Apple’s Lame Fix For Antenna Issues

Did you watch the videos? All full bars.

Worse case, is that they were "misreported" and were indeed about 3 bars. Even at the bottom of your graph, -113dB... Plenty of signal to not drop a call.


All I'm saying is it's a bunch of horse $hit.
You can't fix a hardware problem with a software patch.

How is this so hard for people to understand? There are TWO problems here. There is a hardware problem that is a design flaw, and there is a software problem that make the hardware problem look twice as bad as it really is. Jesus.
 
Finally!! they found a way to blame it on att, why did it take them so long this time. I've had att/cingular for over 8 years now, I always had nokia phones, and NEVER had a dropped call. I tried out other phones from motorola, palm, samsung, and they would all drop calls on me. I made the switch to the iPhone and got dropped calls all the time, but the trade-off in web functionality made it worthwhile for my long commutes. Why can't apple just ever own up to their own mistakes and design flaws? They do it over and over with their products and people don't seem to notice.
 
Ok guys, if you actually want to learn instead of jumping on the Apple hate bandwagon, go here:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review/2

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that article explains it a little better than some d-bag in a youtube video. Once you read that article, feel free to return here and post some informed comments. Don't worry, there is a problem with the antennae design, so you can still come here and flame Apple after, but at least you'll know what you're talking about.
 
Do a little research people. Apple is telling the truth on this one.



These statements are most likely a response to Anandtech's discovery of the issue. As you can see from his testing, the bars are clearly displayed in an odd manor. Whether it was by design or not, the bars clearly aren't displayed right. Bars 1-4 span a total of 22 dB while bar 5 spans 40 dB. Like Apple said, this causes the phone to display 4 or 5 bars when it really shouldn't and it causes the phone to show more bars dropping in the vice grip scenario than it would if the bars were displayed correctly. I assume Apple will release an update that makes the bar divisions linear. If they were linear, the vice grip scenario would cause the phone to drop 2 bars at most, not 4 bars as it's doing now.

bars.jpg


By the way, the iPhone isn't the only phone to drop some signal when holding it tight. All phones do this, but the iPhone 4 just happens to do it a little more than most phones. This compounded with the bars not being displayed linearly is what made it so easy to notice.

For comparison, Anand found that the iPhone 4 losed 24.6 dB of signal when gripped very tightly in that particular spot, while a Nexus One loses 17.7 dB when gripped in the same manor. So yes, the iPhone 4 is worse in this regard, but it's not nearly as big of a deal as everyone thinks.

The problem with your and Anand's argument is that people are not gripping the phones "very tightly." They are people who touch it lightly with a lone finger and STILL lose signal strength. Name me one example where the Nexus One, or any other phone for that matter, does this.
 
The problem with your and Anand's argument is that people are not gripping the phones "very tightly." They are people who touch it lightly with a lone finger and STILL lose signal strength. Name me one example where the Nexus One, or any other phone for that matter, does this.

Go read the article. Obviously you didn't.
 
I have a Fix for the Iphone Antenna issue.

Required Material: Printer, Scissors, Tape

Step 1.

Print

iphonefix.gif


Scale it to how ever big you want your bar coverage to be.

Step 2. Cutout the printout

Step3. Tape the printout over your normal Iphones Bar coverage indicator.


Enjoy your FULL coverage iPhone, no matter how you grip it.. you will have full 3g, 4 bar coverage..!!!



Sorry apple this fix is patented, you can buy the rights to the solution if you'd like.
 
I really did get out of the iphone/At&t game at the PERFECT time.

I had an iphone 3G, was a good phone, I was generally happy. "alright" coverage. After they unveiled the iphone4, I knew that apple was a sinking ship.

Sure they got 600K or 1 million people in the first week, but many of those people are going to realize they just paid tons of money for something that besides it's new display, is a pretty half-assed phone.

I love the fact I'm on a droid based phone now, I never really knew what freedom was until now! The only thing funnier than a new problem each week, is how the hardcore apple cult members are defending the company and the phone.

They took away your ability to control the software, they took away your ability to hold the phone, next up: the phone decides who you are allowed to speak to.

Such a great time to be in the droid camp :)
 
Never had a cell phone "die" just because of a fingertip, and I've owned dozens if not hundreds over the years, probably used even more. I've got two right now, neither of them exhibits ANY signal loss because I hold them in my hand, regardless of grip, position, etc.

But I've got 2 friends here in my town that grabbed iPhone 4's last week, and they were both from the same store, purchased at the same time, serial numbers are only a few digits apart as well.

