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PR Experts Suggest iPhone 4 Recall 'Inevitable' as Antenna Issue Snowballs
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yet conversely, just as many are proudly boasting that there is nothing wrong with them. There is something fishy going on but no one but we won't know until the engineers figure it out.
For what it's worth
I've submitted a few posts on my daily use of my new iphone4. Not sure how general users are using theirs but I travel every day through town and urban areas. I regret to say that I get lost connections now with this phone which I did not get with my previous 3G. Re the bumper issue - Apple CANNOT give away free bumpers as that would be an admission of guilt/liability regarding the existing design fault at launch. I see their shares have dropped today so I would presume Apple are giving serious thought to how they are going to handle this. The more phones sold the greater the level of complaints. What I've also found with Apple is that they tend with software eg such as Aperture 3 to release first and patch up the problems later. Safari 5 for me is not working as well as it should. My advice SLOW DOWN APPLE and GET IT RIGHT FIRST TIME like you used to.
I've submitted a few posts on my daily use of my new iphone4. Not sure how general users are using theirs but I travel every day through town and urban areas. I regret to say that I get lost connections now with this phone which I did not get with my previous 3G. Re the bumper issue - Apple CANNOT give away free bumpers as that would be an admission of guilt/liability regarding the existing design fault at launch. I see their shares have dropped today so I would presume Apple are giving serious thought to how they are going to handle this. The more phones sold the greater the level of complaints. What I've also found with Apple is that they tend with software eg such as Aperture 3 to release first and patch up the problems later. Safari 5 for me is not working as well as it should. My advice SLOW DOWN APPLE and GET IT RIGHT FIRST TIME like you used to.
Haha.. this is all so ludicrous. By the time a recall is decided, planned and followed through we'd have a new iPhone. AT&Ts signal blows in some areas, deal with it or buy a Droid. 
hay mucha gente que no tenga las problemas. mucha gente quiere hablar para mal prensa. (los Fandroids)
I wonder how many iphone 4's CR tested before they found one that demonstrated the flaw. After all, they initially rated the iphone 4 as the best smartphone and said the antenna problem was a minor issue. Then later after more testing, discovered the antenna problem to be more severe and judged the phone as "not recommended".
It is possible CR tested 50 phones or more and found one that had a severe problem and reported on that one. Since they don't always come clean with how many tests they perform (See Suzuki Samurai) it is still difficult to say if this is every phone or a certain batch of phones.
Other antenna experts have tested the iphone and claim that the drop in signal is no more than other phones when blocking the antenna.
I think everyone needs to relax until Apple gets a chance to review all of the data, test additional batches of phones, under different signal strength conditions. No one really knows what Apple is doing internally. I am sure they are taking this issue seriously and either working on a fix through software, hardware modification, or whatever it takes to remedy the situation.
If you are extremely affected by the problem, return the phone. If it is a minor annoyance for you, then wait for the Apple official fix. If it is not a problem at all for you, then be happy. You have the best smartphone in the world and a modern miracle of engineering, design, and performance in a handheld gadget.
It is possible CR tested 50 phones or more and found one that had a severe problem and reported on that one. Since they don't always come clean with how many tests they perform (See Suzuki Samurai) it is still difficult to say if this is every phone or a certain batch of phones.
Other antenna experts have tested the iphone and claim that the drop in signal is no more than other phones when blocking the antenna.
I think everyone needs to relax until Apple gets a chance to review all of the data, test additional batches of phones, under different signal strength conditions. No one really knows what Apple is doing internally. I am sure they are taking this issue seriously and either working on a fix through software, hardware modification, or whatever it takes to remedy the situation.
If you are extremely affected by the problem, return the phone. If it is a minor annoyance for you, then wait for the Apple official fix. If it is not a problem at all for you, then be happy. You have the best smartphone in the world and a modern miracle of engineering, design, and performance in a handheld gadget.
