I am legitimately concerned. I'm actually not buying one now. This looks like a hardware issue folks.
THIS IS A BIG DEAL, AND IT'S PISSING ME OFF. I WANTED AN IPHONE 4 LIKE CRAZY AND I CAN'T BUY NOW. I'M NOT BUYING UNTIL APPLE SOLVES THIS. THIS SHIT IS REAL.
OMFG! The world is going to come to an end!!! Settle down. Jesus...whatever the problem turns out to be, it'll get fixed....drink your juice Shelby
As stated in the article, the bars piece isn't an actual problem, it's just cosmetic. The screen blotches... welp.
The article is wrong in my opinion. The reception dies with the bars. My iPhone 4 is essentially unusable and I can't make a call without if "failing". I can get 4-5 bars if the phone is sitting on the table, but if I pick it up, the number of bars drops and in about 15 seconds I get "no service". I can reproduce this over and over. Threads on Apple's iPhone forum confirm a similar problem. I believe it's widespread.
This is exactly why I wait a couple of months before I buy products new to the market.
EXACTLY what I'm thinking! But then I don't have AT&T here for another few months (late fall) so hopefully by then Apple will have fixed these problems...
It seems the key here is the two antennas are shorting each other with the conductive hand. I'm curious to see what happens if you turn off the wifi antenna, if there'd still be a short. All the videos I've seen so far have wifi on. Using a non-conductive case would solve this problem. OH!!!! Remember, when the engineers were testing in the field they had the phone in a case to hide it! DOH!
Again, I repeat, with wifi on and with me placing my finger to form a circuit between the antennas like the youtube movie linked here, I do not experience any drop in signal. I held my finger there for 30 seconds and not one bar dropped nor did wifi performance degrade.
I'm not sure if it's a bad batch of phones or if I just got lucky, but try as I may, I can not replicate this issue.
So, basically, if you hold the bare iPhone in your bare hand, you will not be able to make any calls. That's what you and your precious videos seem to imply. So all the Apple employees walking around with iPhone 4s, including the guy who "lost" his, and Steve Jobs as well, never noticed this little problem? That's really what you are claiming, isn't it? Well, isn't it?
Nope. My original suggestion stands. Have somebody check your tin foil hat. A month from now you will be known as the guy who claimed you can't use the iPhone if you hold it in your hand. Is that the reputation you want?
This is exactly the problem I'm having. Lots of bars when the phone is sitting on the table, but when I pick it up they drop to zero and "no service". And it's more than cosmetic. I can't make a call.
A friend of mine just got her phone this evening and is telling me she can *not* replicate the problem.
Ok. Quick followup.
Just back from my friend's house... her phone *does* have the same problem.
She wasn't palming the phone, just gripping lightly with her fingers. It's all about connecting that bottom strip with the left side. As soon as I showed her -- she could trigger the problem too.
In a way this is either a good thing (software problem that there will be a fix for) or a really horrible thing (major design flaw that explains why Apple got into the bumper business).
I'm just glad it isn't shaping up to be some frustrating middle ground... an intermittent problem that some phones have and most don't. Granted, it's only two for two in my world, so far. But the odds that phones that shipped at least a day apart have the exact same issue, narrows it down a little. Right?
I'm guessing there will be a quick fix or we all get free replacements (or bumpers).
I have the same problem on my 3GS now - bars slowly disappear when I pick it up. Yesterday updated to iOS 4. Able to make call , though , even without bars.
Guys take a chill pill and relax. After I first activated and synched my phone this morning I had the same issue with bars disappearing.
That only lasted for about 20 mins. After that I've had full bars all day. No dropped calls. Call quality is great. This has been the experience of other friends who also got their phone early.
Before you go crazy cursing Apple, just wait until you get your own phone, use it for a while and see.
There may be issues, they seem software related, but I think people are going a little too ape-sh** on this.
People with issues are going to complain on these boards, much more than the thousands of people this doesn't happen too.
Every iPhone launch there are some problems. By using Caps, and YouTube and links, people are drawing attention to the issues, but I am almost certain they are not 'widespread'.
You fail to explain how the engineers, Steve Jobs, Apple employees, and every swinging appendage who was using the iPhone 4 during development and testing, didn't notice this.
As the Gizmodo incident showed, all the test units were equipped with rubber cases to fool onlookers into thinking the 4 was a 3GS. A byproduct of this deception is these cases could have offered the apparent buffer required to keep the antenna from being shorted.
