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STOP asking for free Bumpers!

M

mikejfrd

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 8, 2009
252
31
The Apple bumper or any other case that I've tried DOES NOT fix the signal issues. I don't know why people keep saying that Apple should give us a free bumper to solve the antenna issues! A number of people have already posted that they don't solve the issue!!!

With that being said!!!! I have never dropped a call due to holding the phone on the lower left corner with or without the case. I do however notice a significant drop in signal when I hold the lower left corner with or without the case. Cleary there is an issue; I just don't know how major it is.

Regardless, those of us that are experiencing the issue do not want a free bumper as a fix. I'd much rather have a real fix. The bumpers do not help with the signal loss and therefore please stop saying asking for them in every signal issue related thread.

Thanks.

PS. Yes I know this is a great thread; you're welcome!
 
Just don't hold it that way. We will talk to AT&T to make sure that you guys are eligible for iphone 5 at discounted price by next summer. Sound like a plan, huh?
-Sent from my iphone 4-
Steve jobs
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4 (32GB): 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)

Exactly. I have a bumper already, but I hate it. While it does make the phone usable, it looks like garbage, catches lint from my pocket, and quite frankly we shouldn't HAVE to use one to have a functional telephone.
 
maturola said:
several RF test on isolated chambers have been made that show that the bumper indeed solve the issue. ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah well i trust my own hand on the lower left corner of the phone test more. The signal drops with or without the case.

I'm not returning the phone because overall I am experiencing faster speeds and a better signal with the 4 over the 3GS in almost all aspects of usage. But it still doesnt change the fact that the bumpers DO NOT prevent the signal from dropping if you hold the lower left corner.

STOP ASKING FOR THEM!!
 
This thread is like going back in time about 2 weeks. What in the H prompted this thread?
 
mikejfrd said:
Yeah well i trust my own hand on the lower left corner of the phone test more. The signal drops with or without the case.
Click to expand...

You must have one Hell of a hand, dude, because I have the antenna issue and I use a case and there is no loss of signal no matter how I hold it as long as it is in the case. Anything that will prevent the two antennas from being grounded out to each other will work. Bumpers, nail polish, Duct Tape, Scotch tape, anything that is non conductive.

Lastly Consumer Reports in a new report out late today say the same thing, and I think I'll believe them more than I'll believe you.

No disrespect or in subordination intended. :D
 
Tom G. said:
You must have one Hell of a hand, dude, because I have the antenna issue and I use a case and there is no loss of signal no matter how I hold it as long as it is in the case. Anything that will prevent the two antennas from being grounded out to each other will work. Bumpers, nail polish, Duct Tape, Scotch tape, anything that is non conductive.

Lastly Consumer Reports in a new report out late today say the same thing, and I think I'll believe them more than I'll believe you.

No disrespect or in subordination intended. :D
Click to expand...

So you're admitting that Apple's iPhone 4 has a design flaw. A design flaw that can't be fixed - it can only be circumvented via an additional purchase and/or component.

Just wanted to make sure I read you correctly and that you weren't suggesting there's "no issue"
 
mikejfrd said:
The Apple bumper or any other case that I've tried DOES NOT fix the signal issues. I don't know why people keep saying that Apple should give us a free bumper to solve the antenna issues! A number of people have already posted that they don't solve the issue!!!

With that being said!!!! I have never dropped a call due to holding the phone on the lower left corner with or without the case. I do however notice a significant drop in signal when I hold the lower left corner with or without the case. Cleary there is an issue; I just don't know how major it is.

Regardless, those of us that are experiencing the issue do not want a free bumper as a fix. I'd much rather have a real fix. The bumpers do not help with the signal loss and therefore please stop saying asking for them in every signal issue related thread.

Thanks.

PS. Yes I know this is a great thread; you're welcome!
Click to expand...

It would be great if you knew what you were talking about.

There are TWO causes for the signal dropping.

1. You are in a weak signal area. You cover the antenna a little bit to much and you lose more of your signal. Short of having a better signal nothing will help. The more interference any antenna has across a wide range of devices will cause a weaker signal.

2. You bridge the gap in the lower left corner. This is the more serious issue. Your signal will drop dramatically or you will lose service. This IS solved by the bumper. Your hand is no longer contacting the antenna.
 
RTigay said:
It would be great if you knew what you were talking about.

There are TWO causes for the signal dropping.

1. You are in a weak signal area. You cover the antenna a little bit to much and you lose more of your signal. Short of having a better signal nothing will help. The more interference any antenna has across a wide range of devices will cause a weaker signal.

2. You bridge the gap in the lower left corner. This is the more serious issue. Your signal will drop dramatically or you will lose service. This IS solved by the bumper. Your hand is no longer contacting the antenna.
Click to expand...

He is right my house i have this issue but been going out side of my house other places like where i work i cant seem to get the atenna to drop.
 
Samcraig,

I didn't say a design flaw and I wouldn't because I don't know. Unlike other dreamers on here who think they know everything I don't.

It could be a manufacturing error that a clear nonconductive coating that was supposed to cover the antenna was either not put on or was put on wrong. Such things happen all the time.

I do know this, Antenna issue or not my phones have always lived in a case and always will and according to both Consumer Reports and the earlier Report from the outside testing lab a case or bumpers will solve the issue.

When you add this to the fact that a case will keep your phone looking pristine for the time that you have it so you can trade it in for top dollar then to me it is a no brainer ---- you put the thing in a case and keep it there.

People put bras on the front of sexy sport cars all the time to prevent them from being damaged by bug, and rock hits in ordinary driving. If the manufacturers of these cars designed them correctly then the bras would not be needed. But they are.
 
