"Fault" with new Apple iPhone
- Thread starter Candlelight
- Start date
If this is a widespread issue there should be a recall and replacement--with a better-designed antenna, obviously.
There are several "faults"
iPhone 4 Breaks Easily - http://gizmodo.com/5571658/first-iphone-4-broken-after-one+foot-drop
iPhone 4 Has Yellow Bands and Spots in the Display - http://gizmodo.com/5571143/some-iphone-4-screens-have-yellow-bands-and-spots
iPhone 4 Drops Calls - http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/24/some-iphone-4-models-see-signals-drop-to-0-when-held-left-handed/
and video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ixIHyEPO5g&feature=player_embedded
iOS 4 Already Hacked - http://blog.iphone-dev.org/post/726179754/foursome-news
iPhone 4 Breaks Easily - http://gizmodo.com/5571658/first-iphone-4-broken-after-one+foot-drop
iPhone 4 Has Yellow Bands and Spots in the Display - http://gizmodo.com/5571143/some-iphone-4-screens-have-yellow-bands-and-spots
iPhone 4 Drops Calls - http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/24/some-iphone-4-models-see-signals-drop-to-0-when-held-left-handed/
and video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ixIHyEPO5g&feature=player_embedded
iOS 4 Already Hacked - http://blog.iphone-dev.org/post/726179754/foursome-news
Not a day passes without me dropping my phone
Apple has always gone for design and "pretty" over everything else, I think maybe the use of glass may have been a step too far in this direction, IMO they should have compromised with some other material.
Shockingly, I'm still really leaning toward getting the new iPhone 4, I haven't yet, but I want to. I don't "need" it, but I want it.
Apple will fix some of these problems, then create new ones when they force you to buy the next iPhone next year.
Ah yes, the new iWantyourmoney.
I read a rather interesting blog post about the reception issue here. Essentially the FCC testing requirements don't actually take a person's hand into account.
But the most amusing thing is that most of Apple's iPhone promotional material shows people holding the phone in the "wrong" way.
But the most amusing thing is that most of Apple's iPhone promotional material shows people holding the phone in the "wrong" way.
Glad I dont own one and dont plan on buying one.
It's quite possible that a software fix could fix this "hardware problem."
All antennas have to deal with interference and phones are supposed to boost or cut power to the radio as needed. It's very possible that this is a software problem where the phone is not properly accounting for the signal problems quickly enough. A firmware update could theoretically fix that.
Of interest: People are apparently having more trouble in areas where their cellular provider is using the 1900 frequency than those using the 850 frequency. If this was simply a hardware flaw it's odd that it would function better on one frequency than that other. This points to some kind of bug in the software that regulates the radio power.
Of course, no one knows for sure. We'll have to see what kind of updates come out of Apple this week.
This one is not a problem. It's the glue holding the glass on. They're shipping directly from the factory to the consumer and the glue has not had time to fully dry. People with this problem have seen the spots disappear after a day or two of use.
You're also the first person (outside of Apple) that I've seen refer to jailbreaking as a "fault."
I tend to trust numbers over photographs.
Yellow Spots: Many, many posts online by multitudes of people. REAL
Reception Problems: Demonstrated in dozens of Youtube videos. REAL
Glass Breaking: Primarily articles written by sites selling page views. Very few posts on message boards. I DOUBT IT
All antennas have to deal with interference and phones are supposed to boost or cut power to the radio as needed. It's very possible that this is a software problem where the phone is not properly accounting for the signal problems quickly enough. A firmware update could theoretically fix that.
Of interest: People are apparently having more trouble in areas where their cellular provider is using the 1900 frequency than those using the 850 frequency. If this was simply a hardware flaw it's odd that it would function better on one frequency than that other. This points to some kind of bug in the software that regulates the radio power.
Of course, no one knows for sure. We'll have to see what kind of updates come out of Apple this week.
This one is not a problem. It's the glue holding the glass on. They're shipping directly from the factory to the consumer and the glue has not had time to fully dry. People with this problem have seen the spots disappear after a day or two of use.
