Consumer Reports confirms iPhone 4 antenna problems -- and so do we
By Nilay Patel 
posted July 12th 2010 1:30PM
posted July 12th 2010 1:30PM
Of course, we couldn't sit around waiting for someone else to test the iPhone 4 in a more controlled way, so we actually asked our good friend Erica Sadun from TUAW to write us a bespoke signal strength app for iOS 4. Obviously we couldn't submit it to the App Store, but we've been running it on all of our phones here at Engadget and we can independently confirm Consumer Reports' finding that there's a serious signal attenuation issue with the iPhone 4's antenna -- every phone we've tested displays dropped signal when held with the bottom left corner covered. Now, what we don't know is whether that signal attenuation consistently affects call quality and data rates, which we suspect is more directly related to the network in the area; some of our iPhone 4s drop calls and experience low data rates with alarming frequency, while others -- like our review unit -- have almost never dropped a call and have had no data problems. However, now that we've confirmed and clarified that the antenna issue affects every iPhone 4, we can take on the next step, which is sorting out exactly when and where the issue is most severe. Either that, or Apple can do something to actually fix the issue -- we'll just have to wait and see. For now, check our app in action after the break.
Update: To clarify, "here at Engadget" is a virtual location -- our iPhone 4s are actually located across the country in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York, and we saw the app respond that way regardless of location. Dropped calls and other effects weren't as consistent, however, and we're still testing to sort out when the effects of the antenna issue are the most severe.
@pika2000 Yes, Giz totally beat us to our video of our custom signal test app. Spies, I say. Spies everywhere.
@Nilay Patel
I'm about to turn in my application to be an Engadget spy. But if your team is any good, you should already know this...
I'll just be enjoying my EVO with my hands covering all of it. :P
bottom line is Apple shouldn't try covering this up by saying it's a signal calculation issue! that is straight up BS! They need to admit they made a defective product. and give us free Bumpers atleast.. There should just be a full on recall. but that's not gonna happen.
@deepen03
Good news: Apple is coming through. Not quite offering free bumpers, but they are giving you a free bumper sticker. Placed correctly, it should cover the gap area and improve signal strength.
BTW: It reads "I Still ♥ Apple"
NICE!! Thnx a lot apple! I want my money back now.
Go ahead apple fanboys and defend this one. I have an iphone but I see it how it is and don't defend it like you guys do. If it has a defect then it needs to get FIXED!
@Juggernaut408
No one is trying' to defend anything. If you want your money back, take back the phone. It's as simple as that. No one is forcing you to keep the phone. That goes for you or anyone else.
I'll just be enjoying my Incredible with my hands covering all of it. :P
@kerrchdavis Yeah, baby, you go man! AN-DROID! AN-DROID! AN-DROID!
how is this problem was not reported in before?
This is going to be the funniest class action lawsuit ever.
Dear consumer reports
You're testing it wrong.
-- S. Jobs
I still want a white IPhone 4 but this is a dilemma in itself. Hopefully I get a free solution to this before I fork over my hard earned money. And no Im not thinking of jumping ship to sprint or verizon, I have great service with ATT at home and at the office. But this just makes people hesitate and think it over, and in sales you never want the consumers to think twice.
@drutyper
How to Shake the Apple Habit: Don't wait for a "free solution". Wait for a redesign. (And 'white' is not a redesign.)
I wonder what would happen if one carefully "painted" the antenna band with a few coats of polyurethane finish from a spray can (after neatly the rest of the phone). Perhaps something Apple should have done from the factory... but...
@RehabMan
Clear nail polish?
I never trust those CR anyway, they just get a kickback from recommending certain products. That happen to all the major reviews.
Hmmm direct contact with cell phone antennas. FAIL! Apple needs go back to the drawing board on this one.
Trust them a software update will take care of it. No ones buying (the bs). But they're still buying the phone. I don't get it do these companies not test the phone in every situation?
Throw bumpers at em! (should have been included in the box).
Who knew that CR had a magic deprivation chamber?
What's kind of surprising is the fact that not only is Apple not willing to admit there is a problem, but that they keep selling the units. I understand that halting sales equates to an admission, but they just seem to be making the problem worse.
I think there's a bean counter in Cupertino who should be polishing up (or editing) his resume.
iPhone... LOL. That's all I can do when I hear about this "phone"
Just avoid touching the antenna
-sent from my iPhone
My dad got his a week ago and it has the issue bad. I can replicate the problem on his in about 6 seconds. Mine just came today, and I am not having any signal problems at all for the moment. It seems as if mine is immune to the deathgrip.
1. Recall the phones. 2. Fix issue(s). 3. Return to/refund customers.
Everybody makes mistakes - Toyota, Nokia, etc. Consumers need to be protected. Both journalists and (sadly) consumers need to stop sugar-coating the issue because it's their beloved Apple. If you ignore or sidestep these issues it will set a dangerous precedent for everyone.
@shishi
you're doing it wrong.
1) release broke-ass phone and do nothing
2) ???
3) profit
Is it too obvious to predict that this experiment's findings will do absolutely nothing to convince The Faithful of the fallibility of their WonderFōn?
