Antenna band on iPhone 4, bad design?

[zerocool84]

NE1 read that mac rumors thread? What's strange is about 50% are saying no issue. Seems it's a organic/electrical shield coating over SS gone wrong. If your shield antenna from skin/ground rod no issue as well.

Well I'd assume most people in the world are right handed so it shouldn't affect them as much as left handers.

 

[Rottie]

Will Apple ever going to recall iPhone 4 and re-design all over again with antenna? or if bad design means nobody want to buy a bad designed iPhone 4? do you understand my english?

 

[TheStu]

Apple should put antenna on the top of iphne next to headset jack? do you understand my english?

According to the head engineer at Apple behind the stainless steel band, the FCC dictates that the antenna be as far from the user's head as possible, which is the bottom of the phone.

 

[QueBert]

oh no looks like it's not a software issue fanboys. So what's the excuse this time? People should just hold their phones in the "proper" fashion? Gotta love that "Amazing" and "magical" engineering designed to sell $30 phone cases.

At least there's a fix, even if it involves spending $30. Google basically told N1 owners to pony up and buy an Incredible if they wanted better reception. This was after they released an update they claimed would probably fix the problem, which did absolutely nothing to help reception. Of course Google did no wrong here right? And really how fucking hard is it not to touch the bottom left corner of the phone? Not hard. This is bad for Apple, but at least they're admitting to a problem, and at least there is a way to correct it. I don't recall Google ever saying more than "well the problem just effecting a few random N1 users" which was a crock of shit. I'd had 2 cell phones which I had to hold a certain way to get decent reception. Such is life, but those phones both got a pass because Apple didn't make them.

 

[ew915]

most people buy a bumper cover to protect their precious anyways.

 

[dwell]

An antenna designer's view of the issue:

http://www.antennasys.com/antennasys-blog/2010/6/24/apple-iphone-4-antennas.html

I've tried this on two iPhone 4 devices. On both, simply holding your hand in a way to bridge the gap did not lead to signal loss. In one case the owner licked his finger and held it there for 20 seconds with no loss of signal. If you have to actively grip the phone and hold it there for a signal loss, I'm going to have to say this is not a big deal. Show of hands; who holds their phone in a tight grip?

I'll see if anyone else shows up to work with an iPhone 4 today. Maybe some phones are missing a protective layer on the antenna? We'll see.

 

[Fingolfin269]

At least there's a fix, even if it involves spending $30. Google basically told N1 owners to pony up and buy an Incredible if they wanted better reception. This was after they released an update they claimed would probably fix the problem, which did absolutely nothing to help reception. Of course Google did no wrong here right? And really how fucking hard is it not to touch the bottom left corner of the phone? Not hard. This is bad for Apple, but at least they're admitting to a problem, and at least there is a way to correct it. I don't recall Google ever saying more than "well the problem just effecting a few random N1 users" which was a crock of shit. I'd had 2 cell phones which I had to hold a certain way to get decent reception. Such is life, but those phones both got a pass because Apple didn't make them.

Of course Google did wrong. By your logic if one manufacturer bends over their customers then it's quite alright for other manufacturer's to do the same.

Newsflash, the industry standard should not be such that we as consumers bend over and take hardware design flaws as standard practice. I don't care if it's Google, Apple, etc. Accepting the Google catastrophe as an acceptable trend start is not a good thing for anyone. So stop acting like it is.

 

[zsdersw]

As much as I don't love my Blackberry Bold 9000 (AT&T), I've never had reception issues that depended on how I hold the device.

..the city electrostatically painting a water tower near work that had AT&T hardware at the top, though, did result in loss of service (for which AT&T gave me 2 free months).

This is a stupid problem that should never have existed in the first place.. on any phone, but especially on the Jesus Phone v4.

 

[Narmer]

According to the head engineer at Apple behind the stainless steel band, the FCC dictates that the antenna be as far from the user's head as possible, which is the bottom of the phone.

lol, that's complete bullshit. Until recently, ALL cordless and cell phones had the antenna at the top. Even my ancient PPC 6700 from 2005 has a stub at the top where the antenna is.

 

[Fingolfin269]

lol, that's complete bullshit. Until recently, ALL cordless and cell phones had the antenna at the top. Even my ancient PPC 6700 from 2005 has a stub at the top where the antenna is.

Actually, he's right.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/25/iphone-4-antenna-woes-contextualized-by-dude-in-the-know/

However, this is also mentioned in that post:

Spencer Webb runs AntennaSys, a company that designs tailormade RF solutions, and has himself worked on making quad-band transceivers for AT&T. As he tells it, almost all phone makers have now transitioned to locating their antennae at the bottom of the phones. This has been in order to move radio wave emissions away from the head (a shortcoming that a top-mounted aerial would incur), which the FCC has been quite demanding about with its SAR standards --
The iPhone 4, however, moved the antenna action from the back of the phone to the sides. This probably improves the isotropy of the radiation pattern, but only when the phone is suspended magically in air.
Another great point made here is that testing done both by the Federales and mobile carriers might include the head, but never accounts for the presence of the person's hand. Thus, although a phone's antenna could test very well, it might suffer from such issues as those experienced with the iPhone 4.

