iPhone 4 reception woes ?

[DBMandrake]

Well, I really hate to be (possibly) proven right about certain things, but reports are coming out thick and fast about reception problems with the iPhone 4 when held in the hand. Here are just a few examples:

http://mashable.com/2010/06/23/iphone-yellow-screen-tint/

(nice video demonstration)

http://gizmodo.com/5571171/iphone-4-loses-reception-when-you-hold-it-by-the-antenna-band

http://www.macrumors.com/2010/06/23/iphone-4-signal-declines-while-being-held-an-old-issue/

I called this issue out way back on the 8th of June when the iPhone 4 was first announced and the antenna design revealed in the following thread, which I'll quote from:

https://talk3g.co.uk/showthread.php?8114-iPhone-4-pre-order-June-15th-own-June-24th.&p=39164#post39164



One bit of remaining scepticism for me is the claim of using the casing edge as antennas to improve reception. Although I'm willing to be proven wrong, I think this claim is bogus, just as it was for the previous generation phone where they claimed the ring around the headphone jack, the camera, and the front chrome bezel were used for antennas. (When clearly they were not - they're all loops, and they're not connected to anything...)

First of all, the lengths of the metal are not even close to the correct length for the frequencies they're trying to transmit - they're actually too long for 2100Mhz for example, but the biggest problem of all is the fact that you are touching the supposed antenna when you hold the device. Any RF engineer can tell you that if you make electrical contact with an antenna by touching it, it seriously detunes it to the point where any improvement that you might have had from the antenna being external will be lost and then some.

Even if they coated it with a thin non conductive layer, the close proximity of your hand would still have a serious effect on the tuning and performance of the antenna, as even conventional internal antennas in phones which are held at least a few mm away from your hand suffer from significant performance loss from the proximity of your hand, and this whole issue of hand proximity is one of the biggest challenges in antenna design in mobile phones.

So until proven wrong I call BS on Apple's claim of improved reception by using the frame as antennas. If there is an actual improvement in reception then it's more likely to be the glass back (which is far more transparent to 900-2100Mhz radio signals than ABS plastic is) or an improvement in the internal antenna designs, or different radio chipsets, or a combination of the above.


As you can see I was sceptical that Apple would be so stupid as to use the frame as an un-insulated antenna. Well, it looks like I was wrong about that, but therefore right about the effects of touching the frame on signal strength.

To put things into perspective, I should point out that some loss of signal is normal when picking up a phone - even if you can't make electrical contact by touch (as is the case in most phones where the antenna is inside) due to two effects - shadowing and capacitive loading.

The shadowing effect is that your hand is a "lossy" substance at the high frequencies used by phones, and if you cup your hand around the phone it will block some of the signal through attenuation - just like the wall in your house does. The second effect is capacitive loading, where even though you're not making electrical contact with the antenna, the close proximity of your hand alters the tuning of the antenna ("loads it") which causes the efficiency of the antenna to drop. (The proximity of your head has a similar effect too, so speaker-phone mode will give you a better signal as it's not held close to your head)

These two effects combined depending on the size, shape, and design of the phone, and the way in which it is held cause (with an iPhone 3GS) approximately 10dB of signal loss between the phone lying on a table and being held up against your head.

So if the signal on the table was -95dBm (a typical figure in residential areas from 3, Orange, or T-Mobile) it would reduce to -105dBm, which while not 5 bars, is still strong enough to make a 3G call. (Most phones try to switch to 2G mid call at -107dBm, and will lose 3G entirely at around -113dBm)

The issue we're talking about here is substantial additional reduction of signal - direct electrical contact with an antenna operating at 900-2100Mhz frequencies will severely detune it, (probably resulting in a loss of at least another 10dB, for a total of 20dB) and in the above example would push the signal to -115dBm, which is too weak to establish a connection on 3G. (The phone would have switched to 2G if it could)

So how could Apple miss this effect in testing ? Here's my theory - we all saw the pictures of the lost iPhone prototype - which was in a rubber casing to disguise it as a 3GS. The rubber casing would insulate your fingers from the external antenna, and it is very likely that every iPhone 4 that went off campus during the testing phase was in this rubber disguise case the whole time it was off campus.

The only time they may have used the prototypes without the rubber case were in Apple headquarters in secret darkened rooms - somewhere they're very likely to have strong signals. Apples extreme secrecy prevented them testing it properly in real world conditions.

However this external antenna design should not have got off the drawing board in the first place in my opinion (hence my scepticism of it when first announced) - any radio engineer should be aware of the deleterious effects of making electrical contact with an antenna, so someone wasn't doing their job to let it get this far. My guess is that the industrial designers (Ive & co ?) or Steve himself though it was a great idea and couldn't be dissuaded by the facts and figures of the radio engineers.

So were Apple aware of this design shortcoming by launch time ? I believe so, and here's why. Two unusual things have happened during the lead up to the iPhone launch that on their own made no sense, but if you are a conspiracy theorist, they fit right in.

One is that Apple for the first time announced a rubber case for the iPhone - previously they have relied on 3rd party manufacturers for those, so this is the first time they have made one of their own, and a few commentators were scratching their head over that one.

If I was a conspiracy theorist I would say that Apple realised the mistake in their design too late, and decided to issue the "bumper" cases in an attempt to hide the problem. Funny how the bumper case covers only the metal frame - which should be the strongest part of the phone... ;) I bet Apple store employees have been told to give the hard sell on the bumper cases to "protect" the phone, so that as few people are using the phone without a case as possible.

The other thing is that the field test app has gone missing in OS 4.0 - something I commented on a few days ago as being strange, and I couldn't think of any reason why they would remove it. Well, if you're a conspiracy theorist, I would say that they removed it so that accurate signal strength comparisons between 3GS and iPhone 4 are impossible. :rolleyes:

Bars is not an accurate reading, and any signal stronger than -100dBm will show as 5 bars, so it's only if your signal is weak would you notice the bars changing when held as the first video at the top shows. If field test was present a much more accurate numeric comparison with the 3GS would be possible in dBm.

So where does this leave us ? It seems to me that Apple has made a significant design blunder here, (form over function) and their propensity towards secrecy has prevented them properly testing the phone out in the wild, (without a case) and realising the extent of this problem.

Can they do anything about it without a major redesign ? Sort of...they could coat the metal frame with a hard clear-coat like coating which would be thin and invisible, but provide insulation and would dramatically reduce the effects of touching the strip. (It would alter the feel of the surface though...) It wouldn't be as good as a rubber case though, due to the thinness of such a layer.

