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OK, did a speedtest.net on the iPhone 4S:
Not covering the infamous areas: Down 1865 and up 1634 kbps

Now at the same location within a second covering the corners (as I usually hold the phone, little finger bridging on the right and palm on the left side):
Down 705 and up 197 kbps. The signal strength did not even change yet.

So - there is a reception issue as well, its NOT just a faulty indication of signal strength. I think Apple has a major problem at hand. The solution to just hold tour phone differently or to buy a case is ridiculous. Oh, your car does not run - here by this extra spoiler for $500, than it will do it...?


i was going to write a similar story earlier,,
iphone 4 200 + at least 350 to at&t for 2 years , bumper = 15% of initial cost

if Stevo came out with an iCar for 200,000 and after they got it found out they would have to spend 30,000 for bumpers to make it drivable, and 50,000 for the bluetooth remote control since when they touched the steering wheel it would stall. alot of people here would buy it and not complain.

i do fell sorry for the ones putting electrical tape and nail polish on their case.
some nail polishes contain naphtha, also to remove it you need to use a naphtha based solvent. Same with the residue from electrical tape. And using solvents will most likely eat away at that black insulator between the antennas, which will void their warranties.

So even if software fixes this mess, which i doubt it i will fix it 100%, those people might make the end result even worse .
 
Negative to Positive Response?

Judging from all the negative responders to Jobs' (Apple's) initial response to this issue here on MacRumors, I think it's safe to say that Apple could not simply shrug this off with a "It's normal. Deal with it." type of response. Granted, MacRumors readers & posters may be an a-typical (read: more emphatic) user group, but fingers crossed now that there is a real acknowledgement of this very real issue on the way...and hopefully...some kind of real fix. And here's hoping that it's more than a free case...that doesn't seem -- at least to me -- like the way to go. Cases wear out. What are they going to do? Free cases for life? To quote Homey Clown..."I don't THINK so!" As for my issues, I definitely notice a bar drop down to a flatline when I'm inside my home...but when I'm outside the home...the loss of bars is harder to replicate. But I live in a pretty strong signal zone...so even the in-home loss is surprising and didn't happen at all with my 3G iPhone. Fingers crossed now. And toes, too!
 
In my opinion, there is clearly an error in the software algorithms that handle signal strength measurement. It may simply be a calibration problem, or may be more complex.

As evidence for the above statement, one only needs to look at the sheer number of reports in this thread alone. :(

It also looks like there is a hardware issue, that affects some - but not all - of the new iPhones.

I'm certain we will see a software update really soon. :)

I'm also certain that Apple will not dare release any sales numbers before this issue is fixed.
 
Sorry to bust your bubble but the BBC and apple get along just fine. The have a huge amount of apple hardware and software. What anti apple proof do you have?

I wrote that there are many Apple evangelists at BBC.
But none of then write about anything Apple at BBC site.


Do you read their technology site?
I am talking about perception, obviously you may disagree, which does't mean that you are right and i'm not.
 
per ChrisJSNh
<i was going to write a similar story earlier,,
iphone 4 200 + at least 350 to at&t for 2 years , bumper = 15% of initial cost>

$30 would be 6% of $550.... I figure Apple either mitigates this with firmware while finding an easy way to coat the stainless, or starts giving out bumpers...
 
Here is my hypothetical:

I'm guessing they looked into the reception issue, told their customer service to tell people to expect a press release yesterday, but then found out late in the day that it was not any of the hypothetical reception problems detailed in the many threads here and by experts elsewhere. Then today, found out there was *another issue* that was not reception related but caused the current reception symptoms as a side effect. Fix that, and the reception problems go away automagically.

automagically??? are u a jobs drone by anychance ?
 
My thoughts: The chances of a software fix are good, but part of me thinks that his response may be just one of his essays on why he's 'right'. Think the 'flash' essay. He'll probably write a long essay about attenuation and how every phone suffers from signal loss and how 'hold it differently' is the right thing to do. Credit or bumpers may be offered, but an apology/recall, is out of the question.
 
So, bumpers don’t fix the issue, huh?
I did the tests exactly as you said. Sunday morning. I am in San Jose, CA. I continued to get 5 bars in every one of those configurations. I held both hands around the phone and still 5 bars all the time. Bumper on or bumper off. I repeated with wifi off. My wife did the same with me holding her 3GS. No change. Am I just lucky? Or would this mean some phones are bad and some are not? My son in Sunnyvale says he has not problem either.
 
Stay tuned means: I will shortly have a longer memo explaining why there is no issue with the iPhone. 'Thoughts on Antennas' or something.
 
I did the tests exactly as you said. Sunday morning. I am in San Jose, CA. I continued to get 5 bars in every one of those configurations. I held both hands around the phone and still 5 bars all the time. Bumper on or bumper off. I repeated with wifi off. My wife did the same with me holding her 3GS. No change. Am I just lucky? Or would this mean some phones are bad and some are not? My son in Sunnyvale says he has not problem either.

This antenna issue probably only affects one of the two cellular frequencies bands (850 or 1900). Consider yourself lucky you are serviced by the unaffected cellular frequency band.
 
