PR Experts Suggest iPhone 4 Recall 'Inevitable' as Antenna Issue Snowballs

[Anuba]

It is the manner of the complaints. The hyperbole of the issue.

Hyperbole comes out of frustration, frustration comes out of anger. The anger comes not from the fact that the iPhone 4 has to be held a certain way (or rather not held in one certain way), but from the fact that Apple tried to sneak it past the radar. A phone with a death spot is an industry first, don't you think that warrants a bit of beforehand information? A warning label? A note in the box?

That's why people are p*ssed off. The lack of information, the denial and the stonewalling. Denying early adopters the right to an informed purchase. The signal issue itself is not a cause for anger. It's only a cause for headscratching.

 

[Trotsky]

Not a problem

I was recently in the Apple Store and tried to get a dropped signal by holding as suggested but could not get the bars to drop. I trust Apple will do the right thing.

 

[donny77]

I don't care what you would do - the way I 'do' it is accept their policy as their word, I don't dicker, I don't bargain, I'd don't try and get a special exception for myself. Either they give full refunds or they don't, and they don't.

As such it falls on Apple to make their product I purchased in good faith to work properly while being held normally. Simple as that.

I'm sorry, I really don't want to be arrogant here, but this is just ignorant!

You accept AT&T's return policy even if you don't agree with it.

By your logic you should accept Apple's iPhone 4 as is and expect nothing further. You got what was in the box, deal with it.

You want Apple to stand by their product, and they should. But you don't expect AT&T to? Total BS. If you are unhappy with the phone, take it back within the agreed upon time window. If you don't I have ZERO sympathy for you or your situation. If you keep the phone you are telling Apple and AT&T that you accept the phone and it's limitations. Think about that.

 

[timbloom]

I was recently in the Apple Store and tried to get a dropped signal by holding as suggested but could not get the bars to drop. I trust Apple will do the right thing.

The issue is quite variable based on your initial signal strength. All users will be able to reproduce on the meter it if Apple goes ahead with their signal meter modification. Though, if it's not fatal to the call now, it won't be fatal after the change, just visible.

 

[Xtremehkr]

This is a PR nightmare--way worse than even the BP oil spill in the Gulf. Know one can deny that. This is the biggest disaster in hundreds of years

Relly, it make the FireStone tyre blowouts looks like child play.


Though I am on the side of Apple doing something alleviate this mess. I still can't believe that SJ let this out the door with such an obvious flaw. With Apple's popularity as high as it is, there is all the more incentive for the media to target Apple. In the long run, it is far better for Apple to directly address and solve this problem.

 

[donny77]

A phone with a death spot is an industry first, don't you think that warrants a bit of beforehand information? A warning label? A note in the box?

That's why people are p*ssed off. The lack of information, the denial and the stonewalling. Denying early adopters the right to an informed purchase. The signal issue itself is not a cause for anger. It's only a cause for headscratching.

It is not an industry first. What is a first is that a lot of people hold the phone where this dead spot is. Many phones in the past, especially those with nubs at the top, clearly stated not to touch the antenna area of the phone.

I agree it is a problem that Apple did not warn users of this. In this case, the best course of action is to vote with your wallet. Nothing will get Apple's attention faster. Return the phones if you are dissatisfied!

 

[BobVB]

I'm sorry, I really don't want to be arrogant here, but this is just ignorant!

You accept AT&T's return policy even if you don't agree with it.

Who said I don't agree with it? its the one I agreed to when I bought the iPhone. What it does mean is that I can't get a full refund for my purchase which then means the onus is on Apple to fix my purchase I made in good faith.

By your logic you should accept Apple's iPhone 4 as is and expect nothing further. You got what was in the box, deal with it.

That makes no sense - AT&T's policy was above board, Apple designing a phone that can't be held like all the iPhones before it were and not telling anyone ahead of time is in them to make right.

If you keep the phone you are telling Apple and AT&T that you accept the phone and it's limitations. Think about that.

I accept AT&Ts return policy as it was above board and has stayed the same. I further accept that Apple has failed in that responsibility and hold them accountable for their error.

See the difference?

 

[Frisco]

The thing is a dud. Not only is this worse than the Toyota (overrated) fiasco, it is 10X worse than the BP Gulf oil spill.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple filing for bankruptcy within a few months.

 

[warrena]

My only probelem with the phone is that the proximity sensor doesnt always work and thus my face activates the mute button. Havent had big signal issues though.

