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Letter from Apple Regarding iPhone 4 [Apple's fix for the 'faulty' antenna]
Apple ^ | 2 July 2010 | Apple Press Release

Posted on 07/02/2010 7:03:12 AM PDT by Yo-Yo

July 2, 2010 Letter from Apple Regarding iPhone 4 Dear iPhone 4 Users,

The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.

To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of having a faulty antenna design.

At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What can explain all of this?

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. 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.

To fix this, we are adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone’s bars will report it far more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit taller so they will be easier to see.

We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present since the original iPhone, this software update will also be available for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are the same— the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have caused.

As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.

We hope you love the iPhone 4 as much as we do.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Apple


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News
KEYWORDS: apple; iphone
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To: Yo-Yo
Well, if the software error has been present since the original iPhone, then why hasn't the "you're holding it wrong" problem also been there since the beginning?

Because the earlier models don't have the antenna built into the case like the new one. I think there's clearly a greater issue with reduced reception with the iPhone 4 because of it.

In retrospect, the "incorrect bars" doesn't sound so far-fetched to me. I either have "full bars" or nothing on my 3GS most of the time. I can't remember ever seeing a 3-bar signal since getting it 5 months ago.

21 posted on 07/02/2010 8:01:08 AM PDT by kevkrom (De-fund Obamacare in 2011, repeal in 2013!)
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To: kevkrom

Two friends walked into a bar. The third one ducked.


22 posted on 07/02/2010 8:10:43 AM PDT by shineon
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To: reagan_fanatic

23 posted on 07/02/2010 8:31:11 AM PDT by mnehring
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To: kevkrom

I read a post here that nokia tried the same thing and eventually did find a fix HOWEVER apple does not want to pay for the right to use the fix.

Instead they want you to buy a “bulk up” phone case.


24 posted on 07/02/2010 8:45:43 AM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: longtermmemmory

I use one of those moronic bluetooth ear pieces, but it makes it so that I don’t use my hands when I’m on my iPhone4 (because of driving). I haven’t had any issues.

I like the thing. Someone showed me their Android the other day. No thanks.


25 posted on 07/02/2010 8:54:28 AM PDT by Noamie
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To: Yo-Yo
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.

Makes you wonder how much else is totally wrong doesn't it? I have to admit I thought this letter was a sick joke until I looked at my browser's address bar and it showed apple.com. Can anyone imagine the howls from the media if Microsoft issued a letter like this?

Only someone young enough to believe in Santa Claus would buy this tripe:

1. This happens to all mobile phones when held in the hand.

2. But we get letters from lots and lots and lots of people that say it doesn't happen to OUR phone.

3.We just discovered the bars have always been wrong for all of our phones all the time (we somehow missed that for years), and we're issuing a software patch that will show lots of bars all the time, no matter what. That will fix the no-bars problem.

Sounds like a lawyer trying out one lame argument after another until some gullible judge bites on one.

26 posted on 07/02/2010 9:00:15 AM PDT by catnipman (Cat Nipman: Made from the Right Stuff!)
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To: mnehring

27 posted on 07/02/2010 9:02:19 AM PDT by reagan_fanatic (Never trust anyone who points their rear end at God while praying.)
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To: reagan_fanatic

remember when full bars meant happy hour on friday after work?

not a oprahfied eunach sitting home twittering/facebooking a simulated life.


28 posted on 07/02/2010 9:05:10 AM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: coon2000
AT&T did not and does not have enough bandwidth to handle the new phone.

I think you nailed it right there. The only reason I am avoiding the ipohne is that you can only use AT&T. Verizon has much better coverage where I live.

29 posted on 07/02/2010 9:11:02 AM PDT by usurper (Liberals GET OFF MY LAWN)
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To: catnipman
Sounds like a lawyer trying out one lame argument after another until some gullible judge bites on one.

That is exactly what this is, and absolutely nothing else.

To think this is about customer satisfaction, performance, or any other tripe is to be clueless as to how Silicon Valley really works.

30 posted on 07/02/2010 9:11:42 AM PDT by Talisker (When you find a turtle on top of a fence post, you can be damn sure it didn't get there on it's own.)
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To: Yo-Yo

This might explain why with no signal at all I have 4 bars but that 4 bars was really for several minutes ago when I did actually have a signal before I walked into a building.

Apple screwed up the programming but wants to claim it was a simple mistake partly to blame on AT&T.


31 posted on 07/02/2010 9:14:03 AM PDT by CodeToad
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To: Yo-Yo

“... the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped.”

So if the software is always adding a couple of bars, does that mean EVERY iPhone reception has NEVER been as good as the competition ?

Are we supposed to believe that Apple or AT&T have NEVER done side by side lab comparision testing with competitors phones ?

I suspect when this “fix” is sent out, it will be found that holding your iPhones many other ways results in a poorer signal also - it just never showed up on the bars.