Is there anything you as an iPhone 4 owner can do about it ? Yep, buy Apple's bumper case and use it. (Or any other case that hides the metal frame) With a rubber case insulating the metal frame from your fingers the signal loss from holding it shouldn't be significantly worse than a 3GS.

I'd be interested to hear from those getting their iPhone 4's how you are finding reception in weak signal areas compared to your 3G/3GS and whether holding it in your hand or to your head makes more difference to the signal strength than the 3GS...(with and without a rubber case)

[miffed]

interesting ,

I must admit I was a bit sceptical when I saw , thinking that we were talking about small deviation in reception.. But watching that video , to drop from a full signal to "No Service" suggests a big problem !

My concern would be that , if the antenna is detuned to the point that it neuters a full signal to zilch , then surely the mismatch must be so great that it would damage the transmitter ? ...or if there is any kind of hardware autotune (is this even possible in a device of this size / class ?) then there'd be major power drain and overheating issues ?

[blush]

After sitting on forums reading all last evening then again for several hours this morning I have decided that when the phone arrives today with UPS I am not even going to unwrap it and return for a refund. :(

There are way too many examples on the various forums and your theory and scientific breakdowns all make perfect sense to me. I am a telecomms engineer by trade and radiating RF into your hand doesn't sound like good practice anyway, massive attenuation. The video of a guy dropping the phone about five times and the front glass shattering was also a big factor for me returning the phone.

Will be very interesting over the coming weeks to see if Apple can provide a solution. A freeze on signal bars when you hold the phone should do it;) The bumper case cover up now makes lots of sense.

I will be interested to see how Ben and others get on but I am not chancing it, the 3GS is still pretty cool and hey it works:p

[DBMandrake]

interesting ,

I must admit I was a bit sceptical when I saw , thinking that we were talking about small deviation in reception.. But watching that video , to drop from a full signal to "No Service" suggests a big problem !

My concern would be that , if the antenna is detuned to the point that it neuters a full signal to zilch , then surely the mismatch must be so great that it would damage the transmitter ? ...or if there is any kind of hardware autotune (is this even possible in a device of this size / class ?) then there'd be major power drain and overheating issues ?


I can't tell for sure without first hand experience of it, but from all the videos I've seen the difference is quite substantial - and seems to be focused mainly around the bottom left corner of the frame - where if you bridge between the side and the bottom corner with your hand it has the most effect.

Touching it won't be reducing the signal to zilch, but it looks to be on the order of 15-20 dB loss. (If field test hadn't been removed, it could be easily measured) 5 bars is -100dBm or stronger, and 1 bar is about -113dBm (with the phone losing connection less than that) so there is actually only a 13dB difference between the weakest possible "5 bar" signal, and no usable signal.

I don't think damage to the transmitter chip is too likely - even the best cell phone antenna would have a relatively high VSWR so the output chips are designed to be able to drive into any load without damage. We're only talking about around 1 watt maximum power when you're at the limit of range of a cell tower, and progressively less as you get closer.

However, it would potentially reduce battery life even if you're in a strong signal area - because the phone will have to increase the transmitter power more than it might otherwise have to - so gripping the bottom left corner of the phone in a call could drain the battery faster.

So far nobody has shown videos testing it with and without a rubber case fitted - comparing it in hand vs lying on a table is not a fair test for the reasons I outlined in the initial posting, although it is still representative of real world use....

[DBMandrake]

After sitting on forums reading all last evening then again for several hours this morning I have decided that when the phone arrives today with UPS I am not even going to unwrap it and return for a refund. :(

Ouch, that's quite drastic. I'm really divided on the iPhone 4 now - in every other way I think it's a fantastic design, but fortunately (?) I don't have the money to buy one at the moment anyway (due to the small matter of looking for work... :( ) so now I'll wait and see what happens. I will go in store to try one first hand of course, and if it really came down to it, I would probably be ok with using it in a rubber case - as I have always kept my 3GS in a rubber case anyway.



There are way too many examples on the various forums and your theory and scientific breakdowns all make perfect sense to me. I am a telecomms engineer by trade and radiating RF into your hand doesn't sound like good practice anyway, massive attenuation. The video of a guy dropping the phone about five times and the front glass shattering was also a big factor for me returning the phone.

No, I don't like the idea of Microwave frequencies (2.1Ghz on 3G) being connected directly to my hand...I know it's only less than 1 watt, and that you still get a lot of exposure from a normal internal antenna, but there's no need to push my luck.

I'm not in telecomms but I was an amateur radio operator for many years (gave it up when the internet came along and stole my attention :) ) so built and tested many antennas... and one thing you don't want to be doing is touching one while in operation if you expect it to work properly. (And with higher power transmitters, if you don't want to get a nice burn :) )


Will be very interesting over the coming weeks to see if Apple can provide a solution. A freeze on signal bars when you hold the phone should do it ;) The bumper case cover up now makes lots of sense.

Yeah it does. The bars already have a very long time delay with averaging too - in field test mode the reading changes very quickly, with bars it takes 10+ seconds for a huge drop in signal to be registered. This is so it's not fluctuating up and down all over the place as you move.

If you talk with the phone against your head for 20 seconds or so then quickly pull it away and look at the signal, you'll often find even on a 3GS that the signal reading has dropped a lot.

Apple are reportedly claiming a software problem that indicates less bars than it should and will be releasing a fix - my guess is they will do something sneaky - like detect when the phone is against your head and freeze the reading so that when you pull it away it still shows 5 bars ;)

At the end of the day they can't hide dropped calls or No Service though.


I will be interested to see how Ben and others get on but I am not chancing it, the 3GS is still pretty cool and hey it works:p
Yeah come on Ben & Co, review please :)

I'm still pretty happy with my 3GS, especially after the 4.0 update, so I'm gonna sit this one out, at least so long as I have no money to spend on expensive phones ;)

[DBMandrake]

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/24/some-iphone-4-models-see-signals-drop-to-0-when-held-left-handed/



If we had to guess, we'd say that our conductive skin was acting to detune the antenna -- in fact, we've already managed to slowly kill two calls that way so it's not just an issue with the software erroneously reporting an incorrect signal strength. That said, we had no issues when Apple's $29 rubber bumper accessory (given to us free for standing in line) was attached, creating a buffer between our palm and the antennas.


First confirmed mention I've seen of the "rubber bumper" case working around the signal issue.

