Reception
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TUAW Brain Trust: iPhone 4 phone calls
I have been having problems making calls on my iPhone 4. Whether at home or on the road, my signal strength is simply awful. The only place that I seem to get five bars is the Apple Store itself. I visited the Genius Bar there tonight after Mike urged me to report my signal issues. So, I did. I called 1-800-SOS-APPL, and I was repeatedly and strongly urged to purchase a Bumper. I declined, so the rep made me a Genius Bar appointment. The Genius hooked my phone into a laptop for diagnostics and told me that my calls were fine. The diagnostics showed no lost calls whatsoever -- in spite of what I experienced last night when I was repeatedly dropped from Talkshoe (see the image that accompanies this post). I ended up hopping over to a landline for the TUAW talkcast. Read on for the rest of the saga...
iPhone 4 antenna problems were predicted on June 10 by Danish professor
Well, this must be one of the most epic "I told you so" moments in the history of consumer electronics. Professor Gert Frølund Pedersen, an antenna expert over at Denmark's Aalborg University, managed to get his concerns about the iPhone 4's external antennae on the record a cool two weeks before the phone was even released. In an interview on June 10, the Danish brainbox explained that he wasn't impressed by Steve Jobs' promises of better reception, describing external antennas as "old news," and suggested that contact with fleshlings could result in undesirable consequences to the handset's reception: "The human tissue will in any event have an inhibitory effect on the antenna. Touch means that a larger portion of antenna energy becomes heat and lost." Machine-translated that may be, but you get the point. Researchers at Gert's university have already shown that over 90 percent of any phone's antenna signal can be stifled by holding it in the right place, but he's highlighting the specific exposure to skin contact as a separate issue to be mindful of. Good to know we've got sharp minds out there, and as to his suggested solution, Gert says phones should ideally have two antennae that act in a sort of redundant array, so that when one is blocked, the other can pick up the slack. So, what are we going to do now, Apple? [Thanks, Andrew]
The Jimmy Fallon Test: is the iPhone 4 dropping fewer calls?
If you watched the most recent episode of The Engadget Show, then you know that Jimmy Fallon had a lot to say about the iPhone -- particularly the fact that he's been fed up with his 3GS' dropped calls, and was planning a jump to an Android device on Verizon if the iPhone 4 didn't improve things. You see, he takes a path through Midtown Manhattan where his calls are dropped in two specific locations on a daily basis. In his words: "It cuts out at 27th st. and cuts out again around 47th st., and it's awful, I can't take it." Jimmy told us that he'd test the path with the iPhone 4 and see if things improved, and he's recounted what happened yesterday in an email: I did the experiment. I tried to stay on the phone from downtown Manhattan to Midtown with no dropped calls. (usually I get 2 drops) I got..... (drum roll) No dropped calls!!! Not one. I'm a believer. iPhone 4. So like us, he's getting better reception on the new phone (despite the antenna issues). What about you guys? We know that there are definitely noticeable, real signal issues, but how has your connection been? More dropped calls or less? Let us know in the poll below! %Poll-48600%
iPhone 4 antenna woes contextualized by dude in the know
It's the ultimate of ironies that Apple's externalized antenna array in the iPhone 4 -- hoped (and hyped up) to finally give us a phone every bit as good the rest of the device -- has become the cause of most rancor in the immediate aftermath of the handset's release. This morning you'll be rubbing both sleep and disbelief out of your eyes as you read that Apple's response to some people's reception problems with the 4 is to hold it differently. But, before we start ostracizing Apple as the singular offender here, let's hear from a man in the know. Spencer Webb runs AntennaSys, a company that designs tailormade RF solutions, and has himself worked on making quad-band transceivers for AT&T. As he tells it, almost all phone makers have now transitioned to locating their antennae at the bottom of the phones. This has been in order to move radio wave emissions away from the head (a shortcoming that a top-mounted aerial would incur), which the FCC has been quite demanding about with its SAR standards -- The iPhone 4, however, moved the antenna action from the back of the phone to the sides. This probably improves the isotropy of the radiation pattern, but only when the phone is suspended magically in air. Another great point made here is that testing done both by the Federales and mobile carriers might include the head, but never accounts for the presence of the person's hand. Thus, although a phone's antenna could test very well, it might suffer from such issues as those experienced with the iPhone 4. Mind you, this still seems like an assembly (rather than design) problem to us, since most of our editors haven't had any reception worries and we in fact saw improved performance on that front while conducting our review testing. Spencer himself has decided to buy the phone knowing full well about this potential limitation, and concludes on the note that "sometimes an antenna that's not great, but good enough, is good enough."