You're also the first person (outside of Apple) that I've seen refer to jailbreaking as a "fault."
I tend to trust numbers over photographs.
Yellow Spots: Many, many posts online by multitudes of people. REAL
Reception Problems: Demonstrated in dozens of Youtube videos. REAL
Glass Breaking: Primarily articles written by sites selling page views. Very few posts on message boards. I DOUBT IT
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A software fix seems extremely unlikely. This is not a "hardware problem" in quotes, it is an actual hardware problem. What's essentially happening is the hand is bridging the two antennas (cell on the right, wifi/bluetooth on the left) and thus changing its reception characteristics... this is a physical property of the antenna and not controlled by software. The iPhone 4 is particularly vulnerable to this because the antenna is outside the body instead of inside and is why the problem is fixed if you put the iPhone in a case.
Then why can it not be replicated every time? Why are there so many people who can't get it to happen?
Wouldn't a physical flaw be replicate-able on all devices?
I'm not saying what I said it right. I honestly don't know either. But I can't see how you can be so sure when there's this very big question that I can't answer.
The variable would appear to be the person's hand. Not everyone's skin has the exact same conductivity, how much sweat is on your skin would have a big effect, etc.
If this was just a software issue, that doesn't explain away why some people get it and some don't. All the iPhone's have the same software after all. I'm certainly no expert on radio engineering, but some people who are... including the person who wrote that blog post I linked to... seem to have a handle on what's going on.
I didn't say just a software issue. It's exactly what you said (with people's hands causing it) but it's a combination of the hardware and software together that was causing the problem.
I'm saying it's not just a software issue or just a hardware issue. It's both, working in tandem. I find it hard to believe it's only one, is what I'm saying.
The iPhone uses Gorilla Glass, previously used in the Motorola Droid, and the Dell Streak. It is tens of times harder than polycarbonate plastic, making it virtually scratch proof. However, anything that hard is going to be extremely brittle because the universe gives you a choice: soft and droppable (but scratched to hell) or hard and brittle, or somewhere in between.
Because people don't understand RF engineering. I have a Nexus One. Reports say that if you cup the bottom of the phone, it will drop service. However, doing that right now does nothing. If I go to the basement, and repeat the exact same action, it will lose signal. Why? Because it's already getting marginal signal and that little chunk of meat is just enough to make a difference.
My Prediction: Apple simply recalibrates how the phone displays signal, and MAYBE redefine how bad signal has to be to hand off to GSM from UMTS. They did this with the iPhone 3G. The phone, pre-patch would show -100db UMTS signal as 0-1 bars, after the update it showed 2 bars. The phone is still getting -100db of signal, but "bars" have no definition, they can mean anything. So Apple simply changed the definition to reduce complaints.
Your finger, if it bridges the two antennas, will still screw with your signal. You can't software patch that kind of design decision away. Get a non-conductive case (can't bridge the antennas if you're insulated from them), return your phone, or deal with it. Don't pretend it doesn't exist though.
Because people don't understand RF engineering. I have a Nexus One. Reports say that if you cup the bottom of the phone, it will drop service. However, doing that right now does nothing. If I go to the basement, and repeat the exact same action, it will lose signal. Why? Because it's already getting marginal signal and that little chunk of meat is just enough to make a difference.
My Prediction: Apple simply recalibrates how the phone displays signal, and MAYBE redefine how bad signal has to be to hand off to GSM from UMTS. They did this with the iPhone 3G. The phone, pre-patch would show -100db UMTS signal as 0-1 bars, after the update it showed 2 bars. The phone is still getting -100db of signal, but "bars" have no definition, they can mean anything. So Apple simply changed the definition to reduce complaints.
Your finger, if it bridges the two antennas, will still screw with your signal. You can't software patch that kind of design decision away. Get a non-conductive case (can't bridge the antennas if you're insulated from them), return your phone, or deal with it. Don't pretend it doesn't exist though.
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