[miffed]

Hmm, Remember the "lost" iPhone 4 was heavily disguised as 3GS ? this might explain how a problem like this didn't get picked up in testing , if all the test models were insulated?

[blush]

Ouch, that's quite drastic.

The phone arrived and as I'm printing out the returns label I can hear iphone 4 shouting my name and screaming 'let me out!'

Very very tempting but I'm not giving in:D

[The Mullet of G]

The phone arrived and as I'm printing out the returns label I can hear iphone 4 shouting my name and screaming 'let me out!'

Very very tempting but I'm not giving in:D


Get it cracked open you wont regret it.....I hope. I've been playing with iPhone 4 all day and its pretty sweet, unfortunately the handset I'm using isn't activated yet so I can't check the signal thing, but everything else is great. :)

[blush]

Get it cracked open you wont regret it.....I hope. I've been playing with iPhone 4 all day and its pretty sweet, unfortunately the handset I'm using isn't activated yet so I can't check the signal thing, but everything else is great. :)

Unfortunatly it is too late, posted it several hours ago. For the entire journey to the post office I kept having second thoughts and now it is too late. If a software update fixes the issue I will order it again so I will wait and see what happens. I am going to America for two weeks on Saturday and the 14 day return period deadline is during the holiday and I didn't fancy having a signal less phone. AT&T seems to have problems enough without a dodgy phone!

[Hands0n]

Have we seen this problem on any UK network other than O2? Both Nicky and Ben are reporting no such problems on Three and Vodafone respectively.

[DBMandrake]

I think you guys might be missing the point with this issue - touching the bottom left corner will reduce the signal significantly, but if you're in a strong signal area you won't notice anything as once the signal is strong enough to display 5 bars (about -100dBm on 3G) then any further increases will not cause a visible change. So if your signal to begin with is much stronger than -100dBm, even a significant loss of signal will not show less bars. Only if your signal is just reaching 5 bars or less will you notice. It's not surprising those on O2 notice it more as O2 generally has a much weaker 3G signal than Three.

But use that phone in an area with a marginal signal and holding the bottom left corner could be the difference between a signal and no service. It really needs to be tested in a weak signal area to prove anything, and be compared with a 3GS both with the device un-held and held in the bottom left corner. (And retested with a case) Until then the jury is still out.

[Hands0n]

Thats the science bit :D but the [practical] point that I am trying to establish is whether or not these observations are being made on UK networks apart from O2 who are disqualified because they have no credible 3G network of their own in the UK. I think that it is well established in the US that AT&T suffer from the same issues as O2 inasmuch as their own network is generally one of low signal availability, distribution and penetration. So I am not entirely surprised at the American iPhone 4 experience and well recall other (Android) handsets such as the Google Nexus One that has it's antenna down at the base of the device. There is YouTube video of the signal meter on the handset dropping when the handset is held normally in the hand. And that is with the antenna covered by the Nexus One's plastic casing.

So, given that there are very real radio signal issues with very many handsets, the iPhone 4 is no exception, I am not entirely surprised that the new iPhone with its completely exposed antenna suffers when held normally. I did rather wonder about the wisdom of the iPhone design when Steve Jobs announced that the stainless steel band was an antenna.

Where is this all likely to lead to? Will Apple be giving out their Bumper Cases for free? How will that satisfy those iPhone users who like their devices unadulterated? They will not be happy at all.

I do think that Apple may have a monumental cock up on their hands and will have to move fast to do something positive. They cannot sit patiently behind their RDF in the hope that all will work out in the end. Fast and decisive action is required.

[Ben]

I had a couple of bars today, tried touching/holding the handset in various different ways but couldn't make the display change. I also had several calls today in variable coverage and couldn't identify any difference/issue.

I suppose it could take time to notice properly... I'll keep an eye out... but my experience on Vodafone has been nothing other than fantastic today.

[DBMandrake]

Apple acknowledges, but downplays the antenna issue:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20008799-260.html

[@NickyColman]

YO!

Got my iPhone 4 running on Three and so far, I've got no problems. I cant seem to replicate the "left-hand corner" issue. I've seen it done on several YouTube videos across the web (all seem to be running on AT&T) but not Three.

I will note that the signal, when stood next to my 3GS is weaker, wether I'm holding it or not. But I've heard that issue is due to a software problem on the iPhone 4 and its not reporting signal strength accurately enough. So I'm happy with that.

Any questions, just ask. :D

Here's a picture of my new iPhone 4 i took with my finger on the left hand corner area and bridging the two antennas.

http://nickycolman.posterous.com/iphone-signal-on-three

Perfect signal.

[Hands0n]

Its too early for me to tell yet. Playing with this at home is a bit of a cheat as I have my Vodafone SureSignal turned on and can't be bothered to turn it off. Although even then I get a good signal from my nearest transmitter mast :D

[DBMandrake]

Here is a good way to test it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7tfH9oBQbk

;)

[Hands0n]

LOL, I've tried the "key" test and no end of others including this one, even licking my finger to moisten it to lower my skin resistance. Nothing. Nada. Now't. At all times i am getting a solid five bars of signal strength being displayed.

BTW, has anyone noticed that all of the videos are based on AT&T's network? There may be other but I have not yet come across any UK networks exhibiting the same fault. And I don't count O2 because their network does that without any provocation, it doesn't need an iPhone 4 to demonstrate that ;)

[Ben]

If I hold across the bottom left join I can make a few bars drop.

Have I had a dropped call or any issues? No.

So, basically, I'm not arsed.

Given how superior iPhone 4 is to my £2500 Vertu it'd take a lot more than this to piss me off!

[Hands0n]

Hmmm, I've been discussing this on an Android forum ( http://androidcommunity.com/forums/f9/iphone-4s-antennas-woes-36678/index4.html#post327115 ) and for the life of me I cannot make the iPhone display this characteristic at all. But then I am in a good signal area. Perhaps if I can find some marginal Vodafone area I could make this happen.

Of course, if I really wanted this to be the standard behavior of my iPhone 4 I could always chuck an O2 SIM into the device. :eek: But then I'd probably get more pleasure rubbing sand into my eyes!

[miffed]

After reading Steve Jobs reponses to this , I decided to put his theory to the test , and I did actually replicate the fault on my 3GS , and also on my n900 too. - granted I had to move my hands around the device to find the point ( I suppose it would be easy to google the whereabouts of the antennas in various handsets) ...but once you find the spot , it is indeed possible to attenuate the signal with a simple hand placement on most handsets
I suppose the fact that the antenna is effectively exposed it going to mke it a attenuation more likely. -but whether this goes on to be a problem remains to be seen.

you have to admire the lengths people will go to to be dissatisfied with an Apple products !

