Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I have not dropped one single call and other people I know with the new iPhone have not dropped calls either. This is being blown way out of proportion.

Unless you and the people you know represent a quantity of people large enough to represent a statistically relevant sample size, your argument is akin to saying that since you close your eyes at night, those of us who claim it gets dark outside must be blowing it out of proportion.
 
You made it everyones business when you tried to stir things up on an internet forum in a thread regarding the iPhone 4.

Your posts are as far a polar opposite of constructive as humanly possible. Instead of complaining(which you have proven you have expertise), interject with valuable information or input that might actually constructively contribute to this thread. Then again...never mind, that's obviously asking too much from someone of your caliber.

The iPhone 4 reception issue is indefinite. It may be hardware, it may be software. You don't know, I don't know. My best guess? I think its software because the relevance of a glitch in the software seems viable to me. Maybe not for you.

PS. My previous post was not serious. ;)

Yet being an owner of one said iFail 4 device my opinion is less valid? I paid good money for what I thought was a telecommunication device that did, guess, what telecommunications and no fails. Sadly Apple have screwed up and no matter what or how many of you fanbois scream THIS IS FACT. THE PHONE IS FAIL.

Thumbs down to you.
 
Yet being an owner of one said iFail 4 device my opinion is less valid? I paid good money for what I thought was a telecommunication device that did, guess, what telecommunications and no fails. Sadly Apple have screwed up and no matter what or how many of you fanbois scream THIS IS FACT. THE PHONE IS FAIL.

Thumbs down to you.

so by that you mean that no matter how many people say that their phones work perfectly fine, they don't matter?
 
Why don't we all just FREAK OUT!

For all of you freaking out about the antenna.

Why not put a drop of clear nail polish over the troublesome antenna. I know some of you are going to freak out and demand a perfect product, but come on. If you really think about you modify and customize many of the products you buy.

Also, this may finally be what Apple needs to pull away as the antena issues seems to effect Americans more than anyone else, due to the general poor quality of AT&T's network.
 
Yet being an owner of one said iFail 4 device my opinion is less valid? I paid good money for what I thought was a telecommunication device that did, guess, what telecommunications and no fails. Sadly Apple have screwed up and no matter what or how many of you fanbois scream THIS IS FACT. THE PHONE IS FAIL.

Thumbs down to you.

Every thread you throw around the word "fanbois" and lose credibility. A likely defense from someone with no logical comeback to facts. Is the phone "Fail"? Take it back. There is obviously some reason you chose instead to keep it and whine on an Internet forum. Quit making yourself look stupid. Every post sinks you deeper into a hole.
 
I have not dropped one single call and other people I know with the new iPhone have not dropped calls either. This is being blown way out of proportion.

The majority of people that I knew using Windows Vista didn't have a problem with it either, yet that didn't stop Apple from running an entire ad campaign about the OS. Nor did it stop the word-of-mouth backlash...much like what Apple may have to deal with.

Apple has gotten off lucky so far about this little debacle. Fortunately for them, most of their competitors won't sink to the level that Apple operates in.
 
I have not dropped one single call and other people I know with the new iPhone have not dropped calls either. This is being blown way out of proportion.

That's funny because I am dropping several calls every day as well as everyone I know with the iPhone 4 (except you of course). And these are people in Florida, Illinois, Ohio and California. This is not receiving enough attention.
 
Thinking:

Folks who are having problems: are your hands typically dry or moist?

I play guitar a lot and my hands are very dry as a result, in fact, hard and dry with very little skin oil.

I took a video this morning with my wife's iPhone 4 and you can see that the signal strength meter doesn't go down in my case.

But I'd bet there are those with moister hands that are more likely to complete a circuit (more natural oil/moisture).

Just a thought - I wonder if it says something about the kind of person who uses the phone who are experiencing this versus the kind who are not.

It's weird: some people are plagued with dropped calls and low signals and others aren't.

That wired article from a guy who suspected those with clean dry hands (lab techs) were less effected than those who were average joes.

Just a thought.
 

As I've said many times -- I don't need any expert to tell me about the issue, how the "expert's" tests are flawed, and I don't need to know exactly what is going wrong.

