HOLD THE PHONE- A Reception Problem?
Firstly, I am posting this because I answered most of my own questions and secondly because I really want to help people instead of just feeling silly all the time.:Blushing: Finally I would like to say that no one has to believe this or anything and I really like Apple so if it seems that I'm a hater I apologize deeply.
Recently Apple admitted that there is a reception problem with the iPhone 4. Cases report signal strength bars being low in lots of places and even calls disconnecting halfway through. Admirable admitting, Apple!
It seems Apple responded in two different ways. Firstly, they promised a software update hopefully fixing the problem that seemed on occasion to pop up on the iPhone 3G & 3GS as well.
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.
reference-http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/apple-iphone-4-reception-problems-a-software-issue-fix-coming/
Yes, Apple acted admirably by promising a software update. However, it seems that Steve Jobs made some people angry by saying they have been holding their phones wrong!
"
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." Steve Jobs.
To me parts of it seem logical- using a case for your phone, especially the iPhone, is quite logical and seems to some just common sense. Cases are also good for protection, and in some cases have helped phones survive nasty drops.
People may tell me this, "Why would you drop you iPhone anyway?" but it isn't (usually!) on purpose. The iPhone 4 screen and back is made of enhanced glass, so it, in some cases, has broken easily. It has been reported the back has broken in a handbag, which is not good. But it brings me back to: 'A Phone + Glass = You Probably Should Get A Case'. I am not completely agreeing with Steve Jobs though, cases shouldn't be completely necessary, they should be a choice thing but I get cases for everything, and I haven't broken an electronic device
yet. Another reason you should get a case is because accidental breakage such as dropping your iPhone, smashing the screen etc. will not be covered under your warranty. So it to me seems like a pretty nice idea to get a case, and who wants the back of their iPhone scratched and dirty anyway?
When the next generation of iPhone comes (because it probably will) all this probably won't be a problem, but compared to other things it (as I have recently found out) can be fixed. I'd recommend a case personally because glass doesn't mix with anything really, and who wants to hold their iPhone all weird anyway?
Thanks to this investigation I will be getting an iPhone 4 soon, so I'm glad I did it. I hope someone here got a little bit out of it and I hope no one criticizes me too much because I apologize for not being as brilliant as helping people as you are. :Blushing:
missgiraffe