Consumer Reports: iPhone reception problems not unique, may not be serious
Consumer reports has posted up their thoughts on iPhone 4 and all the reception issues some users are experiencing. They start off by corroborating Apple's line that all phones, from smart to flip, suffer the same attenuation problems -- since they're all used by humans whose bodies are interfering bags of water.
They also say iPhone 4 is reported as having better overall reception and less dropped calls than previous versions of iPhone, including the 3GS. They refer back to AnandTech's tests, and conclude:
There's no reason, at least yet, to forgo buying an iPhone 4 over its reception concerns. And even if those do materialize, Apple's Steve Jobs helpfully reminds new iPhone buyers that "you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund."
Apple is claiming the issue is related to a software miscalculation that erroneously reports high bars in low bar situations. Given all phones can definitely be susceptible to signal drop due to the position and placement of the antennae, we'll have to wait and see whether or not Apple's update fixes the issue or just the perception. What do you guys think?
Jailbreak, Mod, and DIY editor at iMore, Founder of PXLFIX, Potter pundit, the ninja in your iOS.
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I cannot replicate any such loss of bars on my iPhone 4. Neither can 4 of my friends. We have not had a single issue. This is, by far, the most impressive & best performing phone we have ever purchased. Apple makes exceptional products. I would recommend trying for yourself before listening to some disgruntled consumers.
This "problem" is waaaay overblown. I don't have that issue at all and my iphone4 is getting fantastic reception. The only people keeping this alive are droid fanboys and apple haters. I bet less than one percent of iphone4 owners have real issues. Case closed.
You guys probably live in a strong at&t area, I have experienced the problem but not to the point of losing phone calls, i never use my iphones without silicone cases so basically this is a non issue for me.... I wouldnt hesitate to buy this phone again...
It's easy to say people are "disgruntled" and "Apple Haters" when you don't suffer from the same issue. I have and I have never liked Android or "hated" Apple for any unfounded reason. I still own the 3G and an iMac so that label doesn't necessarily fit me.
People ARE dropping calls and having failed data connections where their previous iPhone iterations did not so there is definitely a problem with a phone designed with an exposed, uninsulated antenna.
TEST: Hold your finger on the left bottom side of your iPhone, without a case or bumper, on the black strip for 1 to 2 minutes and tell me the signal doesn't drop at least one bar.
I was able to replicate, at home, office and anywhere in between the dramatic signal loss. Bought me a nice clear case-mate gellicase which I was planning on anyway and problem fixed.
The issue of course here is that you shouldn't HAVE to buy a bumper, case or wrap the thing in electrical tape to get it to work as advertised, enter class-action lawsuits. The software 'fix' is like brushing a tooth with a cavity. You need the cavity filled and brushing it aint gonna fill the hole.
This is a PR disaster and for now Apple is screwed if they do and if they don't. But if Toyota's sales are back up after killing a bunch of people with a known defective product me thinks the fruit will do just fine.
Still I'd hire those antenna engineers pronto and move up that iPhone 5 release date.
No fanboyism, There is a real problem. If you test it using speedtest or an app like that it happens everytime. The bars displayed mean nothing. In my house where I use my phone the most it about kills it unless I hold the phone in an unnatural position for me. Using a bumper is not an a acceptable answer to me. The money I paid for the the phone it should work as is. I returned the the phone and went back to my 3GS for now. Beloved I llove Apple products and waited in line for the phone. Very disappointed. Apple was the one company I thought you could by a first run product from. Lesson learned.
My home has always had a low signal and I would have to walk around the house at times to talk on my 3GS. With the new 4 I can make the bars go away if I really try but during normal use even when I forget and hold bottom left corner I rarely have an issue and if I do all I have to do is move my hand not walk all over the place looking for a signal. The 4 is a great phone and I am not hearing that anyone is returning them. If they do want to return them my guess is there will be a line of people want to buy them.
Yes, and with all I said before I still can't get myself to return this damn phone!!! I know, I'm pathetic... but I don't want any other phone or service.
If this really was an issue, there wouldn't be so many people still buying the phone. http://www.macdaddynews.com/?p=4368
I've been having real problems as well. Almost unusable in certain situation. I went to return it but they talked me into getting a replacement device. If that one doesn't work it's going back as well. I'll get an iPhone when they fix the issue.
@darryl Worth getting a replacement imo. There is a guy on here. 3 mates have no issues but 1 guy has when they compare them at work. That points to a hardware fault to me.
