iPhone 4 Antenna fix coming soon.

deep1

Have a look.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/apple-iphone-4-reception-problems-a-software-issue-fix-coming/

SolarNexus

I was just about to post about this

I'm glad I was proven right in thinking it was a software problem w/ how they measure signal. I cant imagine how bad it'd be if it was an actual physical design problem

Inquitus

deep1 wrote: »

Have a look.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/apple-iphone-4-reception-problems-a-software-issue-fix-coming/

Hmm that's not a fix, they are just going to change the number of bars displayed at different signal strengths. Nothing will actually have changed in reality aside from the number of bars you see displayed on your screen.

kjl

cough cough......PR Bull****......cough cough.

cojomo2

what a load of crap...I don't care what they say, they are refusing to acknowledge this issue as they know they screwed up and the only way to fix it is to redesign the phone...

their fix(making the bars bigger and tweaking how it displays) is not tackling the issue, it is just trying to cover it up...

deep1

Inquitus wrote: »

Hmm that's not a fix, they are just going to change the number of bars displayed at different signal strengths. Nothing will actually have changed in reality aside from the number of bars you see displayed on your screen.

According to then it's not Antenna problem but reception problem, which they are gonna fix.
I have yet to find someone with iPhone 4 having signal issue here.
Open for correction.

cojomo2

SolarNexus wrote: »

I was just about to post about this

I'm glad I was proven right in thinking it was a software problem w/ how they measure signal. I cant imagine how bad it'd be if it was an actual physical design problem

it is.

SolarNexus

I've yet to see anyone with the antenna problem that couldnt make a call... maybe someone could correct me here, but that sounds justifiably like an error in their signal strength formula.

Benzino

But the phone is still losing signal if held in a certain way.

Apple said the phone displays 4 bars when it should be 2 bars. But when you hold the phone a certain way, it displays no bars. So the problem is still there, or am I missing something?

cojomo2

deep1 wrote: »

According to then it's not Antenna problem but reception problem, which they are gonna fix.
I have yet to find someone with iPhone 4 having signal issue here.
Open for correction.

I am..

SolarNexus

Benzino wrote: »

But the phone is still losing signal is held in a certain way.

Apple said the phone displays 4 bars when it should be 2 bars. But when you hold the phone a certain way, it displays no bars. So the problem is still there, or am I missing something?

Please. I get the same thing with the 3GS and any other phone I've tried it on. I hope this doesn't turn into another knee-jerk reaction thread :rolleyes:

edit:
Forget how many bars the iPhone4 drops, if you can hold it like that and make a call, that's all that matters.

deep1

cojomo2 wrote: »

I am..

Dropped calls as well?
I have tried covering the antenna on 3 diff phones and doesn't make any difference at all.

And good news if anyone thinks it's hardware issue, Apple is issuing full refund within 30 days.

Johnmb

deep1 wrote: »

According to then it's not Antenna problem but reception problem, which they are gonna fix.
I have yet to find someone with iPhone 4 having signal issue here.
Open for correction.

If anything, the reception on my iPhone 4 is much, much better than the reception I was getting on my Samsung before I switched. I think a lot of this is down to people wanting to find something to complain about! On another thread, someone was posting moaning about a yellow tint on the bottom of their screen that could be seen while in a darkened room with the auto-brightness turned off and the manual brightness turned up full!!! Who does that? Use it in a natural way and there won't be any problems for most people.

wez99950

I had signal issues - dropping calls and unable to send txts. Have returned the iphone as a result. My friend, who returned the phone for me, was told in the Apple Belfast return that they've had a good few returns because of this.

cojomo2

deep1 wrote: »

Dropped calls as well?
I have tried covering the antenna on 3 diff phones and doesn't make any difference at all.

I have got 3 dropped calls while at home(never had as much as 1 on the 3g or 3gs) and if I turn wifi off, I get 1 bar edge..which is unusable(for data) most of the time.

In work, I get full bars 3g, pick it up, it drops to 1 bar edge..

deep1

cojomo2 wrote: »

I have got 3 dropped calls while at home(never had as much as 1 on the 3g or 3gs) and if I turn wifi off, I get 1 bar edge..which is unusable(for data) most of the time.