I have had this problem, tried other iPhone 4's that friends have, still have the same issue with the proximity sensor. On the left I activate the mute and when I hold with my right hand the speakerphone.

I am happy that some people have not had any issues with their phones YET, but I think it could be due to how they use it/location/signal strength/etc. I am an extremely heavy voice/data user and travel constantly and have seen variable results in different locales. I also shelled out $30 for a bumper due to the reception issue.

Overall, the good of the phone far outweighs the bad and I think Apple wiii fix the nagging issues and a case/bumper will fix (short term) the reception problem due to shorting the antennas. Yes, Apple could have handled it better but buy a case/whatever and move on, there are more important things.

 

[bearcatrp]

Seems the past couple years apple is having issues with there products. The Mac pro, iMac, time capsule, and now the iPhone. Their quality has gone down hill. Looking at $$$ signs instead of quality. Their answer to everything is a software patch. Starting to sound like Microsoft crap. Maybe a mandatory recall will get their attention. Sorry apple, your beginning to stink!

 

[donny77]

Who said I don't agree with it? its the one I agreed to when I bought the iPhone. What it does mean is that I can't get a full refund for my purchase which then means the onus is on Apple to fix my purchase I made in good faith.

That makes no sense - AT&T's policy was above board, Apple designing a phone that can't be held like all the iPhones before it were and not telling anyone ahead of time is in them to make right.

I accept AT&Ts return policy as it was above board and has stayed the same. I further accept that Apple has failed in that responsibility and hold them accountable for their error.

See the difference?

You agreed to keep the phone even if it doesn't work? You are saying the phone is defective. You agree that you are stuck with a defective phone unless the manufacturer fixes it? You said AT&T will not consider the phone defective unless Apple does. I am saying it is whether or not YOU think the phone is defective. I do not feel it is defective, I will be happy if Apple does nothing further with the phone. If you do not feel this way fight for your rights and take it back! Again, if you keep the phone and Apple does nothing, I will have no sympathy for you.

 

[foiden]

Well, stuff like this proves one major point. Apple is now on top of the tech industry. You get a nice big bullseye painted on you the moment you get there.

Now all that's left is for people to come to some conclusion that there's now PC fanatics like some cult group supporting the PC.

We may not have 'You can't do that on Television' these days, but we can certainly still have our opposite sketches.

Still, I'll just wait to see what comes of this. When it comes down to it, the right thing gets done. This is still consumer driven.

 

[Anuba]

It is not an industry first. What is a first is that a lot of people hold the phone where this dead spot is. Many phones in the past, especially those with nubs at the top, clearly stated not to touch the antenna area of the phone.

Well yeah, that was my point. An external antenna is not an industry first (there was no conceivable reason to hold a phone by the nub antenna, though). Nor is it an industry first to put the antenna at the bottom with all it comes with in terms of partial signal attenuation. But it is an industry first to put the naked antenna on the outside and literally place it at the fingertips of the user. Novel concept that comes with a caveat = inform customers. The antenna design may be rocket science, but information is not.

 

[QuarterPastJune]

Why does Apple's statement keep getting misconstrued like this?

They're not saying the attenuation is caused by a software bug. They said the only signal-related "issue" is how the strength bars are calculated. The fact that the antenna attenuates when smothered is completely normal. One side effect of improving reception by having an external antenna is that it becomes much easier to disturb (in this case, by touching a one millimeter slot on the side of the phone).

So, again, the software patch won't fix any kind of hardware attenuation "issues", and Apple's never claimed it would. The potential for higher attenuation is a fact of life with external antennas, but I (and apparently Apple) think the trade-off is fair for better reception in the vast majority of situations (i.e., when you don't touch that part of the phone, or use a case).

^this


Not only has Apple not confirmed this as a problem yet, they also haven't addressed it in their email. They're not lying to anyone; they're simply fixing the only real problem the iPhone 4 is currently experiencing.

I am able to reproduce this issue with my iPhone 4. As long as I'm not in a really strong signal, I can drop my reception by a couple of bars. But since I bought my phone, I've only dropped 3 calls. That's better than my average with my 3GS I had before. Also, I have to intentionally hold the phone in a weird, uncomfortable way to make it a problem. Yes, the signal can attenuate. That's how antennas work. But by holding the phone in a normal way, or by putting a case on it like 90% of people are going to, the problem is alleviated.

I guess what I'm trying to say is... "Don't hold it that way."

 

[Jaxdialation]

Let me guess....YOU see a dog with a bleeding ass - YOU figure he is the "lead dog"? It isn't so. Especially not in this case.