Hey Apple, you're holding it wrong
We're only holding it in the way that you showed us.
The science behind the iPhone 4's antennas
The iPhone 4's outer ring of antennas has been earning some grief lately as some owners have found that reception can change even based on where your hand is placed. Even Steve has weighed in on this issue via his itchy email finger. Spencer Webb of AntennaSys (an "antenna design" firm) knows the science, though, and he's shared a little outsider wisdom on how the iPhone's metal actually works. Webb starts by talking about the design of cell phone antennas in general. He says that most antenna placement these days is based on FCC rules about how much energy a device can send into a user's head; that's the reason most antennas are at the bottom of phones nowadays. Unfortunately, our hands are usually on the bottom of the phone, and the FCC doesn't test energy absorption through the hands, only through the head. What's the ideal way of holding your phone? You should hold it by the top, as if it were hanging in midair. Where does the iPhone 4 fit in all of this? Webb says the antennas in the new iPhone are on the sides of the phone, which means that, yes, there's potential for your hands to block energy. But there's always the potential for that, and Webb says that if you put your phone somewhere away from you and use a Bluetooth headset, none of it really matters anyway. What's the final verdict? Webb himself preordered an iPhone 4 to replace his original iPhone. Sure, the antennas might not be perfect, but given the quality of the phone (not to mention the experience), "good enough, is good enough."
Double Stevemails on iPhone 4 reception: "Just don't hold it that way"
With so much to do -- counting profits, making FaceTime prank calls to Woz, rubbing hands together and laughing manically -- it's hard to believe that El Steve is taking time out of his very busy day to answer his mail. Yet answer it he does, if our two most recent tipsters are on the level. Both are telling a very similar story about Steve's answers regarding the iPhone 4's gripping signal issues. [In the latest news on the signal/contact problems, Boy Genius Report cites similar issues with some 3GS phones as evidence that the problem is a software hiccup in iOS 4, while MacRumors notes that bumper cases or other coverings for the 4 seem to resolve the problem. ArsTechnica wasn't able to reproduce the issue right-handed, but only holding the phone left-handed and with some effort. WhenWillApple has some electrical analysis that's worth a read.] It seems Steve is happy to suggest the Mel Brooks approach to resolving the signal issue -- if we hold the phone that way, we won't need any signal boost. Tipster Rory Sinclair recounts today's email thread with the Apple CEO on his blog: So, um, just got my iPhone 4. It's lovely and all, but this 'bridge the two antennae to kill your reception' thing seems to be a bit serious. If I bridge them with my hand or with a piece of metal the bars slowly drop to 'Searching...' and then 'No Service'. It's kind of a worry. Is it possible this is a design flaw? Regards - Rory Sinclair Steve's reply: Nope. Just don't hold it that way. Rory pressed the issue once more, got the same response, and pressed it again, saying "Normally there aren't limits to how you hold a phone" -- finally getting this response from Steve: Sure there are -- every phone has these areas of sensitivity, depending on the location of the antenna. Some phones even ship with labels warning customers to not cover certain areas with their hands. Oooookay. You might think this was a non-answer answer, but it's the same one (or nearly) that reader Craig Brockman got from his email to Steve: Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases. Craig's correspondence was even confirmed by MacRumors, which was granted access to his email account and validated the message headers. That phrasing starts to sound like Steve has turned to the marketing department for some boilerplate copy, since he may end up answering a lot of these emails over the next few weeks. In fact, Engadget and The Loop say that this particular verbiage is the company's official statement on the problem, and both sites hypothesize that the Bumper cases may alleviate the issue. If you've got signal issues on your iPhone with your normal grip, be sure to let Apple know -- then come back here and let us know, too.
