Is the iPhone 4's antenna problem really that big of a deal?

I honestly dont know that well because i dont follow apple or anything, but it is my understanding that it is somewhat of a firmware issue causing this problem that is supposed to be patched in the near future (possibly already) and its not really that big of a deal.

like i said though, just going off what i heard from others

My boyfriend has one, and he has dropped several calls. We also noticed that when you hold the antenna, the reception does go.
But hopefully they will have that fixed by the time the white one gets to stores. But I know that they have the bumper things, but I’m not sure how well they work.

@DominicX There will most likely be a hardware tweak due to the negative feedback. I would hold off on buying one from the first wave. Wait until the next batch (or just wait until the 5, it will be out soon enough).

I have one. The antenna issue is not a deal breaker. I haven’t dropped any more calls than with my 3G. It’s an incredible phone.

The bars did disappear when I palmed it, but I don’t know whether the reception was affected. As it is glass on both sides, I didn’t want to use it without a protective case. A TPU case solved the antenna problem—it seems that the problem arises when one’s skin comes in contact with portions of the antenna.

@ratboy that must explain why my friend never has problems with his. He has a case.

I’m with @simpleD, I’ve had no problem with mine so far, and it is much better than the 3Gs.

Yeah. It goes away when in a case. Do you know anyone who has an iPhone and doesn’t use a case? I don’t.

Well, I use a “case” in that I keep it in something when I’m not using it to prevent it from getting scratched and such, but I don’t use a permanent case. I did for a while, but it made it too big and too heavy and I just prefer it without a case.

Mine works fine. I’ve done a LOT of reading about this and, based on my own experience, believe the issue is overblown. Yes, there’s definitely something going on with the antenna design (touching an antenna with your bare hand definitely can degrade the signal), but I’ve had no more or fewer dropped calls than with previous models, all of which I’ve owned. Keep in mind that the “bars” are only a graphic representation of antenna reception and not a completely accurate indicator. Don’t panic if you see them drop to 2 or even 1. The phone will probably still work fine and if it doesn’t, your geographic location (like in a building) and AT&T may be the culprits, not the antenna. BTW, I’m using a very thin “bumper” made by Rockfish, which apparently blocks physical contact with the antenna and solves the problem (if there is one). It also prevents scratches and dings. I highly recommend it ($15 at Best Buy).

AT+T blows, and iphone is AT BEST only AS good as the better androids.

At least until they get onto Verizon (rumored to happen this fall), I wouldn’t waste my time on an iphone…. I mean, unless you like having a phone thats a glorified iPod half the time.

Check this out. The “problem” may be solved.
http://www.everythingicafe.com/apple-makes-official-statement-on-antennae-issue/2010/07/02/

I was at Happy Hour with people from work last night and one guy has an iPhone 4. I asked him about this and he said he never noticed. Then a few minutes later he was showing someone else how it can surf the web and he lost connection.

Then he handed it to another guy so that guy could look at something on his Facebook account. This person complained about how long it was taking to get past the login part. I noticed he was holding it in his left hand and I told him to hold it in his right hand. He switched hands and it started moving right along.

An anecdote; take it as you will.

@tedd this will sound like blatant fanboyism but it’s true nonetheless. The wouldn’t be any android phones without the iPhone. The android phones I’ve dealt with lack the polish and user friendliness of the iPhone.

Aside from that I’ll say this about the antenna issue

1. Most people buy cases for their phones which fixes the “issue”

2. Most phones lose signal when they’re held snuggly on the bottom.

3. Almost 2 million iPhone 4s sold in a weekend means that a small percentage of people experiencing a single issue will be hundreds of people.

And thanks @Austinlad for posting a link to Apple’s official statement and that a software fix is coming.

@TheDeadWake You’re correct, without Apple and iPhone opening up the eyes of the world to how successful a phone of the like could be, you probably wouldn’t have android (though if I’m not mistaken google was working on it already when the first iPhone came out).

BUT, that having been said, given a few years, it appears as though android is already overtaking them. Many of the early droids did lack the polish of the iPhone OS, but most professional tech review guys will tell you that now its a matter of personal preference.

The fact is that the 2 best droid phones, incredible and evo 4g, and soon to be a third phone, the x, all provide better or equivalent processors, better cameras, all the same apps and some that are unavailable on iPhone (open source market rather than apple controlled market), they’re on far better providers (AT+T is really the biggest hinderence), they can use swype, and they tend to be cheaper in up front purchase price.

Apple is a status thing, like buying a lexus or a BMW. Sure the beamer isn’t bad, but its not better than an audi.

I’ll end the droid/iPhone arguement by saying yes, it’s a matter of personal preference.

Now Apple is claiming that it’s all an illusion. What a joke. Software isn’t going to fix this problem. The phone is defective and they won’t admit it.

Luckily it seems to be a problem more for left-handed people. I’ll probably still get the phone, but man, as soon as this contract is up, I’m going to look at some alternatives.

There are numerous cases which have a very slim profile and I’m assuming that those same companies will be making the same style for the iPhone 4.

Since a case solves the problem totally, it’s a non issue for me as I wouldn’t dream of using an iPhone without one.

When it’s time for me to upgrade this issue certainly won’t stop me. And I’ll likely get the best possible resale price for my 3G since there isn’t a single scratch on it thanks to my case. Best $15 I ever spent !

A good friend bought a droid because he wanted to be different. He loved it for about a month, but just recently admitted that he wishes he had just bought an iPhone.

@DominicX you’re right, the software fix can’t magically make the phone get better reception. Apple isn’t claiming that. They’re saying that the algorithim used to detect signal strength is incorrect and as such the phone is showing more bars than it naturally should depending on your area.

1. No, the media has blown it completely out of proportion. I just finished watching the apple press conference about it, and they said, .055 % of iphone users complained about an antannae issue, 2. You must hold the phone in a firm grip with your left hand covering the black strip (antannae), which in fact, does make the bars go down and may cause dropped calls 3. The cases they are now officially offering are completely free and resolve the probelm 4. You can return the phone for a complete refund within 90 days of purchase. 5. People are mainly not doing this because it happens while they are trying to make an important call, they are usually TRYING to make the bars go down to see if it actuakky happens, well here is some news, all phones do, my Samsung Eternity does it about 3 times as fast as the iPhone 4 and it has internal intannae. Like I said, people are acting like apple is trying to rip them off, when really, one of the best phones out there.

Well this is not my area of expertise but does anyone even remember when everyone complained about the 3GS dropping calls while nobody took the time to see its performance in other countries? Everyone blamed the iPhone but it was happening only in the states. Same for the iPhone 4, some have brought it over to Canada and there is absolutely no antenna problem here. It’s just fine.

@rawrgrr The reason why the blamed the iPhone for that is because everyone and their dead aunts bought one and it was felt that AT&T’s network couldn’t handle the massive influx of data users.