It is simply not plausible that something so fundamental as the hand interfering with the external antenna bands would not have been tested and re-tested in every possible situation. When rolling out an entirely new way to implement antennas, this would be job one. Apple (Jobs) is obsessive/compulsive when it comes to getting hardware right. Suggestions that field testing with a camouflaged 3Gs case prevented them from discovering the hand "shorting out" the antenna plates are foolish.
Yeah, they probably have the thing configured to use the least amount of battery possible. In a high signal strength location, no problem, but in a marginal area it might be susceptible to drop calls. They can likely just pump up the power a bit with a software update to overcome this. The dropped calls demonstrated in the video could be caused by the iPhone not transmitting with enough with power.
For what it is worth, since many people seem to be worried about it, I got my iPhone 4 yesterday morning and have had no issues whatsoever. I know this is just my experience, but it means all units are not affected!
So I'm the only right handed person who holds it in my left hand? I type with my right hand.
~Callum
I think when you are typing (I.e. surfing or texting) you won't really notice as much as you don't necessarily need constant connection, at least not the same as phone calls. If you lose connection even for a second while on a phone call then it is dropped. SO I think people are talking about this in terms of which had they hold the phone with during a call as opposed ot when typing.
I took mine out to test this in various locations, but I seem to have lost it. Last time I saw it, I had it in a bar near Redwood City. Anyone had any problems in that location?
Assuming there is any validity of course, I am sure Apple will respond. If not they will ignore it for sure.
Well, regardless of the cause, I think they need to respond, even if it's just to say, "Here's what's going on, it's not a big deal, ..." Silence in something this high profile is just fodder for misinformation.
My original iPhone fluctuated when you pick it up too. Guess what? The human body is conductive. A few times when I picked up my iPhone 4, the signal improved. I work in a rural city and my original iPhone barely got 1-2 bars on Edge. With my iPhone 4, I get 3-4 bars on 3G. So in my experience, I have better reception than the earlier model.
I can confirm it with my brand new iPhone 4 that I picked up this morning from the AT&T store. Holding the iPhone in my left hand with the bottom left corner resting in my palm, pinky and adjacent fingers grasping the bottom right corner, and index finger on the top left corner, I drop from full bars to 1 or even NO SERVICE.
Ummmm....I'm right handed so I hold the phone in my right hand as most right handed people do. It's the unfortunate 11% of us who are left handed who are going to have issues.
I'm right handed and mostly hold my phone in the left hand. Interesting. Never realized it.
You are joking right? iOS 4 on an iPhone 3Gs has this issue? First off mine doesn't but if your does it kind of proved the iPhone 4 has no hardware design issue doesn't it? Software that cares which hand you use on two different iPhones? Sorry if I find this beyond believable. Of course we could be into Apple using quantum, inter dimensional technology that hasn't yet been reported.
Do you read posts in this thread? I am not the only one who has this issue on 3GS.
It's sickening to think this may not be fixable via firmware. I'll be holding my breath on this one.
Really? Time to lay off the coffee......
Three Possible Reasons:
1. Apple wants us all to use surgical gloves to insure the screens remain smudge/fingerprint/oil free for the first couple of months.
2. Apple needed a way to "lower the bar" so the new Droid phone wouldn't look so bad!
3. Apple is switching PR campaigns now they've found how successful it can be when you "lose" a proto-type in a bar! They'll let this run for 3 days, announce a magical "fix" that was already available, and reap tons of PR from this!
... And do I recall correctly that the yellow screened iMacs ... I paid only tangential attention to that disaster.
That wasn't a disaster, tekstud. Only a small number of iMacs out of the total produced were affected and Apple seems to have taken care of those people. Certainly no one seems to be complaining about that anymore.
I can confirm it with my brand new iPhone 4 that I picked up this morning from the AT&T store. Holding the iPhone in my left hand with the bottom left corner resting in my palm, pinky and adjacent fingers grasping the bottom right corner, and index finger on the top left corner, I drop from full bars to 1 or even NO SERVICE.
In my hand:
Sitting on the table:
I tend to leave my wifi turned off unless I am at home, mainly to save battery. In any case, if you disable your wifi do you get the same results? I wonder if having both wifi and the 3g radio functioning at the same time has any bearing on this.
Is this just in your left hand? If so what happens if you hold it upside down in the right one? Also if you were gloved? I am wondering if it is shorting or something else.
I had it sitting next to me on the couch. My left side. It had 1 bar but then I picked it up with my left hand and all bars came back. Surely there is a design flaw involving couches that Apple didn't vet.
Next I'll try defibrillating the device while soaking in ionized water.
edit: Friend with DOA iPhone 4 walked into Apple Store and got a new phone immediately. They activated it and made sure it worked before he left the store.
I can confirm it with my brand new iPhone 4 that I picked up this morning from the AT&T store. Holding the iPhone in my left hand with the bottom left corner resting in my palm, pinky and adjacent fingers grasping the bottom right corner, and index finger on the top left corner, I drop from full bars to 1 or even NO SERVICE.
I tend to leave my wifi turned off unless I am at home, mainly to save battery. In any case, if you disable your wifi do you get the same results? I wonder if having both wifi and the 3g radio functioning at the same time has any bearing on this.
Nope, no bearing. It happens just the same with wifi on/off. And it isn't necessary to hold the phone in the awkward manner shown in the pics (with index finger on top). Just a normal lefthanded grip does the trick.