By engineers, you must mean the engineers that Apple Inc's marketing and PR team trusts. Obviously, all the radio engineers' opinion - who claim that this whole issue is about a ridiculous design mistake - don't matter.
Well all we have on these forums is speculation unless someone want's to build an iPhone from scratch and see where THEY go wrong . The conclusion is still up in the air as to the true cause of the incidents and in any case, under NORMAL conditions, the iPhone still outperforms all other smartphones on the market. Just refer to CR's review of the iPhone.
Edit: and as per the glass crack situation, they said it was as HARD as a diamond. diamonds still shatter if hit in the wrong way ask any diamond supplier or cutter. that's why some cuts are more expensice than others. If the shock is absorbed in the wrong direction, even a diamond can turn to dust. same goes for Gorilla Glass
Been through 4 iPhone4s already
Steve Said the knew phone was like a Leica camera, right? I've never been able to make a "good" phone call or download anything with one. So maybe that's the problem...
I have had this problem with the reception and just thought I'd jump into the "discussion". I've had four iPhone4s each one has been returned for different reasons, dropped calls, battery, camera. For me it's not so much an issue of dropped calls as it is dropped data. After I had my first iPhone4 replaced it seemed to be a lot harder to drop a call. If I walk to my floor's glass walkway I get full signal can't get the bars to drop no matter how I hold it, but when I run speedtest.net or FCC speed test app I notice a huge drop if any part of my hand strays over the black seam. At my desk I get 4-5 bars and can get it to drop to 1-0 bars without losing a call, but my data dies, totally. Speedtest apps just close out saying couldn't connect to server. This is still a problem with the latest replacement phone I got yesterday, so it looks like not a whole lot has changed. Phone is from week 27. I sure wish apple would get this fixed, so annoying when I'm trying to listen to pandora or last.fm while looking at other things on the phone, because as soon as I touch that magical place cut the music.
Steve Said the knew phone was like a Leica camera, right? I've never been able to make a "good" phone call or download anything with one. So maybe that's the problem...
I have had this problem with the reception and just thought I'd jump into the "discussion". I've had four iPhone4s each one has been returned for different reasons, dropped calls, battery, camera. For me it's not so much an issue of dropped calls as it is dropped data. After I had my first iPhone4 replaced it seemed to be a lot harder to drop a call. If I walk to my floor's glass walkway I get full signal can't get the bars to drop no matter how I hold it, but when I run speedtest.net or FCC speed test app I notice a huge drop if any part of my hand strays over the black seam. At my desk I get 4-5 bars and can get it to drop to 1-0 bars without losing a call, but my data dies, totally. Speedtest apps just close out saying couldn't connect to server. This is still a problem with the latest replacement phone I got yesterday, so it looks like not a whole lot has changed. Phone is from week 27. I sure wish apple would get this fixed, so annoying when I'm trying to listen to pandora or last.fm while looking at other things on the phone, because as soon as I touch that magical place cut the music.
Recall!!!!!
So yesterday i went with two iphone 4s to the Genius Bar: proximity sensor failure and of course the antenna issues. Long story short, I was told that they'll give me new iphones, but I doubt the problem will be fixed with exactly the same phone. I replaced one phone (just because I dropped it 10inches to the ground the the glass was all cracked) and kept the other.
I haven't tried if the proximity sensor remain on the new phone, but I do believe recall to a good working phone would be a good resolution to this fiasco of a phone.
So yesterday i went with two iphone 4s to the Genius Bar: proximity sensor failure and of course the antenna issues. Long story short, I was told that they'll give me new iphones, but I doubt the problem will be fixed with exactly the same phone. I replaced one phone (just because I dropped it 10inches to the ground the the glass was all cracked) and kept the other.
I haven't tried if the proximity sensor remain on the new phone, but I do believe recall to a good working phone would be a good resolution to this fiasco of a phone.
Apparently you neither read the Anandtech article nor watched the CR video, both of which went into considerably more technical detail that "if you touch it you will degrade it's [sic] performance."