As for your claim that this is "conspiracy nuttiness", YOU are the one who is failing to explain how such a widespread claim could have become so widespread in such a short period of time. Occam's Razor suggests that instead of there being some spontaneous agreement among distant strangers to falsify antenna bars, that maybe, just maybe, this is an actual phenomenon.
Try opening your mind and being impartial instead of jumping so quickly to Apple's defense. Yes, it may all be hoo-ha, but right now that is far from (dis)proven. Right now we're still at the data collection stage and for you to be jumping to the "this is bunk" conclusion belies your bias.
Myself, my fiancee, and a co-worker all received our iPhone 4's on Wednesday. None of us have the screen blotch issue or the vanishing signal bar issue. So hopefully those problems are only affecting a small number of units.
... It turn out my son was placing magnets on the screen.
Yeah I did that too. Magnetic fields affect the electron beam used in CRTs. The neck of the tube has several magnets used for alignment when they're assembled. Later TVs automatically degaussed themselves every time they were powered up, otherwise the image would become distorted by the local magnetic field in which they operated.
LCDs, having no electron beams, cannot be similarly affected.
Well, I hope these issues are a relatively easy fix and Apple offers people a free replacement or some other acceptable remedy. But this is one of several reasons why I almost never buy when something first launches, good to give a few weeks or months till most of the bugs are worked out. Patience is a virtue.
For you early buyers I wish you success with your phone (really).
I thought of all those things. I have sense tested it every way I can and I can't reproduce the results in the videos. I also went one step further, think that maybe I'm not conductive enough ? as I do watch my sodium intake ?*so I used a piece of metal to connect the frame pieces. No change.
It's a fluke or hoax, but it's certainly not a design flaw. I have no reason to think the videos are indeed faked despite the ease in which it could be done, but at this point I'll just choke it up to a poor AT&T signal, possible defective device and/or firmware issue.
I would have bet money that someone would have started with the yellow or grey tint thing with the screen. I swear that happens with every product Apple puts out.
Also its hardware whenever you make 600k of something there are going to be issues with some. When I got my Evo I had to download a firmware update and 6 software updates for it to work correctly. Thats just part of the fun of being an early adopter....
Comments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gb3aQ5XoQw
I am legitimately concerned. I'm actually not buying one now. This looks like a hardware issue folks.
THIS IS A BIG DEAL, AND IT'S PISSING ME OFF. I WANTED AN IPHONE 4 LIKE CRAZY AND I CAN'T BUY NOW. I'M NOT BUYING UNTIL APPLE SOLVES THIS. THIS SHIT IS REAL.
OMFG! The world is going to come to an end!!! Settle down. Jesus...whatever the problem turns out to be, it'll get fixed....drink your juice Shelby
As stated in the article, the bars piece isn't an actual problem, it's just cosmetic. The screen blotches... welp.
The article is wrong in my opinion. The reception dies with the bars. My iPhone 4 is essentially unusable and I can't make a call without if "failing". I can get 4-5 bars if the phone is sitting on the table, but if I pick it up, the number of bars drops and in about 15 seconds I get "no service". I can reproduce this over and over. Threads on Apple's iPhone forum confirm a similar problem. I believe it's widespread.
If I recall, there are two antennae...one to control wifi and one for GSM.
Yes. BT/Wifi/GPS on one side, GSM on the other.
This is exactly why I wait a couple of months before I buy products new to the market.
EXACTLY what I'm thinking! But then I don't have AT&T here for another few months (late fall) so hopefully by then Apple will have fixed these problems...
It seems the key here is the two antennas are shorting each other with the conductive hand. I'm curious to see what happens if you turn off the wifi antenna, if there'd still be a short. All the videos I've seen so far have wifi on. Using a non-conductive case would solve this problem. OH!!!! Remember, when the engineers were testing in the field they had the phone in a case to hide it! DOH!
Again, I repeat, with wifi on and with me placing my finger to form a circuit between the antennas like the youtube movie linked here, I do not experience any drop in signal. I held my finger there for 30 seconds and not one bar dropped nor did wifi performance degrade.
I'm not sure if it's a bad batch of phones or if I just got lucky, but try as I may, I can not replicate this issue.