The iPhone is a terrible phone.

"Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance..."

What a crock.

I've got a Samsung Intensity and I can put it up to my ear and cover the entire thing with my hand with no signal loss (I do that sometimes when I'm driving, as I live in a hands-free city.)

My wife's Droid is the same way. I can hold it however I want.

Hey, Apple: Maybe it's your garbage phone + the worst cell phone network in America that's causing this issue. It's weird though... You wouldn't think that something so "revolutionary" would have such issues...
 
I wrote that there are many Apple evangelists at BBC.
But none of then write about anything Apple at BBC site.


Do you read their technology site?
I am talking about perception, obviously you may disagree, which does't mean that you are right and i'm not.

I have read their tech articles. From my point of view they report facts, though would not kiss apples ass like other sites. They would never allow Apple evanglelists to write stories, BBC has policies where it must be seen as neutral. An Apple Fanboy would never be allowed to write for them, not to mention it would cause complaints.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8761240.stm I would not call that story exactly anti apple, To be honest, if Jobs and apple did not come out with daft statements, journos would not have all this fuel.

Frankly thier tech site kinda sucks, and so its not just apple. It would never go to the BBC tech site for tech stories.
 
I'm not much of engineer or anything but could this be a antenna amplification problem ie iOS4 tries to reduce battery consumption by reducing antenna power and does not increase it for some reason? Could explain why some 3Gs have been reported with similar problems?

Just a thought?

DrT
 
Just went to an ATT store and proved the bumpers and cases do NOT FIX anything. Tried all the cases and bumpers they have and went from full signal on both 3G and wifi to no signal on 3G and dropped me two bars on the wifi.

The person helping me didn't know what to tell me she was shocked...

I think a good test will be when the next wave of preorders get theirs and see if they have the same problem. Apple has to respond to this issue and I don't think a software fix will do the trick.

I can't hold my phone like normal when surfing the web, calling or doing anything that needs the 3G connection.:(
 
Just went to an ATT store and proved the bumpers and cases do NOT FIX anything. Tried all the cases and bumpers they have and went from full signal on both 3G and wifi to no signal on 3G and dropped me two bars on the wifi.

The person helping me didn't know what to tell me she was shocked...

I think a good test will be when the next wave of preorders get theirs and see if they have the same problem. Apple has to respond to this issue and I don't think a software fix will do the trick.

I can't hold my phone like normal when surfing the web, calling or doing anything that needs the 3G connection.:(

This doesn't make any sense. Either when you're getting that signal you're holding the phone insanely, or you have a defective unit.

The common signal issue is crossing the line between the two antennas in the lower left. It is not always reproduceable, but a single finger over that area can drop signal.

Now entirely cupping the bottom of the phone might drop the signal... but that's just an effect of covering the antenna.
 
Online, some are more equal than others

That's all I'm allowed to say, but trust me, the terrible behavior people have been reporting: It's a software problem.

Picture or it never happened!


Again.. without saying how I've come by this information I can tell you this software will fix the way the phone is reporting signal.

Thank you for the assurance, Adam.

Just one more thing...

Are you the Adam Posey who works as a driver at Pizza Hut or are you the one who works for Apple Inc and we don't know about?

Well, son, with 27 Adam Posey's on FB, why would you select the one you did?

Because drivers know everything.

Hahahaha! That's awesome.

Just out of curiosity - what would your local Pizza Hut think, Adam?
 
"Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance..."

What a crock.

I've got a Samsung Intensity and I can put it up to my ear and cover the entire thing with my hand with no signal loss (I do that sometimes when I'm driving, as I live in a hands-free city.)

My wife's Droid is the same way. I can hold it however I want.

Hey, Apple: Maybe it's your garbage phone + the worst cell phone network in America that's causing this issue. It's weird though... You wouldn't think that something so "revolutionary" would have such issues...

Yikes. The FanDroid troll speaks.
 
Hey, Apple: Maybe it's your garbage phone + the worst cell phone network in America that's causing this issue. It's weird though... You wouldn't think that something so "revolutionary" would have such issues...

My phone isn't garbage at all. It's bloody amazing. I'm awestruck by the amount of technology in there and in a size that fits in my pocket. I think maybe you should just take your phone back, say it's not working for you, get another make (I've owned a lot of Sony Ericssons, they're good too) and live happy.
 
There is no issue, but software WILL fix it! (Part 2)

There is no engineering issue that cannot be solved with a good software upgrade!
 

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Force baseband upgrade on unlockers... That is why it is a non-issue

hmm "stay tuned." I wonder what this means.....

I would be willing to bet that this isn't an issue but that Apple did this to force baseband upgrades on all unlockers once the dev team unlock came out! Don't know if anyone else thought of this..., didn't feel like reading through all the comments. That is just my conspiracy theory POV. The rest of me says, "it's just a glitch. When they bring out the update, it is going to make iPhone 4 the phone that everyone dreamed of!" while batting my googly eyes with thoughts of iPhone 4's with full signal bars running through my head.... Back to reality...
 
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