This is What's Wrong With iPhone 4's Reception

[ckthecerealkiller]

BS Apple... I have to put my BB in the fridge to lose reception.

 

[Silmarunya]

The iPhone truly is as magical as Jobs promised. A cosmetic software update is capable of solving an antenna problem.

iOS 4: so great it even fixes faulty hardware. It's magical. It changes everything.

 

[ph3412b07]

back to school kids... a drop in 20 dB corresponds to 100 times weaker signal. ie you get 0.01 of the signal power after attenuation.

 

[pocketdrummer]

[citation][nom]cknobman[/nom]Thats the American way!!!!! Lower the standards until everyone meets them!!!![/citation]

You basically just told us what he already said.

 

[ark_007]

Its no wonder AT&T has horrible reception normal signal range should be between 70dB and 90 dB anything higher should not be tolerated.

 

[digitalrazoe]

Spoofing specs eh ? NOT GOOD ... In the occupation I work if the figure says -51dBm By God I better get that .. I paid for it .. and I have business traveling over devices that are supposed to be accurate! ... Apple... Fix it .. Fix it now and fix it right --- and yes .. as always... time is of the essence ...

 

[toastninja17]

[citation][nom]foxikk[/nom]How come this is software related?When using bumper seems to fix this problem, so... still software?[/citation]

Yes, actually it is. I bought the bumper (for $29 more than I should have paid for it, should have paid $1) and have better grip on the phone as well has being able to hold it anyway I want. However I'm still experience rapid changes in bars and reception, so that's where the software comes in.

 

[ethaniel]

I just can't believe how users keep buying things from these people. I just can't.

 

[eeide]

[citation][nom]halls[/nom]Apple, we just don't believe you.[/citation]
Why does Apple need nor car if you believe them or not? The people that are so outraged over this are the people that either just plain don't like Apple or will never own an iPhone. If you are an Apple fanboy on the other hand you will deal with and won't care about the issue anyways. Either way win-win right?

 

[aeiouy]

So I thought the phone got no service when you 'held it wrong'. So if you change the software so it reports differently, no service is still no service. Unless you lie about it. Oh wait.

 

[guzz46]

I don't know how apple doesn't get sued, claiming other phones lose signal when held in a certain way then name dropping nokia, droid and rim, i can cover my nokia n82 entirely with no signal loss at all, nokia and such should sue apple for making false claims about their products, just because apple can't make a decent phone doesn't mean the others can't.

 

[blasterth]

So if I get it right, now if you start holding it in the way it wasn't mean to be, instead of passing from 5 bars to 0 bars, it passes from 3 bars to 0 bars?

 

[eeide]

[citation][nom]guzz46[/nom]I don't know how apple doesn't get sued, claiming other phones lose signal when held in a certain way then name dropping nokia, droid and rim, i can cover my nokia n82 entirely with no signal loss at all, nokia and such should sue apple for making false claims about their products, just because apple can't make a decent phone doesn't mean the others can't.[/citation]
Go check YouTube! You will see plenty of Nokia and other phones that do the same thing! It all depends on your signal quality in the first place.

 

[guzz46]

Go check YouTube! You will see plenty of Nokia and other phones that do the same thing! It all depends on your signal quality in the first place.

Hardly, i saw a few videos on a couple of different models, considering how many hundreds and thousands of phones nokia sell having a few people that report some signal loss is not what i call a problem, it also depends on the design of the phone something nokia has had years of experience at where apple hasn't

 

[vabeachboy0]

yea... tell that to a geico caveman

 

[getritch]

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.

"Discovered" that you were "Totally wrong." wait a minute...one of the largest smartphone vendors in the world, in three years since their original launch and 4 or 5 since development started...cant figure out how to CALCULATE SIGNAL STRENGTH?

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH!!! ROTFLMCO!!!!

if that aint the biggest pile of bovine excrement i've ever heard this company spit out...

thats why i have an htc hero with 2.2 and i love it. dropped calls so far- 0.

 

[TheKurrgan]

Ok. I have to give some credit were credit is due.. I've installed a lot of in-building signal amplifiers for AT&T and Verizon, an I can tell you this from my personal experience: The iPhone's bars have always lied. That said, the phone does do very well for what it calls 1 bar especially on UMTS. Most phones waiver more at that sort of signal level (going on dBm). However I am fairly certain the "Bar" concept in the case of the iPhone was by design, and still is even on the iPhone 4. This represents AT&T as having higher signal strength than it actually does when using the *average* bar gauge, which has been in my experience: (On phones with 5 bars)
5 bars: -0 - -70
4 bars: -71 - -78
3 bars: - 79 - -86
2 bars: -87 - -95
1 bar: -96 - -110 (Normal Cut off Point)
It should be said this is NOT the only phone to do this... The Blackberry Bold 9x00 using AT&T's build of Firmware will always show -70 and 5 bars when on 3g until the signal goes to -85 then the bars start to drop. Ironically, i determined this using the field test mode of a Motorola and an iPhone and theorizing the BB wouldnt be *TOO* far off the other 2.
Fact is, on 3G which is also known as WCDMA, the signal STRENGTH isnt as important as the signal quality which is a variety of combined factors. When Verizon initially went to digital using CDMA, it was considered to not even put bars on the phones, as they are not completely relevant to how well the phone will make a call. Back to the iPhone 4's signal issue:
Older phones on Verizon used external antenna's. These performed admirably, and versus todays internal / bottom oriented antennas they owned. This is because the signal actually RADIATED OUT AND AWAY FROM THE $%&^ING PHONE!!!!
Apple took a good idea and screwed it up. It is important to note: If you leave a 3G area, the issue of "Bars" or signal strength dropping is greatly diminished, as typically these are in rural outlying areas and may even be on 850 only (In the hills, any way). This is because when using non 3g it doesnt factor in the quality of the signal, only the strength. Me and a buddy did a few call tests and were able to only get the signal down by 1 bar from 5 to 4 (for what thats worth, any way) and the phone did worse than it does as far as call quality than when on 3g on 1 to 2 bars.
Nice try apple, but c'mon, admit it: You screwed up. its OKAY! Every company has a screw up, even magical fairy companies.......

 

[mindspring]

Steve (blows) jobs.

 

[eddieroolz]

I don't think this will solve the problem anyway. People aren't getting less bars when they hold the phone - they are completely losing it. Changing the formula is no solution for losing the reception.

 

[timbozero]

Several thoughts on the recent iPhone4 News :-

1) Apple themselves seem to admit to having reported better signal (by bars) on their products for years. Whether delibrate or otherwise , this has given customers a false sense of signal until such time as it became 'inconvientent' to Apple with the current saga on the iPhone4.

2) Although a software fix to 'standard' levels of signal display will improve the perception of reduced signals, it will not change the physical effect of shorting out antennas which reportedly can cause up to 24dB of signal attenuation (this is a reduction to 4/1000th of the unattentuated signal for you maths fans).

3) Although Apple are correct that any form of 'shielding' over an antenna can and will cause signal reduction (and human flesh is a very very good shield sadly), there is a massive difference in sheilding a part of the signal and 'grounding it out' completely.

4) It would seem that a simple addition of a thin plastic coating to the 3 antenna (a simple DIY piece of sticky tape has shown this to be true) would do a lot to appease customers and a recall of existing units to retrofit these may well be expensive but not when compared to poor PRs effect on sales.