Fix iPhone 4 Signal Glitch with Scotch Tape?

Guy, guys guys, this is all part of the Apple magic.

Wave your hand over part of the phone and poof, your singnal disappears!
 
TexUs said:
Yes, I'll deny it... Because I can try it on an iPhone 4 and it happens, on my 3GS it does not.

Even if it DID happen it still makes no sense how software could cause interference with hardware... I'd like that one explained.
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My guess is that it has to do with how it's reported and how the baseband selects the signal based on quality or strength, etc...

I just know that I'm able to reproduce this on my 3gs every time I try it.
 
hPOD said:
So you knew of these videos, but asked anyway? Ho hum.
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I looked it up after you mentioned it, GJ reading lol


There are several youtube videos showing the problem with 3GS using 3.0 iOS doing the same thing.

So I'm going to say all these youtube videos are inconclusive at the moment.
 
hPOD said:
My guess is that it has to do with how it's reported and how the baseband selects the signal based on quality or strength, etc...

I just know that I'm able to reproduce this on my 3gs every time I try it.
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Hmmm...

Makes no sense though. Especially since the 3GS antennas are in different positions.
 
TexUs said:
Yes, I'll deny it... Because I can try it on an iPhone 4 and it happens, on my 3GS it does not.

Even if it DID happen it still makes no sense how software could cause interference with hardware... I'd like that one explained.
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See post #39 or Google "iOS4.01 resolving antenna issue" for more links.

As for your 3GS, you're either lucky or stationary. I commute 1.5 hours to work each way and browse on my iPhone a lot on the train. Before the update, the internet connection would just lag a bit when I'm away from civilization, but catches immediately when I come in range of a data tower. Since iOS4 my phone would just flat out prompt that I don't have internet connection and take awhile to reconnect when I'm in range of a tower. I've been commuting for over 5 years now. I'd remember how internet connections are on the train in the woods.

Next you're going to say all wireless access points are the same when they have the same chip in it even though it's put together by different manufacturers like Linksys, Netgear and DLink. Software and firmware DO make a difference.
 
khanable said:
I looked it up after you mentioned it, GJ reading lol


There are several youtube videos showing the problem with 3GS using 3.0 iOS doing the same thing.

So I'm going to say all these youtube videos are inconclusive at the moment.
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I think it's the baseband, and up until the iPhone4 people simply didn't notice, probably attributing it to AT&T instead. Whatever the case, if it ends up not being software/baseband related, it looks like a design flaw in EVERY model.

But I do know it's not the iPhone4 in particular, which is what a lot of people seem to be claiming.
 
khanable said:
There are several youtube videos showing the problem with 3GS using 3.0 iOS doing the same thing.
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That was my next question.


I'd chalk the 3GS up to shitty signal strength anyway (I don't think anyone would deny that).

The iPhone 4 is easily explained by hardware.

I mean WHY was there not this uproar on the 3GS if it was truly an issue? I'd again, say the 3GS issue is more just due to the crappy nature of the 3GS' signal anyway.

The iPhone 4 antenna issue is easily explained by faulty hardware though. Which also accounts for the huge surge of sudden issues that old 3GS owners never had.
 
hPOD said:
So you knew of these videos, but asked anyway? Ho hum.
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hPOD said:
I think it's the baseband, and up until the iPhone4 people simply didn't notice, probably attributing it to AT&T instead. Whatever the case, if it ends up not being software/baseband related, it looks like a design flaw in EVERY model.

But I do know it's not the iPhone4 in particular, which is what a lot of people seem to be claiming.
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Very possible it has been a design flaw with all the iPhones, but wasn't really noticeable until the external iPhone4 antenna.

I guess we will find out when apple rolls out that patch
 
khanable said:
Very possible it has been a design flaw with all the iPhones, but wasn't really noticeable until the external iPhone4 antenna.

I guess we will find out when apple rolls out that patch
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This is what I'm guessing.
 
You know, if Apple does issue a recall, not likely, it'll be the largest recall in history, even bigger than when chicken was banned for the avian flu a several years back.
 
khanable said:
An agreement between an apple user and a droid user


someone alert the media

:p
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I don't hate everything about Android, and I don't love everything about the iPhone, both have good and bad involved.
 
ShadowStriker said:
You know, if Apple does issue a recall, not likely, it'll be the largest recall in history, even bigger than when chicken was banned for the avian flu a several years back.
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Not hardly. Nokia recalled 46 million batteries in 2007.
 
khanable said:
Very possible it has been a design flaw with all the iPhones, but wasn't really noticeable until the external iPhone4 antenna.

