You're right, guess I am just a little frustrated. My attitude was mostly directed ata previous poster about my nickel thing, not distortedloop. The nickel was simply to show that it was the continuity between the to antennas causing the problem, rather that some of the other suggestions like pressure of grip etc. I am very confident Apple will have a reasonable solution shortly. My guess is there will be some sort of exchange program to swap out defective units.
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Other Mobile Phones with Similar Signal Loss Issues
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You're right, guess I am just a little frustrated. My attitude was mostly directed ata previous poster about my nickel thing, not distortedloop. The nickel was simply to show that it was the continuity between the to antennas causing the problem, rather that some of the other suggestions like pressure of grip etc. I am very confident Apple will have a reasonable solution shortly. My guess is there will be some sort of exchange program to swap out defective units.
Thanks for the defense, but I may have deserved it. I was a little snarky earlier about the nickel test concept. I don't think it proves much in the real world but I could have put it less sarcastically.
I think I was that previous poster. If so, I apologize for setting you off.
I have had the iphone 3GS for a year and I have never seen this crap happen. I went to my local Apple store yesterday and played around with the new iphone and the bars never dropped.
u guys are kidding right?
stop trolling
we have a phone that is problematic from the start and you want to just throw a piece of tape on it and call it a day?
is that how much loyalty you have - u must act as a coward to say to Apple - 'hey fix this!'
I haven't done any scientific tests but as soon as I got my iPhone 4 it showed no signal where my 3GS was showing 2-3 bars. When I heard about this issue I compared holding it in different ways and setting it down and I had full bars in most of the time. It appears to me that when the antenna isn't interfered with it may have better signal than 3GS but anytime I hold it it drops. I'll try my other 4 to compare when I get a chance. This seems to be a potential PR disaster for Apple. I'm hoping if it truly is an issue they step up and address it in a way that satisfies their customers. A subtle insulator that doesn't detract from the appearance might be enough. I'd hate to think we all need to use the bumpers.
It's hard to believe Apple could have not known about this problem but if they were always using those cases in the real world testing to disguise it then it would make more sense. But really. Does Apple not employ or contract with anyone who knows about cell phone antennas or antennas in general who voiced a theoretical worry about grounding out the signal with your hand? Makes you shake your head at this potential blunder.
It's hard to believe Apple could have not known about this problem but if they were always using those cases in the real world testing to disguise it then it would make more sense. But really. Does Apple not employ or contract with anyone who knows about cell phone antennas or antennas in general who voiced a theoretical worry about grounding out the signal with your hand? Makes you shake your head at this potential blunder.
Its not just the bars that are dropping
its the calls. A very non-tech friend who got his iPhone 4 yesterday just called me to ask if I was getting dropped calls? He had already figured out on his own that if he touched his phone the call was going to drop. He, like myself, had upgraded from a 3GS that rarely dropped calls.
I had a Expert call this afternoon and he didn't even bother going through the standard 'drone' steps - he said that all these problems have been kicked up to upper management, he apologized for the problem and said that everyone is working on figuring what's wrong and how to fix it. He said that they currently didn't think it was anything 'internal hardware' wrong with the phone but that touching the sides does seem to be leading to disconnects for many people. Asked me to be patient and will announce how they are going to fix this when they have a set solution.
Nice they didn't even try to deny it was happening and as a 30 year user I will be more than happy to give them a chance to fix this - as long as my 30 day return window remains wide open.
its the calls. A very non-tech friend who got his iPhone 4 yesterday just called me to ask if I was getting dropped calls? He had already figured out on his own that if he touched his phone the call was going to drop. He, like myself, had upgraded from a 3GS that rarely dropped calls.
I had a Expert call this afternoon and he didn't even bother going through the standard 'drone' steps - he said that all these problems have been kicked up to upper management, he apologized for the problem and said that everyone is working on figuring what's wrong and how to fix it. He said that they currently didn't think it was anything 'internal hardware' wrong with the phone but that touching the sides does seem to be leading to disconnects for many people. Asked me to be patient and will announce how they are going to fix this when they have a set solution.
Nice they didn't even try to deny it was happening and as a 30 year user I will be more than happy to give them a chance to fix this - as long as my 30 day return window remains wide open.
Nice they didn't even try to deny it was happening and as a 30 year user I will be more than happy to give them a chance to fix this - as long as my 30 day return window remains wide open.
I'd imagine that they'd go as far as extending the 30 day return window, due to these circumstances.
Let's hope that they come up with a fix, soon.
