Every week Apple doesn't act on iPhone 4 antenna could cost $200M - Page 3

Damn, I wish I were employed by Google!! I'd have a nice office, a great campus and wouldn't live in the sticks where my job is located.

Nope, I had a Verizon Dare, and jumped ship to AT&T to get the iPhone after admiring the 3G and the 3GS. I expected the iPhone 4 to be AT LEAST as good as the 3GS - and in a great many regards it's superior. But holding onto a weak signal is not one of them. When my phone is on my desk, it works great; when I pick it up - the phone drops the call.

However, when I disable the 3G - the phone works as well as my co-worker's 3GS. So, a part of the puzzle is firmware (face detection, 3G degrading cell phone reception) - but the design flaw still exists. I'm using a case, and with the case the problem is essentially fixed - but the principle of the matter remains. The phone requires aftermarket accessories for it to function as advertised.

How do you go from making comments like these?




...to one like this? It hurts your credibility.

You do know that won't happen don't you? The problem is that I'm still wasting my time reading the same minutia. I just wish Apple would do something to shut up the whiners. Everyone of them knows they can take the iPhone back for a refund anytime they choose. But whining and bitching about Apple is more fun. Of course we can only guess at how many of these people actually have an iPhone to whine about.

Who Cares... Just Resolve the Issue Already -

NOT true. How about informing yourself before you state something like that?

If you hate the phone that much return it and get over it.

I got to thinking today... perhaps this whole mess actually is a software issue.

I read somewhere where someone suggested that maybe when you touch that part of the phone, it's actually making it MORE signal, not less, but the software screws up and makes the signal drop.

How hilarious would it be if Apple rolls out a software update that fixes the problem and reception is actually improved when you pick it up and have no more dropped calls.

If I recall correctly, Apple has been able to fix issues with their computers that a lot of people SWORE that it HAD TO BE HARDWARE with a software update. After all, software CONTROLS the hardware.

Am I right?

I'm not saying that this software update will solve the problem because I have just as much doubt as everyone else about it, but it would be interesting if they did in fact find something in the baseband that wasn't making the hardware act as it should.

impiously

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...EYWORDS=toyota

For me it's not the most evident thing who's fault it was but how to avoid it.
Please keep at least least the respect for the victims.

Except you, I guess everyone else has an iPhone around here. You should get one too. It's a glorious new way of watching movies and listening to music. When you need to make a call, use your micro SIM adaptor with your micro SIM on the 3GS!

LOL, you bought a Verizon Dare and expect to be taken seriously?

No, that's what some of you think. And its really irritating to people who know better.

So knock off the name calling, as it doesn't make your iPhone work any better, and it certainly doesn't make mine suddenly develop a problem it never had in the first place.

In other news, iPhone 4 fits really well into the original iPhone dock...anyone try this yet? I just discovered it today and could not be happier.

I think the reason people aren't returning their iPhones just yet is:

1. It's still an amazing piece of tech (if held right). HD video camera, Facetime, Retina Display, blazing speed
2. People are still within their 30 days and they're waiting for some sort of fix or response from Apple.
3. It doesn't bother some people enough to return it. They just learn to hold it differently.
4. People in high signal areas will never know that something is wrong with their iPhone 4.

I returned mine and now I'm back to being happy again. I'm using my iPhone 3G on a go-phone plan from AT&T and I've got 2.2.1 firmware loaded on it. I couldn't be happier right now.

q.e.d. :d

it wasn't out of disrespect for the victims, but rather out of disrespect for the illogical bs that was posted earlier about needing to be affected by the antenna issue in order to comment on it. Obviously if someone dies in a car crash, they can't comment.

I understand wanting an expensive product to work well. I do not understand buying a product with a new design and not understanding the risk in buying on the first day. When I am an early adopter (white slab iMac and iPad) I understand that there is a risk of undetected problems.

I do hope for the sake of all who bought, that Apple will be able to fix the problem that many are having. If the problem with antenna does bother you excessively, return the thing. You can cancel your contract with AT&T in the U.S,

No way. The answer is clear: Once Apple releases their software update which defies the laws of physics, this whole mess will go away.

Anyone who believes otherwise is a troll.

Wow...guess what...your iPhone doesnt work...and it is never going to work...sucks for you.

YOU CAN'T HAVE THE iPhone 4...deal with it.

