the antenna bridging when holding the phone.

Article Link: Other Mobile Phones with Similar Signal Loss Issues

And your point is? In my honest opinion and correct me if I'm wrong. They knew that this would be an issue, but tried to costume it..Thats why Im pissed. Dont say how superior your way of getting a signal and forget to say hey with this design dont put your hands here....lol...wow
 
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