“What I have not seen discussed is the entire issue of the antenna, and its placement on wireless devices,” Seybold writes. “There are a number of interwoven issues here, all of which can help explain the problems encountered.”
“The transfer of radio signals to and from the antenna and the radio receiver and transmitters, and the efficiency with which that is accomplished determines how well the device will perform,” Seybold writes. “For voice the difference will be a clean completed call or a noisy dropped call, for data services the better the signal strength the higher the data rate you will obtain in both directions. If you device is not designed properly your results will be worse than someone standing next to you with a different and better designed device.”
Seybold writes, “I am not saying the that the iPhone 4 was not designed properly, but it does appear to me that their goal was to provide for better performance and a better data experience for their customers, and if the ‘fix’ is to put a rubberized case around it to keep hands from touching the metal portion of the phone than that is a simple enough ‘fix.’ If this type of a fix does not prove to be workable, ie, there is something more involved, then I am sure that Apple and the network operators will figure it out and come up with a fix.”
There’s much more in the full article – recommended – here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “JES42” and “Jersey_Trader” for the heads up.]
and then?
Uh, Duh.
What does this mean for the millions of people (including me) with the iPhone 4 and reception issues?
Not. A. Dang. Thing.
Amazing to me that none of these so called experts can formulate correct sentences. Or, does MDN copy and paste incorrectly?
I have no doubt Apple will have a fix for this either software or hardware. And, I have no doubt that is why you haven’t heard firm dates on supply to the rest of the world. They need to get ahead of this before it spirals out of control around the world.
I hate to say it, but I think Apple was trying to pull a fast one. There mere existence of “bumpers” and their promotion at the keynote is evidence enough that they were aware of the issue. But to sell them for $30 is highway robbery, particularly since they are designed to avoid a flaw with the device.
Great job on the iPhone 4, Apple, but stay honest and up-front.
(and yes, the many typos in the article are disappointing)
I have been getting inconsistent results with a cover. Sometimes it would appear that my hand over the sensitive spot results in reduced signal strength and at other times not, even on the same cell. I find that I can get 5 bars then suddenly nothing, no matter how I am holding the phone. It is frustrating and I am waiting paciently for a fix
A very cogent article which supports a point I made in a post earlier today: This is a hardware-related issue predicated on Apple’s decision to design the iPhone with an exposed antenna.
I believe Apple knew about the performance issue when “bridging” (aka “death-grip”), but chose to move forward with the design because the trade-off was overall increased reception. This explains why they uncharacteristically entered the third-part accessory market with their own line of “bumper cases”.
This being the case, any software “fix” to the signal strength meter (aka “bars”) will not address the fundamental issue, as the antenna is clearly the input for the meter. If it’s true that Apple’s proposed software “fix” to the signal strength meter will improve the accuracy of the reported signal strength (which is a welcome improvement, but begs the question why this wasn’t more accurate to begin with), then it isn’t really a “fix” to the underlying issue. At best, it will only serve to better inform the user as to when a “death-grip” might result in a dropped call. An improvement to be sure, but hardly a “fix”.
There are only two reliable work-arounds to this design issue; a “free” version (“chill with the death-grip, Spock-boy”), and the “pay” option of buying a case (“$30 rubber band available in many colors”).
If you’re willing to embrace one of these workarounds, you’ll have an amazing device.
Who wrote this really? A 12-year-old could have said that and been correct. Give your head a shake
I don’t see how this could be fixed by anything other than a recall. Plenty of people are not returning the phones because they’re just assuming it will be fixed. But it won’t be.
By the way, you’ll recall that all of Apple’s field testing was apparently done with the phone in a case that disguised it as a 3GS. If I didn’t care what the phone looked like, I would have got an Evo. Everyone stop telling me to buy the supposedly top-of-line phone, then stick it in a case.
what about the scotch tape solution? doesn’t that work pretty well.
Maybe they provide a specially sized tape (with no gooey residue) that doesn’t look like a piece of scotch tape and people just buy the bumper if they want it to be prettier.
