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So, what about the high percentage of people who can't reproduce the signal problems?

lavrishevo

lavrishevo

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 9, 2007
1,864
204
NJ
This past week I was spending time with my brother in Newnan, Ga and AT&T's coverage is rather poor near his house. 1 - 2 bars on edge. Still, for the life of me I cannot get my phone to loose signal via the death grip.

I was under the impression that all iPhone 4's suffer this flaw but I and many cannot reproduce the loss of signal. This recent test was done without a case, of course, and in an area with poor signal.

This has been the case for me since the 24th, week 25 phone.

My point in posting this is that are factors involved that we do not understand. This is far from a denial of the issue but I think it is clear it is not universal.
 
Dunno if it is a high percentage, but I don't have much trouble either. it works deliciously :D
 
I think its just the perception of different people. Some see it drop 2 or 3 bars and think the world is going to implode. Other see the same and think 'its only dropped a bit'.

I think Apple will come out and basically say 'Think Different'. there is an issue with the antenna but its not as bad as people are making out.
 
"So, what about the high percentage of people who can't reproduce the signal problems?"

They don't return their phones.
They laugh at those (like me) with problem phones.
They create the same thread 4000 times.
They continue to live in denial.
They make poop that doesn't stink.
They end world hunger.
They kill Bin Laden.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A293 Safari/6531.22.7)

Care to share the figure of this so called "high percentage", oh great researcher?


I love how the iPhone turns everyone with an internet connection in Possum Pouch, Arkansas into J.D. Powers and A.C. Nielsen.
 
On my iPhone the speed test app really shows the problem, if you touch the antenna the speed slows down and if you let it go it starts going up again. But even with the bumper on I constantly get 1 bar even though my two friends get full bars on their 3g's
 
LOL..."high percentage". I'm sure Apple is calling what sounds like a fairly desperate press conference to address a couple percent of iPhone owners. Anyway, what about them? Wish mine didn't have the problem.
 
I have yet to find any iPhone 4 that doesn't have the problem, so I doubt a "high percentage" of people aren't having it. I've tried probably 12-15 of my friends' phones, in several different places around the metro Atlanta area, and ALL have had the problem. This includes mine, and I live across the street from an AT&T tower. Maybe I'm just more in touch with the dark side.
 
My iPhone has the issue. For the longest I thought that it didn't. I'm also a lefty.

The thing is though. I can only reproduce the issue, when I hold the phone in a very weird manner for me that I'd never do.

Basically I can only make the signal fail by specifically trying to. Still though I think I'm going to return the phone
 
mcdj said:
Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A293 Safari/6531.22.7)

Care to share the figure of this so called "high percentage", oh great researcher?


I love how the iPhone turns everyone with an internet connection in Possum Pouch, Arkansas into J.D. Powers and A.C. Nielsen.
Click to expand...
41% reported no reception problem according to the last count from this sample. Albeit a small sample (MacRumors posters who would test it and be more aware than your average user). I'm neutral myself... just the 'great researcher' :D
 
lavrishevo said:
So, what about the high percentage of people who can't reproduce the signal problems?
Click to expand...

So what's your point? What about the high percentage of people who don't get into accidents when DUI or the high percentage of people who don't get cancer from smoking? Should we stop trying to cure cancer or prevent DUI?
 
TB07-NJ said:
So what's your point? What about the high percentage of people who don't get into accidents when DUI or the high percentage of people who don't get cancer from smoking? Should we stop trying to cure cancer or prevent DUI?
Click to expand...
Like hyperbole much?
 
TB07-NJ said:
So what's your point? What about the high percentage of people who don't get into accidents when DUI or the high percentage of people who don't get cancer from smoking? Should we stop trying to cure cancer or prevent DUI?
Click to expand...

I kinda read OP as if he was asking if they would return their phone if apple offers replacements for "Fixes?"

I agree with your point though.
 
Watch video

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-20009936-233.html?tag=mncol;txt

This is a publication that I trust, and generally, they are fans of Apple products. This video is a great demonstration of the issue.

