Apple says any mobile phone has reception issues when held wrong - Page 5

None of this refutes the plethora of videos out there of iPhone 4 dropping service by the simple act of being held, not to mention the ones showing the iPhone 4 losing service while laying flat on a surface and being touched at the antenna gap. I would rather believe that there is less of a bias in the videos over these talking blogheads and Apple apologists.

Where are the videos of any other phone going from 5 bars to no service in 20 seconds simply because they are picked up and held?

And the 1st time you drop the phone with one on, you will MAYBE be glad it was on there.

I tried to buy one when I picked up my phone yesterday, but shock, Apple ran out of them.

It sure seems like Apple need to do something to address this, it sure looks like it may be a problem that goes beyond what happens with other phones. Hopefully it's something they can address with a hardware update, but in the meantime I wonder if the easiest solution would be to give all iPhone buyers a free bumper?


Considering that you agree that Apple didn't say that and that the headline changed the wording, it sure looks like I didn't miss it. Thanks for confirming that.

I guess you think it's OK to write headlines that mislead about what was actually said. I disagree.



Funny, I didn't say that the droid and nexus are the same. I said that they need to make sure the droid doesn't have less signal while held if they wanted to run an ad like that. Have you tested this with a droid? Has someone online done it and posted the results? And for all droid models including the new upcoming one? I'm not saying it has the issue, I'm just asking if they have been checked to see if they do or don't.


Funny, the article you quoted doesn't really say that. And saying they won't have to recall ALL phones (just some?) isn't exactly a ringing endorsement, is it?

Jobs actually demonstrates how you should hold the iPhone (also from engadget)

Not on my phone. If I place my finger right over the joint, I see a drop from 4-5 bars to 1-2 bars. If I do what you're suggesting - holding the phone from the sides and placing my pinky onto the bottom, there is no drop.

This isn't surprising - the change in capacitance and conductivity must be at least an order of magnitude different.


None of that indicates that it's going to be a problem for any given user.

I am able to demonstrate the problem 100% of the time by touching the joint. OTOH, when I'm holding my phone normally in my left hand to make a call, my hand is nowhere near that joint. Look at most of the videos. It would be nearly impossible to make a call with your hand in the position of these videos.

I'm not saying that it shouldn't be fixed (and I already offered my suggestions on what Apple should do). I am saying that a large number of users may never see a problem (and that is consistent with reports that many people aren't seeing problems).

I *think* the whole chicken little thing was basically trying to say that even if there are 100 separate documented cases of the exact problem - consider that there are supposed to be something like 1.5 million iPhone 4 units being sold in the first few days - meaning that 100 instances is a tiny fraction - even if we assume that only 1 in 10 people with the problem have been able to report it on the web in any manner that is still only 1000 out of 1.5 million - even if it is 10,000 or 100,000 or even all of the initial shipment - it is still a possibility that it is a manufacturing defect such as a wire or screw or connector or insulator etc that is not properly installed - while I suppose it is possible - it seems unlikely to me that it is a software issue.

So while I do not agree with name calling in any case - for anyone to claim that the entire iPhone 4 design is flawed because there is some unknown number of instances of reports of a problem - could be related the Chicken Little - the Sky is Falling - mentality - which simply means that a mis-understood problem is being blown way out of proportion to what is really going on.

Which is not to suggest that i have any data which indicates that it is NOT a design flaw (hardware or software) - and also not to suggest that Apple and any consumer should NOT take this issue seriously - just that more information (or perspective) or real data - and even root cause analysis is needed before anyone can say whether it is a design flaw.

Apple's response that it is normal with any phone - don't hold it that way - does seem very rude to me - sort of like telling a doctor that it hurts when I do this (demonstrate physical action) and the doctor telling you "don't do that"

When we as consumers spend our hard earned (and heavily taxed) income on a product - we have a reasonable expectation that it should be free of defects and work as advertised.

What about when you are using the phone as computer, perhaps while on a call?

It's not suppose to. There are issues with all CE. There will be bad batches. There will be replacements for bad devices. I've even stated I know someone who received a DOA iPhone 4.

My post refutes, deconstructs and utterly destroys the chicken little trolls claiming this is a "design flaw" affecting ALL iPhone 4s.