Ok, do these idiots understand anything? The iPhone reception system is controlled by the baseband which is what is at fault here. If numerous people online can not reproduce this in any way, I somehow doubt this is a hardware defect as widespread signal loss would occur. This is not the case. Thus Apple’s explanation seems most logical at this point in time and explains the inconsistencies. A simple flash of the baseband should fix this. Oh, and consumer reports is not testing this right. Screw the machine. Go take it out in the real world and use multiple phones. See how the dropped calls work out. Oh, and it may not be in the lower left corner on all phones as they seem to imply.
If apple does not start including free bumpers I will have lost all the respect I have for them. I’ll probably keep using their products, but will no longer push others to do so.
If apple continues with their “too good to care” attitude, competition WILL catch up with them
Guys… let’s be objective, and summarize the situation:
1) the basic issue of antenna attenuation is exactly the same on all other cell phones, and has nothing to do with Apple or its iPhone! (duh)
2) the external antennas on iPhone 4 are both closer to your skin and more touchable by your sweaty skin, than some cell phones, and therefore with applied pressure the attenuation can be exaggerated. (However, these external antennas also operate better than internal antennas…)
3) the bars are not showing accurate signal strength, and exaggerate strong signals as stronger than they are, and exaggerates weak ones as weaker… leading to freak out reactions, when in fact the phone is functioning properly.
4) when the cell phone senses antenna attenuation it boosts its power to compensate. This causes a delay in the response and other lags — again common to all cell phones, and confusion when you expect it only to drop, so people are attributing strong signals to other factors and weak signals to the antenna, when in fact it may be due to the phone functioning properly…
5) some calls are being dropped because the proximity sensor is sensing the call is over, when people are moving the phone all over their bodies and away from their heads… but people are freaking out because they think it’s the antenna dropping the call or a weak signal — when it’s not.
6) some people are getting stronger signals when gripping the phone than when it sits on the desk — again, the phone is attempting to compensate by boosting power…
7) different frequencies behave differently and your call may vary because of this
8) speed tests do not show strength of signal, they only show the data rate. The two are not necessarily the same. You may have a moderate signal but a very fast or very slow data rate depending on the power the phone is applying, the cell tower, the frequency, the provider, the competition for bandwidth depending on time of day and location, and the software in the phone adjusting to all these dynamic elements…
9) other parties (media bloggers and others) are making money by pushing this into hyper-hysterical frenzy-mode. You are their prey, you are giving them money by clicking all over their websites.
10) Apple has already addressed the issue and has said a fix is coming. They already said the bars are not accurate and software fix(es) are coming.
11) Most people are getting better reception and better voice quality with the iPhone 4 than any previous iPhone or Droidphone…
if you are not happy, return your phone for a free refund or a free replacement.
Thanks “everyone chill”.
There is nothing to fix. The attenuation effect exists in all mobile phones; I’m not saying that in a weak signal area, touching or covering the bottom half inch (1 cm) or so of the iPhone 4 case has no effect. But Apple created an antenna that optimally works better than the one in previous iPhones.
Here is why this is only a “major issue” in the minds of the media and other Apple detractors:
+ Many iPhone 4 users are not experiencing this issue at all. Or even if they see the bars go down, they notice no effect on performance. Non-issue.
+ Many iPhone users already hold, or don’t mind holding their iPhone, by the sides when making calls, and they do not touch the bottom half inch (1 cm) or so of the case. Non-issue.
+ Many iPhone users use a case or “bumper,” without regard to the antenna hysteria. Non-issue.
One of the above three points probably covers at least 95% of actual (as in something who really bought one) iPhone 4 users. Two or even all three may apply to many iPhone 4 customers.
For the remaining 5%:
+ Most will adjust their bottom-end iPhone grip if they notice they are in a place that has a very weak signal, and they want to optimize their iPhone antenna performance. I’ve seen people walking around a building to find a better signal, or standing next to a window, or other things. All they have to do when they notice a very weak signal is change how they hold their iPhone, to maximize antenna performance; the iPhone user now knows exactly where the antenna is located. With another phone, at that same location on the same network, the signal is not magically going to be better, and its user may be covering the antenna without know it.