Apple responds to iPhone 4 reception issues: you're holding the phone the wrong way
So, we just spoke with Apple and got the straight dirt on the reception issues that have been plaguing users today... and it's a little surprising. In essence, Apple cops to the fact there are reception issues with the new iPhone -- namely, that if you cover the bottom-left corner of the phone and bridge the gap between the notch there with your naked flesh, you could see some signal degradation. Yes, you read that right: it's not a software or production issue, simply a matter of the physical location of your hand in regards to the phone's antenna. The company's suggested fix? Move your hand position, or get a case which covers that part of the phone, thus breaking contact. As you can see in the email above which just arrived in our tip box, this is a sentiment which runs pretty high at the company. Here's the official statement: Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases. We know what you're thinking, and we're thinking it too: this sounds crazy. Essentially, Apple is saying that the problem is how you hold your phone, and that the solution is to change that habit, or buy one of their cases. Admittedly, this isn't a problem that exists only for the iPhone 4 -- we've seen reports of the same behavior on previous generations (the 3G and 3GS), and there is a running thread about this problem with the Nexus One. While it is definitely true that interference is an unavoidable problem, we can't help feeling like this is really a bit of bad design. If the only answer is to move your hand, why didn't Apple just move the antenna position? What we can say without question is that in our testing of the phone, we had improved reception and fewer dropped calls than we experienced with the last generation, and we never noticed this issue. Additionally, when using a bumper we can't recreate the signal loss. So, now we have an answer... all we're wondering is whether or not the company will start handing out bumpers pro-bono to those who are experiencing problems. It certainly seems like the right thing to do. Update: To add a little perspective, check out a video from 2008 after the break showing the same issue with the now-ancient iPhone 3G (thanks Inge).
Confirmed: iPhone 4 gives fewer bars for lefties
The video speaks for itself. I held the iPhone 4 in my left hand, and when my skin comes into contact with the antenna, I lost two bars in a few seconds. My hand didn't change position, but I lifted up my hand to remove contact and those bars returned. I haven't tried this in a way that would confirm whether calls could be dropped, but Engadget is reporting it can happen. Update: MacRumors theorizes that the problem is due to contact with the lower left-hand corner of the phone specifically. Check out their video demonstration here.
iPhone 4 cell reception suffers when picked up?
Could this be the reason Apple is selling those rubber bumpers? Check out the video above and watch the iPhone 4's reception bars visibly drop. A magic trick? No, apparently skin and antennas are not BFF's. In fact, reception drops once your hands cover the metal bits of the iPhone 4. Metal bits which happen to be the antennas. In fact, this reception conniption was predicted on Fox's Gadgets and Games two weeks ago: "Having been in the cellular business most of my career, I think it's really odd that you'd want an antenna grounded by a moist hand." Check out the video; it's about 24 minutes in when MAKE magazine's Dave Mathews calls it. [The guy in the rightmost chair, with Andy Ihnatko's Skype-ified head floating above him? Our own Mike Rose. –Ed.] Plus, Gizmodo's ever-evolving crowdsourced review indicates the same issue with reception once your fleshy palms come in contact with the thing -- they've also got additional videos and testimonials about the issue in a separate post. Not great news for me and my Southern pals, since we're living in a soupy summer already. I'll test the reception in a few places around town tomorrow, hands and hands-free, to see what we discover. Thanks to everyone who sent this in, especially Wes for the video.
iPhone 4's seams explained, ready to solve AT&T call issues? (video)
When we first exposed the iPhone 4 to the world, many of you were skeptical about its authenticity. Frankly, so were we, initially anyway. A device with black seams disrupting its otherwise clean lines just couldn't be from Apple, a company notorious for its obsessive design aesthetic. Well, now that the iPhone 4 is official, Steve took a moment to explain that the stainless steel band is actually an integral part of the iPhone's antenna system -- one part dedicated to Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS; the other larger half to UMTS and GSM. Something that, according to Steve, has never been done before in a phone. We'll have to wait a bit before we know whether this "brilliant engineering" translates into fewer dropped calls for frustrated AT&T customers. But it's hard to imagine that Apple would take the time to show its antennas to developers if there wasn't a downstream reward for consumers. Remember, Steve did say last week that things "should be getting a lot better soon" on AT&T. Click through to hear Apple's loyal software developers ooh and aah over the iPhone's really cool ability to convert electromagnetic radiation into electrical current, and back. Amazing.
