Bought bumper, still having reception issue.

[JT1990]

Got my iPhone4 yesterday and I experienced the reception problem that everyone already knows about. Bought the bumper this morning and signal strength did not change at all. If I set the phone down, I get full bars and then when I pick it up, the signal goes down to 1 bar WITH the bumper on. My 3Gs gets full signal strength in the same room. Anyone else experiencing this?

Overall I am disappointed with iPhone4.

 

[Duvi]

Are you watching the bars go up and down? Or
are you using it? You do realize the reason they
haven't had videos while on a call is because it
isn't losing reception, just the bars due to a
software bug.

Also, I haven't had this issue at all. I've actually
attempted to cover as much as possible and did
not lose one bar.

 

[OTACORB]

Also, I haven't had this issue at all. I've actually
attempted to cover as much as possible and did
not lose one bar.

That only proves you are in a strong signal area. This has all been testing and gone over with a fine tooth comb. ALL of these iPhone 4's have this issue. The only difference is that not everyone is in areas where the signal is really strong. If I am at my office where the tower is right near us, I can't replicate it either. But when I get home which is about a mile away and I am likely on the same tower, I can replicate it 100% of the time.

The bumpers in most test have proven effective but not perfect, but in my own test I found using an old 3GS full body case actually provided the best results and I seen no loss of signal.

 

[JT1990]

I can use it, I can make calls and text messages. So what you are saying is that the signal bar itself is the issue?

 

[OTACORB]

I can use it, I can make calls and text messages. So what you are saying is that the signal bar itself is the issue?

Apple has reported that there is a bug that causes the signal indicator to misrepresent the actual signal. But the issue of the antenna is something totally different in my opinion. While the two may cross paths they are not the same.

 

[JT1990]

I never lose service completely, my signal just drops to zero whenever I touch the phone.

 

[OTACORB]

I never lose service completely, my signal just drops to zero whenever I touch the phone.

Yep in some areas I never lose signal either, it may just drop to one bar, in some areas I do lose signal and it says searching and then eventually no service. It all depends on where you are in relation to the tower and how much signal is coming to you.

 

[Duvi]

That only proves you are in a strong signal area. This has all been testing and gone over with a fine tooth comb. ALL of these iPhone 4's have this issue. The only difference is that not everyone is in areas where the signal is really strong. If I am at my office where the tower is right near us, I can't replicate it either. But when I get home which is about a mile away and I am likely on the same tower, I can replicate it 100% of the time.

The bumpers in most test have proven effective but not perfect, but in my own test I found using an old 3GS full body case actually provided the best results and I seen no loss of signal.

But I also used my 3Gs and my friend's 3G and
this was the case. My bars was going down. I
was on wifi, but his device wasn't on wifi, but
we would start a youtube video at the same
time and even with the loss of bars on both,
no hiccups.

I never lose service completely, my signal just drops to zero whenever I touch the phone.

Bingo... find a tube video of the call dropping
when touching the sides. If one exists, it's
rare.

 

[OTACORB]

But I also used my 3Gs and my friend's 3G and
this was the case. My bars was going down. I
was on wifi, but his device wasn't on wifi, but
we would start a youtube video at the same
time and even with the loss of bars on both,
no hiccups.

Bingo... find a tube video of the call dropping
when touching the sides. If one exists, it's
rare.

Once again and I don't think I can be anymore CLEAR! Your bars were going down, but they didn't go down to a point where you totally lost the signal. Why? Because you are evidently pretty close in relation to the tower. What if you were a mile away from your location a bit further away from the tower, would your results be the same? All the testing that many have done shows NO! Your call would drop and your YouTube video would quit playing.

Have you done any research on this, there are dozens of folks doing test after test on this. Just because you can't replicate it totally or can't make yours totally lose signal doesn't mean it isn't real!