The only 'test' I care about is when I'm talking to my family, my girlfriend, or friends on my phone from home and as soon as I touch the 'sweet spot' on the phone, whoever I'm talking to can no longer hear me (immediately). If I move my finger quick enough, communication is good again - If I don't move it quick enough, within several seconds (varies, but always under 10 seconds), the call drops. If I'm in the middle of a talking and I take longer longer than 10 seconds, chances are the call will drop before I even realize I'm touching the spot on the phone. Or even more frustrating, whoever I'm talking to starts talking over me (which interestingly enough, I can still here them even though they can't hear me). I'm talking about barely touching the spot with my ring finger which unfortunately is how I've held my phone for 3+ years.

I run through the same routine on my old 3G and I cannot reproduce the issue, even if I hold the phone like a gorilla.

The fact of the matter is that this is a real issue. I understand that some people aren't having this issue, but for them to tell me there is no issue is infuriating.

And as I've posted many, many, many times on the plethora of threads, anyone wanting to hear this can PM me and I'd be glad to call you.

Or, if you live in the Eugene, Oregon area, you can even come over and see it for yourself or test your phone if you have an iphone 4.
 
Folks who are having problems: are your hands typically dry or moist?

I play guitar a lot and my hands are very dry as a result, in fact, hard and dry with very little skin oil.

Hey Aliens.... I have very clammy hands and I definitely have the issue. However, I bought a bodyguardz and placed it on my phone so that it covers the antenna separator on the phone (thin strip of vinyl), but I still have the issue.

If it had to do with my clammy hands, I would assume that would have resolved the issue -- but I'm certainly no expert in this area.
 
The best course of action is "DON'T PANIC". Wait for the engineers at Apple to conduct a number of tests in controlled environments, on a large number of phones.

Let Apple figure out what kind of problem we are looking at and let them provide the solution. Their engineers are usually good at trouble shooting odd problems.

If you are really dis-satisfied, return the phone.

That's the issue -- It has now been a month and all they have said is 'This is not an issue -- Hold the phone differently or buy a case'.

If they would say, 'we know there is an issue and we are working on determining the best solution moving forward', I think a lot of people wouldn't be so frustrated.

At this point, Steve Jobs and Apple are blaming the issue on me (how I hold the phone), or they're telling me to spend more money and cover up my pretty phone (with a case).

I think that is why people are so upset. It's like kicking a game winning goal in the World Cup, and the referee telling you there wasn't a goal ;)
 
That's the issue -- It has now been a month and all they have said is 'This is not an issue -- Hold the phone differently or buy a case'.

If they would say, 'we know there is an issue and we are working on determining the best solution moving forward', I think a lot of people wouldn't be so frustrated.

At this point, Steve Jobs and Apple are blaming the issue on me (how I hold the phone), or they're telling me to spend more money and cover up my pretty phone (with a case).

I think that is why people are so upset. It's like kicking a game winning goal in the World Cup, and the referee telling you there wasn't a goal ;)

+1
 
That's the issue -- It has now been a month and all they have said is 'This is not an issue -- Hold the phone differently or buy a case'.

The first press about the death grip problem was not until June 23 by a few people who got their phone a day early. As of today it has been 21 days. 3 weeks.

If we are not even willing to be accurate with simple counting days on the calendar, how can we be accurate with estimates of decibels, number of affected users, costs of recalls, or other details?
 
You do know that a vast proportion of global manufacturing is done in China - Apple are not some unique anti-western company here.

So that makes it alright then??? Sorry, I don't agree. I'm Pro-American, not Pro China or Pro Communism. In my opinion, MOST of the fat-cats in this country ARE 100% Pro COMMUNISM whether they know it or not. Why? Because they DON'T CARE how or where things are done so long as they get more money. Money is their god and it's what they worship and they don't care if they bring the whole darn country and Western civilization in the long run down in the process so long as they get theirs. And when I speak of Apple acting this way, it's because I'm on an Apple discussion site. I don't approve of ANY company taking their business over to a country that run a form of government that my ancestors risked their lives to fight. I cannot buy a cigar from Cuba because they're Communist and a dictatorship, but because China isn't some tiny little island and there's real money to be made there, we make them are favored trading partner, despite constant huge trade deficits, dirty-handed financial dealings to keep their currency low, slave labor rates, the murder of anyone there that would speak against their government and the massive outsourcing of American jobs (and thus the financial backbone of the country itself) ALL so less than 5% of the country can make more money. That's why I say people like Steve Jobs can stuff it. They are contributing to the destruction of this great country. If they like Communism so much, they should move there. But no their definition of Capitalism is that using ANYONE to make more money is good even if it destroys the very country they live in in the long run.

