[Tezcatlipoca]

Letter from Apple regarding the iPhone 4 reception issues:

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010...pleletter.html

Originally Posted by Apple

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

OK, a software update can make the "reception bars" more accurate (they are apparently a bit crap at the moment, as the range for 5 bars is much higher than the ranges for 1, 2, 3, or 4 bars... which is why some people with 5 bars notice a DeathGrip problem while other people with 5 bars don't, even though *all* will lose a certain amount of signal), but it can't fix the apparent hardware flaw of having an external antenna without any insulation.

The review at AnandTech explains it all regarding how the signal strength is measured & reported, & how much it *does* drop when you hold the phone in a certain way:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/t...one-4-review/2

More articles on the whole thing:

http://gizmodo.com/5577812/why-apple...yline=true&s=i

http://gizmodo.com/5576839/wireless-...-got-a-problem

http://fscked.co.uk/post/751030001/m...4-signal-issue

http://fscked.co.uk/post/761672289/o...tion-strengths

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/...e-4-anandtech/

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/...ftware-mirage/


Current indicator = not that accurate > people in weaker signal areas mistakenly think that they have a strong signal.

Then when they hold the phone in such a way that the antennas are bridged... bye bye big chunk of signal (which wasn't actually a real 4 or 5 bar signal) & bye bye call or data. If you have a genuinely strong signal, however, you won't notice anything.


Apple's software fix cannot fix the actual issue. All it will do is prevent people in weaker signal areas from mistakenly thinking that they had a stronger signal to start with before they killed or reduced it by touching the antenna. e.g. instead of starting with 5 bars pre-DeathGrip, they'll have 3 bars. Instead of starting with 4, they'll have 2.





http://fscked.co.uk/post/761672289/o...tion-strengths





The update may help perception of the issue (as the drop in strength caused by bridging the antennas will no longer appear as massive as before), but it's smoke & mirrors... Updating the software to change the signal strength display can't also change the laws of physics...Bridge the exposed antennas with your skin > signal attenuation...you just don't notice it if you have a genuinely strong signal.

Also, if Apple was so certain that this was purely a software issue, & nothing to do with the uninsulated external antennas, then why the earlier suggestions to purchase a case, or "Just avoid holding it in that way"?