iPhone 4 Super Thread: iOS 4.2 Released. Find my iPhone now free

[silentsim]

Everything I have read seems to make me think this isn't a major issue in areas with good reception. Speaking to several friends in the UK who all have the phone do not notice even a bar drop when performing the "death" grip, and some in the US where they never have signal issues said the same thing. The only person I spoke to that has an issue is one located in NYC.

hmm!

[HotHotHeat]

Originally Posted by silentsim

Everything I have read seems to make me think this isn't a major issue in areas with good reception. Speaking to several friends in the UK who all have the phone do not notice even a bar drop when performing the "death" grip, and some in the US where they never have signal issues said the same thing. The only person I spoke to that has an issue is one located in NYC.

hmm!

At this point, it doesn't matter whether the problem is real or perceived. Steve Jobs needs to take control of the situation and say they're going to offer a hardware fix for any affected phones. From what the public can tell, Apple is still playing the 'it'll go away' game. From a company so cleanly managed, this 'no nothing' approach is baffling.

[silentsim]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

At this point, it doesn't matter whether the problem is real or perceived. Steve Jobs needs to take control of the situation and say they're going to offer a hardware fix for any affected phones. From what the public can tell, Apple is still playing the 'it'll go away' game. From a company so cleanly managed, this 'no nothing' approach is baffling.

But if Apple does a hardware fix, the same issues may occur if it indeed is due to poor signal areas rather then hands on the antenna. They have waived any restocking fee's to date, but Yes, I do think Apple should put a strip of clear material on the sides to make this issue non-existent.

[Kipper is King]

Apparently FaceTime works from a plane's wifi! Cool!

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/13/f...-in-flight-wi/

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

At this point, it doesn't matter whether the problem is real or perceived. Steve Jobs needs to take control of the situation and say they're going to offer a hardware fix for any affected phones. From what the public can tell, Apple is still playing the 'it'll go away' game. From a company so cleanly managed, this 'no nothing' approach is baffling.

The perception issue is killing them. The Apple backlash is in full force right now, especially amongst the techie crowd. This all comes at a horrible time for them as far as the US market is concerned. They are already letting Android get a very strong foothold with Verizon users. Even though the iPhone may still be marginally the best phone out there, most people see the Droids+verizon as better than Iphone+ATT.

If Apple stays off of Verizon for another year, they will be done as the consumer smart phone leader, and will probably never get it back. People get vested in these devices. Not many people will jump ship to the Apple once they've got use to the OS/started buying android apps and drmed movies/formatted their libraries for android etc.

Also, Apple's product life cycle is pretty slow compared to what is coming out from all these android phone manufacturers. There will be Android phones in the next few months that will be absolutely better than the iphone way before the next iPhone release.

All this would have been avoided if they went to Verizon earlier, and Android would have never got off the ground.

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by silentsim

But if Apple does a hardware fix, the same issues may occur if it indeed is due to poor signal areas rather then hands on the antenna. They have waived any restocking fee's to date, but Yes, I do think Apple should put a strip of clear material on the sides to make this issue non-existent.

I'm not following this as closely as some so correct me if I'm wrong but didn't someone actually measure the signal drop for the hands on the antenna problem and confirmed that the drop was ~10x worse on the iPhone4 vs the 3GS? If they do a hardware fix and get the problem down a 3GS type level then you'd only have this happening only in places with really REALLY poor signals vs places with somewhat poor signals.

[mykalberta]

The easy fix would seem to be give away the bumper with every phone. I guess the problem is that they would be acknowledging a problem with the phone and it doesnt look good.

I will still be buying the phone, this isnt going to push me to Android. It does seem fishy that the one time they come out with their own branded case and that case just happens to fix the problem. I wonder if they saw this issue in testing but that it was hit and miss so they decided to come out with a case for those few users who might need it.

[MickMcGeough]

I'll be buying the iPhone 4 but I'll be making sure I can return it without penalty just in case the reception issues are that bad. If an inch of non-conductive coating is what separates this apparent disaster of a product from being the best smartphone available, I can live with that. Boo on Apple and all that for letting this slip somehow but endured greater inconvenience to use lesser products.

I'll switch to Android if they build this: http://designfabulous.blogspot.com/2010/07/htc-1.html

[FanIn80]

There are reports springing up from people who received replacement phones yesterday, that the antennas are still uncovered but feel more... "matte" is the word they're using. Also, they are saying the issue appears resolved.