My experience of this issue is varied. In my home area (Harrogate, UK) it drops the signal every time I hold it in the "infamous" way EXCEPT when I am on a call and the signal stays on full bars even when holding it in my left hand. However when I went to Birmingham I held it in my left hand and it didn't move at all even when not on a call which leads me to believe that it is software rather than hardware causing the problem along with the signal strength in the area you are in.
Explain why Apple is hiring Antenna engineers?
I wouldn't rely on consumer reports for anything.
Cannot replicate the problem, waaaay overblown? Yes, when it gets reception it gets great reception. When it has a very strong signal and you cover up the "sweet spot" it still can get decent reception. But when the signal is questionable at all and you put your finger in the wrong place, forget about it. I have done many speed tests and it really does kill the signal when it is a little weaker to start with. Here are several speed tests I did last night. http://yfrog.com/mu8tphj Notice the two tests at 12:04, speeds were decent. Then I covered the lower left of the phone and you can see what happens one minute later. Not good Apple. Others say they can't replicate this, I wish I couldn't. Yes, I will be returning the phone until Apple can fix it.
Every time and everywhere for my phone. It droped from 5bars to 1bar. From 3G to Edge. It's terrible. I don't think it the software. Returning this phone for sure.
The problem has been blown way out of proportion. If you consider that close to 2 million iPhones 4 have been sold and a few thousand people have reception issues, this is 0.1 to 0.5 % of people. I wonder how many of them live in poor coverage zones . Unfortunately, you don't hear the silent majority that have no problems in their areas, or like me who has improved coverage..
My team all got new iPhones. Only one person experienced dropped calls at home. However, she was previously unable to get any signal on her old model iPhone because she was in a signal dead zone. An improvement, no matter what. I agree with the report : I experience no more dropped calls in iPhone 4.0, even if I hold it the wrong way. Overall, I'd say reception has improved over previous models.
this sounds reasonble to me and I actually do want to get an iPhone 4 now, now If only they'd sell them in my country already (maybe whining Americans should just return theirs so other countries can actually buy the phone
)
You can have mine, Martin. Good luck when you hold it "wrong."
People need to realize that there is alot of phones out there that have this same issue. Take the katana there is a sticker on the phone telling u not to hold it on that location or u will loose signal. Samsung ,motorola an others do it too. What do people want a sticker to say just dont hold ur phone here so u can get better reception.... Comon this problem is blown way out of the water for what it is.
For anyone interested, I was just able to reproduce the death grip on my iphone 3g. I can make my 3g go from full bars down to 1 or 2 and decided to conduct some speed tests. With only one bar I was getting as low as 100 kbps down, with at least one time where the download speed showed 0, and 30 kbps up. Within seconds of setting it back down on the table it starts climbing to full bars again. With full bars down speeds of 1200-1500 kbps and around 200 kbps up. If this is an iphone 4 hardware issue then how is it that I can do the same thing with my 3g?
Consumer Reports has never been known for their tech coverage, and I think that article is demonstrative of that.
They were lucky and purchased devices without the issue, and have sided with the Apple public-relations team and are assisting in creating Consumer Confusion instead of Reports.
The closing line of that article actually recommends you just go ahead and buy one, that these connectivity issues are isolated and nothing to be concerned about. A huge disservice to anyone who might read the article and thing Consumer Reports tech coverage is credible.
WAAAYYY overblown. I've noticed a drop in bars a couple times in very low signal areas, but never had a dropped call. It's amusing reading about all the whiners.
So, you notice that your phone does this and what do you do? You continue to sit there like neurotic idiots holding the the phone in the ONE SPOT and replicate the problem over and over while shaking your heads in disgust. Here's an idea: either put a case on it or move your finger 5mm over (or get a refund, that's simple enough). I'm left handed and I handled this minor adjustment just fine. I don't even notice it anymore.
I don't understand why some continue to complain when they have clear options to fix the issue or get a refund. This has got to be the ONLY product I've ever seen people whine about for so long. What are you holding on to all the frustration for? Do something about it and shut up!
@Spock. EXACTLY! it happens with all of them.
Also, class action lawsuit my foot. That will never happen. Unless over 50% of the buyers experience this problem all the time, it ain't happenin'.
The trend is changing from New phone owners reporting a problem to reporting nothing but positive feedback for their new phone. This issue will snuff itself out soon enough. The software fix is coming and then all the whiners will say that it didn't work for them, or something new will emerge to complain about.
I'm a happy iPhone 4 owner and I'm proud to say it.
