“A scientist presented Wired.com with an intriguing theory that can be summed up as ‘cleanliness is next to FAIL,'” Van Buskirk reports. “A post-doctoral biochemistry fellow at a leading American university claims that dampness and naturally-occurring salts on the hands of the general populace help them form a better connection with the iPhone 4’s exposed antenna than the clean hands of testers in Apple’s sterile lab environment would have done… ‘This problem will be difficult to reproduce in Apple’s labs, because the engineers are required to wash their hands before touching devices, which also strips off the natural hand electrolytes that are ever-present in the field on a hot day.'”
“This would also explain why certain users experience the problem, while others — who may have washed their hands more recently — can’t seem to replicate it,” Van Buskirk reports. “A rubber case sold by Apple for $29 solves the problem by interrupting contact between the hand and the antenna, though Apple customer support has apparently been told not to offer them for free to complaining users. So, how should Apple address the issue, if this biochemist is right?”
Van Buskirk, “The company need not redesign the antenna, he says, but should add an electrically insulating organic hydrophobic layer atop the bare metal,’ such as the thin layer of plastic that encases soda cans.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: More proof that everyone and their mother has theories and “solutions.” All cell phones attenuate when held. We’re reserving judgement until Apple releases their software update. One thing: common sense would dictate that if you’re sweatin’ to the oldies while trying to hold onto a smooth glass object, you might want to have it in a more-grippable case of your choosing so that it doesn’t go slipping out of your fingers onto the ground.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Brendan D.” for the heads up.]
I have an iPhone 4.
Holding it in your left hand..pressed into the heel of the hand causes the phone to attenuate swiftly and then drop the call.
This has been documented numerous times now on YouTube.
This is a SERIOUS issue for Apple, all protestations to the contrary,
and the upcoming software update is LIKELY going to contain some stealth code to address it, if possible.
@utter crap,
Then why don’t all, or even most, iPhones suffer from this problem?
i dont grip my phone…i love my phone and dont have any isues with it…….
Too many tramps buying iPhones clearly
This is bull. I put a small strip of scotch tape along the left side of my iPhone 4, and it still lost connection when I put my finger across the antenna gap. As a matter of fact you don’t even need to touch the antenna gap – just get really close.
I can even hear the loss of signal. That’s right, hear it. My amplified speakers here at my desk are very susceptible to RF energy. Whenever my iPhone is transmitting to the tower I can hear the data through the speakers as a random kind of buzzing noise. As I move the phone around I can make it louder or softer as the speakers get more or less of the RF signal. I can also attenuate the signal by placing a finger close to the gap (really close, like less than .1″), and when touching the tape it disappears entirely, meaning the radiated energy is attenuated by quite a bit when my finger is within a few thousandths of an inch from the gap. Clean hands or not.
I always suspected that Apple-haters were filthy buggers
WHO, oh WHO the HELL holds the phone naturally as those people forcing the GRIP OF DEATH? nobody!!! for god sake.. just get a shield film or a case , please! all this discussions are just ridiculous… move on!
I’m going to buy a flexi rubber case for my new iPhone 4 & I’ll bet I don’t have an antenna issue!
Yes, stop to squeeze your iPhone and it won’t die…
Yeah right… Wipe and don’t wash before you grip…
Grimmac, please tell me why you think these people are holding the phone is some unnatural way. How ELSE do you hold it?
http://iphonehold.tumblr.com/
It seems clear that any issue with the iPhone 4s reception is when it is held in the left hand. Really?! There are that many left handed people? Sollution: don’t sell to lefties. Or ACLU approved lefties only version for you bleeding hearts. This topic has gone on long enough. I agree with ‘The Steve’, “Don’t hold it that way.” Hold it in your right hand like the rest of the world. Better yet, every body should use the speaker phone. You people just love to nitpick.
@ Wingsy re “I put a small strip of scotch tape along the left side of my iPhone 4, and it still lost connection when I put my finger across the antenna gap.”
Do you know the insulation properties of Scotch Tape? All those years of buying electrical tape must have been a waste of money.
I hold my iPhone 4 in my left hand sans case to view email, surf the web, etc., and the reception is clear and consistently good.