Tom G. said:
Samcraig,...
Click to expand...

Fair enough. Consider this.

If it was a coating issue - why wouldn't apple just say "wow - it appears that some of our phones were not done to our specifications. If you're having this issue - please come in and exchange the phone"

Instead of "You're holding it wrong."

Phones not having a coating (urban myth?) is something that would be one of the first things they'd check, no? Or at least one of the things they'd consider?

As for the case thing - I don't disagree. I have always had a case. I wouldn't think of NOT having a case. But that's not really the point. The point is - that the phone should work out of the box as intended. Because if someones wants to be careless and go caseless - they shouldn't have a phone that doesn't work like it's supposed to. And when their phone gets dropped or water damage or whatever - feel free to tell them that they were foolish.

At this point though - for me (and not ego, just an FYI - I was the one who got the infamous email from Steve about holding it wrong) it's not about the fix or the issue. I had/have the issue - but I carry my phone in the case. My bigger issue was the imaging problem I had on both phones (which were replaced) and now works great. Anyway - the bigger issue, for me, is Apple's response. Their stubbornness and unwillingness to admit that perhaps - just perhaps they screwed up. Or that some of their phones do not operate to spec.

Their public letter was a farce and smokescreen. Their recalibration of signal strength is a solution to a problem they created a few years back when they re-calibrated the signal to make it look like the iPhone had better reception when it didn't. But they are using that as a smokescreen. And many people don't like it.

I don't care or want a free bumper. And at this point, I'm content with my iPhone despite it's flaws. I care about how a company responds to it's customers.
 
SamCraig

Fair enough, let us look at say Microsoft because today their CTO took a swipe at the iP4 saying it might be their Vista.

By saying this he is admitting that they knew all along what a total piece of trash it was, but kept foisting it off on people for how many years. Even going so far as to force people to pay extra for a computer that didn't have that garbage on it, but had XP. How many years did they just do nothing.

The iP4 has been out what about 22 days and you want a perfect solution to a issue that doesn't even totally prevent the phone from working. A bit unrealistic don't you think?

Lets see what they have to say on Friday. There is not going to be any kind of total recall you know that. They may give bumpers or a credit for a case but that is all. And I would be happy with that as I know that a case solves the issue on my phone.

It does not bother me in the slightest that it is needed for the antenna, and a lot of other people feel the same. It seems to me watching this forum that the "It must work naked or it is a FATAL design flaw" are a very vocal minority. The vast majority just want to use their phone and go on.

As far as Steve Jobs e-mail to you, I would be happy to hear from the head of a large corporation, you knew of his tendency for brevity. Sometime this comes out very brusque. Try writing to the head of Verizon about them charging $10.00 a month for 4G service even if you don't live in one of the 33 cities that have it. See if you get an answer from him.

I now need to sign off it is 10:00 PM here and I have to get up at 5:30 for work. It's the curse of those who want the latest in high tech gadgets. :D
 
I think that it is funny how people are going to settle for a bumper which costs a buck or two to make to fix their $300, $$$ for apps+accessories ! It is like buying a car with a leaky engine and the manufacturer sent everyone some kind of wrap to stop the leakage!
 
mikejfrd said:
The Apple bumper or any other case that I've tried DOES NOT fix the signal issues. I don't know why people keep saying that Apple should give us a free bumper to solve the antenna issues! A number of people have already posted that they don't solve the issue!!!

PS. Yes I know this is a great thread; you're welcome!
Click to expand...

Same here. I do Not want a free bumper. I want a fix that will allow my iPhone to stay naked. Vinyl tape, replacement, powderer coating on metal case, anything but an ugly bumper or case that increases the size and make the phone hard to out of my pocket.
 
yea seriously, cause the bumper probably costs Apple about $28 to make so they aren't making much profit on them to begin with
 
RTigay said:
It would be great if you knew what you were talking about.

There are TWO causes for the signal dropping.

1. You are in a weak signal area. You cover the antenna a little bit to much and you lose more of your signal. Short of having a better signal nothing will help. The more interference any antenna has across a wide range of devices will cause a weaker signal.

2. You bridge the gap in the lower left corner. This is the more serious issue. Your signal will drop dramatically or you will lose service. This IS solved by the bumper. Your hand is no longer contacting the antenna.
Click to expand...

HAHAHA!! Seriously??? Did you really just write that?? You must work for Apple. Don't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about when I'm sitting here at my house and watching the damn signal drop with or without the bumper on it. I can give two ***** what CR or Apple says about it. If I hold the lower left corner of the phone WITH or WITHOUT the case on it, the signal DROPS!! Get over yourself and don't tell me what I do and don't know. Its common freakin sense.

...and to answer the other question, I started this thread because theres a misconception that the bumper solves the signal issues because it doesn't!!
 
I have never had the signal drop when using the bumper case. Also, without the bumper case, I have to do the "death grip" for at least 35 seconds before I see any bars drop, it took me over 2 minutes, multiple times, to go from 5 bars to no service. I never hold my phone that way anyway, so the issue doesn't affect me with or without the case, but the case does work.
 
mikejfrd said:
Get over yourself and don't tell me what I do and don't know. Its common freakin sense.

...and to answer the other question, I started this thread because theres a misconception that the bumper solves the signal issues because it doesn't!!
Click to expand...

Just to be clear, you started a thread to tell everyone what to do. But still you need to tell people to get over themselves?

The bumper works for most people. Common sense doesn't dictate that what works for you, with your phone, in your house, will work for everyone else.
 
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