This is either a blatant lie or you live in an area with ****** reception to begin with. Simply bridging the gap on my iPhone doesn't even make me lose one bar. If I hold it tightly, I CAN make it lose 2-3 bars which is absolutely worse than most other phones. But that being said, nobody holds their phone in a death grip in everyday use so for me, it's a non-factor.
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Will the iPhone antenna issue be resolved with the new Verizon iPhone?
- Thread starter jeffs177
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This is either a blatant lie or you live in an area with ****** reception to begin with. Simply bridging the gap on my iPhone doesn't even make me lose one bar. If I hold it tightly, I CAN make it lose 2-3 bars which is absolutely worse than most other phones. But that being said, nobody holds their phone in a death grip in everyday use so for me, it's a non-factor.
I'm pretty sure he isn't lying but rather lives in an area with "******" reception because I live in an area with "******" reception and my experiences mirror his. Give up on the death grip description. All you have to do is bridge the gap, like the way I held my iphone4 and you got the drop. It's why I will go with Verizon's iphone, I have good Verizon service where I live.
I think build quality varies enough that it could be an issue for him and not for you. Don't assume everyone is lying or making things up because it doesn't happen to you personally.
I do agree that it's been blown out of proportion, but my AT&T reception sucks so bad where I work that I would be concerned about even a small drop in reception.
right, because I have nothing better to do then to lie about an issue that I can clearly replicate, also, watch all the videos on it.
Like I said, Not EVERYONE has the issue, just because you don't have the issue doesn't mean it does not happen to others. And yes, simply bridging the gap caused them to drop. I have one person I work with that has 3-4 bars of 3G, I took her case off, bridged the gap and the phone withing 30 seconds went from 3g, to EDGE, to no signal, If I have time I will grab the phone and do it just to prove that YOUR phone doesn't resemble the other millions sold
It's not a proven fact at all, actually. The signal strength will drop if you cover up the antenna, but that is true of any phone. This issue was the combination of media exaggeration and AT&T's oversold network.
I didn't say you were lying. I said it's either that or you simply have bad reception in your area to begin with. I just tried placing my thumb over the antenna to bride the gap while still leaving some of it uncovered and the signal remained on 5 bars. I then held it in the death grip and it dropped to two bars. This is the same on EVERY single iPhone I've ever tested it with in NYC. If your reception is bad to begin with then you will have an issue but it's not a major problem in real world usage.
Hardly a proven fact. Apple engineers are not as stupid as some think. Bumpers were given out to calm a few naysayers. Moving to Verizon should be their best bet. Those that think that a new iPhone will fix a poor AT&T signal are in for a surprise. 
What some people don't seem to realize is that you can replicate this signal drop anomaly on any phone by doing exactly the same thing. As you point out, it mostly depends on the signal strength to begin with. It's really no different than being inside of a building - the signal is partially blocked and you lose bars accordingly. The solution is to build more towers to concentrate the signal strength and to alleviate the strain on any one tower, especially in concentrated urban areas like NYC.
Engineers weren't the problem. Testing methods and secrecy were.
Testing: Phones are always tested in labs using dummy hands in order to get consistent results.
Secrecy: In the field, test iPhone 4's were covered with cases to hide them.
While I agree that there is a problem and that it IS a design flaw. I must admit that I have never been able to reproduce the problem, no matter how hard I grip the phone, and I've had it since August. So while this design is flawed and has been a some issue to some people, there are certainly a few of us where the experience has been even better than with the 3GS, with no issue whatsoever, even in low signal areas. Don't know if it is because I almost don't sweat or something but it's been flawless with me.
I find it annoying that people even dispute this. I used my 3G for its whole life with no problems.
The DAY my iPhone 4 came in the mail, I noticed the issue when I was running on the treadmill listening to Pandora. Within 10 seconds of holding the phone in my hand, I would lose all data and Pandora would stop. When I got home, I saw that people were starting to have issues.
It's so bad that my phone is practically unusable without a case. Even gently holding it is enough to flatline the signal, and this is in a town of pretty consistent 3-5 bars of 3G.
Like I said, I know the problem exists, I know that for some people it is a big deal and it really ruins the experience. In my case, I haven't been able to reproduce it, that's all. Read my previous posts, you will that I'm not even close to being an Apple fanboy (You would have to kill me before I buy a MAC), but that is just my experience with my iPhone 4, which has been no different than my 3GS or 3G.
Now I don't know if the reason is my carrier (I am not in the US therefore do not deal with AT&T) or if somehow some hands affect them differently, but I have never been able to reproduce the problem, no matter how hard I try. I have used speedtest app or downloading email attachments while doing the death grip and it makes no difference.
On the Feb 3rd I will be pre-ordering the phone at 3am, the first thing I am doing out of the box is trying to get the signal to drop by holding it in my left hand, If it does, then the phone will be returned until the next revision[/QUOTE]
Guess what, you will be returning your phone then, there was no redesign of the antenna for the Verizon Network. For me I never had a problem, I am not saying that i could not make the signal drop, but it never happened on accident. I had to actually try to do it.
