AppleCare memo emphasizes no free bumpers for iPhone 4 reception - Page 6

Originally Posted by jragosta

Actually, they did. Read Mossberg's review.



The point is that holding it cupped in your hand while holding it to your face is extremely awkward and not something that most people are likely to do. The way most people are going to old it will not have the bottom of the phone covered with your palm.

Originally Posted by macologist

This is getting silly...

Seemingly the same group of folks on this Forum are screaming at Apple here... The Sky Is Falling...

Others say what I've been thinking:

Shut Up and Return It? But the screamers don't seem to respond to that! So then I wonder:

what do they really want? Are they trolls, or whatever?

Then there are those who try to recreate this issue and can't! The funniest yet was the guy whose wife had this issue with 2 of their phones, but the guy/husband can't recreate this issue, and same goes for most others who have bought this product which is hardly available because of the huge demand!

Most people use iPhone with Cases! Many use it with Hands-free Ear Pieces, wired or Bluetooth, thus this issue won't come up in those cases!

Of course there are always those to whom Steve Jobs is a Devil..., and so they wish him, a cancer survivor, a speedy death, or so it seems from their venomous comments!

So... If most people are not having this issue, and Apple can't meet the demand, is it fair to be demanding free Bumpers?

Apple refuses to be dragged into this topic, as they are likely working on a fix...
Apple doesn't want to acknowledge this as a problem, cause they don't feel that it is!
Apple's Refund Policy allows for Return of their products, and I assume that includes item!

So, by dealing with this the way Apple is, Apple is calling some people's bluff -- Shut Up, or Return it for a Refund...

People are free to buy another phone, or design their own!

As I've read some antenna expert:

It's always a trade off! Apple took this antenna to the edge for better reception, because they understand that most people will use the case, and or Hands-Free!

With all the conflicting reports, plus no problem for most people, it's hard to know what the best fix would be!

I am getting suspicious of the same names here SCREAMING at Apple!
Again I say:

Apple is calling your bluff -- Shut Up, or Return it for a Refund!

Buy another phone, or design their own!

Steve,

\tPlease fix the proximity sensor. Antennae not a big deal, bumper works great. My cheek is able to conference, mute, turn on speaker and drop the calls.

Want to be able to focus on the task at hand during the call, not watching for the phone to change states.

Huge issue, thanks!

Originally Posted by jragosta

... The way most people are going to old it will not have the bottom of the phone covered with your palm.

Originally Posted by rbonner

Both sides want to be right, plain and simple. There is probably a fear here that if the phone is indeed defective, then they are in a minimum 2 year relationship that could see the risdual value of the phone plummet to 0. I am waiting it out, having the issue, and the issue with the sensor. But to be sure, at 28 days, I will take a look and possibly head back to the 3Gs.

Here is the text of a letter sent to SJ this am:

Originally Posted by anonymouse

One can't help but wonder if some of the "dropped calls" that are being blamed on the antenna are in fact related to the proximity sensor and accidentally hitting the end call button. I seem to recall someone saying they had a bunch of dropped calls, took it to a genius who checked the log and said there were no dropped calls, even though the person knew they had had calls dropped. Maybe there weren't any dropped calls. Maybe they just accidentally hung up because of the proximity sensor issue.

Originally Posted by st3v3

"Yet, in some places where the signal was relatively weak, the iPhone 4 showed no bars, or fewer bars than its predecessor. Apple says that this is a bug it plans to fix, and that it has to do with the way the bars are presented, not the actual ability to make a call. And, in fact, in nearly all of these cases, the iPhone 4 was able to place calls despite the lack of bars."

Apple was referring to a misrepresentation of bars that will be fixed in software, not an actual loss of service, loss of connection speed, lack of data access, or any of these REAL issues people are complaining about. There is a bug fix for a possible misrepresentation, yes. A bug fix for those with impacted service? That has been yet to be discussed.

Originally Posted by anonymouse

When held in the left hand, not held to your head as a phone, but holding it to use the computer functions of the device and/or on speaker, it's quite likely that the seam may be pressed against the base of one's thumb, in the most natural holding position. Under normal use, the contact may not be constant, but that touching this spot intentionally shows the ability to consistently reproduce the issue on some iP4s (but seemingly not all iP4s) points to a definite problem, the exact cause and nature of which is not understood, nor, apparently, even investigated by any of the articles that have been quoted or referenced.