Google: Nexus One 3G issues result of poor coverage, bugs; patch possibly within a week
Looks like Google's investigation into the crappy 3G claims on the Nexus One are winding down, and it's a one-two combo of good news and bad news. First, the bad: preliminary findings suggest that poor 3G coverage factors into it, at least in part -- a believable story considering that T-Mobile has the smallest 3G footprint of the four US nationals. Now, the good: there's a software component to the problem, too, and the company says that it's already testing a fix. So far, testing is looking good -- so good, in fact, that an over-the-air update could be available "in the next week or so." It sucks that this partly boils down to crappy coverage, but we'll have to see where things stand after the patch gets rolled out -- and hopefully this'll serve as a high-profile reminder to T-Mobile that it needs to step on the gas (and to Google that it might want to expand its horizons). [Thanks, Wesley]
SNL: Google phone to challenge iPhone by "making calls"
Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update' with Seth Meyers joined the fray of people who were sick of AT&T's poor network reception: "It was reported this week that Google would soon launch its own cellphone as a challenge to the iPhone. Also a challenge to the iPhone? Making phone calls." While Saturday Night Live hasn't been funny for years (IMHO), and the joke was rather feeble, this is further cause for embarrassment from Apple and AT&T and just additional fodder for Verizon's case as to why they should have the iPhone. [via Engadget]
Poor iPhone reception graduates to SNL 'Weekend Update' joke status
"It was reported this week that Google would soon launch its own cellphone as a challenge to the iPhone. Also a challenge to the iPhone? Making phone calls." Cue uproarious applause. Update: Video after the break! Thanks Michael! Update 2: In typical SNL fashion, the video has been pulled from YouTube. Keep an eye out for a Hulu berth!
AT&T offers app so you can report crappy service. Huh?
In one of life's supreme ironies, AT&T today posted an iPhone app that allows you to report substandard service. That's right folks. Got a dropped call? No reception? AT&T Marks the Spot [iTunes link] is designed to get that info to your favorite cell company so they can act on it. Let's see... I don't have any reception, so I pull out my new AT&T app to notify them of the problem. Doh! No reception to do that. And the app even nicely brings up a GPS map showing where I am. The GPS signal is much more reliable of course. Look, I know AT&T means well, but the app is a tacit admission that all is not well on the AT&T network. I know you could travel to someplace with good reception, and send the data to them, but I think this app will rub salt in an already sensitive wound. [As readers point out, the app is designed to queue up the error reports and send them later when coverage is available. -Ed.] This reminds me of when I worked at a PBS station many years ago in Ohio. We had pretty weak reception, and the Station Manager decided to do an hour long program to tell people how to adjust their antennas if they couldn't receive us. I tried, and failed, to convince him that the very people we were trying to reach couldn't see the program. My pleas fell on deaf ears, so we did the program and great hilarity ensued as the local press chewed us up for our stupidity. AT&T says they will acknowledge the report with an SMS (and I assume not charge for it the SMS messages are listed as free) and I truly hope that they use the information they get to improve the network, because if it is just a PR stunt it is likely to backfire. There are already reports of people sending reports and not getting any acknowledgment. Oh well.
How would you change AT&T's 3G MicroCell?
We know, we know -- AT&T's 3G MicroCell isn't even out nationwide yet, but for those select markets that have access, we're hoping you'll chime in on the pros and cons as to enlighten the other folks before their time comes. By and large, the GSM femotocell works exactly like the Airave for Sprint, though this one does fully support 3G data as well as simultaneous voice and data usage. For those that have taken the plunge: are you satisfied with the value proposition? Is reception really any better? Have you ditched your landline yet? What would you change about the service or billing? Voice your opinion on the matter below, and remember, life doesn't present you with many chances such as this. Wouldn't want to waste it, now would we?