The general public doesn’t seem to be able to distinguish between a drop in the number of bars from a dropped call.
The former doesn’t matter; the latter does.
I tested my iPhone 4 the way it has been shown to drop signal strength and calls. Numerous times, and no problem.
And, I was one of the fortunate ones to receive my iPhone the day before it was stated to be released.
Out of curiosity, is it possible that the problematic iPhones came from the same manufacturing run(s)?
That, I have seen before.
@MDmac
“Do you know the insulation properties of Scotch Tape?”
Yes. Excellent.
@John,
It is possible that Apple might start adding a protective coating in the next production run, but even that can’t completely prevent signal attenuation, which is common across the industry.
I doubt that Apple will create a completely redesigned antenna until the iPhone 5.
In the meantime, this problem is greatly exaggerated. Yes you can attenuate the signal by doing the “death grip” maneuver, but it’s not difficult to avoid, and a bumper or some other case prevents it from happening all together.
Once I put a bummper on my iPhone, the attenuation was mitigated to the point where the behavior of the phone was exactly like my old 3Gs. I.e. in a poor signal area, signal strength comes and goes.
Ultimately though, the reception of the iPhone 4 has proven to be the best of any iPhone I’ve had so far, and I’ve had them all. I’ve had no dropped call problem.
@5280420
Go to Google – Images. Search for “talking on iphone” (no quotes). The very first 3 images returned are people using the phone in their right hand and their finger/hand is covering the antenna gap. I hold the phone in my right hand as well (have to, my left ear has a manufacturing defect), and it is nearly impossible to carry on a conversation for very long without a finger or part of my hand drifting over the gap. I can’t imagine anyone who thinks it is normal to be conscious of how they are holding a phone.
I am as big an apple fan as anyone, Steve Jobs has really screwed us on this one, he knows just how good of a product he has put out, despite the flaw, now he is milking it by forcing people to the bumper.
All three iPhones I have held (including mine) have this problem, it is not isolated by any means. I will not be buying a bumper, but went to another company, low profile case that does not take to much away from the design of the device. (and only cost $8) Look up the MiniSuit iPhone 4 Skin Case on amazon, it gets pretty good reviews
Still no problems with my iPhone 4 reception… Using a bumper case and not using a bumper case – no real difference that I can tell.
@5280420
I hate to add to these comments when there is really nothing important in the post, but holding the phone in your left hand is exactly what a RIGHT HANDED person does most of the time!
If you’re right handed, chances are great that you’ll be using your right hand to interact with the phone held in your left. Or use your right hand to drive, open doors, write messages, or eat your cheeseburger, all while gripping the phone in your less essential left hand.
I’m a lefty, and I almost never hold the phone in my left hand. But the “Live Strong” bracelet I have wrapped around my phone does a pretty good job of keeping my hand off the antenna.
Anyone else wondering why, if it is indeed simply a signal display issue, the update is taking so long? They obviously have their best and brightest working on this and the problem obviously rubs deeper than they have publicly acknowledged. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool.
@Bongo…
CORRECT! a Graphic display change is a very simple matter to reprogram and should have been pushed out to users quickly.
THIS IS DEEPER…
@leodavinci
The reason all iphone 4 users don’t experience this is multi-variable
They don’t live in marginal reception areas
They wash their hands frequently
They don’t hold it in their left hand
They have a good enough wrapper
They don’t make many calls
They use bluetooth in the car for handsfree use
The fact that a significant number DO suffer AND that it has been repeatedly documented is something that Apple needs to address.
The graphics explanation MAY have some truth to it..but probably LESS truth than those who complain of dropped calls and reception issues.
Apple has always been ABOUT THE USER….
not this time…and it’s sad…Steve is mistaken on this one.
magic word
USED
how appropriate
Being a lefty, I naturally hold my iPhone 4 in the proscribed way. When I do this without a case, the signal strength display drops, and the actual signal strength degrades. So, I put a case on it. Which I would have done anyway to protect it from drops. Total cost – $2.76. I now have the best iPhone – the best smartphone – ever made.