+ A few (of that 5%) will decide to return their iPhone 4 for refund.
Consider two other things:
An iPhone 4 is much more than a phone. Other smart phones are phones first, with other features tacked on; they are marketed and sold by the phone service companies, not the phone’s manufacturers. iPhone is a hand-held personal computer first, with some mobile phone features. Based on the hysteria, you’d think the iPhone 4 only made phone calls and it didn’t even work.
Now that Apple has made it perfectly clear where the antenna is located, are users really going to insist on holding it by the bottom and intentionally cause the radio waves to be partially absorbed by their human tissue? And not just on an iPhone, since most modern mobile phones are designed with the antenna at or near the bottom of the case, to get that concentrated radio wave electromagnetic radiation emitter as far from the head as possible. Personally, I’m going to (1) maximize the performance of the antenna and (2) minimize the EM radiation absorbed by the tissue in my hands and fingers.
So, is it any wonder that REAL iPhone 4 customers are NOT lining up to return their prized possessions. And why the iPhone 4 continues to be sold out at most locations.
I just read that Consumer reports is recommending to “skip” iPhone 4. Not good news, whatever we think about their credibility.
@everyone chill, #5
Do you even own an iPhone? The proximity sensor has nothing to do with ending calls. It simply disables / enables touch on the screen so cheeks don’t press buttons.
I am confident Apple is handling this issue in the professional way they always do: Work hard, and make sure the solution is excellent. Think multitasking. FaceTime. They don’t release half-baked solutions. They take their time.
Apple will make good on this without doubt.
This requires however long it takes to issue a proper solution.
Apple has a long reliable track record of customer satisfaction and is no fly by night company by anyone’s reckoning.
So fucking chill and act like civilized reasonable people do when they put faith and trust in someone they know and trust.
I don’t have the antenna issue, but I do have issues with the proximity sensor. I’m hoping that a software update will fix it.
Wow, so if *millions* are affected that would put the affected units at 2,000,000 minimum. Based on projected sales you are talking a failure rate over 90%. Did you perchance get that number from Gizmodo?
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
Anyone having dialing issues with iphone4 and ios4? Sometimes when I dial by contact, it says calling but doesn’t do anything else. If you hang up, it says ending call but hangs. If you hit the power button, then slide to open, it usually works. It doesn’t happen all the time, but maybe like 25% of the time.
I assume he does own one; there is nothing wrong with his statement.
The problem with the proximity sensor is just that: it allows one’s “cheek to press a button” thereby hanging up the call. (This is a major complaint for the proximity sensor people.)
What he was getting at was the following. If this did happen, the user may incorrectly attribute the lost call to the “dang antenna problem” when, in fact, it was a bug in the proximity sensor support.
Hasn’t anyone thought that the real reason that apple didn’t notice this is that they are so maniacal about security that they insisted it was field tested inside a case so it never was tested in someone’s hand!!!!!!
Just a thought
Java
Hasn’t anyone thought that the real reason that apple didn’t notice this is that they are so maniacal about security that they insisted it was field tested inside a case so it never was tested in someone’s hand!!!!!!
Just a thought
Irony, meet Apple.
The Consumer Reports “No Recommendation” didn’t just make the national news, it’s on local stations, too.
So far, SJ, Apple and its PR Department are just reacting to the reports of reception problems. You don’t tell people to hold their phone differently. That’s absurd and just exposes the company to ridicule.
Apple really, really needs to determine a smart approach and get out in front of this thing now before the issue gains further traction.
Sorry, MDN and other pathetic Steve Jobs worshippers – the iPhone fiasco, now documented in the lab by the much respected Consumer Reports, has been reported across every broadcast and cable network in the world this evening.
Jobs finds himself in a corner with two choices – keep lying or face up to a recall, redesign and regret.
Take this down, but it won’t stop the growing mass of completely pissed off owners of the useless device now fed up with Apple’s determination to make fools of them.
@ Java
Way to have just a thought. Now try to have an original one.