Really?? I’m putting the BS meter on this one until it can be verified or whatever.
Thousands of consumers have complained that when gripping the phone around the lower left-hand corner of the device, the signal degrades or calls are dropped.
[…]
Now the company says its engineers have made a “stunning” discovery. People may be finding that their reception is poor and that calls are being dropped not only because they’re holding the phone wrong, but also because they think they have a better signal than they actually do. In the statement, Apple says that it had made a mistake in the formula that calculates the number of bars that display the signal strength on all of its iPhones.“We were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong,” it said in a statement. “Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.”
[…]
“If the only thing that Apple is changing in this software fix is how the bars are calculated, then this is simply a pacifier for people who like to watch bars,” said Spencer Webb, president of AntennaSys, an antenna design firm. “And signal ‘bar watching’ is a dangerous way to draw technical conclusions about a phone’s reception.”
Never trust the software!
Okay, so we accept apple’s new explanation.
Why are calls being completely dropped then?
Even with the new firmware apple say they’re going to release, a fixed mis-programmed signal meter is still not going to magically stop calls from being dropped when the stupid external antenna is shorted out.
So, the “real” news is that the IPhone has very low connectivity?
Isn’t that a whole lot worse? Or maybe not as bad as a short, ok.
Hard to tell just where the short term thinking is–the original design, or the defense of it.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
Look at the bright side, you still have a decent iPod…..or an expensive paperweight.
Not to defend AT&T & their own service shortcomings, but how many of the thousands of complaints leveled at them about poor connectivity actually belong in Apple’s lap?
If you notice your connection cutting out… just sing a few bars.
I want one in place of my forever old flip phone.. but i’m going to wait until they get these problems resolved.. and i’m not buying this explanation.. while it may be true, there’s still obviously a problem with the antenna..
This can all be put in perspective when you consider how many iPhone owners compare the signal strength (bars) with a Blackberry right next to it.
Go ahead, fan boys, explain why the Blackberry shows more bars.
I was considering getting an iPhone 4 since I figured an external antenna would fix the dropped call issue so many people have revealed.
Waited a week or so, and now I am glad I did. All those apps are OK, but I hate iTunes software, and I believe I would be stuck with it if I had an ApplePhone.
Picked up a Blackberry 8310 for $67 on eBay instead, and am using it on ATT. Extremely happy with it. Did not have to extend my contract or anything, either.
My ifone has always felt the need to report more bars than it should as the signal rapidly fades to nothing in the subway. Apple/Foxcom have probably been averaging the linear values of received power (measurements) rather than averaging the logs (base 10) of the received power.
The rationale fir averaging the linear values is sound, but it doesn’t provide the user with “real time” status. Just don’t take averages, and you’re golden.
#1 Never trust Apple. They are a marketing company first, and a hardware company second.
No surprise they’re fudging the signal strength bars. It seems to be a common move and not just with cell phones.
When I rented a Prius last year, I drove something like 126 miles before the first of 10 bars on the gas gauge went out. 67 more miles for the second one, and 50-some miles for the third one before the last seven bars were all good for something in the low to mid 40’s.
I’m convinced it has nothing to do with the shape of the tank or anything other than controlling the “user experience”.
If you want to know how Android does it check out their SignalStrength code.
My friend and I are both on AT&T, I have a LG freebie phone they give away and he has had every generation of iPhone. A very common scenario repeated over and over is he either can’t connect or his calls get dropped and he ends up using my phone.
I have suspected that AT&T has been taking heat for issues that are actually the iPhone’s. Maybe Fanbois are starting to wake-up?
Doesn’t this explain the common complaint of dropped calls for “no reason”? If the iPhone was reporting a nice connection where there was really none, then no wonder people were baffled.
Probably some hidden code to detect the shorting of the two antennas together and they crank the signal amplification when it happens.
Still, smells like rotten apples…
I found an article that sheds some light on the issue. It appears that the phone actually does lose signal when held in a certain way. Apple’s little fix is just a bunch of crap.
My feelings are that if you buy from a company that holds form over function, you get what you deserve.
Repeat: The Spot.
Update: He can’t reproduce everywhere he goes.
hypephone
it is a brilliant piece of engineering, the experience is magical..
wow…
Has Apple hired some PR people from BP ?
When Chuck Norris holds his iPhone4 a certain way, it increases the signal strength to 11 bars.
lol @ #21, I nearly forgot about that who young whippersnapper meme
I was seriously considering getting an Iphone. Was is past tense. These things are lemons unless you pay $30 for a cover to keep the thing from shorting itself out or at least that’s may take on what Leo Laport said about his. This is the sort of experience I can do without along with falling down a flights of stairs and being in a tornado.
It is true that the iphone figures signal strength in a really wonky way. Until it gets seriously weak it shows a fairly strong signal. It may not be smart about when to change towers and to which signal tower it needs to be logged on to either.
I agree with others. The wireless phone service with AT&T may not be the greatest at many locations but there is something definitely below par about the phone part of the iphones.
If you’re going mobile, then you should go Motorola.
[Comment deleted – Violation of Posting Guidelines. – ed.]
What said, on July 2nd, 2010 at 4:25 pm
All those apps are OK, but I hate iTunes software, and I believe I would be stuck with it if I had an ApplePhone.
Yep, when you have an iPhone, you’re stuck with iTunes or an app that’s not much better.
So,
Apple has been lying since the beginning and ATT has a ROTTEN SIGNAL COVERAGE.
But I pity the fool..
That has 3 EULA/CONTRACTS just to use a phone.
ATT
APPLE
iTUNES.
Its called the encyclopedia Galactica..
If any FAIL, you are sol.
GIVE me 2-3 devices that work better..
a CELLPHONE..
a mini comp..
a REAL POCKET CAMERA.
AND ITS CHEAPER.
More a case of holding the wrong phone than holding the phone wrong.
I’m going to throw a hissy fit and deprive myself of the benefits of an iPhone rather than pay $10 for a third-party protective case that I was planning to buy anyway. That’ll teach Steve Jobs a lesson. Yup.
Priceless. Hire an industrial furniture designer to build a cellular telephone. Waiting for Apple Legal’s response to the new class action suit. The new Android HTC Desire is looking better every day.