When I first saw Steve talk about the new casing and reveal what all the breaks were about, EVEN I questioned, 'wouldn't that affect your signal strength more than other devices, greatly more so?' I don't think I'm uper smart, it just makes common sense. Your physically touching the antennae. Direct contact. No other laptop, or cell phone has done this that I've seen. So it's confirmed by a physicist in Europe who claims he knew (by scientific fact) that this would be a problem. Which brings us to why? Bc apple is strongly under the spotlight to be great in creating breakthrough ideas/products. The THINK they're walking an engineering/marketing line of facts and how we perceive those facts. Delivering a product that looks great on paper (specs), and visually appealing, but at some time ludicrously, mind-boggling expecting you to hold the phone in a specific way, or not in a specific manner (funny when you think it's a multi-touch device). The only thing I can conclude with this whole bs, cause that's what this is, is only apple can try to get away with is non-sense in explaining you need to not hold your phone in a certain way in your hand. Never EVER hve I heard such stupid words come out from steves mouth. I just want to laugh and smack him in the mouth at the same time.
@Eisforme
Stop being a dick ... people aren't whining because it's a small thing.. it's not just one spot.. it covers how you hold it in lots of positions.. you end up turning your phone round every few minutes trying to get the signal back.
Don't paint everyone else with your own stupidity of course we are moving our hands!. It makes you look like an COMPLETE idiot that you can't realise that the extent of the problem is quite extreme for a minority and the solution is not as simple as you suggest.
People are discussing these problems on places like this, to see if there is a solution rather than returning it. It's obvious that people are facing the difficult choice of putting up with a phone that is unpleasant to use, or get a different phone that they don't want. Good luck in life, because if you can't understand this .. more complex situations are going to floor you.
Consumer Reports, no, but Anand Shimpi and Briag Klug.
I hold the phone in my left hand when I read. Next thing I know I got a missed call. Now tell me that's not a problem when using your phone to read might result in important or emergency miss calls. Get it right Apple. 2years on this and you still got problem with phone call. The most advancing phone in the world that doesn't make call. You still hold that tittle.
I had dropped calls and reception prolems all the time with my 3G. I live in NYC. I have had no reception problems with my 4. Even when I put it in a death grip! My bars don't go down at all.
May I suggest all the people who believe they have issues with signal loss take their phone back to the shop and allow someone more grateful buy it.
Mines been great, sucks to be you but it's only a phone ffs. Get over it already.
Again; Joe Schmoes here are claiming to be wireless hardware/software engineers, and seem to magically know what is at fault.
This is VERY funny. You have how many complain when how many were sold?
I will be laughing for a while.
I'm also amazed at the whining about the "hold it in a certain way" comment.
Most things require you to hold them a certain way for them to work to their full potential.
Try this, take a torch and put your hand over the lens and see how much worse it is than when you move your hand somewhere else.
Or take a gun, point it the wrong way, pull the trigger and then wonder why you just shot yourself...
@Mephisto well said Why do u all cry?return it, let someone buy it if u don't like.
Fcuk off when i Cover the Left Bottom Corner of my 3gs i notice à Loss of 2-4 Bars so it's surely Not à iP4 issue maybe all phones Wohld have Drop Bars if covered like à dumbass
@Eisforme Get bent
I agree with Mephisto. What's wrong with everyone complaining about this supposed loss of signal issue? How dare you have the nerve to hold the phone in a normal manner and expect to get good reception. How dare you hold the phone like Steve Jobs does and Apple demonstrates in its commercials. You idiots, what are you thinking?
@Mephisto
That has got to be the stupidest analogy ever made. Congratulations, you win teh internets. Three of them.
Get a case. "problem" over
@ Jimbo
Well put. I see people saying that they can do this with 2g-3GS right, so apple should have made sure it didn't happen with the i4. But instead they put the antenna on the outside...right. Then they sell there first case.....right, cause this is all made up. Then they make a statement saying " we've been showing false high bars"...right. So to all the people saying we are making up our problem how many people have to say it's real for you to believe it?
no problems here... Just buy the phone
That's not fixing the problem, Joe McG. You should not have to buy a case to get your phone to work properly.
@Brian, and all applicable readers: Obviously the idea of working properly and USED PROPERLY seems to be something you don't grasp.
The gun quote is a great analogy.
Just because you can use it one way doesn't mean it's proper.
Besides; (snr, data rx and tx rates, dbm to snr, etc) these things are ultimately handled by the software, the chip only knows how to communicate, you have to control it to actually make it do anything.
Bridging antennas is a hardware cause, and software can be modified to resolve such issues; aside from the blatant fact that any antenna receives interference from the human body.
I want to see some of you people (referenced above) showing some type of real and valid data to back up your un-educated guesses.
Consumer Reports is competant to evaluate canned peas.
It stops there.
@icebike - I like peas. Thanks.
Think about it, they designed an antenna meant to be held that has better reception than covered ones. That is impressive.