In work, I get full bars 3g, pick it up, it drops to 1 bar edge..

Your does sound like a faulty handset, You can exchange or refund within 30 days according to apple.

cojomo2

deep1 wrote: »

Your does sound like a faulty handset, You can exchange or refund within 30 days according to apple.

I'd love to exchange it if I thought it might fix the issue, but does that mean I have to go all the way back to Belfast again!?

wez99950

Johnmb wrote: »

I think a lot of this is down to people wanting to find something to complain about!

That's not entirely true. I would say a lot of people, as i was, were very excited about the phone and still, many are willing to live with it despite some defects (however big/small - depending on the phone).
I don't think a lot of people want to complain about a phone that they were so excited about - i certainly didn't. People voicing their concerns, i would think, are simply dissatisfied with paying so much for something that has proved to be problematic.

Dades

cojomo2 wrote: »

the only way to fix it is to redesign the phone...

Or apply some yet-to-be-marketed iPhone Insulation Tape™ around the parts of the antenna being 'bridged' by people's sweaty hands.

cojomo2

Dades wrote: »

Or apply some yet-to-be-marketed iPhone Insulation Tape™ around the parts of the antenna being 'bridged' by people's sweaty hands.

hmm, well I tried this with regular tape, didn't work anyway...

Dades

cojomo2 wrote: »

hmm, well I tried this with regular tape, didn't work anyway...

That's because the iPhone recognised that you weren't using Apple's Official iPhone Insulation Tape™. :pac:

Joking aside, there will be a tape that does the job, I'm sure.

SolarNexus

Dades wrote: »

That's because the iPhone recognised that you weren't using Apple's Official iPhone Insulation Tape™. :pac:

Joking aside, there will be a tape that does the job, I'm sure.

I just say people put their iPhone4s in a condom and be done with it.

viclemronny

Read this thread title and thought it must be the display of bars that they are talking about. There were some pretty thorough tests preformed by the anandtech reviewer and he seems to conclude that it is in fact a quirk in the number of bars displayed rather than such a dramatic drop in signal strength.

Discussed in the link below.

Link

Dades

^^ Read that over the weekend. A very good review and interesting findings.

Inquitus

Dades wrote: »

^^ Read that over the weekend. A very good review and interesting findings.

Aye but it fails to note that signal strength in the vast majority of most countries is on the low end of the scale, so a > 20db drop in signal strength is a huge issue for those less fortunate than that tester who don't live opposite a 3G tower.

copacetic

viclemronny wrote: »

Read this thread title and thought it must be the display of bars that they are talking about. There were some pretty thorough tests preformed by the anandtech reviewer and he seems to conclude that it is in fact a quirk in the number of bars displayed rather than such a dramatic drop in signal strength.
Discussed in the link below.

Link

He didn't 'conclude' that at all. Or rather he did agree that apples way of displaying bars is fakes to make it look like they have good signal the whole time, but this is an aside to the main issue.

However the key point in the review is that holding an iphone 4 lightly causes a 20dB signal loss, compared to 2 db for a 3GS. This is an incredible difference and will lead to stalled data and dropped calls when moving between cells and/or in lower signal areas.


This means that:

The fact of the matter is that either the most sensitive region of the antenna should have an insulative coating, or everyone should use a case

Mr.Applepie

Did I not read something saying Apple have stated that using a case will solve the issue.

A) How would using a case fix a software issue?
To those who have a case - does it actually fix the problem?

bnt

I have some RF electronics experience, and it seems simple enough to me. The sweaty human hand isn't just conductive, it has a capacitance, and that's going to affect the tuning and response of the antenna. Anyone remember the "bunny ears" TV antenna? How it responds differently when you touch it? Same kind of thing. I'd get one of those silicone sleeves if I got an iPhone 4, but I won't be getting one.

Nemanja91

July 2, 2010

Letter from Apple Regarding iPhone 4

Dear iPhone 4 Users,

The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.

To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of having a faulty antenna design.

