Consumer Reports changes stance, cannot recommend Apple's iPhone 4

2456721

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 406
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by swinge View Post


    I chose not to upgrade from my 3GS, assuiming the 4G will be out next year...as a person who has always had my phone in a case, this certainly isn't a deal breaker for me.... I feel like Consumer Reports was a bit ridiculous in recommending slapping a huge piece of electrical tape instead of just getting a case....a rubber one has the added benefit of protecting your phone...



    Actually, they recommended duct tape, not electrical tape. Everyone knows duct tape is the correct tape to use in a situation like this.
  • Reply 22 of 406
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ivan.rnn01 View Post


    Good for you little wussies. Return, boycott, do what you want.

    That may eventually shorten waiting lists in zones of decent reception.



    30-days to return in the US. If you go past that date and you are still complaining it?s all on you.
  • Reply 23 of 406
    mytdavemytdave Posts: 447member
    I'm glad consumer reports had the guts to do careful testing and verify what we all know. If you short the antenna by bridging the gap on the left side with your finger, you will lose reception.



    I've been to an Apple store, and I tried this out on a half dozen iPhone 4's. The problem is easily reproduced every time.



    The fix is equally simple. Apple only needs to make a change to the manufacturing process where they put a super-thin, durable, non-conductive coating on the exposed side of the stainless steel antennas. They need to do a recall and replace the antennas with coated ones or provide a free 'bumper case' to any iPhone 4 owner who doesn't want to bring their phone in for the recall.



    This is not a major problem, and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to fix it. But it does require pride swallowing and getting down off of high horses.
  • Reply 24 of 406
    g3prog3pro Posts: 669member
    I'm surprised there aren't more people who have wised up to the fact that Apple falsely elevated the display of bars in 2008 in response to complaints of low-signal on the iPhone compared with non-iPhones placed side-by-side.



    Remember how that problem was "magically" fixed two years ago, but that was the time when dropped calls starting happening even with 5 bars?



    Apple is caught with their pants down, and this time they're not going to enjoy it.
  • Reply 25 of 406
    swingeswinge Posts: 110member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post


    Actually, they recommended duct tape, not electrical tape. Everyone knows duct tape is the correct tape to use in a situation like this.



  • Reply 26 of 406
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    Tape and bumpers are not the answer people. Seriously.



    They need to apply a coating to the antennas. It would be clear but enough to stop the issue from happening. Unfortunately, that would involve a recall, or at the very least a trip to the Apple store and a Genius to swap out the antennas with coated ones.
  • Reply 27 of 406
    Ouch.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post


    The signal bar display is not a bug. They intentionally chose to have the bars not present a display that was analogous to signal strength.



    Yeah, like pretty much everyone else.

    Android's standard bars follow a very similar algorithm.
  • Reply 28 of 406
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iancass79 View Post


    For all of the people that bashed the ones of us that said there is a problem and pointed out that Consumer Reports said it was "OK", SUCK IT.



    Um, I've still yet to meet anyone demonstrating that this is a 'problem'.



    Again...

    "Doc... it hurts when I do this."

    "Then don't do that".



    Move your GD finger a millimeter.



    The antenna design is still a vast improvement for those not trying to get in on a phony class action.
  • Reply 29 of 406
    freddychfreddych Posts: 266member
    Here's a free fix: apple should give customers free lessons on how to hold the iPhone at the genius bar...
  • Reply 30 of 406
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mytdave View Post


    I'm glad consumer reports had the guts to do careful testing and verify what we all know. If you short the antenna by bridging the gap on the left side with your finger, you will lose reception.



    I've been to an Apple store, and I tried this out on a half dozen iPhone 4's. The problem is easily reproduced every time. ...



    See that's the thing, I was at an Apple store and could not reproduce it with any of the phones there.
  • Reply 31 of 406
    samabsamab Posts: 1,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tulkas View Post


    Why go through the trouble of doing the return and getting the 3GS? Just buy a case. I am not being flippant. Believe me, I recognize that this is a real problem. Buying a case is not a solution, it is a work around. At the least, Apple should just give away the bumpers. But, the fact is that you already have one. It seems like less trouble to just get a case than to trade down to a 3GS.



    I haven't bought one yet (not yet in Canada). I will have to decide whether to buy it as is or wait for them to fix the problem. But, if I already had one, I would probably just buy a case (and resent that I had to).



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ivan.rnn01 View Post


    Good for you little wussies. Return, boycott, do what you want.

    That may eventually shorten waiting lists in zones of decent reception.



    These are some of the most irresponsible advices I have ever seen here.



    Anyone who has already bought the iphone --- is still within the 30 day get out of jail full refund zero ETF period. Hell, Apple is even waiving its restocking fee.
  • Reply 32 of 406
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JoeDyndale View Post


    As has been noted before in the letter sent to Jobs from that PhD guy, this issue is extremely simple to fix. Simply spray a coating of some kind of plastic material over the problem area on the phone. It won't even be visible. Apple Stores will probably offer this for free in the near future. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out how to do it yourself though, so this isn't really a problem. Sure, the phone shouldn't have had this issue in the first place, but so long as Apple offers a free and simple fix like the one mentioned I don't have any issue with it. I'm still gonna get an iPhone 4 as soon as it goes on sale here in Norway. Calm down people. This is a problem, but the solution is either free or extremely cheap, and easy to implement.