I guess we will find out when apple rolls out that patch
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Could be. Just a more pronounced effect... However in theory moving the antenna to the exterior of the device should still actually produce a BETTER signal if this is in fact the same issue. But it's doing the opposite of that. Hmmm.....

The patch shall be interesting, then.

ShadowStriker said:
You know, if Apple does issue a recall, not likely, it'll be the largest recall in history, even bigger than when chicken was banned for the avian flu a several years back.
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Yea. I won't lie, I won't exactly be disappointed if that happens :D
More likely is Apple will over free bumpers or no-questions-asked device returns within 60 days or something... Less costly and they avoid market backlash by not doing an official recall.
 
Not being an iPhone user I didn't really pay to much attention to this but after reading that article I took a phone call and noticed that this is the exact way I hold my phone. I'm glad I'm a Sprint customer.

What were they thinking when they were testing/designing this phone?
 
You know, another thing that leads me to think this isn't software (IE, or at least a different problem on the earlier phones)...

Why the hell would tape fix this issue unless it's due, in fact on the iPhone 4, to your finger physically causing the issue due to crossing the antenna on the metal strip?
That wouldn't be the case on the 3GS.

Different issues IMO.
 
khanable said:
3gs w/ iOS4 having the problem


If that is the case..

why the hell would a software bug cause problems when certain hardware is touched?

just seems odd.
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I initial assessment would be that both pieces of hardware share design elements which make them prone to this malfunction. And since the issue seems to be related to iOS4, then I would guess that they tried to reduce power to the antenna and over shot the "sweet spot". Practically speaking this kind of thing isn't unreasonable, it just shows that Apple is a little sloppy in their QA. And since it occurs on some of their flagship products it draws allot of attention. :)
 
I have the iPhone 4 w/ the apple bumper and the deal is it still doesn't fix the issue. On the table I have 5 full bars, pick it up and put it in my hand griping it in the palm it drops to zero bars (Yes with the bumper!!).

The flaw here is that the antenna is on the bottom and gets blocked, not shorted or grounded out. Major design flaw that's probably going to haunt the iPhone4 through it's entire product lifecycle since you can't just juggle the phone's guts. 4GS will probably move the antenna... or bring back the metal telescoping antennas!!! Walkie-Talkie-Style.
 
kring said:
I have the iPhone 4 w/ the apple bumper and the deal is it still doesn't fix the issue. On the table I have 5 full bars, pick it up and put it in my hand griping it in the palm it drops to zero bars (Yes with the bumper!!).

The flaw here is that the antenna is on the bottom and gets blocked, not shorted or grounded out. Major design flaw that's probably going to haunt the iPhone4 through it's entire product lifecycle since you can't just juggle the phone's guts. 4GS will probably move the antenna... or bring back the metal telescoping antennas!!! Walkie-Talkie-Style.
Click to expand...

If that's the case then the 3GS could indeed suffer from the same problem.
However you're the FIRST case I've heard that the issue isn't fixed with a bumper?
 
The baseband calibration problem seems completely plausable. The 3g/3gs used the metal ring as additional antenna sink, so it's likely to be succeptible to the problem. The 4 has provided an even better conduit for your mitt to become part of the antenna. Some body parts provide more capacitance, your diet and environment can skew your electrolytic resistance. Maybe they did all their signal modeling in the hand of a plastic dummy....

I _can_ replicate the problem in my hand but I don't typically hold the phone by the bottom on both sides to make a call. I hold it more towards the middle (thumb and Index+middle) and the signal doesn't change in my normal use.
 
kring said:
I have the iPhone 4 w/ the apple bumper and the deal is it still doesn't fix the issue. On the table I have 5 full bars, pick it up and put it in my hand griping it in the palm it drops to zero bars (Yes with the bumper!!).

The flaw here is that the antenna is on the bottom and gets blocked, not shorted or grounded out. Major design flaw that's probably going to haunt the iPhone4 through it's entire product lifecycle since you can't just juggle the phone's guts. 4GS will probably move the antenna... or bring back the metal telescoping antennas!!! Walkie-Talkie-Style.
Click to expand...

You don't have to touch an antenna to take energy from it. Being near it is enough to absorb energy from it or block it from receiving it.
 
Handled two of these phones and never got the issue, hopefully mine works good, but I was near a tower, some buddy of mine seems to think if its you have a weak signal band.
 
TexUs said:
LOL.

It's a hardware problem.

The only thing Apple could do software wise is perhaps boost the signal, but when your conductive body creates a "short" of sorts... Signal strength will get killed regardless.