[@NickyColman]

@Hands0n Yeah, i've noticed that its all AT&T handsets too. Maybe their 3G signal is piss-over there? Who knows?

I watched a video last night on YouTube of two 3GS'. One running 3.0 & the other running 4.0. The 4.0's signal is terrible. Slight movement causes it to drop. Cupping it displays 'No Service' etc. So now, there are theories running about that its actually 4.0 and not the handset itself.

Strange.

[Hands0n]

I am in the process of uploading a [rebuttal] video of the iPhone 4 cell antenna problem. For the life of me I cannot make it happen. I'll post the YouTube link up when it is available later today.

Could it be exascerbated by iOS4? Possibly. Certainly the design notion of placing the unshielded metal antenna on the outside of the case was a huge risk that seems not to have paid off.

[Hands0n]

Here is the short video that I shot this afternoon of the iPhone 4 not getting all pissy when I shorted out the cellular and WiFi antennas - apologies for the shakiness of the video, I rushed it up using my iPhone 3GS hand held (usually I use my HD camcorder on a tripod). Anyway, you'll get the picture :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA7EWopEvyA

Enjoy. Discuss. :)

[@NickyColman]

Good vid Mr 0n, lol.

Its seems to be true that signal strength seems to affect it to quite some degree. That said, at home, I'm quite a distance from my nearest Three site and my coverage is patchy. However, I cant replicate the problem to the degree the interwebs are stating.

I can make the signal drop 1, maybe 2 bars if i completely cup the handset. BUT, as I said I have patchy Three signal at home so this could be simply down to signal fluctuation.

At work I get solid 3G all day long and I'm a matter of meters from my cell site. I'll test the issue at work and report back on the findings.

My feeling is that I wont be dissapointed. :D

[Hands0n]

So, later on today I went a hunting. A hunting for a weak Vodafone 3G signal. Do you know how difficult that is to do :D Vodafone down in this neck of the North Kent woods is fairly ubiquitous.

Anyway, I found a source of weaker than 5 bars 3G opposite the new Kent Police headquarters in Gravesend. It was down to four signal bars on the display. "That'll do nicely" I thought to myself and parked up so as not to look too suspicious to the local fuzz.

Test 1
Hold the handset as I normally would, in my left hand, cupped, with the thumb pad of my hand bridging the two ariels. After a while the bar counter dropped from 4 bars slowly down to just 1. After a short while it dropped over to 2G/EDGE and stayed there with 3 bars of the stuff.

Test 2
Repeated Test 1 just to ensure consistency - this time, however, it dropped to 1 bar of 3G and running a Speedtest.net test I achieved 664kbps Up and 125kbps Down. At no point did it drop into 2G/EDGE

Test 3
This time I used the same Thumb and Index Finger grip as in the video I shot earlier today. The signal dropped from the 4 bars of 3G down to 1 bar again, it seemed to take longer to do this. But it did not drop into 2G/EDGE. For this run of the test I got a Speedtest.net result of 878kbps Up and 150kbps Down.

I cannot be certain why the difference between Test 1 and Test 2 except possibly it was a touch of 3G cell breathing on the go and for the first test there wasn't that much available, or it shrunk away from me during the test. But Test 2 and Test 3 are more consistent.

My own conclusions are that
(a) There is indeed an effect caused when bridging the ariels on the iPhone 4 (that much was never in dispute)
(b) Ambient signal strength does have a distinct bearing upon the effect, a 3G signal will have a threshold above which the ariel effect is not observed.
(c) Below a certain 3G signal strength the ariel effect is observed, even causing a drop to 2G/EDGE where that is available
(d) The ariel effect is lesser observed in 2G/EDGE, I expect that to be because of the better signal penetration that the lower 2G/EDGE frequencies have

Mitigation
There are various mitigations that can be carried out to limit or prevent the effect from occurring.
(1) Take Apple's advice and purchase their Bumper case
(2) Apply an insulator tape such as Sellotape or electrical insulating tape
(3) Apply clear nail varnish around the point where the bridging by your hand occurs
(4) Install your iPhone 4 into an OEM case as and when these become available (I usually do, but the aesthetics of this model make me want to keep it naked)

There may be other mitigations, but I speculate that these will not come from Apple. This appears to be a physical hardware design faux pas that they will not be able to resolve in any other way than a rather fundamental redesign.

I also suspect that Apple will start to give away their Bumper cases free of charge to anyone who complains about the signal issues. Not now, but in a while once the hiatus has died down a little.

[The Mullet of G]

You people are crazy, this is clearly a feature not a design flaw, if Steve Jobs said that its revolutionary then he surely can't be wrong. :)

[Hands0n]

I'm sorry, you're absolutely right there. I just noticed that I had my RDF turned to low ... its back to Full Power again :D

[blush]

After sitting on forums reading all last evening then again for several hours this morning I have decided that when the phone arrives today with UPS I am not even going to unwrap it and return for a refund. :(

There are way too many examples on the various forums and your theory and scientific breakdowns all make perfect sense to me. I am a telecomms engineer by trade and radiating RF into your hand doesn't sound like good practice anyway, massive attenuation. The video of a guy dropping the phone about five times and the front glass shattering was also a big factor for me returning the phone.
Will be very interesting over the coming weeks to see if Apple can provide a solution. A freeze on signal bars when you hold the phone should do it;) The bumper case cover up now makes lots of sense.

I will be interested to see how Ben and others get on but I am not chancing it, the 3GS is still pretty cool and hey it works:p

I now regret cancelling the order and returning what was gonna be my iPhone 4. Gutted. I now will have to wait three weeks till it ships again. Sob.

[MrBriz]

My o2 3G signal is really poor in all but the city center. I don't get anything at work or at home anymore. Unfortunatly I cannot switch to t-mobile until the end of July as they don't have any microsims yet :(

[DBMandrake]

Have a browse on the Internet, there are plenty of tutorials or devices for cutting SIM's down to MicroSIM's - for example you can print out (or buy) a stick on template to show where to cut, and you can also get hole-punch like devices for around £12 that will do a neat and perfect job of cutting a SIM in a few seconds. You can also buy adaptors to put your newly created Micro-SIM's back into phones that need normal SIM's.

[MrBriz]

So if I cut down a normal t-mobile sim on their sim only plan I will be able to use it in the iPhone without any issues? Only problem I'm worried about is that t-mobile don't offically support the iPhone 4 with the microsim yet.