All the shouting and hand-wringing over this issue is truly pathetic.
@ Utter Crap
How do we know how many people have issues with the iPhone 4.
Checking out the forums is no way that one can judge the extent of the problem. Most of the attendees post on multiple forums, often repeating their rhetoric from one site to another.
For any body to use a blogging site as evidence of anything is ludicrous.
It is interesting to see how many of the posts are submitted by non-owners who profess to know that Apple is ripping everybody off with everything they offer. They can often be discovered by their repeated non-sensical claims as if the are the new Nader’s of the tech world.
@janekg
“I’m going to buy a flexi rubber case for my new iPhone 4 & I’ll bet I don’t have an antenna issue!”
The iCondom! brought to you by ‘Beyond Seven’!
Now you’re covered! Be it for iPhone 4, iPhone 5, iPhone 6 iPhone 7, iPhone 8, iPhone 9…
http://www.beyondsevencondoms.com/
“This is a SERIOUS issue for Apple…” <snip>
blah blah blah blah blah
@MDMac
Since you’re so intelligent, why don’t you propose an accurate method of counting the number of users affected? Are you implying that this number is a statistically insignificant percentage, within the acceptable bounds of product defects?
If so, please remove the ‘MD’ from your name…
This, along with the proximity sensor issues makes the iPhone 4 a defective product as it stands today, despite its selling success and other obvious strong points.
This explanation sounds like malarky. I can bridge the antennas with a paperclip etc. and there is no problem at all. I can touch the antennas to bare metal and there is no problem.
I have NEVER seen this issue on my iPhone 4. Maybe someone is soldering something wrong in the factory? How come we aren’t seeing any independent stats on the issue – does it affect only 1% or 10% or 50% of users?
So it’s the “unwashed masses” that experience this problem, why am I not surprised!
I have a suggestion to those of you who say there is no problem.
Take your iPhone 4 and a camcorder to someplace where you get 2-3 bars of signal (when the phone is resting on a table). Start taping. Then pick up the phone with your left hand and hold it like people normally do – you know, like Steve holds it (see the link in my earlier post to have a look). Run Safari and go to MDNs web page. I want to see it load the page. If you’re somehow successful with that, call someone while still holding it. If you’re successful with THAT, then I’ll know that somewhere out there is an iPhone I can use.
@Wingsy
Excellent comment. Perfectly describes the problem. The only possible conclusion is this:
The new phone is fatally flawed as a result of an antenna design that is ‘really cool’ but relatively useless.
This is why I never buy a new product at launch. Let other suckers complain so when I buy mine, it works fine. Listen to the “all day lolly-pops”. Ha-ha!!!
@ Bongo
There is only one accurate method and that only Apple can institute. All I said that examining the forums, once you remove the repeated posting and only count the users that actually have the product, the numbers are rather small.
AppleInsider had forums and less than 350 posting were made, of which, less than 50 people had a legitimate concern. In one forum, over 50 postings were submitted by the same 3 dissatisfied members. The same 3 also posted on other sites.
And as we now see after all the hoopla re the compromising of the iTunes store, the number or percentage of accounts affected were not significant.
Whatever is at the root cause, history tells us that Apple will fix it and most likely will compensate those that truly had a problem quite satisfactorily. You don’t get the ‘best’ consumer ratings that Apple achieves by not listening to your customers and providing excellent products, support and services.
My personal experience dictates keeping an open-mind and being patient. It has never failed me more over the 28 years buying, developing on and servicing Apple products/solutions, particularly during Jobs’ tenure.
The top business schools in the world do not use Apple to example failure. One way or another Apple has come through. Perhaps not to everyones’ satisfaction, but a significantly more than our parents are getting from their kids.
As I have said to students, colleagues and even clients, how many times did your mother or spouse have to remind you to take out the garbage; and how many times did you ‘forget’?
It is like when I step into my car with wet shoes from rain. My foot would slip off the clutch pedal and potentially put me at risk of damaging my car or getting into an accident.
Why should I blame the car manufacturer for this?
I could simply dry my feet.
The antenna works as designed. This is a non-issue.