    The coating has to be thick enough to affect the capacitance match. So more than a thin coating.



    I have not seen any data on the relative sensitivity of the new antenna design just data showing the drop in signal is larger than with other phones. I can get my 3GS to also drop signals if I hold it wrong, although I'm sure it takes more hand coverage than with the iPhone 4. The original and current setting of the bars shows that at 5 bars you have at least at a minimal signal strength you can make data and phone calls, the number of bars drops very rapidly as signal degrades. Apple apparently is going to go to a more linear method of calculating bars so most people after the fix are going to be seeing fewer bars and the effect of holding the phone wrong is going to be less visible.



    Apple has said that the phone is more sensitive then their previous phone and can make calls in locations the old phones could not. If you hold it wrong you lose the advantage of the new antenna design. Getting a case will give you both a better signal and a little protection. I expect Apple will shortly be including the band case in future shipments.
  • Reply 33 of 406
    bandittbanditt Posts: 23member
    I picked up my iPhone 4 on the first day it was sold here. And I seem to be one of the few people that experience better reception than on my pervious 3G model. I constantly lost my call when I drove into the underground garage with my car at home and at work. (My iPhone is sitting in a cradel without external antenna in the car). But with the iPhone 4 the connection stays alive and I can finish my calls in the garage.



    Also the WiFi reach is much better. I have more coverage in my house and in my office and now even get to connect to my office WiFi when sitting in the Starbucks across the street. So I think the overall reception and range of the iPhone 4 is better than on my previous model. And I don't really give much about the amount of bars on the screen . What counts for me is that I have fewer dropped calls
  • Reply 34 of 406
    tulkastulkas Posts: 3,757member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post


    The signal bar display is not a bug. They intentionally chose to have the bars not present a display that was analogous to signal strength.



    I agree with you that it was intentional, but to be fair, their wording in their press release certainly doesn't imply it was intentional.

    Quote:

    We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising.



    Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength.[/i]



  • Reply 35 of 406
    You can afford it.



    Each iPhone you sell gets you $599-$699 ($199-$299 plus $400 kickback from AT&T). Your $29 bumper probably only costs you less than $10 to make. Give some away, please.
  • Reply 36 of 406
    gustavgustav Posts: 827member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by freethinker View Post


    I usually trust Consumer Reports but the flip-flopping makes me call into question their "buyer beware" message. Has anyone experienced real time issues with the reception and call quality of the iPhone 4?



    Consumer Reports in the past were not kind to the Mac platform either. Back in the "Apple is beleaguered" days they repeated the same non-reasons as IT managers for not recommending Macs.



    That said, even if this issue affects a tiny amount of people, it's a bad PR issue for Apple.
  • Reply 37 of 406
    luinilluinil Posts: 59member
    Still, tested the iPhone of a friend this w-e, couldn't reproduce the problem. Didn't test extensively though.



    The only way I could get 2 bars down was to envelop the iphone in my hand, wich has the same effects on my actual non iphone phone...



    I'm waiting to get mine to do more tests.
  • Reply 38 of 406
    Glad to see that CR finally recognized this as a problem. It is a really serious issue, as some of us have been pointing out from Day 1. If my fingers or palm are over the black bar on the bottom left, signal bars disappear into nothingness within a minute or so (with resultant dropped calls), regardless of whether it started with a full five bars, or one or two. Take my fingers off, and within 20 seconds or so, presto, it comes fully back!



    Much as I dislike the bumpers from the standpoint of aesthetics, I went to a couple of Apple stores to see if they had any. They were sold out. (Apple's online store says it will ship in 5-7 business days, but I am going to hold out for a free one, which I predict will be inevitably coming! )



    I just hold my phone differently now, but at increased risk of dropping it on the floor. I still haven't found a good way to hold it in my left hand when accessing anything web-based, when solely on 3G/Edge.
  • Reply 39 of 406
    tulkastulkas Posts: 3,757member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pridon View Post


    How do we know this testing is any better than the 1st. I trust ANANDTECH much more than CR. The CNBS talking heads will be on this all day. Apple already said, if you don't like it bring it back.



    You don't know. You can trust them or leave them. If you want, pay for the testing yourself. Anandtech's findings mirror what CR found.



    What Apple didn't say is the problem. They didn't acknowledge the actual, iPhone 4 specific issue.
  • Reply 40 of 406
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tulkas View Post


    I agree with you that it was intentional, but to be fair, their wording in their press release certainly doesn't imply it was intentional.

    Quote:

    We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising.



    Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength.[/i]





    As I've written before, PR may have been stunned (actually, they probably were) but I doubt the iPhone engineers were.
Sign In or Register to comment.