[DBMandrake]

Yes as long as you cut the SIM correctly it will work fine. T-Mobile haven't released a carrier settings update for the iPhone yet, so you would have to enter the APN settings etc manually.

Also T-Mobile currently throttle data speeds to around 350kbit unless you are on certain data plans, and compress images on websites - whether that is something you'll be able to disable on an iPhone tariff is anyone's guess. Is there some particular reason you're wanting to go with T-Mobile ?

[MrBriz]

Because they are the only ones (asside from o2) to do a £15 a month plan that gives 350 mins (I have never gone over 5 1/2 hours of talk time in the last two years) and 300 text messages (never gone over 250 in the past two years) along with 1GB data (I'm currently fluctuating around 300-450 mb per month).

All the plans from the other network providers start at £25, and I don't see the point spending more for something I don't need.

Plus I was hoping t-mobiles network would be better than o2 because of the cell sharing with 3, along with the merger with orange, plus I'd only be on a 30 day rolling plan so I can leave whenever I want.

I don't know about the throttling or compressing. That's a little annoying as I sometimes stream video and 350kb could cause a problem with that.

If anyone has any suggestions as to which network to swith to that can offer something very simular for the same price I'd be willing to take a gamble as long as I wasn't tied into a contract.

[MrBriz]

Go have a look at http://public.iwork.com/document/?a=p166308808&d=Data_Usage.numbers it's my useage.

As you can see I'm not that heavy at the moment, but the data has been increasing.

[MrBriz]

Hey DBMandrake,

I've just been looking around some of the other threads you've posted in and in one you mention Virgin mobile. I see they use T-Mobiles network (so hopefully the coverage will be good) and that they have HSDPA enabled.

Now the thing I want more than anything else is good internet speed on the phone. I've been checking out the tarriffs and it seems I'll have to pay £20 on virgin for what I want.

I'm willing to pay that as long as the phone actually works well.

Like I said, I'm willing to switch to any network as long as I don't have to pay anymore than £20.... I'd prefer £15 a month, but it seems that I won't be able to get that with a fast internet connection as it looks like T-Mobile charge more for HSDPA to be switched on the account.

[MrBriz]

OK, after reading ever more posts by DBMandrake looks like I might chose 3..... will go into a 3 store later on today to see what they can do me.

[DBMandrake]

Although I'm using Three - I have to offer a word of warning, it appears that any new iPhone's activated with Three will not be able to access data on 2G. (Normally 3 customers roam onto Orange's 2G network when out of range of a 3G signal, and get data access as well) There is a big discussion going on about this on another forum:

http://www.3g.co.uk/3GForum/showthread.php?t=104735

Also there are questions about this on three's blog at http://blog.three.co.uk which have not been answered yet. Even though I'm using Three I would be hesitant to recommend them for an iPhone until this issue is clarified. (It doesn't seem to be affecting me, I can still get 2G data on my iPhone, but that's because it's a one year old 3GS, not a new freshly activated one)

[DBMandrake]

Regarding your comments on Virgin - I still have a Virgin Pay&Go SIM in my spare SIM collection, and it gets full un-throttled speeds without paying extra like T-Mobile, so if you like T-Mobile's coverage Virgin could be a good option. I don't find it as fast as 3 but it's still fast enough, typically around 1 - 1.5Mbit. (of course that varies with location like all networks)

Also you don't have to pay a minimum of £20 a month to get "unlimited" (actually 1GB) of data a month any more - they introduced a £5/month for 1GB data addon a few months ago - it's not easy to find on their website unless you dig, and you can't add it via the web based account control panel either - you have to text BUY DATA5 to 789789 to activate it - but once you do it automatically recurs each month until cancelled.

T-Mobile's 3G coverage has improved in leaps and bounds in the last year as they progress with their site share with 3, but the one big failing they still have in my opinion is that there is no way to turn off the jpg image optimizer on either T-Mobile or Virgin. If they would just fix that issue I might even consider returning to Virgin one day.

[MrBriz]

Looks like I would be OK as my iPhone is already activated, so I wouldn't need to go through that process, and hopefully wouldn't get that issue.

[MrBriz]

Choices choices..... I really don't want to go with t-mobile if they compress images... that is a deal breaker :(

o2's notwork is just that.

3 seems to be having problems.... I don't want to switch only to find it doesn't work

I guess it could be Orange or Vodafone but they are both quite expensive.... dammit! Why is this such a tricky decision...

[DBMandrake]

I feel your pain, none of the networks are ideal and they all have significant flaws - it's just a matter of finding the one whose flaws affect or annoy you the least!

[MrBriz]

So I've gone and gotten myself a 3 sim only. �15 per month. Try said I could get a microsim from them tomorrow once te account is setup but I can try and cut down this sim if I want. They have even given me a payg sim to practice with!!

[Ben]

Just wanted to add on here that I'm still not experiencing any actual reception problems. So far every aspect of my iPhone usage has been better with iPhone 4.

[Hands0n]

"iPhone antenna woes" - the biggest non-story in history ;)

All the Americans (and O2 customers) need is a reasonable 3G network.

I had to laugh today at work, first day at the office for the iPhone 4. Office workers trying to demonstrate to me how my iPhone 4 would lose signal and disconnect from the network. Vodafone only gives 4 bars at the office. Each one of them failed miserably. It was only afterwards that I explained to them how much testing I had done around my town, and how I had failed to make the syndrome occur other than for the handset to fall back to Vodafone's 2G network.

All this leaves me thinking that those poor old Americans demonstrating the problem were in an AT&T 3G-only area, that is there was no prevailing AT&T 2G to fall back to.

So a few more converts at the office placed their orders with Apple for a flaky [not] iPhone 4 all of their own :D

[DBMandrake]

To be fair, AT&T uses different 3G frequencies than the UK - we use 2100Mhz exclusively, while AT&T uses 850Mhz and 1900Mhz. Different frequencies on the same physical antenna will cause different standing wave patterns to form, resulting in different "sensitive spots" on the antenna. So what may be a sensitive spot on 850Mhz at the bottom left corner of the case may not be (or considerably less) at 2100Mhz. Such is the way antennas work.

Also because AT&T use two dramatically different frequencies depending on city and state, it could explain why some people in the US see such a big effect, and others don't.