There's no fix short of recall.
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Explain why I held two phones , one of a friend and one from the AT&T store, didn't experience the issue no matter how much of a gorilla grip I put on it in the "i-spot". I have seen the issue on youtube, but if it didnt happen to me, then it has to be something else, maybe software , how do you explain that I did not have the issue. And yes I have seen a dozen videos and help the phone as tightly as possible, palming it where that antenna is.
 
ProfessorKaos64 said:
Explain why I held two phones , one of a friend and one from the AT&T store, didn't experience the issue no matter how much of a gorilla grip I put on it in the "i-spot". I have seen the issue on youtube, but if it didnt happen to me, then it has to be something else, maybe software , how do you explain that I did not have the issue. And yes I have seen a dozen videos and help the phone as tightly as possible, palming it where that antenna is.
Click to expand...

If you are near a tower or a base station, it doesn't work, it seems to be a combination of hardware/software baseband/signal strength/quality all together that cause it when you grip it. Interestingly enough, Nokia opened their mouths about this and got called to the carpet on it...you can replicate this same thing with a number of Nokia devices, and apparently the Droid Incredible and Nexus 1 also.

So it's probably antenna location, tower location, etc...it's not just an iPhone problem, now that the iPhone has brought this to light and got people experimenting, it's been replicated on a number of other devices, including Android devices.
 
There's a guy over at MacRumors that has an iPhone 4, lives line of sight with a cell tower, and even went and stood under one yesterday and still killed his iPhone 4 3G service with a fingertip placed on that seam bridging the two antennas.

Sure gives me everything I need to say it's a hardware defect, just like the iPhone 4 itself...
 
hPOD said:
If you are near a tower or a base station, it doesn't work, it seems to be a combination of hardware/software baseband/signal strength/quality all together that cause it when you grip it. Interestingly enough, Nokia opened their mouths about this and got called to the carpet on it...you can replicate this same thing with a number of Nokia devices, and apparently the Droid Incredible and Nexus 1 also.

So it's probably antenna location, tower location, etc...it's not just an iPhone problem, now that the iPhone has brought this to light and got people experimenting, it's been replicated on a number of other devices, including Android devices.
Click to expand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaDE941PzQk

^^ Showing the Droid Incredible with similar issues.
 
Nothing like facts or anything, other than a singular anecdotal case being all the proof you need that it's only an iPhone issue!!!

I just showed you a fucking video showing a Droid Incredible with the SAME FUCKING ISSUE.
 
hPOD said:
Nothing like facts or anything, other than a singular anecdotal case being all the proof you need that it's only an iPhone issue!!!

I just showed you a fucking video showing a Droid Incredible with the SAME FUCKING ISSUE.
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Sorry, but killing the phone's cellular service by touching it with a fingertip is not the SAME FUCKING ISSUE as your basic signal attenuation/degradation because of a hand-held grip. Not even close.

It's defective.
 
Bahamut said:
There's a guy over at MacRumors that has an iPhone 4, lives line of sight with a cell tower, and even went and stood under one yesterday and still killed his iPhone 4 3G service with a fingertip placed on that seam bridging the two antennas.

Sure gives me everything I need to say it's a hardware defect, just like the iPhone 4 itself...
Click to expand...

I can reproduce this on my 3gs in my office, or at home, but outside of my office (downtown Chicago), I cannot reproduce it.

I've also seen it done on a iPhone 3g...and in the video I showed you a HTC Incredible. And if you care to search, you can see it done on a Nexus 1, also.

Next time do some research instead of hopping the, "I'm an uninformed Apple hating idiot" bandwagon. As shown, this isn't merely an iPhone 4 issue, as it's replicated on many other phones, including about 8 Nokias. :p
 
Bahamut said:
Sorry, but killing the phone's cellular service by touching it with a fingertip is not the SAME FUCKING ISSUE as your basic signal attenuation/degradation because of a hand-held grip. Not even close.

It's defective.
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It doesn't kill the signal, it degrades it. Go do more research next time. And in a lot of cases, it depends on where you are when you do it, hence why if you have a basestation, it doesn't fucking work. Idiot.
 
Meh, making personal attacks by calling you an idiot is lame on my part, so I apologize now. But seriously, I've used I4's, and it doesn't kill the signal by touching it with your fingertip, it degrades it with the grip over the antennas, nothing more. Depending on where you are, it either degrades it to a kill point, or just degrades it...or does nothing at all. As stated, outdoors downtown Chicago, I cannot perform this on my 3gs nor another guys i4, however, in the office we can replicate the issue EVERY time, and not with a mere finger touch, either.
 