 

[Narmer]

Actually, he's right.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/25/iphone-4-antenna-woes-contextualized-by-dude-in-the-know/

However, this is also mentioned in that post:

This must be new because all the phones I grew up with had the antenna at the top.

 

[TheWart]

I tried to replicate the antenna thing while sitting in the airport and was unable to do so....

The physics explanation makes sense, but I wonder why only some phones seem to be affected. I wonder if the strength/signal/proximity of the nearest cell tower makes a difference.

 

[dwell]

I tried to replicate the antenna thing while sitting in the airport and was unable to do so....

The physics explanation makes sense, but I wonder why only some phones seem to be affected. I wonder if the strength/signal/proximity of the nearest cell tower makes a difference.

Did you try to squeeze the phone while bridging the gap between antennas? Some claim you really have to clamp the device to get a signal drop.

 

[SAWYER]

 

[Phynaz]

Did you try to squeeze the phone while bridging the gap between antennas? Some claim you really have to clamp the device to get a signal drop.

And others are saying they have to lick their hand.

Yuck.

 

[Kaido]

I just recorded my buddy's new iPhone 4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvWG3yekuVY

It drops from 5 bars to Zero bars - in under a minute - when held in your hand normally. That's a pretty serious issue.

 

[Deeko]

At least there's a fix, even if it involves spending $30. Google basically told N1 owners to pony up and buy an Incredible if they wanted better reception. This was after they released an update they claimed would probably fix the problem, which did absolutely nothing to help reception. Of course Google did no wrong here right? And really how fucking hard is it not to touch the bottom left corner of the phone? Not hard. This is bad for Apple, but at least they're admitting to a problem, and at least there is a way to correct it. I don't recall Google ever saying more than "well the problem just effecting a few random N1 users" which was a crock of shit. I'd had 2 cell phones which I had to hold a certain way to get decent reception. Such is life, but those phones both got a pass because Apple didn't make them.

Wow, you people are like partisan hacks in politics. What does the Nexus One have to do with this? Someone else did wrong, so its ok for Apple to? A poor design is a poor design, regardless of what company created it.

most people buy a bumper cover to protect their precious anyways.

I would say "most" is not really accurate. Some do, but more often than not I see iPhones (and other smartphones) uncovered.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Iono, doesn't happen to my iphone 4 at all, or my bosses. Must be a bad batch?

 

[TheWart]

Did you try to squeeze the phone while bridging the gap between antennas? Some claim you really have to clamp the device to get a signal drop.

Yea, I covered all three antenna slits, tried just two at once, tried just the bottom left one.

One thing for sure, the voice call clarity is significantly improved, both on my end as well as what others hear from me (thanks to the noise canceling mike I am guessing).

 

[slag]

Well I'd assume most people in the world are right handed so it shouldn't affect them as much as left handers.

I'm right handed but hold my phone in my left hand so I can use my right hand to write down things, mix drinks, drink mixed drinks, smoke, and other things, all while shifting and turning the steering wheel.

 

[aceO07]

It's probably going to make it easier to snatch iPhone 4's if people are NOT going to tightly hold onto their phones while yapping on it outside...

 

[Kaido]

I'm right handed but hold my phone in my left hand so I can use my right hand to write down things, mix drinks, drink mixed drinks, smoke, and other things, all while shifting and turning the steering wheel.

Ditto - I'm right-handed and usually hold my phone in my left hand so I can write notes or type.

 

[Kaido]

Iono, doesn't happen to my iphone 4 at all, or my bosses. Must be a bad batch?

Yeah I'm curious about what the root cause of this is - it seems to be 50/50, either you have it or you don't. Chemical coating maybe? Not enough sodium in some people's diets? :hmm: :awe:

 

[gorcorps]

Yeah I'm curious about what the root cause of this is - it seems to be 50/50, either you have it or you don't. Chemical coating maybe? Not enough sodium in some people's diets? :hmm: :awe:

In this country? Probably way too MUCH sodium in some diets.

 

[TheWart]

Yeah I'm curious about what the root cause of this is - it seems to be 50/50, either you have it or you don't. Chemical coating maybe? Not enough sodium in some people's diets? :hmm: :awe:

My theory, and one shared by John Gruber (who claims his contacts can replicate this) is that if you are in an area where the signal from the cell tower is weak, blocking the antenna will lower the bars. If, however, you are getting really good reception from the tower, blocking the antenna with your hand won't do anything because the signal is so strong.

I will try to find an iffy zone/spot when I am out and about today to see if I can replicate this. So far, my signal has been excellent.

On another note, the huge bump in upload speed on the iPhone 4 is much welcome, and makes emailing pics/videos and uploading them to youtube muuuuuuuuch faster.