So, basically, if you hold the bare iPhone in your bare hand, you will not be able to make any calls. That's what you and your precious videos seem to imply. So all the Apple employees walking around with iPhone 4s, including the guy who "lost" his, and Steve Jobs as well, never noticed this little problem? That's really what you are claiming, isn't it? Well, isn't it?
Nope. My original suggestion stands. Have somebody check your tin foil hat. A month from now you will be known as the guy who claimed you can't use the iPhone if you hold it in your hand. Is that the reputation you want?
This is exactly the problem I'm having. Lots of bars when the phone is sitting on the table, but when I pick it up they drop to zero and "no service". And it's more than cosmetic. I can't make a call.
Seriously, I'm sorry to hear some are having issues. Hope it gets fixed soon. I get no pleasure seeing apple have problems. Only AT&T.
A friend of mine just got her phone this evening and is telling me she can *not* replicate the problem.
Ok. Quick followup.
Just back from my friend's house... her phone *does* have the same problem.
She wasn't palming the phone, just gripping lightly with her fingers. It's all about connecting that bottom strip with the left side. As soon as I showed her -- she could trigger the problem too.
In a way this is either a good thing (software problem that there will be a fix for) or a really horrible thing (major design flaw that explains why Apple got into the bumper business).
I'm just glad it isn't shaping up to be some frustrating middle ground... an intermittent problem that some phones have and most don't. Granted, it's only two for two in my world, so far. But the odds that phones that shipped at least a day apart have the exact same issue, narrows it down a little. Right?
I'm guessing there will be a quick fix or we all get free replacements (or bumpers).
My 3GS does it after the upgrade
So... could it be the proximity sensor in the iOS4 upgrade?
I will be testing friends 3G and 3GS phones tomorrow.
Ray
The videos I watched claim that a case would *NOT* stop this problem.
Huh?
How would your fingers touch the antenna inside of a case?
That only lasted for about 20 mins. After that I've had full bars all day. No dropped calls. Call quality is great. This has been the experience of other friends who also got their phone early.
Before you go crazy cursing Apple, just wait until you get your own phone, use it for a while and see.
Btw, the phone is just AWESOME.
People with issues are going to complain on these boards, much more than the thousands of people this doesn't happen too.
Every iPhone launch there are some problems. By using Caps, and YouTube and links, people are drawing attention to the issues, but I am almost certain they are not 'widespread'.
You fail to explain how the engineers, Steve Jobs, Apple employees, and every swinging appendage who was using the iPhone 4 during development and testing, didn't notice this.
As the Gizmodo incident showed, all the test units were equipped with rubber cases to fool onlookers into thinking the 4 was a 3GS. A byproduct of this deception is these cases could have offered the apparent buffer required to keep the antenna from being shorted.
As for your claim that this is "conspiracy nuttiness", YOU are the one who is failing to explain how such a widespread claim could have become so widespread in such a short period of time. Occam's Razor suggests that instead of there being some spontaneous agreement among distant strangers to falsify antenna bars, that maybe, just maybe, this is an actual phenomenon.
Try opening your mind and being impartial instead of jumping so quickly to Apple's defense. Yes, it may all be hoo-ha, but right now that is far from (dis)proven. Right now we're still at the data collection stage and for you to be jumping to the "this is bunk" conclusion belies your bias.
... It turn out my son was placing magnets on the screen.
Yeah I did that too. Magnetic fields affect the electron beam used in CRTs. The neck of the tube has several magnets used for alignment when they're assembled. Later TVs automatically degaussed themselves every time they were powered up, otherwise the image would become distorted by the local magnetic field in which they operated.
LCDs, having no electron beams, cannot be similarly affected.
For you early buyers I wish you success with your phone (really).
I thought of all those things. I have sense tested it every way I can and I can't reproduce the results in the videos. I also went one step further, think that maybe I'm not conductive enough ? as I do watch my sodium intake
It's a fluke or hoax, but it's certainly not a design flaw. I have no reason to think the videos are indeed faked despite the ease in which it could be done, but at this point I'll just choke it up to a poor AT&T signal, possible defective device and/or firmware issue.
I would have bet money that someone would have started with the yellow or grey tint thing with the screen. I swear that happens with every product Apple puts out.
Also its hardware whenever you make 600k of something there are going to be issues with some. When I got my Evo I had to download a firmware update and 6 software updates for it to work correctly. Thats just part of the fun of being an early adopter....