It is not a hardware defect no matter how much you and the others want to whine and cry and get all upset about it.

Apple wont do a recall....NOT GONNA HAPPEN....but you can keep praying for one.

Millions arent lining up to return their phones.

Consumer Reports looks like idiots because the have it as their highest rated phone yet they wont recommend it. LOL!

Call an Apple store and ask them if you can come down and pick up an iP4. they'll tell you to get in line....what does that tell you?????

Good grief people still just dont get it.

The only way we will know if this issue is 'resolved' will be if Apple redesigns it or they don't. And that will take months.

In the meantime, I will wait with my 3Gs. The last thing I want is a 4G with a flaw and then Apple introduces a redesigned one and I'm left holding a flawed unit.

I sold my 1st gen iPhone for $80 eight months ago and upgraded to my 3Gs for a net of $120 cost instead of $200.

My plan was to sell my 3gs for around $250-$275 and make $50-$75 and upgrade to the 4G.

But now I have second thoughts.

I was not charged any restocking fee.

You're right, it's not a hardware defect.

The hardware is working exactly as science tells us it should.

This is a design flaw.

People are lining up to buy the phone because many are unaware of this issue.

Don't believe me?

Ask someone in an Apple store buying an ip4 if they know about the issue.

Also, it's more than just a phone.

It's still a great little product with all it's other features.

You look like an idiot for not understanding the actions of consumer reports

and also for commenting like this.

bingo

You are so full of shit. We can smell you a Droid mile away. All your posts smell of BS propaganda.
You just gave yourself away there. You think anyone actually believes that except for the other trolls on this site? Funny how my friends and I can hold iPhone 4s while enjoying the very accurate turn by turn GPS and make crystal clear calls without any interruptions.

First: SJ Sharks Fan...


What Apple has discussed is a cosmetic change. But, I suspect that if "changing the bar display" was all the update did-- we would have already seen it.

There are 2 other potential issues relating to signal and call dropping:

1) the proximity sensor?

2) the handoff between 3G and 2G when the signal strength is low.

I haven't investigated the proximity sensor issue and have nothing to say.

On the 3G/2G handoff, several users have reported that the iP4 (compared to the 3G or 3GS) attempts to hold on to the 3G connection and drops the call before it handsoff to 2G. This only really occurs where the 3G signal is weak or marginal. Some have stated that turning 3G off on the iP4 resolves the issue.

That leads me to believe that there is an issue with the 3G/2G handoff related to dropped calls. This could be exacerbated in the eye of the user when the 3G signal is erroneously reported as being strong.

Unless the 2G or 3G radios are defective, I suspect that the:

-- detection of signal strength of both 3G and 2G
-- averaging of signal strengths (over time) to determine which radio to use
-- the actual handoff (up or down)

are all performed in software and/or radio drivers.

That, coupled with the fact that we've seen no software update to correct "bars" issue, makes me think that Apple is changing the software to reduce "dropped calls" as well as display the "bars" correctly.

My experience with Apple, over many years, tells me that they will "do things in software" that others do with hardware only. This gives Apple the ability to "tweak" the hardware instead of replacing it.

.

From my understanding, this is where the software update will come in. See, yours doesn't drop as much as his because you're in an area with better reception. He says it drops by 4 bars, but since he might have never even really had 4 bars to begin with, he might really only be dropping by the equivalent of 1 bar, but it's enough to kill his connection. The software update that will accurately show his reception might leave him looking at only 1 bar to begin with instead of 4.

So just because some people experience this a bit more intense than you, it doesn't mean what they're saying is suddenly proven false

Emphasis mine!

Could it be that the diagnostic utility needs to be rewritten to support an additional radio band? To support different chips/drivers?

.

Hey Braniac...you would have to be living under a rock not to have heard about the antenna issue and the iP4. It has had massive media coverage since DAY ONE.

You know how ridiculous this statement is: "People are lining up to buy the phone because many are unaware of this issue." So you are saying peoples phones are working so well that they dont realize they arent working well?/ OMG that is comedy gold. Are you related to Bagdad Bob?

I along with many mainstream business and tech journals are ridiculing CR for their seemingly incongruous position.

Keep on banginig the drum...all you will end up with is a sore arm!

Enjoy your Droid!!!