Sent from my lefthand-held iPhone 4 with 5 bars.

Well, first let me say this is in fact a design flaw. I think what they should so is make the bottom portion mirror the top portion and then you'd have connection between the two at the bottom instead of the sides where people are likely to bridge the gap.

With all that said tho I've tried holding my phone to make a call and it just feels really unnatural. Since iPhone launch day one I've gripped it with my fingers when holding it to my ear, occasionally the bottom corner hits against my thumb but I never actually palm it while talking to someone. Well, unless I'm using the headset or surfing the web So, yeah, it's still a problem but one that I personally never run into.

I dont get it either, are we the only people on the planet without this problem...you'd think it was everyone, but I can hold my phone the "wrong way" and see no bar drop off...maybe it depends on what cell band the phone is locked onto?

If not free, bumpers should be 10% over costs (manuf./packaging/shipping,etc)... I say this because of Apple's official response -- which is, essentially: Users lose signal if you "hold" your phone wrong.

Strip away everything else about their statement... This worries me. So, if 1.5 million iPhone4's have been sold so far; every 1% equals 15,000 iPhone4's.

Could the horrid publicity of the 1, 2 or 3% negate the awe of the 97%?

Please tell me I'm exaggerating. It will make me feel better.

If you are in an area with a strong signal, it won't happen.

Holding the phone naturally, the problem arises routinely and to the max when running Speedtest. The program simply doesn't work until the antenna gap is released. The program stops working in the middle of testing just as soon as the gap is touched and bars go from 5 to 0 in just a few seconds.

I hate to think how many calls will be dropped because of this. Important calls.

Have you let someone else hold your phone in the manner that causes others to fail? Or shorted it with foil gum wrapper or some such? It would be interesting to see if hand dampness and dead skin cell thickness plays a role.

They really should just make the bottom portion dead and call it a day - that would fix all of this no matter how you hold it and no matter what batch of product you got.

Every video of older Apple phones doing this require a lot of hand crowding. The iPhone 4 just requires regular holding, even touching with 1 finger in the wrong spot does it. Not so with any older iPhone.

It wasn't misleading. The word "wrong" wasn't used by Apple. Headlines always try to boil the point of the article to a susinct few words. Paraphrasing is often used and is acceptable.

Example: Clinton says he did not relations with that woman. The headline reads "Clinton says he did not have sex with Lewinski." That headline is no more misleading than the one we are discussing. Both parahrased and did not change the meaning of what was actually said.

I know, it's a joke.

Steve says all phones lose their signal when held wrong. BS. My old Samsung does not care where I hold it. I never lose my signal in regards to where I hold my phone. Of course, I am on another network. Fix the problem and add more carriers Steve!!!!!!!

The last 3 phones I've owned (all non-apple, and all non-smart) have included specific verbage in the manual on how to hold the phone in relation to the antenna, and one even had a sticker on it essentially saying "don't touch here". Its too bad Apple is getting so much negative press about it.

Many reports seem to indicate that the issue occurs in poor reception areas and is not evidenced where there is a strong signal.

Here: (1st hit on google as an example)

http://www.macworld.com/article/1523...4_antenna.html

My test here takes it down to no bars after about 40 seconds. And to make matters worse, with the bumper installed and on a call, it drops as well. Just happened to notice it after wondering why calls just disappeared. No beep, no indication, just gone.

The fact that you'd still recommended the phone to a friend is precisely why Jobs has the balls to say these kinds of things. If more decent, honest guys like you said no, it's time to take a stand, Apple would have less of leverage when it came to things like this. As for me I'm telling anyone who's buying a new phone to steer clear of the iPhone 4, until a legitimate fix is issued.

I've run probably every test you can imagine except leaving my city to test in an area with weaker AT&T service. I also haven't been able to assertion the 3G band in use due to the removal of the *3001#12345# Field Test Mode.

I've even gone so far as to open a Neti Pot sodium packet into water before moistening my hand. Nothing! It's simply not an issue an issue affecting every phone.