I don't think even blunt force trauma would make a dent in that conviction.
I dunno what the problem is! My iPhone 3G suffered from poor signal and dropouts at my office and my girlfriend's house. My iPhone 4 gets full 3G at work and full GPRS at my girlfriend's (I'm on o2 and it's more than people on vodafone get out there on other iPhones!). I'm using a £1 case I got off eBay and its great.
No issues with mine. Not one ^_^
@nilay
This sentence in the first paragraph...
"What's more, CR directly says that its findings call Apple's explanation of a miscalculated signal meter since the tests "indicate that AT&T's network might not be the primary suspect.""
...really doesn't read well. I think a couple words have been left out, or something.
@FNi
call "into question" Apple's
@NHAnimator
Yeah, he seems to have corrected the mistake now.
Thanks CR, in other news the sky is blue.
I have had my iphone 4 for two weeks now and almost every call I have made has been dropped. Not to mention it locks up, goes on speeker phone or plays the ipod out of nowhere. Called Apple and they want to change some settings on the phone and see how that works... I think I have a defective phone! One of many Im sure!
@Abalab
You also forgot to mention that you been trying to jailbreak it.
Give me a break.
Hopefully the fix for this will come a lot faster than that promised fix for iPad wifi issues...
Yeah, apple said it would have a fix for the ongoing ipad wifi issues "within a few weeks", and that time has come and gone!
I love my iStuff, but apple support has blown it big time lately!!!
I heard every time that gap is bridged on the bottom of the iPhone, a puppy's head explodes.
Looks like Apple rushed this one to market too soon. I'm guessing they were feeling the heat from Android and probably chopped the "real world" test schedule. Whoops.
@LANjackal
Up vote, because that's probably exactly what happened here. lol
@LANjackal
I'm no Apple fan or apologist, but now that I think of it ... the guy that lost the iPhone, he had it in a case to make it look like an older one. I really wonder if everyone they had testing it had to keep it in such a case and that masked this issue in the testing they did.
Surely they should have made sure to test outside the case too, but perhaps overlooked that in an effort to keep it secret (without much success there either).
@eliazar
That would make sense.
Also, they probably have pretty good reception at Apple HQ, so they probably wouldn't notice a signal drop if they tested it without it's case in their labs.
@LANjackal That's what happens when you're on an annual release schedule. Pressure to release on time often leads to mistakes.
It isn't exactly news that this affects all iPhone 4s, is it? Do you really think one more article is going to make a difference to Apple? The only things that will make a difference are a lawsuit or people returning their phones in droves. The folks that are holding on to them that are taking the wait and see approach are part of the problem.
Quick question though? I've had many phones and I can't really think of any except my P990i that I used without a case of some sort. I do agree that Apple should not have sold a device that requires any sort accessory to function at optimum though. So now that everyone but Apple has admitted it... Why don't folks who are dissatisfied just get a refund and folks who don't like the phone not buy it rather than ranting on tech blogs globally?
My 2 cents.
@djcarbon
I think that what's missing is for Apple to acknowledge the design flaw in the iPhone 4's antenna. That would alleviate (but not eliminate) the ranting. But let's be honest, that admittance will never come, not with Jobs' ego on the line, and especially after touting the antenna as a FEATURE and one of the best things ever to appear on a smartphone.
Just an FYI - I had an iPhone 4 that had the reception issue and dropped calls like it was it's job (at least 50% of my calls were dropped). Then I noticed that it was dropping calls with full 3G signal, not from a lack of signal. So, I called apple support and after a week of troubleshooting, the rep decided that it wasn't the antenna problem and I had a bad 3G radio instead.
I went to the apple store and got a replacement. 2 other people were in line at the "Genius" bar and experienced the same issue (full 3g and dropped call), both of which received new phones with no questions asked. Since I've got my new phone, I haven't dropped a call in about 2 weeks. The signal still drops a bar or two when touching the antenna but it's"not a big deal" if it doesn't drop the call.
Be warned....it seems to me like there is a bad bunch of iPhone 4's with shitty 3G radios and it's being pawned off as the antenna issue. Make sure to take a screenshot of the dropped call screen to see what your signal strength is.....because it will save a lot of arguing with the support reps.
@bananaramarama
that could be right. I got my iphone 4 last week and I have not been able to recreate the drop bar syndrome. LOL!
I just called my local pizza polar and held my finger in the so-called drop corner and nothing happened.
@pspitts well the antenna issue definitely exists, but you might not be able to see it due to the antenna formula that the iPhone uses. If you live in an area with a strong signal, you're good and won't nice it. My "Home" area is fine and I can't replicate the issue, but the hospital I work at was seemingly built with Lead and I can replicate the issue here with on a consistent basis.
Personally, I just wanted to make everyone aware that there seems to be a batch of 3G radios that are bad and it's being construed as the antenna issue, which couldn't be further from the truth.
It's so bad for us lefties, I cannot even pick up the iPhone in my right hand without loosing data or voice. I'm sticking with the EVO.
How much would it cost Apple to put clear coat on the antenna regions for the succeeding batches?
@Biggs
Trick question. None of the batches have succeeded so far. Nice try, though.