AppleCare memo emphasizes no free bumpers for iPhone 4 reception

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  • Reply 41 of 213
    island hermitisland hermit Posts: 6,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Trajectory View Post


    If it's only 12 returns, then we'll know this isn't a widespread problem, won't we?



    But I can count at least quadruple that number of people on Apple's own forums claiming to have total loss of reception when they hold their phone. Maybe it only affects a certain number of phones, maybe all. We won't know until we know.



    ... and we'll find out how many people are just bs'ing everyone because they actually don't even have an iPhone 4.
  • Reply 42 of 213
    str1f3str1f3 Posts: 573member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by xanthohappy View Post


    Darn! I always hold paperclips in my hand while talking on the phone! I guess I shouldn't get the iPhone 4.



    Not really understanding the video? I'll help. All he had to do was join the two antennas to create a signal drop which was rumored as being the cause on Engadget. You don't even have to have a finger covering the gap.



    That might be the best evidence yet that it's a hardware issue though one can never be 100% sure it that couldn't be fixed with a software fix.
  • Reply 43 of 213
    wurm5150wurm5150 Posts: 763member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 1stkorean View Post


    steve jobs is demonstrating apples newest product called: iTheft, a magical new way of gaining access to consumers' wallets.



    Looks like it is time to return all of these iphones and join the Class Action Law Suit that has been filed.



    here: http://www.kcrlegal.com/iPhone-reception-problems.aspx



    These lawyers will get millions and you'll get a $10 coupon. Good luck!
  • Reply 44 of 213
    aiaddictaiaddict Posts: 487member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Seriously, this stuff is going to come back to haunt this company. Let's wait and see.



    I have an iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs and an iPhone 4. My testing agrees with Apples statement 100%. The iPhone 4 has better reception than the previous models and all 3 of them, and most if not all other phones can have changes in reception depending on how they are held.



    You can drop your bs war on the reception issue. It will not sink Apple or kill the iPhone. Get over it and move on.
  • Reply 45 of 213
    nolivingnoliving Posts: 90member
    Steve Jobs on the cusp of his next, great, big prophetic announcement, takes a sip of bottled water (that fish pee'd in), wipes his brow and steps up to the podium, clearing the phlegmn out of the back of his throat in a cool, slick manner before he begins to speak.



    "People, friends, fellow acolytes, today, here, I have something I would like you to see."



    Steve pauses for a moment, looking far out into the crowds, watching their eyes grow wider than saucers and speckles of saliva form on their lips. Steve smiles calmly.



    "You're going to like this, it will change everything. You will never look at things the same again."



    The mouths in the audience begin to open, their breathing increases and their pulses began to accelerate, evidenced by the pulsating arteries in their necks. Steve's smile slowly fades to a more serious grin.



    "Today, I present to you, the i-Grip. It is a revolutionary way to... hold a phone."



    The crowd gasps! Their minds race in a furor, analyzing every single word that just pursed steves lips into their auditory canals. They scrambled to make sense of every vowel, syllable and consonant.



    "You see, we've all been doing it wrong. We've been enslaved for far too long." Steve's grin faded to a serious expression. He held out an i-Phone for everyone to see. The people in the crowd leaned forward, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, the rhythmic pulsing in their necks now beginning to thunder with voracious unison.



    Steve paused again, holding the phone out with his black-sleeved arm, looking smugly outward as his turtleneck comforted his flock. With a wiggle of his pinky finger he then began to shuffle his hand. Within seconds his grip had changed, his grasp was firm, yet delecately embraced the phone, cradling it with his clenched love.



    "The i-Grip, try it, you're going to love it." He smiled widely, teeth glinting through his lips as the sides of his mouth cracked open devilishly.



    The crowd erupted in euphoria! Jobs had spoken. It had been said, and thus it had been done! So shall it be written that the i-Grip is their salvation from bondage!
  • Reply 46 of 213
    xtss33xtss33 Posts: 25member
    I'd be surprised if this idea has not been posted elsewhere but I fashioned my own solution to this issue, and it works great.



    You will need:
    1. CLEAR packing tape or scotch tape. 3M makes a good packing tape. Very shiny and transparent.