Well the current rumors are encouraging and make sense - if the cell phone's radio isn't properly trying to maintain a connecting to the tower when the signal degrades for whatever reason it would produce these symptoms and would be fixable with a software fix.
cuz I really do like the phone and its my precious regardless
Well the current rumors are encouraging and make sense - if the cell phone's radio isn't properly trying to maintain a connecting to the tower when the signal degrades for whatever reason it would produce these symptoms and would be fixable with a software fix.
cuz I really do like the phone and its my precious regardless
I bought a box of ruber gluves like doctors use.
When did this all the time hunt hidden transmitters, it is called a body fade. I can do it with an radio device including cellphones.
If it really freaks you out get one of those cheap stick on phone enhancers that looks like a printed circuit. It is an inductive antenna and they do work.
Better yet get a ham radio book on antenna design and RF theory. You will learn a lot and have the hottest wi-fi signal in town!
Well I ran the field test through my keypad on my 2 year old 3G and it seems that it's true that most phones are affected by gripping the handset withyour hand. I get a drop off of -15dBm when I hold it in my hand as compared to when it's just lying on the surface of my desk. When I'm viewing the signal strenth as a bar graph rather than a numerical value I typical see no change (full bars) whether I'm holding the set with my hand or not.
I don't believe all phones do this. No matter how I grab my Moto Droid the signal doesn't really change. I can cover the phone with both hands and the signal is still strong. I suppose antenna design matters most when it comes to these issues. Also CDMA seems more robust when it comes to signal passing through things so that might also be the reason I don't notice any signal loss on my phone.
People are just going to have to learn the proper way to hold the phone until they can get a cover over it or choose a different phone. Even if the phone is defective the best that Apple is going to do is give away free bumpers and release a firmware update that may or may not fix the issue. I doubt they are going to recall the phone and hand out new improved models.
People are just going to have to learn the proper way to hold the phone until they can get a cover over it or choose a different phone. Even if the phone is defective the best that Apple is going to do is give away free bumpers and release a firmware update that may or may not fix the issue. I doubt they are going to recall the phone and hand out new improved models.
If you take in the phone, demonstrate the problem, chances are they'll swap it with a brand new one.
They're good that way.
well all these people that suddenly love apple that hardly comment come out of the wood work just to throw their support.
btw i'm getting the iphone 4 - but it doesn't mean that i can't have issue with SJ's
I agree. Apple has always treated me well when it comes to issues. If your phone is going from full bars to zero just by holding it chances are you have a faulty phone and should get a replacement. A little signal loss is different from complete signal loss.
And you haven't bothered to return them for a sizable refund WHY!!
If it's broken from the start then return it for a refund. That's what consumer laws are about... Not difficult.
Jordan
Just another data point...
went out to an area with über AT&T coverage - I could hold the phone and it never dipped below 5 bars. I think the speculations are probably correct this is a compound problem:
1) the natural attenuation of signal when any cell phone is held,
2) the additional attenuation if the hand 'shorts' the iPhone 4 antenna, but most important,
3) the iPhone 4 iOS 4 is not properly handling the dwindling signal well - it isn't aggressively trying to maintain the signal or switch to a more powerful signal.
Secretive testing with iPhone 4's in 3GS cases in very 3G enabled Silicon Valley effectively masked this problem until wide release.
As has been rumored I bet this is primarily a software fix and if the antenna touching still causes too much of a signal strength dip for some, the bumpers should fix the rest or at least put them on par with other cell phones.
went out to an area with über AT&T coverage - I could hold the phone and it never dipped below 5 bars. I think the speculations are probably correct this is a compound problem:
1) the natural attenuation of signal when any cell phone is held,
2) the additional attenuation if the hand 'shorts' the iPhone 4 antenna, but most important,
3) the iPhone 4 iOS 4 is not properly handling the dwindling signal well - it isn't aggressively trying to maintain the signal or switch to a more powerful signal.
Secretive testing with iPhone 4's in 3GS cases in very 3G enabled Silicon Valley effectively masked this problem until wide release.
As has been rumored I bet this is primarily a software fix and if the antenna touching still causes too much of a signal strength dip for some, the bumpers should fix the rest or at least put them on par with other cell phones.
My question is if it's an issue of where you're holding the phone, why does a bumper fix it? The only thing a bumper does is keep your skin from making contact with the device. If it relieves the problem then simple logic suggests the problem isn't where you hold it but rather where your skin makes contact with it. No knowledge of how antennas function is required to test or deduce this.
It takes a certain degree of salesmanship to on one hand suggest you're blocking the signal with your hand just like any other phone while at the same time saying that purchasing something that adds an additional layer of material around the antenna will correct the problem.
It takes a certain degree of salesmanship to on one hand suggest you're blocking the signal with your hand just like any other phone while at the same time saying that purchasing something that adds an additional layer of material around the antenna will correct the problem.