So what if their grandchildren have to learn Mandarin and live as 2nd class citizens in this world when China eventually takes over this country without even firing a shot. We're in a sinking ship and short of a miracle, we're done within 50 years. The U.S. will either be owned by China in every conceivable way (we're over halfway there now) or we will simply drop to 3rd world country status. The greatest military in the world cannot help a country from destroying itself from within. We should have learned that lesson from the downfall of the Roman Empire, but people who ignore history are doomed to repeat it and most people in this country are more concerned with living the Vida Loca and jamming down Big Macs than getting a proper education and even those that do get that education cannot find jobs because we outsource EVERYTHING these days, even jobs that require degrees (India is very good for that).

I'm sorry, but the U.S. cannot maintain a Middle Class (and thus a 1st order standing in the world) with only jobs at places like Wal-Mart and McDonalds. It just doesn't work. If U.S. companies are unwilling to support the country that made their existence possible in the first place, then they should move elsewhere. Most already claim their headquarters are in places like the Bahamas (with like 1 or 2 people actually working there) so the real one gets a massive tax break and our government goes further and further into debt. They should be forced to move their actual headquarters out of this country and be branded the traitors they actually are, both to their financial obligations and their part in this destruction of this country through bribery of the government to make it possible for them to legally get away with this crap. Yes, screw the Middle Class. Let them pay the taxes while they put theirs in tax shelters. There's only one problem there. If you destroy the Middle Class, who is going to keep our government afloat then? It won't be the ultra-poor. I think you can see from our record deficits under both Bush and Obama that we are already unable to meet those financial obligations and the Middle Class is already half extinct and the ship we are on is fast sinking. It sure as heck won't be BP's oil well that will make the difference.

But it's this acceptance of 'Oh making goods in China is NORMAL' that has lead to this path of destruction. It's the US Chamber of Commerce demanding tax cuts be made permanent and FREE Trade (as opposed to FAIR Trade) agreements be made with every slave labor-toting country out there that is sinking this ship. The US Chamber of Commerce are complete Anti-U.S. (as in their actions are pushing for the complete destruction of this country in the long run) if I've ever seen such a group. They want everything for big business and to hell with the country and the rest of us. I'd call them traitors. They should have their charter revoked.

I'm sure every aspiring millionaire on here is steaming mad right now since they plan on doing the same to get their payday, but it's the absolute truth. We can't even afford to go into space anymore...the country that put a man on the moon has to start riding Russian (pseudo or perhaps "stealth" Communists these days) rockets to get to the International Space Station starting next year. Our flag is already in the shadow of Communism. We may have won the battle with the USSR, but Communism itself has clearly won the war. China will be the major Super Power of the 21st Century (not good for any of Western Civilization, not just the U.S.) and it's nearly impossible to stop that now. But it's "normal" so it's OK.


I dont understand the mentality of suing Apple either. If the product is

It's pretty simple, really. It gets publicity and massive bad publicity is the ONLY thing that moves Apple to do ANYTHING that benefits its patrons. Otherwise, they delete messages, threads, etc. while IGNORING the people that wrote them (there are NO people from Apple on their boards to answer any questions about ANYTHING, but yet they read the threads and quietly delete ANYTHING negative about Apple, true or not. Delete it all and maybe the problem will go away. Do you think someone like Toyota would even announce the potential for acceleration issues with their vehicles if they weren't forced into the spotlight? Corporations aren't people. They don't have feelings. They don't have morals. They are run by people who are told they MUST answer to their shareholders and no one else and people only buy stock for one reason, to make money. Nothing else matters. Capitalism wasn't designed only to make the rich richer. Competition is supposed to be good for consumers, but the fat cats have done everything they can screw the consumers any way they can get away with as long as it pads their wallets. There simply is no such thing as a moral or ethical corporation. By charter, it exists only to make money and that is the root of the problem.