    2. One razor blade.

    3. One toothpick.

    4. Permission form your parent or guardian.

    You all should know where this is going by now. Read these notes before you start!



    Note:
    • If you want access to your Sim card, remove it before doing this. It will make it easier to trim that slot.

    • Next to the earphone slot there is the ambient mic hole - very small. Don't forget to cut a small square to expose this.

    • Careful with the earphone slot trimming - do NOT allow the cutout tape to drop down in there. The toothpick will be handy here.

    • You may find a slight sawing motion when trimming the tape will help. Keep the blade up against the metal for the closest shave. Make the trim on the downstroke.

    Do this in two sections...
    • From Vol Up button to black strip past the sim slot

    • From Vol Down button to the same black strip under the sim slot.

    1. Remove all dust from your phone.

    2. Pull off a length of tape longer than the section you are covering - you will leave finger prints at the ends.

    3. Apply to the section, wrapping the band carefully to avoid bubbles under the tape. DO not try to align the tape to an edge - just center the tape over the band and wrap.

    4. With a razor blade, draw the blade along each side of the metal band to remove excess.

    5. With the blade, carefully and lightly cut across the end of the tape just next to the button in the section section.

    6. Carefully trim the tape at the black stripe in your section. You have metal and glass here so you should not scratch anything unless you are completely hopeless.

    7. Cut out tape over the the controls and case cutouts for mute, earphone, ambient mic, wake/sleep, speaker, adapter, and mic. Use that sawing action and don't rush.

    8. Rub the tape down with the toothpick paying careful attention around the controls.

    9. If you have a bubble you can rub it to the side or prick with the razor tip and buff out.

    This worked great for me and gives a measure of surface protection. I used a wide strip of this same packing tape on the back of my 3G to protect it from surface scratches and it still looks brand new. And it didn't cost me $30 a pop.



    And, BTW, the Apple bumper for the 4G is really sweet but some people won't want to add it. For instance, with the bumper on I'm not sure it will sit in the dock. This solution allows that.
  • Reply 47 of 213
    hands sandonhands sandon Posts: 5,270member
    I copied this comment from MacRumors-



    "I had to sign up for this forum to post my reply. I am an apple fan. We have 3 computers, 2 iphone 4's ipads, etc.



    I bought my iphone 4 on launch day. I also purchased the bumper. I don't know about other people, but I am seeing this issue even with the bumper on. Maybe it doesn't drop off as quick, or as bad with the bumper. Even with the bumper, I've seen it drop from 5 bars to no bars. It never drops to no service, but the data performance goes from 2Mbps downstream to almost nothing.



    I am seriously considering returning this phone. I've already sold my 3G. If I return this phone, I will be purchasing a phone from one of Apple's competitors. This upsets me because I have spent a lot of money on iphone apps. I however can not deal with a phone that does not work properly."



    :comment by woodchuck- http://forums.macrumors.com/showthre...955564&page=20



    I've seen a lot of other posters say the same thing.
  • Reply 48 of 213
    trajectorytrajectory Posts: 647member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by island hermit View Post


    ... and we'll find out how many people are just bs'ing everyone because they actually don't even have an iPhone 4.



    Yes, we will. I own an iPhone 3G and planned to upgrade to 4, but, will hold off until this little storm cloud passes over first.



    Are you suggesting that some people here are lying about their phones? I can understand that if they joined this month and have 5 posts, but, how do you explain those who've been members here for a while with lots of posts?



    Have you never bought an Apple product that was defective? I have! Apple can be a cold-hearted bitch sometimes. It's not always a bed of roses to deal with billion-dollar multi-national corporations when you've been wronged. While I don't own an iPhone 4, I can surely understand the frustration of those who do and have dwindling reception just by holding their phone. Hopefully it's isolated to a certain batch of phones or can be fixed with a software upgrade. It's too early to know, Apple hasn't had sufficient time to investigate and come up with a fix. And even if they do find a fix, it's unlikely we'll ever hear about it.
  • Reply 49 of 213
    hammeroftruthhammeroftruth Posts: 1,354member
    What is it about people thinking that class actions actually get you anywhere fast? There's one going on right now about Dell selling crap for the past 10 years and knowing about it. It's been 3 years since the lawsuit was filed and they're still in the discovery phase? Are you willing to wait 3 years to go to trial?