Now, of course, it's still early and nothing is proven. It may very well be a hoax, but it's not like this isn't something Apple would do. They have a history of quietly altering their manufacturing process in future revisions. Coupled with the removal of their reboxing fee on returns, this could turn into a very quiet recall...

Edit: Forgot the link: http://www.ifixit.com/blog/2010/07/i...antenna-issue/

(The best part is where they ask for people who have a phone manufactured after week 27 to measure their impedance and post the result in the comments... of course people are ignoring that whole "after week 27" thing and completely messing things up.)

[silentsim]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

There are reports springing up from people who received replacement phones yesterday, that the antennas are still uncovered but feel more... "matte" is the word they're using. Also, they are saying the issue appears resolved.

Now, of course, it's still early and nothing is proven. It may very well be a hoax, but it's not like this isn't something Apple would do. They have a history of quietly altering their manufacturing process in future revisions. Coupled with the removal of their reboxing fee on returns, this could turn into a very quiet recall...

Edit: Forgot the link: http://www.ifixit.com/blog/2010/07/i...antenna-issue/

(The best part is where they ask for people who have a phone manufactured after week 27 to measure their impedance and post the result in the comments... of course people are ignoring that whole "after week 27" thing and completely messing things up.)

If this is true expect a Canadian delay, into August. If that is true UK unlocked it is for me!

[FanIn80]

Why would there be a delay?

[Ethaniel]

I really need this phone to come to canada before August.
I will be switching jobs and want to get the iphone 4 for my new job !

[photon]

Apple's completely lost any common sense if they try to slipstream in a stealth fix without acknowledging the problem, that's 10 times worse PR than the problem in the first place.

[silentsim]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Why would there be a delay?

Well, IMO of course, if they are modifying the units, they would be sending them to the places where the iPhone currently is for replacements for customers with troubled units, rather then supplying a new country from the get go.

Of course, just my speculation. (Unless they have enough units to make everyone happy, as there are alot of other countries also getting July launches)

[HotHotHeat]

Originally Posted by photon

Apple's completely lost any common sense if they try to slipstream in a stealth fix without acknowledging the problem, that's 10 times worse PR than the problem in the first place.

No kidding. Steve just needs to walk on stage, admit the problem, say they've figured out what it is and how to fix it, and all new phones won't be affected.

It's times like this a company needs to dip into it's strong brand and have confidence in the reputation they've built. People will without doubt forgive them, if not instantly, soon enough.

That said, perfectionists hate admitting errors.

[silentsim]

Apple press conference on Friday to select media outlets. Regarding the iPhone that is.....wonder what the plan of action is.
A)recall
B) offer free cases
C) announce they have fixed the problem and those with issues can get a free replacement

My bet on C and i do believe there will be a Canadian delay

[Azure]

Apparently the OS4.1 doesn't do anything to fix the problem.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Azure

Apparently the OS4.1 doesn't do anything to fix the problem.

It was never going to fix it. The only thing the software fix was ever supposed to do was show the people with dropped calls that they already had lousy signal to begin with.

That way, the people in NYC can see that they're only starting with 1 or 2 bars, so that's why the call is being dropped. That's the worst part, is all the YouTube videos showing from 5 bars to dropped call, when there should have only been 2 bars at the most to begin with.

Of course, as always happens... people saw a report about a new software update to address the signal bar display, and got excited thinking that a software update was going to somehow magically repair a hardware defect.

Moving on...

To touch base on my earlier post about some people reporting new phones with coated antennas... there are some new comments on that iFixIt article, from people with post-week 27 phones, and they're saying the issue is resolved.

Edit: There are a couple more saying that it hasn't been resolved too... but with the way the phones are numbered, just because they are from the same plant/week, doesn't mean they are from the same batch. Again, though, this whole thing could just be a big hoax. It all originated from Gizmodo, afterall. I was prepared to completely ignore it until I saw that iFixIt had a separate, independent report saying the same thing.

[photon]

Bad news on a Friday?

[HotHotHeat]

I have to say, I'm loving this whole antenna saga. Apple's smugness was getting to be too much. This should reground them and let them continue to innovate without an invincibly cloak. As for any lost costumers, I don't really care. Hopefully there are a few.