Very hard to say for sure without some more technical details of exactly how the antenna is connected inside though :) I'll reserve judgement until I play with one in store, although talking about the antenna again has got me thinking - Three generally have the strongest 3G signal in most places, (certainly far better than O2) so I wonder if Apple have deliberately gone with Three SIM's in the shop demo iPhones to ensure that they have a good solid 3G signal that won't show signal fade when customers try the grip test on the phone ? Hows that for a conspiracy theory ? :D There we go, the mystery of the sudden appearance of Three SIM's in Apple store iPhone's solved! :D

[Hands0n]

I now regret cancelling the order and returning what was gonna be my iPhone 4. Gutted. I now will have to wait three weeks till it ships again. Sob.

Never mind fella. You'll soon be in possession of your very own. I did think you'd jumped the gun a bit there.

Stories of a point release of iOS 4.x is now in the news - I suspect that this will be tweaking the radio so that it is maybe not quite so susceptible to drop-off in very low signal areas (see my posts about testing this all out on Vodafone's network). It does seem confined to where the signal is miserably low - and perhaps being misleadingly displayed as 5 bars. Certainly, at the office today, with 4 bars, we couldn't make the signal drop off to zero or to fall back to 2G no matter how people tried. One lad tried to completely envelope the iPhone 4 in his hands - until I asked him if he always used his mobile phone like that! I did suggest using the roll of kitchen foil that we have if he wanted to do the job properly :) We wrap up anyone's phone left on the desk unattended that rings frequently. It soon makes them take it with them when they walk off ...

So, I don't think you'll be disappointed by the over-hyped signal issues.

But for pity's sake, don't go dropping the device. In my book glass is glass. I don't care how tough they make it, the stuff is unlikely to survive a drop, let alone five of the bu99ers ;)

[blush]

Never mind fella. You'll soon be in possession of your very own. I did think you'd jumped the gun a bit there.

I can't believe I was silly enough to return the phone, I didn't know what to do. After looking forward to the release for a good while before hand then the day before hearing all the negative reviews I made a very rash decision. I had not actually seen a 4 close up till today. I have been in Los Angeles the last few days and saw a couple of people using an iphone 4 in Disneyland but we found a large mall today. I sat in the mall thumbing through the store guide and to my joy I found there was an Apple store.:D:D

It's like being a young child at Christmas entering an Apple store, all the lovely toys to play with! There were plenty of iphones and lots of people playing with them. What a beautiful device the new phone is, feels really solid like most people have said and the screen is to die for. After a good play with that I had a play with the ipad. I can see how useful an ipad could be, the apps look great on a huge screen. I tried to find a bumper case for the iphone to have a look at but couldn't seem to find any.


Stories of a point release of iOS 4.x is now in the news - I suspect that this will be tweaking the radio so that it is maybe not quite so susceptible to drop-off in very low signal areas (see my posts about testing this all out on Vodafone's network). It does seem confined to where the signal is miserably low - and perhaps being misleadingly displayed as 5 bars. Certainly, at the office today, with 4 bars, we couldn't make the signal drop off to zero or to fall back to 2G no matter how people tried. One lad tried to completely envelope the iPhone 4 in his hands - until I asked him if he always used his mobile phone like that! I did suggest using the roll of kitchen foil that we have if he wanted to do the job properly :) We wrap up anyone's phone left on the desk unattended that rings frequently. It soon makes them take it with them when they walk off ...

So, I don't think you'll be disappointed by the over-hyped signal issues.

Being in an Apple store in America with the phones on AT&T was an ideal time to see if I could replicate the signal issue. I tried four seperate iphones with the signal being at full bars before with the phone on the table and also when I bear hugged it and held it in my left hand touching the join.



But for pity's sake, don't go dropping the device. In my book glass is glass. I don't care how tough they make it, the stuff is unlikely to survive a drop, let alone five of the bu99ers ;)

I will be extremely careful not to drop the phone, some of the youtube videos are a bit silly really droping the phone over and over till it shatters. The lengths some people go to when trying to discredit a product.

[blush]

Since being in the US since Saturday I have noticed several strange things with the AT&T network. The last time I was in California was in 2005 and it was soon after Cingular was bought out by AT&T. If you did a network select on a gsm phone you could see two AT&T networks as well as T-mobile. Prior to this there was Cingular, AT&T and T-mobile. I leave my iphone at home in the UK with 3G turned off and after turning my iphone on at LAX airport the phone tried to select AT&T's network but I got a no access and after a good while the phone settled on T-mobile. I tried to manually select AT&T but each time I was denied access. Later in the day I enabled 3G and my phone selected AT&T 3G no problem. If I lose 3G signal there is no 2g band to fall back onto. I wonder if AT&T customers can fall back to edge or GPRS and why a roaming non 3G enabled phone is denied access. Anyone with a non 3G phone will be left with no signal at T-mobile's coverage does not extend very far out of town.

We are off to Vegas tomorrow so I will see what happens there. When searching for networks I see only one AT&T network rather than two which I witnessed in 2005. The strange thing back then was o2 had roaming with Cingular but not AT&T so one network worked and the other didnt.

[DBMandrake]

AT&T customers definitely have 2G fall-back - in fact in a large part of the country there is still no usable 3G coverage, and a lot of AT&T customers would complain they fall-back to 2G all too often!

If you can connect on 3G but not 2G you can thank your networks (O2?) roaming agreement with AT&T - as although odd, things such as roaming only on 3G are possible in a roaming agreement, and roaming agreements and their exact conditions are negotiated on a case by case basis between each pair of networks.

T-Mobile on the other hand you'll find you can connect on 2G but not 3G - in fact you may have to manually disable 3G to connect to T-Mobile as they use 1700Mhz 3G which is not supported by the iPhone or the vast majority of 3G phones in the world.

The naming of AT&T and Cingular is confusing - Cingular was formed as a joint venture between AT&T (landline company) and BellSouth in 2001, in 2004 Cingular acquired AT&T Wireless, then in 2007 Cingular renamed itself to AT&T Mobility. (commonly known as AT&T) The current AT&T Mobility network was made up of the merging of two different networks and it's apparently taken them years to get them fully integrated under one banner...

[MrBriz]

So I've now had the phone working on 3 for a while now.

It will gracefully drop to the 2G network, but only if I manually turn 3G off. I cannot, how every hard I try, get it to drop down to the 2G network on it's own :D Much better than o2 which would always flick between 2 & 3G at home.

Also the speedtests I'm getting are better than my home broadband! 330kB/s down 190kB/s up! My home is 250kB/s down 90kB/s up. Craziness!