    You can get Apple's attention faster if you document all of the issues and show proof of the issues. Also to have real teeth here, they need to be able to be replicated. Not just it happens sometimes. Once you have that info, contact Apple customer relations and BE NICE! But tell them what you have found. You will probably end up talking to Apple engineers and they will make things right.



    This isn't going to happen overnight. A problem like this could take weeks or possibly months to fix. If you don't want to wait for the fix, then return the phone and demand your money back and cite the law over defective equipment. If they refuse to take it back, call you local attorney general's office and file a complaint and do a chargeback on your credit card.



    Don't rely on a lawyer to preserve your rights.
  • Reply 50 of 213
    mike fixmike fix Posts: 270member
    Looks like I'm going to wait a while longer before I switch to this phone.. Bummer.
  • Reply 51 of 213
    hammeroftruthhammeroftruth Posts: 1,354member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mike Fix View Post


    Looks like I'm going to wait a while longer before I switch to this phone.. Bummer.



    Yeah, but you avoided this hassle so far.
  • Reply 52 of 213
    ihxoihxo Posts: 567member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 1stkorean View Post


    steve jobs is demonstrating apples newest product called: iTheft, a magical new way of gaining access to consumers' wallets.



    Looks like it is time to return all of these iphones and join the Class Action Law Suit that has been filed.



    here: http://www.kcrlegal.com/iPhone-reception-problems.aspx



    If your Fascist-Dictator jobs told All you fanibois to eat his sh$t y'all would kneel and gobble. I think jobs second-hand liver has failed and all the toxins have gone to his brain, and this is why he has become a bigger aHole than he use to be.



    How do you return a product and sue the company at the same time? considering you don't even own the product. Unless of course it gave you cancer or made you look really ugly.



    LOL if Steve Jobs says you should not eat shit, you'll be sticking your head up your ass looking for shit to eat.
  • Reply 53 of 213
    amdahlamdahl Posts: 100member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 1stkorean View Post


    I think jobs second-hand liver has failed and all the toxins have gone to his brain, and this is why he has become a bigger aHole than he use to be.



    Yes, I proposed the same thing a few months ago. There have been many instances of an individual's behavior changing after an organ transplant. We do not have a full understanding of how the chemical and physiological aspects of our body interact.
  • Reply 54 of 213
    bdblackbdblack Posts: 146member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AIaddict View Post


    I have an iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs and an iPhone 4. My testing agrees with Apples statement 100%. The iPhone 4 has better reception than the previous models and all 3 of them, and most if not all other phones can have changes in reception depending on how they are held.



    You can drop your bs war on the reception issue. It will not sink Apple or kill the iPhone. Get over it and move on.



    I think that this issue is relatively small. It will probably only affect a small percentage of customers. The antenna is undoubtedly an improvement, however it will have a few quirks as a consequence to its design. Any exposed antenna is going to be more susceptible to interference issues.



    Interestingly enough, my 3GS behaves like this when outside of the incase slider I use on it. When my hand grips the metal frame the signal drops, sometimes down to 0 bars. It's really interesting how much of an effect it can have sometimes. Of course all phones will behave like this to some degree (drop maybe 1-2 bars), however I think the iPhone is affected more due to its exposed metal chassis.



    Basically, the large exposed antenna will have better performance than a small internal one, but will be a little less reliable under some conditions. It's a trade off.



    It's a design quirk. I'd just get a case because I don't think anything is going to completely fix it.
  • Reply 55 of 213
    I'm a long time Apple fan (since the mid 80s) but they've got a big problem with their big launch of iPhone 4.



    I am one of the countless early adopter lemmings who has a phone affected by the antenna issue.



    At the Genius Bar today, even the Genius's phone was exhibiting the problem. ALL of the demo models also had the issue!!



    Please stay on top of Apple on this. They are acting like it is a "non-issue."



    They may have sold almost two million of these... but many are defective. I know Apple will do the right thing, but we need people like you to hold their feet to the fire.



    Sincerely. Dan Slocum
  • Reply 56 of 213
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 4,031member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 1stkorean View Post


    I think jobs second-hand liver has failed and all the toxins have gone to his brain, and this is why he has become a bigger aHole than he use to be.