Using Skype to battle cell phone dead zones
Is the cell coverage in your area not up to par? Whether you happen to have steel walls or live where there are no cell phone towers or trees cleverly disguised as cell phone towers, some of us must deal with the reality that, while we own arguably the most innovative gadget in recent years in the iPhone, we may not have had the best carrier to accompany it. One way to address this "bag of hurt" is through the Skype [iTunes link] app. If you don't already have the Skype app, download it -- it's a free download in the App Store. Next, you'll need to make sure that Skype stays online when the screen is locked. This is accessible via the Skype app preferences within the iPhone's main settings page. After this is enabled, the Skype app continues to run in the background and maintains a Wi-Fi connection even after the sleep/awake button is pushed -- or if it's set to automatically lock after a given time interval. Second, because Skype requires a Wi-Fi connection to make and receive calls, you'll also want to make sure that whatever cell phone dead zone you're at also happens to have a Wi-Fi connection. This workaround obviously isn't without its weaknesses. Assuming that most of those calling you would prefer dialing a phone number instead of your Skype user name, you'll likely need a separate phone number. One option is SkypeIn, which marries Skype to a real phone number. The service costs $18 for three months or $60 for a whole year. And if you happen to have a Google Voice phone number, directing your calls to your SkypeIn number is an option. Alternatively, you could forward all of your iPhone calls to said Skype number whenever you anticipate a cell phone dead zone -- say, before you enter your house, if you have bad reception there. This is accessible via the Phone preferences within the iPhone's main settings page. Doing this, you won't have to give out multiple numbers to your friends and family. One of the other drawbacks of this alternative is that while an audible indicator (a ringing noise) is present when you're receiving a call, a visual one isn't. In other words, you may need some cat-like ears to know when you're receiving a call. A seamless solution this is not, but it nonetheless provides a possible workaround until more cell towers are built in your area, or until a push-based solution is available for Skype. Readers, tell us what you're doing to remedy cell reception issues. Be it a do-it-yourself tin can signal booster or anything else, let us know what's worked for you.
DTV switch rough going for some
Predictably, some folks aren't getting the same reception they used to now that analog broadcasts have (partially) shut off. An AP report featured in USA Today cited stats showing half of the 25,000 calls to the FCC on February 18 were because of reception or antenna issues. As we've known, the effect of the digital cliff and obstructions can make continuing to receive OTA channels a dicey affair depending on where you live. Some have given in and subscribed to cable or satellite, while others are still experimenting with antenna placement, waiting for higher power broadcasts or tower moves, and some have just learned to live without it. Any DTV tales of woe and/or triumph now that we're a couple of weeks past the first stage of the switch?
Video: DIY antenna makes good use of wire hangers, spare time
We've seen a few complicated DIY antenna projects before, but we've yet to come across one that makes building one so easy. MAKE has hosted up an eight minute tutorial on crafting your very own short to medium range OTA antenna using just a block of wood, a few spare screws, a handful of old wire coat hangers and a few general tools that are surely collecting dust in your garage. Seriously, it's almost too simple. Head past the break for a look at the video.[Thanks, Isaac]
AT&T planning femtocell trial later this year
Say it ain't so! We can only imagine that there are quite a few folks out there who will be absolutely elated to hear this news, so we'll get right to it: a femtocell is (likely) coming to AT&T. Nah, we haven't spied any in the wild shots of a rumored box or anything, but a carrier spokeswoman admitted to Unstrung that "as the nation's leading provider of both wireless and broadband, it makes sense that we would examine the potential benefits of femtocells for our customers." Better still, she continued by affirming that it was "currently doing testing in its labs and a trial [was] planned for later this year." Aside from that, we've no real details to pore over, but all we really needed to know has been said. Sprint and Verizon won't be the only providers offering up an in-home mini cell tower, and we'd say this can't possibly come soon enough for AT&Ters sitting squarely in a fringe coverage area.[Via Brighthand, image courtesy of 3G]