So the only thing that irks me about 3 is the very slow customer service pickup times. Nothing like o2's super fast and good customer service, but then I guess you get what you pay for.

Well if that's what I have to suffer to get a good phone service then so be it.

Cheers for all the info DBMandrake, it helped me come to a decision, hopefully one I shall not regret. Although even if I do it's a 30 day rolling contract so I can always opt to switch back ^_^

[DBMandrake]

Wow that's not bad, at the moment I'm getting about 175KB/sec (1400kbit) although I do often see as high as 275KB/sec. (2200kbit) On the other hand my home broadband (Sky ADSL2+) is considerably faster, at 14Mbit (1750KB/sec) :D

No you won't get it to flick back and forth between 3G and 2G like O2 - because Three are a 3G only network it will cling to a 3G signal for dear life until there is almost nothing before it will roam to Orange's 2G network. This can be quite handy if you're talking on a call and using data at the same time, as switching to 2G mid call would kill the data session.

On the other hand, when it does roam from 3G to 2G it will go into searching mode and interrupt the data session for a few seconds (or drop the call) - it can't switch seamlessly mid call or mid data session like a hybrid 3G/2G network.

Yep, as long as you're on a rolling contract with an unlocked phone, even if you did have issues you could always PAC your number elsewhere. I've always been a Pay&Go user ever since my first mobile, I don't think I would ever go into a 12/18/24 month contract with anyone.

[blush]

AT&T customers definitely have 2G fall-back - in fact in a large part of the country there is still no usable 3G coverage, and a lot of AT&T customers would complain they fall-back to 2G all too often!

I also have with me a Nokia E51 with a Truphone Local Anywhere sim which uses the Vodafone network in the UK and that is sitting on T-Mobile and if I manually try and select AT&T I also get no access. I am pretty sure that last time I was here that T-Mobile did not cover outside of LA. I will report back from Vegas later.

[DBMandrake]

Oh my, the irony :D

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/30/apple-hiring-iphone-antenna-engineers-for-some-reason/

[DBMandrake]

All joking aside in my previous message, I've just come across an absolutely brilliant article on Anandtech which goes into considerable technical detail and depth on the whole iPhone 4 antenna / reception issue, it is absolutely spot on in the technical facts and written in a very even handed way, and is the first article I've seen to really get it right, so I encourage anyone with an iPhone 4 or considering getting one (but worrying about the signal issue) to read it:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review/2

The short summary is, yes, depending on conditions, touching or gripping near the bottom left corner in particular can cause a dramatic reduction in signal strength. However on the flip side, the baseband chipset in the iPhone 4 is considerably superior to the one in the 3GS, and is able to hold a reliable call at significantly lower signal levels.

The end result is that an iPhone 4 gripped without a case has worse real world reception than a 3GS, (sometimes much worse) but with a case over the steel frame has better real world reception than a 3GS, bar readings notwithstanding.

Hopefully Apple will make a modification to the production of the iPhone 4 by applying a hard transparent / invisible coating to the metal frame to prevent direct electrical contact between fingers and the metal frame - which would 90% solve the issue without a huge redesign.

[The Mullet of G]

"iPhone antenna woes" - the biggest non-story in history ;)


I think that pretty much bangs the nail on the head. I've yet to meet a single iPhone 4 owner thats had any antenna woes. As most of you will know I like to have a bit of a pop at Apple given the opportunity, simply because I think its mildly entertaining and also they shanked me on customer service that one time, so the fact that I'm not bothering to have a pop about this issue speaks volumes here.

I also think the attached picture sums this issue up nicely. :)

[DBMandrake]

So, Apple has released a press release, essentially saying that there is nothing wrong with the reception of the iPhone 4 and that they will be issuing a software fix that re-calibrates the display of the bars:

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/07/02appleletter.html

Why am I not surprised ? :rolleyes: So in a bit more detail, what are they saying ? They're basically saying that the signal threshold required for each bar increment is too narrow - and that they will be recalibrating it so that it requires a stronger signal to give a 4 or 5 bar reading.

This will increase the dynamic range of the 1 - 5 bar reading, eg the difference in actual signal between an indicated 5 bar signal and an indicated 1 bar signal will be much greater after the "fix".

That's all well and good (I've always felt the 1-5 bar range was very compressed and that 5 bars was reached at too low a signal to be very meaningful) but the fact is that this is going to make the phone read less bars for the same actual signal level, so for example a signal that might now read 4 bars may read 2 bars after the software update.

They claim it's a mistake that's been there since the first iPhone - not so, because the calibration of the 1-5 bar reading is actually different on 2G and 3G signals - two different calibration tables are used. (For example -100dBm is 5 bars on 3G, but only about 2 bars on 2G)

Also, most people will have forgotten, but Apple actually changed the calibration of the 3G signal reading between firmware 2.0 and 2.0.1 shortly after the iPhone 3G was released - a lot of people were complaining that their 3G connection was giving "a lot lower bars" than their 2G signal, so Apple basically made the phone read more bars for the same signal in 3G, and that's the calibration we've had right up until OS 4.0. (Essentially the scale shown in the Anandtech article)

Was it valid for Apple to make this change at 2.0.1 ? Questionable. Is it valid for them to make this change now ? Also questionable.

Does it answer the issue that people are complaining about ? Not at all. If Apple do what they say they will, both the 3G/3GS and the iPhone 4 will be reading less bars (at the higher end of the scale) for the same actual signal, but it makes no difference in actual performance of the phone.

No amount of monkeying around with the calibration of the bars will affect the actual performance of the device in low signal conditions and whether it drops calls or loses a data connection when gripped, and it's rather disingenuous of Apple to suggest that the problems are all in peoples heads and that it's only a matter of the bar reading reducing.

Tests have been done by Anandtech using the numeric signal indicator (which I've now re-enabled on my 3GS thanks to an iPhone backup editor) which is not affected by any inaccuracy in the bar reading, and those tests clearly showed the effect that Apple are trying to pass off as an illusion.

Disappointed Apple, but not surprised...

[The Mullet of G]

I still haven't met any iPhone 4 owners that have had any reception woes to speak off, but it seems a lot of iPhone 4 owners haven't been so lucky. With that said this story is starting to grow legs, the class action suits against Apple are starting to roll in, which would be bad enough, but that press release was frankly hilarious, has Apple gone completely mad? I actually see it as being more damaging to Apple as a brand than the original signal issue itself, we all make mistakes so I feel the measure of a company isn't how well it does when things are going right, its what it does when things go wrong, and I think Apple's response is very telling here.