One of them will not budge in terms of signal strength as indicated on the toolbar or whatever they call that on the iPhone 4 when it's held in the hand normally just as all the Apple ads and videos show it being held, and the other one loses 4 bars of a 5 bar signal - and both phones are used in the same spot.

In fact, the one that did show reception issues was also quite capable of totally dying when the fingertip was held on that seam where the two antennas meet.

"It's the antennas, stupid."
 
So, Apple, you are telling us that all these years you have been cheating when showing signal strength in comparison to other phones and that is a good thing? Whoa!
Totally!
 
How is this so hard for people to understand? There are TWO problems here. There is a hardware problem that is a design flaw, and there is a software problem that make the hardware problem look twice as bad as it really is. Jesus.

Two problems for the price of one! Thank GOD people are just being dumb and their lost signals are all in their head.
 
How is this so hard for people to understand? There are TWO problems here. There is a hardware problem that is a design flaw, and there is a software problem that make the hardware problem look twice as bad as it really is. Jesus.
Alright, so looking at Apple's statement... Apple did not use ATT's signal method.
Which means Apple was using Apple's method, that is flawed. THE SAME METHOD they used to "boost" the 3G signal.

In other words, they have been misrepresenting signal all this time (on purpose), and are now going to make it accurate again. LOL

They are people who touch it lightly with a lone finger and STILL lose signal strength. Name me one example where the Nexus One, or any other phone for that matter, does this.
Go read the article. Obviously you didn't.

Obviously you haven't provided an example of any other phone doing this, either.
 
I wonder when Apple intends to coat the antenna with a non-conductive coating and/or resolve issues with the microSIM tray design to provide an actual fix for contact attenuation issues. Seems like that would be more helpful in the long run than a software "bar calculation" fix.
 
How is this so hard for people to understand? There are TWO problems here. There is a hardware problem that is a design flaw, and there is a software problem that make the hardware problem look twice as bad as it really is. Jesus.

And how is that fixing the design flaw? All the patch will do is make it less noticeable. You guys need to lay off the apple sauce.
 

Again, show us an instance where a damned FINGERTIP can COMPLETELY DROP the signal and you'll have a point.
 
There is a really easy software fix. How about Apple get rid of the bar system and display actual signal strength. In fact every phone manufacturer should do it, this way we can have Apples to apples comparisons between phones.
 
Alright, so looking at Apple's statement... Apple did not use ATT's signal method.
Which means Apple was using Apple's method, that is flawed. THE SAME METHOD they used to "boost" the 3G signal.

In other words, they have been misrepresenting signal all this time (on purpose), and are now going to make it accurate again. LOL

Yes. I would say they got what they deserved for trying to make their signal look better.

Obviously you haven't provided an example of any other phone doing this, either.

Look up. It's not hard to find videos of just about any other phone doing this. All phones lose some signal when you hold them, but the iPhone 4 does lose more than most phones.
 
There is a really easy software fix. How about Apple get rid of the bar system and display actual signal strength. In fact every phone manufacturer should do it, this way we can have Apples to apples comparisons between phones.

+1 The bar system is mentally retarded.
 
There is a really easy software fix. How about Apple get rid of the bar system and display actual signal strength. In fact every phone manufacturer should do it, this way we can have Apples to apples comparisons between phones.

This. Jailbroken iPhones can get an app to display decibels instead of bars. There are apps to do the same on Android phones.
 
Again, show us an instance where a damned FINGERTIP can COMPLETELY DROP the signal and you'll have a point.

Well a fingertip sure as hell doesn't cause my dad's iPhone 4 to lose reception. When it does though, you'll have a point. Gripping it tightly is the only thing that causes my dad's to lose bars.
 
While we're on the subject of oddities, anyone notice that Apple's site says that the iPhone 4 glass is made from aluminosilicate glass? Aluminosilicate glass is a heat resistant glass. :eek:
It's Corning's Gorilla Glass. Not really any different from the glass used on many other phones, TVs and so forth. It's very hard, so it restricts scratching well, but at the same time fairly brittle which makes it less durable against cracking on impact.
 
And how is that fixing the design flaw? All the patch will do is make it less noticeable. You guys need to lay off the apple sauce.

It's obviously not fixing the design flaw, but at least Apple can display the bars correctly.
 
Lemme get this straight,

The "big drop" is not real because the top 2 bars don't really exist.

So, the 5 bars to 0 drop (100%)

is somehow bigger than

3 bars to 0 drop (100%)



What changed again?
 
