What are the facts pointing to it being "software" or "hardware"?

[michael31986]

i personally think its software and the fact that its not switching fast enough, because i still have the same speed with 1 bar or 5.

i don't see it being hardware, because thats something huge for apple to miss in their testings.

but i dont know much about cellphone electronically so what are the facts pointing to each one?

this will help alot of viewers on the forum i believe.

 

[Mosco]

No one here has any idea that is backed by any type of science or understanding of hardware/software. There are some people that claim there is no way it could be a software issue and there are some people who claim there is no way it could be a hardware issue. Both these groups are likely talking out of their ass.

Then there some that claim to be able to reproduce this on iOS 4 on a 3Gs, so that further puts a kink in everything.

I think the only reasonable thing to do is wait for a more definitive word from Apple or return your phone if you aren't happy.

 

[canadianipad]

No one here has any idea that is backed by any type of science or understanding of hardware/software. There are some people that claim there is no way it could be a software issue and there are some people who claim there is no way it could be a hardware issue. Both these groups are likely talking out of their ass.

True - but here is a nice read that provides some facts to the argument that it may be a hardware issue.
http://www.antennasys.com/antennasys-blog/2010/6/24/apple-iphone-4-antennas.html

 

[Pattycerts]

If you hold your hand there long enough the signal fades entirely, and it starts searching for a signal again. Many videos show this. I don't understand how anyone could call this a software issue. Wishful thinking I guess.

 

[bozzykid]

If you hold your hand there long enough the signal fades entirely, and it starts searching for a signal again. Many videos show this. I don't understand how anyone could call this a software issue. Wishful thinking I guess.

They could certainly update the software to not update the signal quality as much so the user doesn't see these fluctuations. Whether the signal loss by touching the antenna causes complete signal loss I am not sure. If that is the case, there is no way they can fix it with a software fix.

 

[jfrancis04]

If you hold your hand there long enough the signal fades entirely, and it starts searching for a signal again. Many videos show this. I don't understand how anyone could call this a software issue. Wishful thinking I guess.

Reason I think it could be a software issue is because it's happening on my 3GS with the iOS 4.0 update. The antenna isn't even on the left side of the 3GS. It doesn't make much sense to me, but I uploaded a video on youtube.

 

[Fernandez21]

at this point there are 2 theories that make sence on why this could be hrdware or software. personally i'm gonna wait for the software fix next week, if that doesn't fix it then i'm returning my phone and waiting until it gets fixed at the production level before buying one again.

 

[Minimoose 360]

Something about the software switching bands and/or towers when the antenna is compromised..it's supposed to happen instantly but the software is slow, allowing the phone to drop service completely.


I have no knowledge of such things, but that is the rumor I heard.

 

[Juan007]

It's well known that the "problem" is software. The iPhone 4 has a better antenna than the 3GS and can talk to additional towers. When you short the antennas in the bottom left corner the software goes a little nuts and you lose the extra towers, so reception becomes the same as 3GS. That's what I heard anyway.

 

[Fernandez21]

If you hold your hand there long enough the signal fades entirely, and it starts searching for a signal again. Many videos show this. I don't understand how anyone could call this a software issue. Wishful thinking I guess.

come on, we all know apple software is "magical"

 

[bmwhd]

No one here has any idea that is backed by any type of science or understanding of hardware/software. There are some people that claim there is no way it could be a software issue and there are some people who claim there is no way it could be a hardware issue. Both these groups are likely talking out of their ass.

Then there some that claim to be able to reproduce this on iOS 4 on a 3Gs, so that further puts a kink in everything.

I think the only reasonable thing to do is wait for a more definitive word from Apple or return your phone if you aren't happy.

Actually, you're wrong about that. There ar actually some of us thatbdobhVe a very good idea of what's going on and can back it up with some well reasoned opinion and a bit of first hand knowledge.

the baseband firmware code in iOS4 is different than before. AT&T and Apple have been working to reduce call drops on all gen iPhones by tweaking both the firmware and tower systems. The current approach has the iPhone looking at both signal strength and quality now.

This change is coupled with changes on the tower side that have not been rolled out to all towers as yet ( this from a well placed AT&T source).

The result is that antena atunation caused by touching the phone is mis-inturpreted by the OS as a case for switching towers. This is exacerbated by the fact that only some towers have the latest matching "fix" to the previous poor call handling.

Hardware is exposing what will ultimately be proven to be a software issue.

 

[jaykk]

Something about the software switching bands and/or towers when the antenna is compromised..it's supposed to happen instantly but the software is slow, allowing the phone to drop service completely.


I have no knowledge of such things, but that is the rumor I heard.

I think it is something to do with switching bands etc as well. I can consistently reproduce this issue at home, but couldn't ever produce this issue while driving.

 

[ntrigue]

I am not educated well enough in cellular communication to produce actual numbers, but I believe that the bars we see are inaccurately rendered.

I first noticed this with the 2.1 release on iPhone 3G. After this update my iPhone scarcely ever showed 2-4 bars.

In phone mode dial *3001#12345#* then press CALL. The Field Test Screen will appear. Select “Cell Information.” Signal Strength is on the top line after RX-.

Signal strength is a number ranging from roughly -50 to -105 (your phone may show as a positive number). Closer to zero means a better signal, i.e. - 50 (roughly full signal) is better than -105 (roughly no signal.)

I can't tell you how many times my 3G/3GS showed 5 bars but the number was -97, poor signal. My data tests confirmed with 230 download and 12 upload.

Apple is tampering with what the user sees and embellishing the results and they plan to go further with 4.0.1 tomorrow.