Looking back, the Wi-Fi issues that Jobs had during the iPhone 4 launch keynote now seem like a bad omen of things to come, Apple are usually pretty slick and have long benefitted from the legendary Apple RDF, but while the iPhone 4 launch has been massively successful, in some ways its been a bit of a disaster. I think they might have gotten away with it had they not taken the time to tell everyone how revolutionary and great the new antenna system was, as that effectively drew peoples attention to it and their was a lot of skepticism long before it was even released.

tl;dr Apple dropped the ball and then fumbled it into their own net. :)

[Hands0n]

I agree. Apple are turning this into a PR disaster. They and the iPhone will survive. But this is giving the anti-Apple lads and lasses the proverbial Mannah from Heaven! They must have orgasmed upon reading that press release :-)

[@NickyColman]

LMAO @ Hands0n - I bet they did!

The press release was a total mistake from start to finish. Apple would have been better off announcing that they would allow anyone who believes their iPhone suffers from the signal issue to return for a full refund (hopefully taking the sting out of the issue by giving customers a way out). It would also allow Apple to get away without admitting there was an issue to start with.

"If YOU believe there is a problem, we - those cool guys from Apple - will be generous enough to give you a full refund. How nice are we??

By reading yesterdays statement, its clear Apple are going to simply fiddle the facts. Apple are going to make the 3G/3GS report a worse level of signal so that it reports near enough the same as the 4. Its not quite a solution and its rather worrying that, for 3 years now, the best minds at Apple (and everyone who's torn down an iPhone) didn't discover this "formula issue".

The statement was written in an almost infantile manner;

"We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising.

Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong."

Really??? Were they really that stunned? Or was it "oh **** guys this isnt dying down".

Will it solve everything? Who knows? Apple will definitely survive. People will still buy this phone in droves (and thats one hell of a statement about Apple's pulling power). And there will still be a new iPhone next year.

And just for the record, I've still not had a dropped call. Even on Three :D

I love my iPhone. It out performs every handset I've ever owned and will continue to do so.

[miffed]

Seriously , How stupid do Apple think we are ? ... Don't get me wrong , I agree the whole issue is blown out of proportion and in reality is pretty much a "non issue" - but this response has probably done more harm than good ?
So lets all go by Apples logic . ... these Bumper cases must boost the reception , no ?

IIRC wasn't there an issue with a previous version (3G ? ) where the reception caused problems ?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10017153-37.html?tag=mncol;txt

... Bit sloppy that the didn't stumble upon this excuse , sorry , "problem" back then eh ?

[DBMandrake]

The fact that it has even me up in arms about it is very telling - I'm not exactly an Apple Fan Boi, (some might accuse me of it :) ) but I like and own many Apple products, love my 3GS to bits and never let it far from my sight (and the 3G before it, back in it's day) and I really do feel let down by Apple.

I really wanted to like the iPhone 4, and I think they got so much about it right - the screen, the camera, the A4 processor, HSUPA, front facing camera, sturdy metal buttons (finally) etc, but my oh my, what a cock up with the antenna design :(

Part of me says to hell with it, it's such a good phone in every other way, buy it anyway, (if I had the money, which I don't) get a bumper case and stop complaining as I always use my existing iPhone in a case anyway...

But I think it's now the principle of the thing for me - why should I give Apple my money to buy a premium priced product with a relatively serious known design flaw, and the more Apple digs themselves into a hole by lying and trying to save face, the less respect I have for them.

I don't like having my intelligence insulted in the snide and condescending way Apple sometimes manages to do, something which I think is a direct extension of Steve Job's brilliant but egotistical personality.

Apple are obviously doing everything they can to try and avoid a recall, so I can't see a frank admission of their mistake any time soon.

It will be interesting to see how they decide to handle this, as I think the likes of Gizmodo will keep on and on about it - the obvious option to me is for them to add a hard invisible non-conductive coating to the metal bands, something that could be done fairly easily as part of a refurb process - anyone with an earlier revision who has signal problems could get it exchanged for a new phone with the extra coating, and their old phone gets the new coating and goes into the refurb pool for warranty replacements etc - they wouldn't have to scrap the existing models that are out in the field, and the number of units in the field now is still relatively small compared to how many will be sold over it's one year life cycle.

In fact I have to wonder if some of the iPhone 4's already in the field now do have a coating, and some earlier production units don't ? Just like some phones were supposedly shipped so early that the screen bonding glue hadn't set yet and was still yellow tinged. Perhaps if there is a difference in the surface of the metal from one batch to another it could explain why there is such a variation in sensitivity to this problem ?

Anyone care to check the surface conductivity of the metal bands around their iPhone 4 with a multimeter to see if they're conductive or whether there's an insulating layer on it ? :)

[miffed]

... And of course , the fact that the field test app dissappeared was just a coincidence ! [:)]

[Hands0n]

Too late, I already did that. The metal bands on mine are bare as a baby's bum :) They are conductive right up to the edge of the insulating break. I have even held on to the phone for more than 20 minutes while using Twitter, Facebook and Talk3g to the point that my hands were sweaty and thus wonderfully conductive. Nothing, nada, no effect whatsoever.

That said, with clean dry hands in a weak signal area I can get the handset to fall off 3G and on to 2G somewhat easily - but then again, who is to say that this didn't happen from time to time with the previous iPhones I had. I also have had some rotten Sony Ericsson that have been singly unable to hold on to a signal for any length of time. Behaving even worse when on the O2 network.

I am somewhat fascinated by the amount of rhetoric and angst that this issue seems to have caused. For certain, Apple have behaved in a rather intolerable manner towards their customers, almost dismissive of their concerns. It is quite shabby treatment to be sure. But the fact remains that the iPhone 4 is a very capable device. There are as many tales of complete satisfaction as there are of utter woe, perhaps very much more so.

There is much to witness ahead I suspect. Having placed themselves on this particular barb it will be interesting to see how Apple get themselves off of it.

[miffed]

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/7380/kjesv.jpg

[Ben]

That's genius! And exactly as seriously as they should be taking the matter IMHO :D

[The Mullet of G]

Level 5 Damage Control detected. :D

[Hands0n]

This is certainly not the time for Apple to be unusually reticent and shy.

[miffed]

http://www.iphonedownloadblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Jobs-and-Gates-on-iPhone-4.jpeg

[The Mullet of G]

http://www.iphonedownloadblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Jobs-and-Gates-on-iPhone-4.jpeg

Those pictures are quality, I