    This is just sad. What's next, stomping on his kittens? Telling dirty jokes about his kids? Can't we maintain some level of humanity here?
  • Reply 57 of 213
    jawportajawporta Posts: 140member
    It doesn't matter, the bumpers don't do anything anyway. When I hold my phone sideways while texting or writing emails I loose two to three bars. So the bumpers don't do a thing.
  • Reply 58 of 213
    daharderdaharder Posts: 1,580member
    So Much For (attempted) Customer Service - Simply P A T H E T I C!
  • Reply 59 of 213
    hands sandonhands sandon Posts: 5,270member
    I had the same interference noise when I was on the phone (landline) to the Apple technician, it disappeared as soon as I picked up the iPhone from my desk, apparently it's not an issue though- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzn8QhrYIvI
  • Reply 60 of 213
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wonder View Post


    Has anyone actually tried this?



    I have tried to hold the phone when on a call in the incorrect way, i.e. covering the black strip with the palm of your hand. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE! You can't cover the left black strip in your left hand without seriously blocking the phone from reaching your face. It is just not a natural position to hold the phone while on a call. You actually hold the phone with your fingers not your palm.



    I agree. It's almost impossible to do this while making a call. So all the 'dropped call' complaints are people who set out to intentionally have a problem. Sorry, I guess Apple gave people too much credit and assumed that if it was extremely difficult to do something that people wouldn't go out of their way to do it.



    In my case, I get a lot fewer dropped calls with my iPhone 4 than with my iPhone 3G - but, then, I don't go out of my way to hold it in an awkward position.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mazda 3s View Post


    Umm, it's the natural position to hold the phone when using the Internet -- holding in your palm and using either your left thumb or right hand to operate the device.



    Using this method, I go to one bar or no signal which means no internet connectivity.



    And if you're using the internet, is it really going to kill you to hold the phone 1" higher?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by str1f3 View Post


    iPhone 4 Reception Loss with Paperclip



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgouz...=youtube_gdata



    Call the National Guard. There will be rioting in the streets - people can't hold paperclips in their hand while talking on the iPhone! OMG.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 1stkorean View Post


    steve jobs is demonstrating apples newest product called: iTheft, a magical new way of gaining access to consumers' wallets.



    Looks like it is time to return all of these iphones and join the Class Action Law Suit that has been filed.



    here: http://www.kcrlegal.com/iPhone-reception-problems.aspx



    If your Fascist-Dictator jobs told All you fanibois to eat his sh$t y'all would kneel and gobble. I think jobs second-hand liver has failed and all the toxins have gone to his brain, and this is why he has become a bigger aHole than he use to be.



    It's really funny that Apple-basher talk about Kool-aid drinkers and fanbois, but NO ONE demonstrates the emotional irrationality of the Apple haters.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by str1f3 View Post


    Not really understanding the video? I'll help. All he had to do was join the two antennas to create a signal drop which was rumored as being the cause on Engadget. You don't even have to have a finger covering the gap.



    That might be the best evidence yet that it's a hardware issue though one can never be 100% sure it that couldn't be fixed with a software fix.



    How is that evidence of a hardware problem? Apple told Mossberg that that particular problem could be fixed in software.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post


    I copied this comment from MacRumors-



    "I had to sign up for this forum to post my reply. I am an apple fan. We have 3 computers, 2 iphone 4's ipads, etc.



    I bought my iphone 4 on launch day. I also purchased the bumper. I don't know about other people, but I am seeing this issue even with the bumper on. Maybe it doesn't drop off as quick, or as bad with the bumper. Even with the bumper, I've seen it drop from 5 bars to no bars. It never drops to no service, but the data performance goes from 2Mbps downstream to almost nothing.



    Read Mossberg's review. He saw exactly that and was told that there would be a software fix.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jawporta View Post


    It doesn't matter, the bumpers don't do anything anyway. When I hold my phone sideways while texting or writing emails I loose two to three bars. So the bumpers don't do a thing.



    And there are others (me, for example) who can completely eliminate the problem with a single thickness of electrical tape over the joint.



    Anecdotal evidence is worthless. How about if we wait for someone to actually do some research to understand what's going on?
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