Apple's backside is really hemorrhaging over this one. As others have said it is in their hands.

Did Consumers Union get some new subscribers? Yup a bunch of them. Apple has had their results and test procedures. Its time for them to answer.

Well, stuff like this proves one major point. Apple is now on top of the tech industry. You get a nice big bullseye painted on you the moment you get there.

 

[spiglet]

ABCNews.com lead story...

Sorry, CNN.com...

Dang...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/07/13/iphone.4.duct.tape/index.html?hpt=C1

 

[3282868]

OMG Would people stop using the ****ing term fanboy!!! It's third grade and makes you appear juvenile.

 

[Anuba]

Well, stuff like this proves one major point. Apple is now on top of the tech industry. You get a nice big bullseye painted on you the moment you get there.

Yeah, it will take some time for them to get used to the red laser dots and it will be interesting to see how they choose to tackle it. Their marketing communication is designed with Apple fans in mind and they might have to tweak it for the mass audience. Sort of like a popular local comedian who has everyone rolling on the floor where he comes from, and then he gets to go on national TV and suddenly you can hear a pin drop.

 

[cbm]

With Apple being such a great PR company, I would think that they would be more out in front of this story.

Apple has a great marketing department, but historically they've been pretty bad at PR & damage control.

 

[steve-p]

Just because you live in a high signal area doesn't mean you don't have the flaw, it just means it doesn't make a difference practically.

It may reduce the battery life, even if the call doesn't get disconnected. The phone's response to a low signal strength is to ramp up transmit power to maintain signal quality. If the signal can be reduced to a low enough level by holding it "the wrong way" in a high signal strength area, then this may make a practical difference.

 

[sdeetz]

Could not switching from 3G to edge be part of the problem?

I think a huge part of the problem is that the iphone does not switch from 3G to edge fast enough when the signal drops.

I have been testing this out by manually turning 3G on and off and comparing signal strength and call quality. On edge at my house, I get significantly stronger signals and have yet to drop a call. On 3G at my house I get 1-2 bars, and it never switches to edge, even when the signal drops to zero bars. The calls have dropped 6 or 7 times, and not once did it switch to the edge network.

On my old iPhone 3G, the signal would routinely switch to edge whenever the signal dropped down to about 1 bar.

AT&T says the 3G network is everywhere edge is in my neighborhood, but the fact remains that the edge only setting gets better reception & fewer dropped calls. Perhaps that's because the edge network is less congested.

I suggest Apple looks into a firmware update that switches voice calls to edge faster when the signal degrades.

 

[PDXoPDX]

^this


I guess what I'm trying to say is... "Don't hold it that way."

Why do you hate freedom? Our forefathers died in the swamps of Omaha Beach fighting the Communist armies to give us the right to pay hundreds of dollars to hold our iPhones the way God intended!

Cmon people...return it if you're unsatisfied or shut up and stop acting like privileged prima donas. /rant off

 

[BobVB]

You agreed to keep the phone even if it doesn't work? You are saying the phone is defective. You agree that you are stuck with a defective phone unless the manufacturer fixes it? You said AT&T will not consider the phone defective unless Apple does. I am saying it is whether or not YOU think the phone is defective. I do not feel it is defective, I will be happy if Apple does nothing further with the phone.

1) strawman, it works, it doesn't work properly. 2) correct, 3) correct. 4) obviously it is defective.

If you do not feel this way fight for your rights and take it back!

Again the arrogance" your solution is everyone's solution. Mine is to keep it since it can't be returned without cost and petition Apple to make it right, they are the bad guys here.

Again, if you keep the phone and Apple does nothing, I will have no sympathy for you.

And I would say if you merely returned it and didn't still insist that Apple do something I'd have no sympathy or respect for you.

Again, there are far more things in heaven and earth than dreamt of in your philosophy it seems, especially in the area of consumer complaints about defective products.

 

[BobVB]

Cmon people...return it if you're unsatisfied or shut up and stop acting like privileged prima donas. /rant off

Be even nicer if the 5th grade hall monitors would quit signing on and telling other people how they should handle their having bought in good faith a product that turns out to have major defects.

 

[Consultant]

I was recently in the Apple Store and tried to get a dropped signal by holding as suggested but could not get the bars to drop. I trust Apple will do the right thing.

Store that sell cell phones typically mini cell towers. So it'll be almost impossible to reproduce it in stores.

OMG Would people stop using the ****ing term fanboy!!! It's third grade and makes you appear juvenile.

Well, you can call them Fandroid or Microsheep. =p