@Bongo
“Since you’re so intelligent, why don’t you propose an accurate method of counting the number of users affected? Are you implying that this number is a statistically insignificant percentage, within the acceptable bounds of product defects? “
No, I think he’s implying, correctly, that we do not have any true accounting of the number of users affected.
Even if your inference were correct, your conclusions do not follow. Anecdotal evidence does not prove that either problem is widespread enough to say that iPhone 4 is an inherently “defective product”. In fact, I believe the evidence supports a contrary conclusion – since not all iPhone 4 users experience the reception issue and/or the proximity sensor issue, and are unable to even replicate them, it is a not an inherent product defect. I do agree that it is quite plausible that some batches of the device do have a manufacturing defect. That would explain why some easily encounter the issues while some cannot replicate the problems.
I speculate that MOST iPhone 4 users are not experiencing either problem. We know for certain that there are people never experience either issue and are unable to replicate it. I suspect that a fair portion of the problems are really issues of reception that have been mistakingly correlated with the grip and proximity issues.
I think the explanation this post-doc supplied has some merit to it. Some have posted their disbelief since they can achieve the problem while not touching the phone. I do agree that he goes too far, but that does not debunk the central idea, which is merely that touching with a dirty, sweaty hand is worse than touching with a clean hand. The real underlying issue is blocking.
@Wingsy
You are concluding that the RF buzzing noise is a suitable surrogate for call strength – have you empirically determined that?
I suspect the two will not always correlate based on my experience with similar conditions. Also, to be truly informative, you need to tell us what your signal strength is at your desk and the frequency of dropped calls with your previous AT&T;phones in the past.
@ Wingsy
I would love to see that as well. There is plenty of video evidence of failure but I have yet to come across one that shows the phone working in areas of lower reception. One of you guys who claims your phone works perfectly could surely do this and defend your position.
@MDMac
This is a far more talked about and widespread issue than the iTunes thing. I do agree with you that Apple does tend to provide oustsnding customer service but that is exactly why I’m concerned – right now, they are not. I guess it would hurt them too much to admit to a hardware defect on their best selling device, but the truth has to come out eventually.
To think all this could have been largely avoidedby simply putting a nonconducting coating over the antennae – Apple royally screwed up here. Now if they add the coating they are implying the existence of a problem that runs deeper than software, so I’m not getting my hopes up on that. This is the problem with companies with amazing reputations – they will do anything not to lose it
The reason why apple didn’t experience any problems while testing the iphone4,especially outside of their campus is because they had cases on their phone to disguise them from the public. There was no “death grip” for them. Let’s not forget how the prototype was lost and how it looked when it was found. Cased as a 3GS
@DRMSSDB
“@Wingsy
You are concluding that the RF buzzing noise is a suitable surrogate for call strength – have you empirically determined that?
I suspect the two will not always correlate based on my experience with similar conditions. Also, to be truly informative, you need to tell us what your signal strength is at your desk and the frequency of dropped calls with your previous AT&T;phones in the past.”
Yessir, the buzzing noise I hear is directly related to signal strength. The closer I get my phone to the speaker amp the louder the buzz gets. The 2 things that will affect the interference with the amp is signal amplitude and signal frequency. Frequency, since there is some circuitry inside the amp that is resonant or somewhat resonant at the frequency the phone is transmitting on, and amplitude, since it is the rectified RF energy getting into the input side of the amp and being amplified as audio (since after rectification, it is audio). Since the phone’s frequency doesn’t change (it better not!) when I place a finger on the antenna the only thing left is amplitude.
And my signal strength here at my desk is 2-4 bars of Edge, for whatever that’s worth. It’s not strong, that’s all I can tell you. But I can tell you this… I’ve used 3 3G phones and 3 3GS phones at this same spot for 2 years and never had a problem. I can hold them any way I want. But if I hold my iP4 the same way my connection is dropped. Want to see? iP4 are the 2 pics on the left, 3GS is on the right.
http://gallery.me.com/wingsy/100071
@Bongo
“To think all this could have been largely avoidedby simply putting a nonconducting coating over the antennae”
Like I said, I put a strip of insulating tape over the left side of my phone and it had little to no effect. Still dropped connections. So I doubt if a coating would help much either.