The guy owns an iPhone 4, he holds it up with the right hand not touching the band and using three fingertips on the glass front/back to keep it steady. He uses a fingertip to start a Pandora audio stream, waits a minute or two so it gets going and he can hear it through the speaker.

Then he places his left index fingertip on the seam between the two antennas on the lower left side bridging the connection. In roughly 45 seconds, he loses service, the audio stream disappears, the phone goes silent, that's that. Killed, dead, in under a minute, with a fingertip, standing on a balcony about 750 feet from the cell site he's connected to (an AT&T one on top of an AT&T central office building).

It's simply defective.

Chill with that attitude lest you get yourself banned. You can make a point (I hope) without turning into an ass.
 
Bahamut said:
The guy owns an iPhone 4, he holds it up with the right hand not touching the band and using three fingertips on the glass front/back to keep it steady. He uses a fingertip to start a Pandora audio stream, waits a minute or two so it gets going and he can hear it through the speaker.

Then he places his left index fingertip on the seam between the two antennas on the lower left side bridging the connection. In roughly 45 seconds, he loses service, the audio stream disappears, the phone goes silent, that's that. Killed, dead, in under a minute, with a fingertip, standing on a balcony about 750 feet from the cell site he's connected to (an AT&T one on top of an AT&T central office building).

It's simply defective.

Chill with that attitude lest you get yourself banned. You can make a point (I hope) without turning into an ass.
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As stated, that's ONE case. I just told you I cannot replicate this issue depending on where I am, and I'm ignored.

Maybe that's why you get such reactions, ever think of that?
 
hPOD said:
As stated, that's ONE case. I just told you I cannot replicate this issue depending on where I am, and I'm ignored.

Maybe that's why you get such reactions, ever think of that?
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And to add to this, if it's "simply defective", which it's not, that means the 3gs, 3g and a number of Nokias are also "simply defective". So no, you're obvious uninformed/biased opinion is dismissed.

You show ONE case, and that phone MAY in fact be defective, but I've not seen a single other i4 act like that with a single finger touch, and neither has anyone else. :p

Once again, you ignore the fact that in front of base stations or in certain areas it doesn't happen, but keep pointing to ONE singlar instance. Dismissed.
 
There are countless videos on YouTube of people disabling the iPhone 4's 3G service with fingertips, palms, house keys, even pieces of copper wire if you go looking for them.

And stop freakin' quoting yourself - this News forum doesn't allow you to edit your posts so stop being so damned upset over this situation, calm down, work out your thoughts, stop insulting me and others, and then make your point if you can.

I used an iPhone 4 earlier today for the first time, in an Apple Store (wasn't easy to get in, however) and I was able to make 3 different devices all go to zero bars with a fingertip alone - 4 others lost service completely.

And there's an AT&T cell site a block from the store's location (not even a quarter mile away).

Luckily, several people saw me conduct my impromptu test and promptly decided to pass on the iPhone 4 and left, just as I did shortly thereafter when the Store Manager asked me to either buy something or leave his store.

Hey, truth in advertising... I demonstrated that the demo models suffer from the same issue and hopefully saved some people from potential grief, it's been a good day so far. ;)
 
I didnt get that issue with the demo model I used , and im in bumfuk PA. The AT&T store is sitting on a highway
 
Bahamut said:
I used an iPhone 4 earlier today for the first time, in an Apple Store (wasn't easy to get in, however) and I was able to make 3 different devices all go to zero bars with a fingertip alone - 4 others lost service completely.

And there's an AT&T cell site a block from the store's location (not even a quarter mile away).
Click to expand...

But did you place a call? Did you test the affect this had on data throughput?

I can drive mine to zero bars with no apparent affect on call quality. Also I can perform speed tests with 0-1 bars and see >3Mb/s downloads.

Meanwhile in the same environment my 3G drops calls with 4-5 bars.
 
Well, I didn't have a chance to install some streaming audio app or anything, if that's what you mean, no. I couldn't spend that much time with them but, when it says "No service" that means it's dead, man. "Searching" means it's still associated with the given cell site and on the network and hopping channels for the most reliable one it can find.

"No service" means no service, no connection, just as readily as if I'd yanked the microSIM from each phone.
 
Any worthwhile updates here?

Did apple ever release the iOS iPatch? Did it help? Fix? Work? Anything??

I saw the thread about the class-action.. what a lol.. people will sue for anything these days. Isn't there a 30 day no questions asked return period? and people are just going to keep it and sue? what jackoffs.
 
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