At the very most, it's an issue with a particular 3G band with the TruQuint chips being utilized, which would mean a design flaw with the TriQuint chips, not the iPhone's antenna. As noted by my previous post the iPhone 4 is offering reception where there previously was none. Of course, there is the off chance that AT&T upgraded their network between the time the last iPhone wa used an te iPhone 4 was activated. \

Which goes against the trolls claim that it's a design flaw shorting out the antennas.

Since your too lazy your post is irrelevant, all the people that aren't too lazy and have posted videos on You Tube of the iPhone 4 issues are not irrelevant.

That I would believe is a software problem or network congestion problem, not a problem with the antenna.

This again? Someone said they saw the video showed the bar drop from 5 to zero suggesting the problem can happen even when you got strong signal. Then someone posted the picture of his holding the phone "the wrong way" with 5 bars intact or when someone said they didn't have the problem, there's always this "that's because you got strong signal" excuse. If you have no clue about the situation then why won't wait until you have a clear idea?

What about friends & family (if any) that live close enough to you to be on the same cell site? Are their iPhone 4's trouble free as well?

It is heartening to me that there are some that do not exhibit this behavior.

edit: Everyone I know that purchased an iPhone 4 has this problem. That is 14 people in 9 cities in 3 states (NC, SC and GA)

Yeah but didn't you shout to high heaven for six months about no wifi on your phone?

$29 for the bumper is a little pricy. I found a much cheaper alternative....

FACT: This is just highly questionable design... Function Should Never Follow Form

Remember:

- Good design makes a product useful (Apple iPhone 4 reception issue = Fail)

- Good design is durable (Apple iPhone fragility issue = Fail)

Considering AT$Ts coverage is spotty pretty much everywhere it will effect quite a few people. The sky wont fall people will just return their phones. Before it was easy to blame AT$T for crappy service now we have crappy AT$T and a crappy iPhone.

In a nutshell, the FCC doesn't test the phones by actually holding them up to someone's head and making calls, they test the phone flat with nothing touching it. Now this doesn't let Apple off the hook for the design, but it does explain why its easy to block the antenna, and why is it there in the first place. Take a look.

http://www.antennasys.com/antennasys...-antennas.html

typical apologist response.

The issue here is not that all phones have points where reception goes down. The issue is that the iPhone 4 reception goes down when held in the MOST common way all phones are held. if ANY other phone is held like iPhone 4 is when signal goes down, nothing happens. Its only happening on the iPhone 4 where the signal is going down when you hold it to receive or make a call.

Did he go to Stevie's house looking for this new instrument? Did he hook him up?

This is bullshit. Listen, I have never, ever, ever seen a phone that goes from 5 bars to no service touching the part you are meant to touch with one finger, or even a key, in my whole life. No iPhone has even been this sensitive to touch on the reception front. And remember this, there are over 50M iPhones out there already. This thing is only out a day and YouTube is flooded with videos, and Apple's telling people to buy cases to fix the issue. And it is an issue. Even if the cases were free I'd tell Jobs where to go.

Fix it or risk sending customers away and tarnish your reputation for a long, long time. Apple needs to get to fixing this.

Besides, when Giz said they got better coverage than before that was wearing a bumper. This is literally the first iPhone that can't be used naked for a lot of people. I sincerely thought Gruber was going to be honest on this one. I was waiting for him to write another shit-sandwitch post, but he didn't. Gruber has been wrong in the past, and it seems like his wrong this time. What's worse, he didn't even mention that Gizmodo were using a bumper for those extra bits of coverage. He either didn't do his research or chose to omit that important piece of information.

What's worse, Gruber tries to hint there's an ulterior motive to Giz's post. With regards this particular circumstance, he's full of it.

The problem with this guys article is that he was approached by a reporter and asked about the iPhone loosing some signal bars. He launched into his whole analysis about attenuation. I buy that. If the reporter had said instead "talk to me about the iPhone going from 5 bars to no service in 20 seconds when you pick it up or touch it in a certain spot" then he would be relevant.

He's been banned. You're welcome.

You must be new here.

Hang out a while. You'll learn from the others here that Apple's designs are infallible. Any issue that appears to be a result of an Apple design is merely a user error.

Yep.

And the hockey puck mouse was just misunderstood.
And the Wallstreet PBs never had any hinge problems.
And there was no NVidia replacement needed.
And no one's ever seen a bulging battery.
And....