ALL IPHONE 4's have this problem. You will read one post about: just in the Apple store, and all phones dropped signal to searching, Then theres another post: Just at the Apple store, and all demo phones were perfect"

It's a location thing. If you happen to be close to a tower that has the right frequency, your all good. If not....you're not.


THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME DEFECT!! (that I choose to live with!)
PERIOD!!!!!
 
I have honestly tried to reproduce the issue.

I am a retired Test Technician with my specialty being RF testing, and I figured I should be able to reproduce the problem.

My guess is the reason I cannot reproduce it is because I am in an area with high AT&T signal strength, strong enough to cause the problem not to occur.
 
I have not been able to produce the signal problem, with or without case and bumper. In addition to this I have traveled constantly since receiving the phone, my family and I have driven through many states, some with little coverage like North Dakota. I will say that comparing the signal strength to my wife's 3GS and my son's 3G, that he 4G seems to be slightly weaker in getting signal in low coverage areas.
 
I hate biting at a thread like this, but do you honestly think Cconsumer Reports, NY Times, WSJ, CNN, BLoomberg, Reuters, NBC and on and on are all making thus problem up or exaggerating? Why else would Apple field a press conference today if the problem was so minor? It goes well beyond "where there's smoke there's fire." There is serious media frenzy going on and if Apple denies there is a problem today all hell will break loose.

And for the record I thought I had no problem either. Five bars in Boston, no dropped calls. Fifteen minutes away in Cambridge and service goes to zero, 100% of calls dropped. In Vermont, four bars on Edge goes No Service in ten seconds. And back in five bar Boston, data speeds go from 1.5 mg down to zero, all with five bars showing. All happening merely by grazing the antenna gap with the palm of my left hand.

Honestly those of you who can't reproduce the problem need to get out of the house more, or at least let in the fact that there would not be this firestorm of concern and a five billion dollar loss of market capitalization if there was no problem.
 
random person said:
I hate biting at a thread like this, but do you honestly think Cconsumer Reports, NY Times, WSJ, CNN, BLoomberg, Reuters, NBC and on and on are all making thus problem up or exaggerating? Why else would Apple field a press conference today if the problem was so minor? It goes well beyond "where there's smoke there's fire." There is serious media frenzy going on and if Apple denies there is a problem today all hell will break loose.
Click to expand...

Let's be clear about one thing .....

The NY Times, WSJ, CNN, Bloomberg, Reuters, NBC and on and on did nothing more then repeat story generated by a single source.

The testing that Consumer Reports is one thing, yet I have seen no one repeat their results.

If I was uninitiated the Consumer Reports " lab " setup would have impressed me but I am initiated and question their methodology. Everyone saw how they had the phone setup in a bracket with all that test equipment around it. Now go out and find someone who has tested RF devices in a lab setting and ask how it is really done.

The UUT ( Unit Under Test - iPhone ) should have been isolated in an RF Anechoic Chamber and all signal generation and data acquisition equipment in an adjacent room cabled into the chamber with shielded cables and conduit. This is even more critical when you get up into the frequency spectrum that cellular phones operate in.

I have over time noticed a propensity of the media to go into a feeding fenzy whenever they sense a little Apple blood in the water. But it's all good for Apple, they get free publicity and it seems more people then ever are buying into the brand.
 
Don't pass of "high percentage" as a fact as you can't possibly know if that is true or not beyond speculation.

Now if you don't have a problem then there is nothing to worry about. You can go your merry way as others with the problem work with Apple to resolve their issues.
 
I have tried to reproduce the signal drop off and so far I haven't seen it.
At home where the phone uses an M-Cell there is no problem, outside beyond the range of the M-Cell the signal while week is still better than what my 3Gs claimed. There might be some drop off in 3g speeds, but nothing really noticeable.

How much difference do bars make with a digital signal, either you get it or you don't. Maybe in the day of analog phones they were useful but what's the point today? A simple dot, green for signal, red for none would be just as useful and avoided all the silly who's got more bars nonsense.

Perhaps someone should devise a cydget for the phone when it's jailbroken that displays 6 bars for those times when you need that extra something..........:D
 
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