32 posted on 07/02/2010 9:40:07 AM PDT by RS ("I took the drugs because I liked them and I found excuses to take them, so I'm not weaseling.")
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To: usurper

Right now the cell service is horrible. It is almost impossible to make calls. I am not being overly dramatic here. AT&T is really blowing this bad. I have a 3Gs and have never experienced such bad cellular service. They are clearly way over subscribed at this point.


33 posted on 07/02/2010 10:01:17 AM PDT by coon2000 (Give me Liberty or give me death!)
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To: driftdiver
Its not a bug its a feature ping.

LOL! That's funny!

Also, I just LOVE the spin from Apple about how there is no problem, they're just showing the bars wrong... Maybe they can explain these following images, then, because it doesn't at ALL corroborate their latest attempt to manage the story:

From Wired Magazine. Lower numbers are better. We see the 3GS was stellar, and did not lose anywhere near equal levels as the iPhone 4.

Also, for the not-as-technically included, dB for RF measurements is a 10 log scale. Meaning a change of 3 dB is a HALVING of value. Going from 9 dB to 24 dB means you lost 97% of your signal strength.

From Gizmodo. Here's the information:

speed test with the phone sitting down, with his hands on the phone, and one with his hands on but with a leather case on it. They're in order, and the one with his hands on the bare phone is really bad times

I'd call zero upload and a 17 second ping time a REALLY bad time. Much more than going from 5 bars to 1 bar would indicate.

Apple's trying to weasel out by changing the way they show bars, and hope that the public buys the message (which it probably will, because it's Apple after all). But the actual hard-core measurements PROVE there is a problem, and it's NOT related to the way antenna strength is shown. It's an actual, real-world problem.

This kind of technical data will kill Apple in a lawsuit. You cannot answer it with just "we showed bars wrong". It proves at a physical level that the iPhone 4 has significant reception problems if you just hold your phone in the left hand.

34 posted on 07/02/2010 10:22:04 AM PDT by PugetSoundSoldier (Indignation over the Sting of Truth is the defense of the indefensible)
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To: PugetSoundSoldier; for-q-clinton; driftdiver
Also, for the not-as-technically included, dB for RF measurements is a 10 log scale. Meaning a change of 3 dB is a HALVING of value. Going from 9 dB to 24 dB means you lost 97% of your signal strength.

For the not-as-technically included (sic), dB attenuation is relative to a signal, not an absolute measurement. A higher dB attenuation doesn't necessarily mean a lower signal if you are starting with a higher signal strength in the first place.

35 posted on 07/02/2010 12:56:23 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: antiRepublicrat; PugetSoundSoldier; for-q-clinton; driftdiver

“A higher dB attenuation doesn’t necessarily mean a lower signal if you are starting with a higher signal strength in the first place. “

So the iPhone has a higher signal strength? Do you have anything showing its signal strength vs that of other devices?


36 posted on 07/02/2010 1:12:35 PM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: PugetSoundSoldier; antiRepublicrat

For the actual relationship between decibels and signals, including what antiRepublicrat wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel


37 posted on 07/02/2010 3:40:41 PM PDT by Gondring (Paul Revere would have been flamed as a naysayer troll and told to go back to Boston.)
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~; 1234; 50mm; Abundy; Action-America; acoulterfan; AFreeBird; Airwinger; Aliska; ...
Apple releases open letter explanation of "reception problem" on iPhone4's PING!

PLEASE NOTE, if you post a thread on APPLE, iPHONES, iPAD, or Macs, and wish to notify the Apple/Mac,iPhone,iPad list, please have the courtesy to Ping me, so that I may ping the list. Certain anti-Apple persons, notably, for-q-clinton, PugetSoundSoldier, and a few others are deliberately NOT pinging me to their negative, anti-Apple threads... for reasons of their own.

Please don't feed the Anti-Apple Trolls™


Apple/Mac/iPhone/iPad Ping!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.

38 posted on 07/03/2010 12:24:21 AM PDT by Swordmaker (Remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
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To: coon2000
Right now the cell service is horrible. It is almost impossible to make calls. I am not being overly dramatic here. AT&T is really blowing this bad. I have a 3Gs and have never experienced such bad cellular service. They are clearly way over subscribed at this point.

I'm not having a problem where I live in Stockton, California. But I think with the addition of 1.5 million 3G iPads in the last two months... and the addition of 2 million iPhone4s, you may be on to something, especially in urban areas with lots of devices.

It's not signal strength to individual devices, its crowded cell towers handling too many signals, dropping connections as they switch around from computer to computer and tower to tower.

39 posted on 07/03/2010 12:44:10 AM PDT by Swordmaker (Remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
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To: Swordmaker

Anybody but Apple’s fault.

Who will it be next?


40 posted on 07/03/2010 6:34:28 AM PDT by flintsilver7 (Honest reporting hasn't caught on in the United States.)
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