At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What can explain all of this?

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. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.

To fix this, we are adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone’s bars will report it far more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit taller so they will be easier to see.

We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present since the original iPhone, this software update will also be available for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are the same— the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have caused.

As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.

We hope you love the iPhone 4 as much as we do.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Apple



Press Contacts:
Natalie Harrison
Apple
harri@apple.com
(408) 862-0565
Steve Dowling
Apple
dowling@apple.com
(408) 974-1896/QUOTE]

bnt

Anandtech has an in-depth test on the issue, here, with plenty of numbers. They say there is a maths issue of the sort Apple describes. There's also some real signal degradation if the phone is held in certain ways, the iPhone 4 being worse than its competitors in this regard. But they also say the iPhone 4 is better at dealing with poor signal levels.

drunkmonkey

Nemanja91 wrote: »

July 2, 2010

the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped.

Apple

You've only made 4 phones:rolleyes:

IamMetaldave

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Nemanja91 wrote: »

You've only made 4 phones:rolleyes:

That's why it's an easy statment o make ;-)

Heliosvector

please guys, use your heads. There is both a hardware and software issue.

If a week ago we were told by apple to "use a case" to solve the issue, but then told that there is now a software fix coming shows you that they are lying.

http://gizmodo.com/5577812/why-apples-iphone-4-update-wont-fix-your-reception-problem

IamMetaldave

I'd say Gizmodo are only delighted to be publishing that.

Inquitus

Dave Eyesclosed wrote: »

I'd say Gizmodo are only delighted to be publishing that.

Ofc Gizmodo were going to try and do a hatchet job on Apple first chance they got, I just bet they didn't expect Apple to hand them such a gilt edged opportunity by pushing out a flawed product and some of the best PR fail you could see from a big company.

Job's "Hold it differently" quote is comparable, in crass insensitivity, to Ratner's comments on his Jewellery shops a few years back.

I can understand why Apple are denying everything, Sony managed to get away scott free denying their YLOD issues even when it's clear to all and sundry they used cheap solder and its an inherent design flaw. You sadly need something on the epic Scale of Xbox's RROD to force a huge multinationals hand, and we the consumer just need to like it or lump it.

djgaillimh

So... hang on now, let's just recap:

1. Apple have been selling handsets for years which gave an inflated impression of the iPhone's reception

2. They're still ignoring the design flaw and offering no solution to it, so people who were dropping calls and data before will still be dropping calls and data after the update

3. Apple customers are acting as if Apple have fixed the issue and are happy about this outcome



Incredible.

Gekko

I'll be interested to see if it does anything for the reception issues with my 3GS.

Can't see myself using an iPhone as my main phone.

IamMetaldave

Apparently Apple Care confirm iOS update will not fix antenna problem :eek:

Stink on the inside

Sorry I havent a clue about the latest news with these I phone antenna problems, Ive done a quick search here and on google and cant seem to find out if the problem was resolved?

Im thinking of getting an I Phone 4, I obviously don't want to buy the one with the antenna problems I have heard about.

I take it that software didn't fix the problem, will apple be releasing a newer version of the i phone 4 with the problem resolved any time soon?

Gumbo

Stink on the inside wrote: »

Sorry I havent a clue about the latest news with these I phone antenna problems, Ive done a quick search here and on google and cant seem to find out if the problem was resolved?

Im thinking of getting an I Phone 4, I obviously don't want to buy the one with the antenna problems I have heard about.

I take it that software didn't fix the problem, will apple be releasing a newer version of the i phone 4 with the problem resolved any time soon?

the problem is not much of an issue in Ireland imo.

Johnmb

Stink on the inside wrote: »

Sorry I havent a clue about the latest news with these I phone antenna problems, Ive done a quick search here and on google and cant seem to find out if the problem was resolved?

Im thinking of getting an I Phone 4, I obviously don't want to buy the one with the antenna problems I have heard about.

I take it that software didn't fix the problem, will apple be releasing a newer version of the i phone 4 with the problem resolved any time soon?

