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the iPHONE 4 Reception issue is a SOFTWARE issue! VIDEO link inside
- Thread starter computermilk
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Well, whaddya know. Same here. If I hold it with the tips of my fingers, like a normal call, bars stay full. But if I palm it, the bars drop.
"k I'm gonna attempt to do this with my other hand."
That's what she said...
haha. good job breaking the tension, if only for a little.
Yeah I watched a guys video and he tried show what would happen when you held the iPhone 4 and it stayed the exact same.
I just had the same thing happen on my 3GS on iOS4. If I hold the phone and don't cover the lower left of the phone, it's fine...5 bars of 3G. However if I cover the lower left corner with my fingers, the bars start to drop until 3G has zero bars and it switches to EDGE. As soon as I remove my fingers from the lower left, the bars start going up.
Incidentally, I can grasp without it affecting the bars as long as my fingers aren't covering behind the lower left corner.
Definitely an iOS4 issue.
Incidentally, I can grasp without it affecting the bars as long as my fingers aren't covering behind the lower left corner.
Definitely an iOS4 issue.
Before it was on iOS4 it didn't have signal loss when holding it. After updating to iOS4 it had the signal loss. So it's a software problem.
Yes I reproduced it on my iPhone 3G!!!
I went to the basement where reception could be iffy sometimes, saw the bars went down, but it down with 4 bars, took it up and wrapped it in my hand, and saw the bars went down to zero! It then came back up when I put it down and I could not reproduce it again. I guess it decided to lock on to the second tower.
I went to the basement where reception could be iffy sometimes, saw the bars went down, but it down with 4 bars, took it up and wrapped it in my hand, and saw the bars went down to zero! It then came back up when I put it down and I could not reproduce it again. I guess it decided to lock on to the second tower.
You do realize the reception and the way the phone handles signal is entirely software, yes? You're not proving any point here.
3G and 3GS have ALWAYS been like this. Just not as pronounced. Lol. You can pick it up and it looses a bar or two. Seems the iPhone 4 has an exaggeration of this, if not worse - a hardware issue. Besides, nobody finds it ODD that a physical action somehow triggers a software issue? Really?
There's some people with iPhone 4 who aren't having this issue, so that doesn't mean anything. The guy above updated to ios4 and is having the issue now, when he didn't before.
I have tried this on all of my iPhones from 3G to iPhone 4. I can't replicate this event on any of them . . . I guess that's a good thing.
well....you have to hand it to those software guys at apple....they've invented software that knows when you're holding your phone.....genius..
what crap....there is absolutely NO WAY this can be a software problem.
I'm sitting here with my phone balanced between my thigh and my knee...full 5 bars, 3G...
I slide my hand under the phone and close my hand around it (the phone has not moved!!) ....and my signal drops to nothing.
THAT IS NOT SOFTWARE.
what crap....there is absolutely NO WAY this can be a software problem.
I'm sitting here with my phone balanced between my thigh and my knee...full 5 bars, 3G...
I slide my hand under the phone and close my hand around it (the phone has not moved!!) ....and my signal drops to nothing.
THAT IS NOT SOFTWARE.
After all this info, here's what I think:
It IS a software issue with OS4.
OS4 adds "intelligent tuning of the radio", as mentioned by Mossberg and iFixit. It looks at signal strength, noise, etc. and picks the right channel. It appears to be buggy.
Apparently this new radio tuning thing is not iPhone 4 specific, it applies to a 3GS on iOS 4 too.
I think the placement of the hand near or on the antenna tricks the buggy radio-tuning software and throws it off. I think this is exacerbated in areas of marginal AT&T signal to begin with, or perhaps other unique situations with signal strength, operating frequency, and nearby interferences, which is why some people are seeing the problem and others aren't. Remember, every city has a different collection of cell providers, frequencies used, etc.
I also think AT&T software updates to the towers are a factor. Mossberg said they were updating their software to increase compatibility with iPhone 4. Some posters here were told by Apple last night that this process isn't done. I noticed in my own home (Folsom, CA) that last night my hand affected signal and this morning it didn't. Maybe they rolled out the update to my area overnight.
That sums up my opinion on the matter. I'm not going to sweat it. And thankfully, keeping my hand away from the bottom isn't a super big issue. I don't like it, but at least it didn't turn out to be an issue with the entire metal band, as originally thought.
It IS a software issue with OS4.
OS4 adds "intelligent tuning of the radio", as mentioned by Mossberg and iFixit. It looks at signal strength, noise, etc. and picks the right channel. It appears to be buggy.
Apparently this new radio tuning thing is not iPhone 4 specific, it applies to a 3GS on iOS 4 too.
I think the placement of the hand near or on the antenna tricks the buggy radio-tuning software and throws it off. I think this is exacerbated in areas of marginal AT&T signal to begin with, or perhaps other unique situations with signal strength, operating frequency, and nearby interferences, which is why some people are seeing the problem and others aren't. Remember, every city has a different collection of cell providers, frequencies used, etc.
I also think AT&T software updates to the towers are a factor. Mossberg said they were updating their software to increase compatibility with iPhone 4. Some posters here were told by Apple last night that this process isn't done. I noticed in my own home (Folsom, CA) that last night my hand affected signal and this morning it didn't. Maybe they rolled out the update to my area overnight.
That sums up my opinion on the matter. I'm not going to sweat it. And thankfully, keeping my hand away from the bottom isn't a super big issue. I don't like it, but at least it didn't turn out to be an issue with the entire metal band, as originally thought.