Well a fingertip sure as hell doesn't cause my dad's iPhone 4 to lose reception. When it does though, you'll have a point. Gripping it tightly is the only thing that causes my dad's to lose bars.
Watch the videos I posted. It happens.

Lemme get this straight,

The "big drop" is not real because the top 2 bars don't really exist.

So, the 5 bars to 0 drop (100%)

is somehow bigger than

3 bars to 0 drop (100%)



What changed again?
Math. Apple has invented new math.
 
It's Corning's Gorilla Glass. Not really any different from the glass used on many other phones, TVs and so forth. It's very hard, so it restricts scratching well, but at the same time fairly brittle which makes it less durable against cracking on impact.

Alkali-aluminosilicate is not the same as aluminosilicate glass...
 
This. Jailbroken iPhones can get an app to display decibels instead of bars. There are apps to do the same on Android phones.

Umm, if you haven't heard jailbreaking your iPhone voids warranty. Plus iPhone 4 is missing the app because Apple removed it(I guess there is no app for it). Anand had to load the OS form a jailbroken iphone 3GS to get it to work.
 
It's Corning's Gorilla Glass. Not really any different from the glass used on many other phones, TVs and so forth. It's very hard, so it restricts scratching well, but at the same time fairly brittle which makes it less durable against cracking on impact.

I can't wait to see someone do THIS test with an iPhone 4.

I'll put $100 cash down right now that says it'll shatter like a piece of fine china dropped off a 10 story building when it hits the pavement, and it'll happen in the first few hits.

Any takers? :)
 
Lemme get this straight,

The "big drop" is not real because the top 2 bars don't really exist.

So, the 5 bars to 0 drop (100%)

is somehow bigger than

3 bars to 0 drop (100%)



What changed again?

Nothing's changed. As some of us were saying, the hardware problem still exist. This signal strength display is a completely separate issue. Hell, it's not an issue at all since it's cosmetic.

Imagine this scenario: there's no antenna design flaw at all and the iPhone 4 is receiving perfectly unhindered signal strength. People would complain that no matter where they are, what they do, all they see is 3 bars, not 5. They'll want to know why?

The Anantech article explains this. The signal detection is assigned to the first three bars instead of all five bars. The last two bars are just there.

The only reason why it seems like a huge deal is because everyone's so hung up on the antenna problem that they cannot separate the issues. The two keeps getting tied together when it's not. As JUSTJOEL73 said, phones should get rid of the bar system entirely and display signal strength in it's proper form, with dB numbers.
 
Umm, if you haven't heard jailbreaking your iPhone voids warranty. Plus iPhone 4 is missing the app because Apple removed it(I guess there is no app for it). Anand had to load the OS form a jailbroken iphone 3GS to get it to work.

It's not an "app" it's just an alteration of the configuration settings for the status bar - when that info is recorded into the backup (from the 3GS) it can be applied to the iPhone 4 since the status bar settings can be transferred over in that manner. Anand explains it fairly well in the article, it's easy to do this as long as you have a Jailbroken iPhone running 3.1.3 on it (doesn't have to be a 3GS, could be a 3G or even the original).
 
"There is no spoon."

GLaDOS was a special version of iOS, no wonder the cake is a lie.
 
Watch the videos I posted. It happens.

I'm sure it could under the right circumstances, but it likely won't when Apple displays the bars correctly. As it is now with Apple's screwed up bar display, a measly 3 dB drop in reception (from say touching the spot with a single finger) could translate into a 2 bar drop. Once Apple displays their bars correctly, it will take a minimum of a 13 dB drop in reception to translate into a 2 bar drop. Bottom line, once they display the bars correctly, the iPhone 4 should never drop more than 2 bars no matter how tightly it's held, and it might only drop 1 bar (if any) when simply touching a finger to the gap.

There's still an obvious design flaw that there's no way to fix, but this isn't as big of a deal as people think.
 
I'm sure it could under the right circumstances, but it likely won't when Apple displays the bars correctly. As it is now with Apple's screwed up bar display, a measly 3 dB drop in reception (from say touching the spot with a single finger) could translate into a 2 bar drop. Once Apple displays their bars correctly, it will take a minimum of a 13 dB drop in reception to translate into a 2 bar drop. Bottom line, once they display the bars correctly, the iPhone 4 should never drop more than 2 bars no matter how tightly it's held, and it might only drop 1 bar (if any) when simply touching a finger to the gap.

There's still an obvious design flaw that there's no way to fix, but this isn't as big of a deal as people think.

I have an idea Apple fanboy, why don't you leave your BS out of this topic and stay ON TOPIC?

Because not only is this bullshit, but it's also completely off topic.
 
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