 

[Duvi]

Once again and I don't think I can be anymore CLEAR! Your bars were going down, but they didn't go down to a point where you totally lost the signal. Why? Because you are evidently pretty close in relation to the tower. What if you were a mile away from your location a bit further away from the tower, would your results be the same? All the testing that many have done shows NO! Your call would drop and your YouTube video would quit playing.

Have you done any research on this, there are dozens of folks doing test after test on this. Just because you can't replicate it totally or can't make yours totally lose signal doesn't mean it isn't real!

I've done quite a bit of research actually. In fact,
I work in the industry and was a manager for
AT&T. Troubleshooting is what I get paid to do
and I haven't had an issue I have not found a
solution to. I have several friends in different
parts of the country that have experienced
these concerns.

People can "say" anything, but have you
actually seen the calls dropping after touching
it a certain way? Or have you only seen videos
of these users at the home screen having these
issues? Have you had the call drop when testing
this out? How many youtube videos have you
seen where your point is being proven (while a
user is on the phone)? I'm not saying this
hasn't happened to anyone, but the majority
aren't showing any conclusive evidence that it
isn't software vs it being hardware.

I was really addressing the OP, not the "world"
(or everyone else) and what is or isn't happening.
Maybe that's the case for you, but the OP
did respond, and stated he isn't losing signal
fully, but the bars are going down. And this
to me was the point of the thread, to see if
anyone else was having the issue and what
he could do to fix it.

My 3Gs or my friend's 3G was not having this
issue on 3.1.2 (my device) or 3.1.3 (his device).
Please explain this occurrence if it isn't a software
issue; in my case?

 

[rijc99]

Steve Jobs says if you are losing bars, you are holding it the wrong way. Hence, there is a known issue of placement of hands and it apparently is our fault. At is point there shouldn't be any arguments regarding the validity of this issue as Steve himself acknowledges it is possible. Except his solution is to avoid the lower left corner.

There have been videos on macrumor and gizmodo where calls have dropped, data rates slowed, no signal...

 

[OTACORB]

People can "say" anything, but have you
actually seen the calls dropping after touching
it a certain way? Or have you only seen videos
of these users at the home screen having these
issues? Have you had the call drop when testing
this out? How many youtube videos have you
seen where your point is being proven (while a
user is on the phone)? I'm not saying this
hasn't happened to anyone, but the majority
aren't showing any conclusive evidence that it
isn't software vs it being hardware.

My 3Gs or my friend's 3G was not having this
issue on 3.1.2 (my device) or 3.1.3 (his device).
Please explain this occurrence if it isn't a software
issue; in my case?

Sure people can say anything they want, but I am not talking about people just saying stuff. I am talking about myself and many others that have tested these phones. Not just one phone, 7 iPhone 4's in my case that all have this issue. YES, we've seen dropped calls, videos that quit playing on all of them. It can be replicated over and over a hundred times! It does matter where you are in relation to the tower and exactly how strong the signal is that you have as to if the signal with actually drop out all together, but it does happen.

Apple stated their was a bug in the iOS4 software that caused the signal indicator to misrepresent the signal strength. Maybe this is what you are experiencing with your iPhone 3GS and your friends 3G. I agree with you that all certainly sounds like it is software related.

However, you tell me how on earth that you can put your hand on an aluminum antenna band and that cause a software issue? Please can you explain that to me? It seem pretty darn evident that in all the testing that various professionals and individuals like myself have done would indicate this is likely a hardware issue. When skin makes contact with the band, it causes an apparent short, which then causes the signal be degraded enough that depending on how close you are to the tower, you may just have total loss of signal.

I am not trying to argue with you, we both just want this issue fixed or at least a solution. Hey nothing would please me more than to be wrong and this be fixable via a software update. I truly hope you are right and I and many others are wrong!

Read this article his test mirrors ours 100%. He even talks about the bumpers not being 100% effective just as the OP is saying.

htttp://whenwillapple.com/blog/2010/06/24/further-investigation-into-the-iphone-in-hand-signal-issues/

Is it hardware? Is it Software? Is it perhaps both on the iPhone 4?