Our Constitution should be more important than the almighty dollar. Our way of life is about more than just the dream of getting rich (at any cost it seems). It's also about freedom, but freedom isn't free and if you undermine the citizens, you undermine the country and vice-versa. If you destroy freedom, then good luck being able to make money in the future. Things weren't so great in the Middle Ages, after all. No one WANTS things like caps or regulations, but some things are necessary for the long time survival of this country and the Western way of life. Companies need to meet their obligations and not hide from them or bribe their way away from them. People like Steve Jobs should recognize he would not be where he is if he grew up in a country like China and so he should think twice about cutting corners and using slave labor to save a few bucks. And don't think for a second that prices have gone down since they moved production of their hardware from the U.S. to China. Prices have gone UP (let alone factoring inflation and then they're astronomically higher). Apple went to China to INCREASE *their* profits, not reduce costs for consumers).

If that's the worldwide market then we should go back to protectionism because it's all bad for us. But then rubber rafts at Wal-Mart will go up in price and my pills from China won't be tainted anymore and I might have to pay more for oranges that grown here instead of Chile! Yes, and your wages will be higher, your health better and more jobs will stay in the U.S. or be re-created here. This country needs to make more than just fast food. When's the last time you saw ANTHING AT ALL that said "Made in the USA" on it??? It's absolutely sickening to those of us that are old enough to remember a strong U.S. manufacturing base and quality products that don't often break after the 90 day warranty is up. But it's "normal" to the "Gimme Gimme Generation" that only thinks China is our friend and responsible for low prices at Wal-Mart. :rolleyes: This country is in for a rude surprise in coming years.
 
The first press about the death grip problem was not until June 23 by a few people who got their phone a day early. As of today it has been 21 days. 3 weeks.

My apologies as I ordered my phone on the 15th (and that is when I have to return my phone by), so I had that date on my mind. 3 weeks is still too long so my point stands just the same.

A simple, "I think you mean 3 weeks" would have sufficed. Did you really need to belittle me? Did your "clever" response make you feel better? I hope you got something out of it, because it hurt my feelings :(
 
Hey Aliens.... I have very clammy hands and I definitely have the issue. However, I bought a bodyguardz and placed it on my phone so that it covers the antenna separator on the phone (thin strip of vinyl), but I still have the issue.

If it had to do with my clammy hands, I would assume that would have resolved the issue -- but I'm certainly no expert in this area.

That's the issue -- It has now been a month and all they have said is 'This is not an issue -- Hold the phone differently or buy a case'.

If they would say, 'we know there is an issue and we are working on determining the best solution moving forward', I think a lot of people wouldn't be so frustrated.

At this point, Steve Jobs and Apple are blaming the issue on me (how I hold the phone), or they're telling me to spend more money and cover up my pretty phone (with a case).

I think that is why people are so upset. It's like kicking a game winning goal in the World Cup, and the referee telling you there wasn't a goal ;)


His suggestions do work. If you do not like them, you can return the phone. It may not be what you want to hear, but it is the way it is?

How have your calls to customer support gone? Have you tried an exchange? How come none of the complainers ever describer their experience copying support. If you expect your phone to get better by posting on Mac rumors, you are mistaken.

Applecare is surprisingly responsive for a company that just sold 2,000,000+ phones that some here claim are all unusable. Sub-minute wait about an hour ago.
 
His suggestions do work. If you do not like them, you can return the phone. It may not be what you want to hear, but it is the way it is.

Just returned my phone today actually (I was worried tomorrow would be too late). No issues with the return at all, but that doesn't resolve the problem, does it? I already sold my iphone 3G, so now I'm using some crappy phone for the time being to see what happens.

I still think Apple should be held accountable, and I want a working iphone 4. If nothing changes, I'll have to make a decision, but it will probably be to go to an inferior product (Droid phone perhaps) because I won't feel right supporting Apple.

And I think all the talk on the forums has resulted in something -- It's resulted in Anandtech and Consumer Reports testing and has been carried by many major news sources (i.e. CNN). Also, I think I have the right to complain about a product I purchased that doesn't work the way it should. But, you don't have the right to tell me this isn't a major issue, or a workaround to the issue is satisfactory.