It seems to be the capacitance and possibly some inductance of your finger that is detuning the antenna, not your finger’s conductivity. (Hey! Maybe the antenna is a secondary capacitive touch surface that’s being reserved for some unseen function! Like, “End Call”. LOL!)
Why is it that everytime something goes wrong, it becomes a blame game. Just like the blackout a few years ago when the mayor of New York blame Canada for what turns out a faut paux in Ohio.
Apple doesn’t blame anybody before absolutely know themselves. The anecdotal reports via the bloggessphere are all over the place.
The accusations that Apple knowingly pushed a faulty designed or manufactured iPhone out the door is without merit. Never in the history of Apple has this ever happened.
What we know about Jobs is that it will be corrected. Not when the bloggers want it, but when the problem has been correctly identified and fixed.
And whatever the fix is, it will make the iPhone 4 even better. Significantly better.
Your mother was right, WASH YOUR HANDS. This must mean that iPhone bashers are dirtbags, who would have thunk it.
Macdailynews is back to supporting every Apple statement however ridiculous they are. The antenna design is the really problem, no software can make it work better. I am a electrical engineering student doing my masters and when we tested iPhone’s external antenna for conductivity. The conduction increased by over 120% when it was handled with hand. That kind of increase can easily cause antenna malfunction.
If this “problem” is so serious then why aren’t you hearing of massive returns? Every complainer should return their iPhone. Then go somewhere else and use a second rate phone. (see example in this comment).
I have a friend who bought the iPhone 4 and returned it – not because of the reception problem but because of AT&T;’s lousy service. And he lives in Santa Ana – not the boonies.
He went to a different carrier and got an Android phone and really misses his iPhone. He was not pleased with his new phone but was happier with the better service for the carrier. He didn’t even mention the brand of the phone. BUT has much better reception.
Are you listening Apple? You are loosing more business because of your AT&T;contract than your “antenna problems”.
Cheers
I was having some issues with my iPhone 4 when i got it and it was basically the same issues that I had with my original iPhone. This is because I live in a marginal reception area. Where I live, not even Verizon and Sprint is not all that great. I did try to reproduce what most of the people were complaining about. The “death grip” and I was able to reproduce it and the call dropped. So I just learned how to hold it another way until I got a case. Just yesterday I finally got a case from Rocketfish put it on and there were no more issues in the way to hold it. The bars remained good and there were no drop off. I think that what most people should do is to get over it and just buy a case. Who would not put a $200 – $300 dollar phone in a case to protect it is beyond me.
@mdn
based on what you say, the iphone has a serious design flaw: glass + sweaty hands = dropped phone. WHy should I have to buy an after market product to hide some of iphone’s design glory to make it safer to handle? Surely this is poor design. A device that is handled so often should not be so vulnerable to droppage or require extra products to make it safer. So MDN we are to take it that the iphone is the triumph of style over sensibility, hence a flawed design? Perhaps it is supposed to be admired and looked at rather than used?
>And whatever the fix is, it will make the iPhone 4 even better. Significantly better.
What if Apple were to produce a substitute piece out of a non conductive material that could be introduce into the production line with minimal hassles. You know, like the black part on the 1G only more durable, with the antenna stuck safely inside. Hell, I’d pay the extra 100 spot for the vintage bakelite version in white for my white 4G. It would age a wonderful nicotine patina over the years, complete with hairline fractures at various stress points that will help to make it all mine. I’d love it. Prolly work too.
Most of this stuff is BS. My iPhone4 works great.
Please stop thinking about this issue and get on with your lives. It only takes a moment of research to find a solution, be it using a case or some clear sticky-tape. Let it go already!
Hey 5280420
I am a lefty And ain’t got a problem with my iphone 4, so take a hike will you .
People still profess that it isn’t a problem and yet no one will step up to prove it with a video.
mmmmmm
Apple’s testing labs, he posits that testers clean and even sterilize … The researcher adds that “Apple’s explanation for iPhone 4 … both have internal antennas, and both get used with my dirty hands all the time…
custom bedroom furniture