(I guess I haven't logged into Appleinsider for awhile. I thought I recalled a little more civilized debate than I'm seeing this time, but I fully expect someone to gripe at me for saying I don't see it now.) \

So what do you folks think? I was very interested in a CNet news article I saw yesterday in which was estimated an iPhone recall would cost $1.5 billion, versus the very puny cost of $29 per phone for a free case for current owners.

I was further interested in the analysis (quotes in the same CNet article) by Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi regarding AAPL's "emerging pattern of hubris" and its effect on AAPL stock values. If you're interested, the CNet article is at http://is.gd/drMAz

Yes, I saw this morning also the article in which the results of the Consumer Reports study were challenged: http://is.gd/drNep

You think all this will, simply, blow over? Or is AAPL digging itself into a deep hole?

Well then join the class action suit and wait for your free iphone bumper within 3 years.
But don't try to be selfish and try to file your own lawsuit.

Moron--- Just take it back.... You sound like the guy who keeps hitting his head against a wall then complains that he has a headache. TAKE IT BACK IF YOU DONT LIKE IT

Can't You just admit that You overshooted the mark instead of presenting such a pseudo intellectual reasoning trying to point the finger to others?

+++ qft

.

Like the other guy said. Not happy with it, return it. get a new phone. End of all your problems.

Engadget Noted on day one that they had one phone that exhibited the problem and one didn't. It is NOT a design issue it does NOT affect all (or even most) iPhones.

You wanted to hold stocks, now deal with it. Thats a risk you gotta take right?

The reality is that the antennas are now external, meaning there is no layer of insulation between a user and the antenna. I wonder if radiation from the cell phone is now more profound? Perhaps when we all have brain tumors in 30 years time they will have perfected chemotherapy.

First, I've got one and it rocks. Not only is it amazing in terms of design and functionality, I'm almost ashamed to say it has definitely improved my reception in San Francisco, one of the known bad spots for iPhone call dropping. I still drop calls in places I already know about that have horrible reception, but overall it is a measurably better than my old 3GS.

With that said, at first I was dismissive of all the complaints. Sure, I could and can make the bars drop by holding it in the particular way described. Ok, don't hold it that way. The wide spread reception problem wasn't happening to me, so it must be the typical complaining. I thought (and still think) Consumer Reports was particularly opportunistic in the smarmy way it declared it could not recommend iPhone 4.

But then one of my clients (I do Mac support) told me, with a sort of a hangdog look that her new one dropped calls all the time. This gave me pause. Now, reading all this from multiple users who are obviously not just typical whiners, I believe it's a very serious problem. I feel your pain. When I complained to some about my 3GS reception problem, some dismissed it. Ultimately, I stood in line 3.25 hrs to get the iPhone 4 almost exclusively because that reception issue was driving me insane. I feel very lucky that it has made a difference now that I hear so many are having problems.

I really hope Apple will get out in front of this issue and make things right somehow. I don't know how they will, but they've got the brainpower to do it if they set their minds to it. I would hate to see this significantly damage the amazing momentum they've got going around the iPhone.

Good luck to those of you having this issue. I hope it gets solved to your satisfaction.

I suggest you tone down your statements a bit.

I realize that there is an information vacuum (which is quite common with Apple while they address issues), leaving lots of room for everybody to deliver their own assumptions. These range from anywhere from common sense to plain stupidity.
Your statements unfortunately rank in the latter category.

I have used iPhones since the day they came out and have a reasonable point of reference. In my observations, I definitely see that the iPhone 4 behaves differently than my other ones.

But I would describe the variation more as fluctuations; often the reception is much better than with my iPhone 3GS, but then also many times worse. Just less predictable.
I also see the proximity sensor not working quite right at times; at times, the speaker phone turns on or a single digit being dialed while I have the phone to my ear.

That said, I have no problems waiting for a firmware/software update which I believe will address many if not all issues...

So software could not be the problem?
It's a hardware issue if the hardware is actually the problem and it's a hardware defect if it cannot be solved with software.
If it can be fixed with software, then it is not a hardware defect.

5. Most bits of tech kit have issues of one kind or the other. People are resourceful and find a way. Returning is a pain.

I don't yet own one but would a small bit of carefully cut tape fix the problem? Would some carefully applied nail varnish fix it? I hate cases of any sort but a piece of tape doesn't bother me in the slightest.

The actual cost of creating a rubber case is more like in the 20 to 30 cent range.