If you really think those suggestions are fair, then I don't have anything left to say to you. Take care.
 
That's the issue -- It has now been a month and all they have said is 'This is not an issue -- Hold the phone differently or buy a case'.

If they would say, 'we know there is an issue and we are working on determining the best solution moving forward', I think a lot of people wouldn't be so frustrated.

At this point, Steve Jobs and Apple are blaming the issue on me (how I hold the phone), or they're telling me to spend more money and cover up my pretty phone (with a case).

I think that is why people are so upset. It's like kicking a game winning goal in the World Cup, and the referee telling you there wasn't a goal ;)


I agree that Apple handled the initial reaction poorly. If it was really Steve Jobs replying with an email of "Hold it differently" then it was a bonehead thing to say.

However this always happens with Apple. Until they have a fix for a possible problem, they won't even let people know there is a problem.

I guarantee you that they are working like dogs around the clock to find out if there is a real issue and if there is an issue, they are working on what is causing the issue. If they think they know the cause then they work on the solution and finally they work on testing and roll-out of the solution.

Only after that process is complete will they even admit that there might be a problem.

It may not be the best way to handle a problem but it is the Apple way under Steve Jobs.
 
I agree that Apple handled the initial reaction poorly. If it was really Steve Jobs replying with an email of "Hold it differently" then it was a bonehead thing to say.

However this always happens with Apple. Until they have a fix for a possible problem, they won't even let people know there is a problem.

I guarantee you that they are working like dogs around the clock to find out if there is a real issue and if there is an issue, they are working on what is causing the issue. If they think they know the cause then they work on the solution and finally they work on testing and roll-out of the solution.

Only after that process is complete will they even admit that there might be a problem.

It may not be the best way to handle a problem but it is the Apple way under Steve Jobs.

Fair enough, and there is no doubt in my mind that they are working like dogs on this (well, I do have some doubt since all they have said at this point is that it's not an issue). I guess I've just been fortunate to never run into an issue with my many Apple products, so I haven't really gotten a look to see how Apple handles these things.

When it's all said and done and people get a fix, I guess it's easy to soon forget how angry/upset you were when the issue occurred, and that is what Apple banks on.

If Apple came out and said we have an issue, but no solution yet, I could imagine others would pounce on that even more-so. Me, I like to at least know for a fact they are working on it.

Had Steve Jobs not said anything, I think it would have been better too. Many people didn't appreciate that, me included. It was like a low blow :)

I'll see how long I can handle my cheap replacement phone and hopefully this issue will be sorted out and I can just rebuy the phone :). I'm already missing it and it's only been a few hours since I returned it :(
 
I think the 98% figure originally comes from thin air with strong AT&T reception under a tower in Narnia.

The poster just as well could have claimed 12%, but he/she wanted to post a high figure, otherwise it wouldn't work.

That's hysterical. What one doesn't know... Make up! Lol. I am loving this drama. Better than a soap because it's real and nobody's being harmed really.
 
Sigh

I hastily recorded a video with my wife's iPhone4 of my own iPhone4 being handled prior to her going to work this morning. It ends abruptly since she was going "I'm going to work, give me my phone!" lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ7O7m6Q6oU

You can see the bars stay the same however I handle it but the weird thing is that I think we're in a really good reception area. My hands stay pretty dry no matter what.

Given that we're getting a press conference friday it will be interesting to see how they approach handling this.

It doesn't really effect me but it DOES effect others and I've seen the videos etc.

Anyway...carry on.
 
Ok, here in our house we have three 4's two work normally, one doesn't. The one that doesn't has had it's iOS reloaded twice. We were in Morro Bay a couple of days ago. I asked my wife to search something on maps. Her 4 was mis-behaving, I said here try mine and it worked normally. Interesting I think.

So with all the millions of these things that Apple has to produce to meet demand, isn't it possible that they need a couple of factories running 24/7 to produce them? Maybe one factory is better at it than the other?

The other thing was--a couple of months ago my old iPhone started dropping calls like crazy. So much so, that the Genius guys replaced it twice in as many months. By the time I got the 4 my phone service normalized. Was it the iPhones or the cell tower up the street? I don't know. There is allot of technology at work here... still seems pretty amazing to me.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.