Originally Posted by jragosta

... That's nice. But if you're holding it in your hand to access the internet, it's just not that big a deal to hold it a bit higher on the phone. It will take a total of 15 seconds to learn to hold it in a way that it's not affected.

I just got a new car. I had to learn where all the controls are. Is it a defect because I can't hit the windshield wipersl the way I'm used to?

Originally Posted by jragosta

The dropping bars problem has been well documented - and Apple says they're going to fix it.

So far, there's no evidence that the number of calls dropped is any greater than the previous version (or any other phone, for that matter). If you're aware of any real, non-anecdotal evidence, feel free to provide it.



That's nice. But if you're holding it in your hand to access the internet, it's just not that big a deal to hold it a bit higher on the phone. It will take a total of 15 seconds to learn to hold it in a way that it's not affected.

I just got a new car. I had to learn where all the controls are. Is it a defect because I can't hit the windshield wipersl the way I'm used to?

Originally Posted by st3v3

Yes, the misrepresentation of the level of service available in bars will be fixed by apple according to the Mossberg review.

However, the issue with actual signal attenuation has not been promised to be fixed or improved at all. The issue is, apparently, worse than other phones. This has been found both by owners and reviewers. Check out this article posted here:

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...on_issues.html

Originally Posted by st3v3

Also, that's not a good analogy for this situation at all. How about, "I just got a new car, and if I put my hands on a certain spot on the steering wheel I can't steer" ? Should the user have to be conscious of how and where they hold their phone for it to work? Isn't Apple all about ease of use? I don't believe this is something someone should defend, regardless of the company behind the product. Then again, you DID put electrical tape on your phone so clearly you're willing to slap a bandaid on your malfunctioning product.

Originally Posted by anonymouse

Not a valid analogy. This isn't like figuring out where the mute switch is.

Avoiding touching a part of the phone that will normally come in contact with your hand when held naturally for ordinary use isn't really an acceptable solution. Insisting that it is just makes you the anti-Ireland.

It's one thing for the signal to drop slightly when held, it's entirely another thing that it drops out altogether when touched in a specific spot a user is highly likely to touch.

Originally Posted by rbonner

Both sides want to be right, plain and simple. There is probably a fear here that if the phone is indeed defective, then they are in a minimum 2 year relationship that could see the risdual value of the phone plummet to 0. I am waiting it out, having the issue, and the issue with the sensor. But to be sure, at 28 days, I will take a look and possibly head back to the 3Gs.

Here is the text of a letter sent to SJ this am:

Originally Posted by haveyoumetmark

Yap, I could not honestly give a shit less about the antenna issues because they are user-fixable. Hold the phone a different way, get a bumper - boom, no problem. However, the proximity sensor is annoying to say the least. Putting people on speaker, muting them, hanging up, etc.

Originally Posted by jragosta

That's the point everyone keeps missing. It's NOT something that happens the way most people hold the phone when making a call. I'm not making calls with my hand cupped around the bottom of the phone - and I don't recall EVER seeing anyone else do that - in the thousands of people I've seen making phone calls.

It's a very real theoretical problem. There is, however, no evidence that it cause real problems (increase in dropped calls) compared to previous phones.





Your analogy is no good either. More like: "If I reach around and press a spot on the inside of the glove compartment, the car won't start". Not a big deal.



Anand's testing didn't show that it dropped out. And it's not highly likely that a user is going to touch it when making a phone call. In fact, it's difficult to do so.

You're also ignoring the fact that the iPhone 4 is more sensitive than other phones out there, at least according to Anand's tests. So even if it has a greateer drop in signal quality, greater sensitivity means that it may not drop calls as much. In fact, Anand reported that they were getting calls in places that they couldn't get calls with the 3GS.

Originally Posted by jragosta

It's a temporary fix while waiting for the software update that Apple told Mossberg would be forthcoming.

Originally Posted by str1f3

Just because Apple says so doesn't make it so. I suggest you read this article.

http://fscked.co.uk/post/751030001/m...4-signal-issue

There is something severely wrong when you can affect the signal of antenna with a cut up 1 in. paperclip. It's clear from that video that all you have to do is is essentially connect the two antennas to lose reception, much less have a "death grip" to block the signal.

Apple just may be able to fix it in software but it seems unlikely. When you watch that video it seems like a hardware issue.

Originally Posted by st3v3

If covering the seam is supposedly as much of a task as reaching around and pressing a spot inside the glove compartment, why do you have tape on your phone? Clearly it requires such effort to cover that area that you put tape on it as a temporary fix.