So you're one of the fortunate (if not rabid) few who've found themselves the proud new owners of an Apple iPhone 4G. It's Dieter Rams inspired housing incorporates separate wi-fi/Bluetooth/GPS and cell antennas as two separated elements all around the case, a design decision which at first seems perfectly Apple in execution (except for the darn visible seam). That is until you notice "holding it wrong" drops reception bars faster than pants at a nudist beach. Don't fret, there are several ways to improve your iPhone's reception and patch over the danger zone.
Get the iPhone 4 Bumper: the rubber and molded plastic seems to hint Apple may have known beforehand about the antenna issue. The $29 accessory seems overpriced (and Apple has made it clear they have no plans of offering them for free), but user feedback has verified the accessory reduces, if not rids, the bar reduction/death grip issue. The bumper also allows the iPhone to placed face down on hard surfaces without worry of a scratch, thanks to the raised edge it provides, but the quality and fit seems to be an issue (alongside the colour selection)
Hold the phone THIS way!: Steve Jobs has replied to iPhone owner's complaints with a mildly dismissive (though completely Jobsian), ""Just avoid holding it in that way." The official Apple advice is to avoid gripping the iPhone 4G in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band.
As reported by AnandTech's excellent in-depth review of the iPhone 4G, the phone's reception is affected by "making skin contact between the two antennas does result in a measurable difference in cellular reception" because of the lack of insulation on the surface of the antenna to prevent impedance via the user's body/hand. For those looking to forgo adding any additional accessory onto their phone, this may require some readjustment of how the phone is held while in use. Annoying and troublesome from an ergonomic perspective.
Isolate or Move the microSIM Card: we're putting this tip under the "try with caution" category, but some MacRumors readers are debating the effectiveness of a possible fix where moving SIMs, covering them with electrical tape or trimming the size of the card to isolate it from the tray may reduce the antenna issue by a bar or two (some are reporting complete fixes).
The Budget Solution - Clear Scotch Tape and Live Strong Rubber Bands: a notable low cost discovery noted by a few iPhone 4G users is scotch tape applied along the area where the seam is visible works well at improving reception issues. A $1 LIve Strong Lance Armstrong wrist band can also be stretched to basically do what the pricier Apple branded bumper offers. Just be careful while stretching it and putting it onto your phone, lest you slingshot your problem away and create a whole new one.
3M Vinyl Stickers for Death Grip Corner: we actually thought of this immediately upon reading about the "death grip" issue; we've applied similar protective vinyl appliques for non-scratch protective purposes onto our laptop and iPod Touch, and we thought some of the spare pieces would work well at preventing body interference between the two antennas. Apparently so did someone else, selling a $10 strip of clear vinyl.
Personally, as someone who doesn't own a cell phone, but whose better half is up for a phone upgrade (iPhone 3G), we're advising holding off on purchasing the iPhone 4G due to this major issue. Bumpers, scotch tape or particular awkward holding positions does not make for an excellent design, and at the premium Apple is selling these phones (and AT&T chaining subscribers, problems and all, to two years), we only hope Apple takes care of the issue with a software upgrade, alongside a rebate for 1st adopters who will have to learn to live with the issue.
Ellen's Thirties Style Small Space
Juan's Garage Turned Modern Guest House
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Commercial Flour Sa...
10 Picnic-Ready Salads to Eat Outside
Recipe: Thai Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry
just avoid holding it this way.....what a lame excuse that apple fanboys will flock to.
The SIM card fix makes no sense and was debunked already by gizmodo or engadget, don't remember which.
@mfpants I don't think even Apple fanboys are buying this solution/explanation. Apple seemingly rushed this design out...this may be the ultimate "wait for the 2.0 hardware update".
it doesnt happen to me (& i'm left handed) my reception seems better than my 3gs . is it every iphone4
@mfpants - you should read macrumors, most of these 'fanboys' that you speak of, criticize apple more than the haters/fandroids do. the current consensus is that apple made a big mistake with an external antenna and a solution must be made.
i believe that apple wanted to enhance the signal with an external antenna design, which it does, but didn't test to it's fullest. perhaps the best solution would be to halt production, seal the antenna, and institute a recall.
if anyone can afford a red ring of death, and learn something from the mistake, it's apple.
A non-story that was blown up into epic proportions. Many phone exhibit the same behavior if held the same way. Only it was Apple that put out a phone, so out come the turfers and jealous Apple haters with their self-esteem issues.
@CygnusX1
All phones have the same issue in that the reception drops by a bar, maybe two. iPhone loses almost everything. It will drop your call. That's a huge issue. Unless you're an Apple Apologist.
I don't consider myself an apple apologist or a fanboy (I think the ipad is dumb, for instance) but my iphone 4 hasn't dropped any calls yet. I lose a bar or two if I contort my hand into the shape that shorts out the antenna, but in actual use my reception's fine.
I know it's the cool thing on the internet to trash anyone that speaks well of any apple products, but I love my new phone.
I've got a couple of friends with iPhone 4's, and I fiddled with one in the store. None of us have been able to get one to lose the entire signal or drop a call by fiddling with hand placement, and this was in Manhattan and San Francisco, the two cities with the absolute worst AT&T coverage.
It's probably possible, but then it's already possible with every other cell phone ever made. Meat blocks cell signals just like lots of other stuff does (concrete, heavy rain, metal, etc.).
Much ado about nothing.
Did you know that if you put your hand over the screen, you can't even SEE it! OMG! The iPhone is defective!
It sounds like the only real issue with the iPhones was the signal strength meter itself, which is erroneously reporting that cell signals are stronger than they really are. This was happening in both the older models as well as the new iPhone 4. Makes sense to me, since I've had my 3GS drop calls or have trouble making calls even when the meter showed I still had 3 bars.
I can't duplicate the dropping bars "issue" on my iPhone 4 no matter how hard I try. iPhone 4 reception has been tested again and again as being better than any previous model, but I guess that doesn't inspire blog posts, so the silly misguided hysteria continues.
Here's the fastest way to improve your iPhone reception: get an iPhone 4.
I'm with Rapunzel. English is important. Also you were right in the title, then you call it the iPhone 4G in the article.
2 bars... bad call quality... I researched for iPhone signal booster . I tried many tips, without success. I found Pong Research. This company works making cases for reduce cell phone radiation exposition, boost cell phone signal, boost wifi reception and 3G / 4G, and longer battery life. The Pong case have an antenna inside. I was skeptical about it, but Wire Mag tested Pong case on their laboratories, and say that it works, many reviews talk good about Pong, so I bought a case for try by myself. My signal is better (4 bars), the wifi reception is healthy, 4G strong. So I'm poppin collars with my case. About the cell phone radiation... the truth is that I don't care, but if it can protecting me, why not?