I also have to say I don't know anyone with half a brain that does not have a case on their 600.00 phone. Even though you may have only spent 2 - 300 on your phone it is still a 600.00 phone. Now you may prefer not to use a case, because you think your phone should be indestructible, but that is just you being not smart. All that being said, If I were buying a Verizon phone, I would just not have the problem by buying a 10.00 case too. I am staying with AT&T, not because they are so great, or because Verizon is so bad, but because At&t is good in my area. And My iphone works fine.
Guess what, you will be returning your phone then, there was no redesign of the antenna for the Verizon Network. For me I never had a problem, I am not saying that i could not make the signal drop, but it never happened on accident. I had to actually try to do it.
I also have to say I don't know anyone with half a brain that does not have a case on their 600.00 phone. Even though you may have only spent 2 - 300 on your phone it is still a 600.00 phone. Now you may prefer not to use a case, because you think your phone should be indestructible, but that is just you being not smart. All that being said, If I were buying a Verizon phone, I would just not have the problem by buying a 10.00 case too. I am staying with AT&T, not because they are so great, or because Verizon is so bad, but because At&t is good in my area. And My iphone works fine.
Bull crap. Gruber said that 2 years prior to the release in antenna testing it was noted and filed that the user could cause bars to drop in situations with low/bad coverage.
http://daringfireball.net/2010/08/papermaster_damn_antenna
right, but if they moved the antenna then me holding it in my left hand would not simply short the antenna out. all I am concerned with is the bottom left portion, we shall see.... The reason I disagree with a case (and it's my opinion) is a lot of people buy this phone for the "look" of it, it's a great looking forward along with how great it works, so why buy a $600 beautiful phone and cover it right away with a case? I plan on getting insurance on it either way so what do I care if it breaks. I pay like $6 a month for insurance on my Incredible, I leave it naked and could care less if I drop it and it breaks, just get a new one and pay a deductible. Fact of the matter is if you have a $600 phone, Be careful with it, if it accidentally drops and it breaks, then it breaks, it's not the end of the world. I hate cases also because I use a Blackberry holster that fits the iphone and Incredible perfectly, if I put a case on it then it wont fit in anymore and there's really no other holsters I like, all the new ones suck and i hate the sideways ones, to bulky
The break in the bottom left of the iphone is in the same place on both phones. The top antenna in the verizon one has an aditional separation.
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Try living in Seattle pal. Half of my calls are dropped, and the ones I manage to keep are crappy quality ("hello? "Are you there?"). It wasn't peaches and cream with the 3GS, but at least I could have a decent conversation. Yes I have the bumper, which helps the signal, but signal strength doesn't seem to matter.
Givmeabrek said:Sorry, but there is no problem with the antenna. If you have a weak signal then you will have antenna problems with any phone. I have a good signal everywhere and have never had a dropped call.
Moving to Verizon is probably your best bet but don't think that any antenna problem is solved. The antenna design is essentially the same. Their are some that have already tested it and verified it works like all other antennas. Cover it with your hand and a weak signal will get worse.
Try living in Seattle pal. Half of my calls are dropped, and the ones I manage to keep are crappy quality ("hello? "Are you there?"). It wasn't peaches and cream with the 3GS, but at least I could have a decent conversation. Yes I have the bumper, which helps the signal, but signal strength doesn't seem to matter.
Actually, it's been proven by a number of sources, including AntennaSys (These guys are an antenna design consulting firm and this article is the most illuminating, by far), PCMag.com, Consumer Reports, Anandtech, and others. You should note that these reports conclude the problem lies primarily with the lower-left gap in the external antenna, meaning that this particular problem is different from other phones.
Now as for why you don't hear about the issue anymore. Who (besides flexengineer) is going to keep complaining about the issue when they know it's not going to help? Apple already had the press conference; your options are: return (or don't buy) the phone, use a case, or live with it.
You better believe, however, that people will start talking about it again when the Verizon iPhone and especially the iPhone 5 are launched.
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http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/02/verizon-iphone-review
There you have it. Same antenna. Same complaints about holding it in the lower left.
Note: I have never experienced any antenna problems with my phone.
There you have it. Same antenna. Same complaints about holding it in the lower left.
Note: I have never experienced any antenna problems with my phone.
What's not smart is a company the size of Apple designing a glass phone. The arrogance of giving the iPhone a shatter-prone glass back continues to boggle the mind.
Why go to all the trouble to design a gorgeous phone that almost requires you to cover it up? Seems like the left half of the brain isn't talking to the right half.
My phone's naked now, but I find in the summer when you're hands are always a bit moist, you damn near can't hold on to the damn thing.
I find that the iPhone 4's squarish shape does not lend itself well to looking good in a case. A case only exacerbates the already square shape. Awful looking, but as summer approaches, probably a necessity.
Thanks mate, but is it as thick and square as it looks here?: Lower picture looks good. Maybe it's just a bumper?