@JaredKagan
The only reason you have not seen "real data" is because you willfully choose to ignore it. Read the AnandTech article, the June 10th Danish article, or, better yet, do the test yourself from an area where you have 4 bars or less. (If you have 5 bars, it may not be viewable because Apple's 5th bar is 50 db wide, and max signal attenuation is 24 db.). Visible degradation of signal is reproducible 100% of the time in that case, and, if you run SpeedTest or the FCC app both with and without touching the bridging point, you will see a huge difference in data speeds.
For the third time, here is the anybody can do.
1) place to phone on a table.
2) Run the FCC or SpeedTest app and note your speeds.
3) cover the bridging point, wait 10 seconds, and run again.
4) repeat as often as you like, in different held/covered/uncovered configurations and grip strengths until your thirst for statistics is satisfied.
The effect is 100% reproducible unless, as I said, you are in an area with high-5-bar coverage, in which case the max attenuation might not be enough to impact speeds.
When you disagree or are a fan, it is one thing to question others' data; it is quite another to pretend no such data exists when a simple, easy, 5 minute test exists anybody can perform themselves.
The end of this article perfectly sums up this issue - Perception is reality. If Apple's update fixes people's perception then the issue (reception is reality?
) becomes a non-issue. While I personally notice my bars dropping I have yet to drop a call of have unsatisfactory data performance. Adding a bumper not only solved "The Case of the Disappearing Bars" but it made my phone feel more substantial and less apt to slip from my hands. Just my two cents from an ex-Blackberry user. 
It seems to me that if I'm on a call and I receive a text message, the signal strength dies and my call breaks up. I've experienced many problems with the 4 that I did not have on the perfectly working 3GS.
Lol @ jaredKagan. Congrats on being the idiot of today.
"Think about it, they designed an antenna meant to be held that has better reception than covered ones. That is impressive."
No antenna works better when held by the human hand. IT is fact that this causes interference.
Lol @ Truth. The only idiot around here is the one who can't correctly interpret what someone posted.
Reread what he said and them come back and apologies for being an idiot.
Apologise bloody iPhone autocorrect lol
@Jaredkaragen You have your iPhone shoved so far up your arse you are ignoring anything you don't like. There is lots of evidence,including the pic I posted of speed tests.
"Just because you can use it one way doesn’t mean it’s proper."
Are you kidding? Holding the phone in a normal manner is is not proper? You are an idiot.
There is a real problem here, my phone was sitting on a table working on speaker phone flipping between 3 or 4 bars and the signal was very clear - I picked up the phone and after about 2 seconds the line started to crackle and then the line dropped and it said no service - I did the same thing with the case on and absolutly no effect - stayed the same as when on the table the whole time.
I am no fanboy having come from Blackberry - yes I like my iphone but this is a REAL problem and not going to be fixed with a software patch - I am waiting patiently for Apple to provide a fix!
I am in the UK on Vodafone (our strongest carrier)
I don't think I ever looked to see how many bars I have or if there the correct amount. Fixing a software problem to show me the bars is not important. Fixing the signal problem is where there attention should be (AT&T). I'm tired of catching abuse borrowing friends phones with verizon to make calls.
Usha Kusner
My iphone3gs displays, no service, and infact a service is not available through it for approximately 70% of the time both inside and outside my home. A no service iphone means I have to use my old phone on a regular basis. I purchased the iphone two months ago and will now ask Apple for a full refund. G Barnes.
I’m a big fan of the iphone I think it’s a masterpiece and I have used iphones since they first came out I have lived in the same house during this time and I must say the amount of signal problems and dropped calls I’m experiencing is making me consider an alternative phone. This is clearly (Based on signal) the worst iphone to date. Apple should sort this problem then offer people who have purchased this poor quality phone a replacement.
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1)The 'wrong' way to hold it is the way it's held in many of the ads. 2)The core of the complaint is not people look at their bars on their screen and watch them drop. It's a significant degradation of call quality, and often disconnections.
Updating the software to report signal strength more conservatively so it doesn't look as bad when people write about it is not a solution.
I have not used it myself, and do not intend to.
There ARE software issues that can cause dropped calls. Not showing the right number of bars on the screen is not among them.
Phone drops calls when you hold it as shown in the ads. Clear calls become dropped calls. Phone signal strength can vary by phone, but this is still an issue, and Apple's approach of basically saying it's all our imaginations is not only flawed, but fundamentally insulting.
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I never had problems' exept in my chamber, and it's because it's in an ancient garage (metal walls and stuff...) So I think it's isolated cases or just bad reveption areas... Stop hatin' and move somewhere decent!