It sure will be interesting to see what the official word is on this issue. Just to add to the confusion of things, it seems to depend location as well. I was able to reproduce this at home last night. Today, at work, I can NOT get it to happen at all. WIFI connected, WIFI disconnected etc. Makes no sense unless the 3g signal is SO strong here in the city so as to be a non issue. I'll try again tonight when I'm back home.... strange.
Comments
It is simply not plausible that something so fundamental as the hand interfering with the external antenna bands would not have been tested and re-tested in every possible situation. When rolling out an entirely new way to implement antennas, this would be job one. Apple (Jobs) is obsessive/compulsive when it comes to getting hardware right. Suggestions that field testing with a camouflaged 3Gs case prevented them from discovering the hand "shorting out" the antenna plates are foolish.
Yeah, they probably have the thing configured to use the least amount of battery possible. In a high signal strength location, no problem, but in a marginal area it might be susceptible to drop calls. They can likely just pump up the power a bit with a software update to overcome this. The dropped calls demonstrated in the video could be caused by the iPhone not transmitting with enough with power.
So I'm the only right handed person who holds it in my left hand? I type with my right hand.
~Callum
I think when you are typing (I.e. surfing or texting) you won't really notice as much as you don't necessarily need constant connection, at least not the same as phone calls. If you lose connection even for a second while on a phone call then it is dropped. SO I think people are talking about this in terms of which had they hold the phone with during a call as opposed ot when typing.
Assuming there is any validity of course, I am sure Apple will respond. If not they will ignore it for sure.
Well, regardless of the cause, I think they need to respond, even if it's just to say, "Here's what's going on, it's not a big deal, ..." Silence in something this high profile is just fodder for misinformation.
Leave to engadget and gizmodo to spread FUD.
In my hand:
Sitting on the table:
Ummmm....I'm right handed so I hold the phone in my right hand as most right handed people do. It's the unfortunate 11% of us who are left handed who are going to have issues.
I'm right handed and mostly hold my phone in the left hand. Interesting. Never realized it.
Pointing towards the software, yes?
looks like it. And for iPhone 4 owners maybe it's a combination of hardware and software problems.
You are joking right? iOS 4 on an iPhone 3Gs has this issue? First off mine doesn't but if your does it kind of proved the iPhone 4 has no hardware design issue doesn't it? Software that cares which hand you use on two different iPhones? Sorry if I find this beyond believable. Of course we could be into Apple using quantum, inter dimensional technology that hasn't yet been reported.
Do you read posts in this thread? I am not the only one who has this issue on 3GS.
It's sickening to think this may not be fixable via firmware. I'll be holding my breath on this one.
Really? Time to lay off the coffee......
Three Possible Reasons:
1. Apple wants us all to use surgical gloves to insure the screens remain smudge/fingerprint/oil free for the first couple of months.
2. Apple needed a way to "lower the bar" so the new Droid phone wouldn't look so bad!
3. Apple is switching PR campaigns now they've found how successful it can be when you "lose" a proto-type in a bar! They'll let this run for 3 days, announce a magical "fix" that was already available, and reap tons of PR from this!
... And do I recall correctly that the yellow screened iMacs ... I paid only tangential attention to that disaster.
That wasn't a disaster, tekstud. Only a small number of iMacs out of the total produced were affected and Apple seems to have taken care of those people. Certainly no one seems to be complaining about that anymore.
I can confirm it with my brand new iPhone 4 that I picked up this morning from the AT&T store. Holding the iPhone in my left hand with the bottom left corner resting in my palm, pinky and adjacent fingers grasping the bottom right corner, and index finger on the top left corner, I drop from full bars to 1 or even NO SERVICE.
In my hand:
Sitting on the table:
I tend to leave my wifi turned off unless I am at home, mainly to save battery. In any case, if you disable your wifi do you get the same results? I wonder if having both wifi and the 3g radio functioning at the same time has any bearing on this.
Is this just in your left hand? If so what happens if you hold it upside down in the right one? Also if you were gloved? I am wondering if it is shorting or something else.
I had it sitting next to me on the couch. My left side. It had 1 bar but then I picked it up with my left hand and all bars came back. Surely there is a design flaw involving couches that Apple didn't vet.
Next I'll try defibrillating the device while soaking in ionized water.
edit: Friend with DOA iPhone 4 walked into Apple Store and got a new phone immediately. They activated it and made sure it worked before he left the store.
The buttons are placed in a manner so that they can be operated by the left thumb.
Or right index finger.
I can confirm it with my brand new iPhone 4 that I picked up this morning from the AT&T store. Holding the iPhone in my left hand with the bottom left corner resting in my palm, pinky and adjacent fingers grasping the bottom right corner, and index finger on the top left corner, I drop from full bars to 1 or even NO SERVICE.
In my hand:
Dude, you could totally be their next hand model!
I tend to leave my wifi turned off unless I am at home, mainly to save battery. In any case, if you disable your wifi do you get the same results? I wonder if having both wifi and the 3g radio functioning at the same time has any bearing on this.
Nope, no bearing. It happens just the same with wifi on/off. And it isn't necessary to hold the phone in the awkward manner shown in the pics (with index finger on top). Just a normal lefthanded grip does the trick.
Looks like I'm ordering that $30 bumper after all. If it is a skin-on-metal issue causing the antenna problems, then I'd think a case might fix it.
I think I'm gonna pick this up to use in the mean time from Best Buy:
It's not like I can do anything anyway until Apple speaks on the matter.