The "problem" is just a standard thing with all mobile phones, which just happened to get blown out of all reasonable proportion with the iPhone 4 simply because of all the hype that surrounds the iPhone! The software fix made the bar display more evenly spread out to avoid the perception of losing too many bars at once, and it did that job successfully.

Stuxnet

Dunno I drop calls alot, had a 3GS with o2 never a problem, with 3 now on ip4 and I find it terrible, good job I don't need to make many calls

naasrd

Never much of a problem here. More of a media frenzy and a begrudgers fest, all the air's gone out of it now.

cian1500ww

Notice the bars drop but haven't had any dropped calls yet, got a case and no problems whatsoever.

mad muffin

Stink on the inside wrote: »

Sorry I havent a clue about the latest news with these I phone antenna problems, Ive done a quick search here and on google and cant seem to find out if the problem was resolved?

Im thinking of getting an I Phone 4, I obviously don't want to buy the one with the antenna problems I have heard about.

I take it that software didn't fix the problem, will apple be releasing a newer version of the i phone 4 with the problem resolved any time soon?

Did you know that the Nexus One has a 3G problem that Google said they would not fix?

Did You know that the Samsung Galaxy S has a GPS problem and can have its bars drop just as easily as what is supposed to happen to the iP4?

Did you know that the Motorola Droid 2 has the same "problem"?

No of course you didn't. The media doesn't care unless it has Apple written on it.

I have had the iP4 since it was launch on the 24th of June and haven't dropped a call yet both on O2 and Vodafone.

Oafley Jones

Johnmb wrote: »

The "problem" is just a standard thing with all mobile phones, which just happened to get blown out of all reasonable proportion with the iPhone 4 simply because of all the hype that surrounds the iPhone! The software fix made the bar display more evenly spread out to avoid the perception of losing too many bars at once, and it did that job successfully.

No other phone has the same problem as the iPhone 4. It stems from the user having direct physical contact with the antenna, something that doesn't happen on any other available phone. It's poor design and should have never been released as is. Having said that I doubt that you or too many people in Ireland will ever have problems with it; the issue arises within areas of low signal coverage something that much more of a problem in the like of Texas than Ireland.

jeromeof

Oafley Jones wrote: »

No other phone has the same problem as the iPhone 4. It stems from the user having direct physical contact with the antenna, something that doesn't happen on any other available phone. It's poor design and should have never been released as is. Having said that I doubt that you or too many people in Ireland will ever have problems with it; the issue arises within areas of low signal coverage something that much more of a problem in the like of Texas than Ireland.

While this is correct, there was a reason they put the antenna on the outside, when your hand is not covering the line on the bottom left of the phone (causing interference between the 2 aerials) it is actually better performance. So, for example, if you use a bluetooth headset you would probably find the iPhone4 has better reception. I have found it keeps my streaming music connection alive without interruption while driving around Dublin (it does stop when I get into Kildare), while my previous 3G would occasionally stop/stutter the connection and be generally unusable for streaming music in the car.

Now if you get the free bumper case (as I have now), even covering the "bad" part of phone does not cause any significant signal loose. It basically removes the issue that you might accidentally touch the wrong part of the phone and possible drop a call if the signal was already poor.

Creamy Goodness

this is a screen grab of me doing a speedtest.net speed test, holding the phone with the "death grip"

http://twitpic.com/2fdhgb

now i'm not saying it's not happening to others but ~1.5mb up/down whilst holding the phone with "death grip" is not too shabby.

Johnmb

Oafley Jones wrote: »

No other phone has the same problem as the iPhone 4. It stems from the user having direct physical contact with the antenna, something that doesn't happen on any other available phone. It's poor design and should have never been released as is. Having said that I doubt that you or too many people in Ireland will ever have problems with it; the issue arises within areas of low signal coverage something that much more of a problem in the like of Texas than Ireland.

Other phones do have the same problem as the iPhone 4. Just for different reasons. You don't have to make direct contact with the antenna in order to block the signal. And with the iPhone 4, it seems to have solved that problem, those who do have problems have them because of bridging a gap between two different antennae rather than from blocking the signal (which would be much more difficult to do given the size of it!)