I would suggest that those who have not followed the technical discussions should not be calling others "uneducated."
Oh, welcome to the site.
I for one wouldn't be. I wouldn't buy it either. But at least it might stop this antenna thing which people just can't get over. I'm sure there'll be a whole new set of things to bitch about.
I just don't get it. If it doesn't work for you take it back. It's certainly not going to make it any better the longer you keep it and risk going past your free return period. If it's a hardware problem like so many say then it's not going to get patched.
Where does it say that? As far as I can tell, they are suggesting (even making this one of the main features of the handset) that the iPhone 4's glass is very durable.
They said that we were holding it wrong, now we are dropping it wrong?!
Attachments
well of course it's durable, if someone would kindly try to cut the glass with a knife they would see it wouldn't work. but if you exherted the same pressure with a nail and hammer or put it in a blendtec blender there would be a different outcome. it's all about angles of impact and pressure of the impact.
Look, thousands of people on this site have reported problems with their IP4s, mostly people who have been on this board for years and are neither trolls nor fandroids. Literally, thousands...you can look back over their posting history to see that they aren't trolls. I mean, even Arn has reported the problem.
It's clear that this is *not* a problem blown up by trolls. And both the Anandtech article, the CR video, and many other posts by engineers on these boards have explained convincingly why some people will have problems and others won't.
*Pretending* that everyone who complains is a troll won't make the problem go away, and clearly doesn't explain the problem, which too many people who would otherwise fall into the "Apple fanboy" category have.
Nor does blaming CR for this issue - as many have done - make much sense. CR consistently ranks Macs as the best consumer computers, and has in previous years always ranked the iPhone as the best smartphone. And yet when they say something negative about the IP4 (something that thousands of others are saying), suddenly people complain about a 22 year old article on the Suzuki Samurai. (And the result of the Suzuki-CU suit was that CR agreed to say that the Samurai was "not acceptable" because it rolls over, instead of it being not acceptable because it "rolls over easily".
I'm happy that I live in a location with a strong signal where I don't have a significant antenna issue. You should be, too. I am concerned, however that I will have an issue if I travel to a place with weaker coverage. You should be, too.
Which is explained by the fact that a 20 db drop is not fatal if you're in a strong signal area. The signal band is larger than 20 db. This issue, while it seems affects 100% of units, does not affect all users all the time. It very much depends on your location.
There is nothing fishy about it, it actually very much makes sense.
but on the other side to say that ALL iP4's are defective and require a mass recall is absurd. If hardware is to blame I'm sure the protocol will be the same as with any recall: certain serial numbers will be recalled and offered replacements or refunds. In all reality we should be focusing on determining the real problem rather than speculating, quarreling and bashing. I'm sure there would be a pretty penny for the engineer who creates an efficient solution for the problem
and yes, I am thankful I live in a highly populated metropolitan area.
That works in the case of a manufacturing flaw. In this case, evidence points to a design flaw. Different flaws that require different kind of recalls.
The most likely TRUTH is 1 or 2 bad batches which can easily be identified by serial numbers. Why 98% of IP4 users are reporting NO issues?
No sane person expects their phone to withstand knife-cutting or a trip into the blender. People expect their phones to withstand occasional drops in real-life situations. It seems that again, the iPhone 4 fails the test.
but they're all designed the same. that's the only explanation for people getting 5 bars holding it upside down and any way they want while others are getting the reception issues. They're the same design so there has to be a manufacturing flaw
No, it's not the only explanation. The only explanation is that "5 bars" represents a very wide range of signal - more than 20db. So when you touch it and it drops by 20db, it will still have 5 bars in some locations. In other locations it will lose all its bars, because you are at the low end of 5 bars.
I say this is the only explanation because Apple actually ADMITS this is the explanation.
well it can. Doesn't anyone remember the tiny scratch everyone complained about when they tested the durability by throwing it across the room? it seems like all of a sudden, that iP4 doesn't exist anymore