Not too long ago Consumer Reports noted the iPhone 4's antenna issues weren't serious enough to skip on the release, writing "...there's no reason, at least yet, to forgo buying an iPhone 4 over its reception concerns." But after a series of additional real world tests, the iPhone 4's reception "death grip" issue reared its ugly head often enough for Consumer Reports to change their tune and offer an explanation about their change in opinion...
We reached this conclusion after testing all three of our iPhone 4s (purchased at three separate retailers in the New York area) in the controlled environment of CU's radio frequency (RF) isolation chamber. In this room, which is impervious to outside radio signals, our test engineers connected the phones to our base-station emulator, a device that simulates carrier cell towers (see video: IPhone 4 Design Defect Confirmed). We also tested several other AT&T phones the same way, including the iPhone 3G S and the Palm Pre. None of those phones had the signal-loss problems of the iPhone 4.
We're going to wait till Apple releases a software or hardware update which puts this issue to rest before we even consider upgrading from an old 3G model to the latest from Apple. Or perhaps in the meantime, we might find ourselves exploring the offerings from the Android platform, where the antenna issue seems less of a worry. There are plenty of opinions about the issue, as noted in our own recent post about the reception issue.
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Comments (6)
good to see more credible sources (not gizmodo) point out the issues of the external antenna. it should light a fire under apple's seat to take care of the problem.
if a hardware recall is in order than apple can surely handle this as their 'red ring of death' they've dealt with it before, and in fact are dealing with the Time Capsule issue currently.
i love my iPhone 3G and would love the iPhone 4 but i'm not willing to buy into a product that is universally accepted as a design defect.
Actually, it's not clear yet there's any "design defect". There are plenty of people out there who cannot replicate this issue with their iPhone 4's. If it were a "design defect", they should all suffer from it.
My guess is this may be a manufacturing issue - some obscure defect (or combination of defects) which impacts some phones, but not others.
@sunspot42:
Regardless of root cause, Consumer Reports, Engadget, Gizmodo, and thousands of users in Apple's forums are not wrong. They have legitimate issues with using a very expensive piece of kit.
The non-recommendation is a good call until/unless this gets properly sorted.
I am holding off on purchasing the iphone 4 until the antenna issue is resolved. I was all set to buy one until this issue came up. Apple should really just address and resolve it. Everyone makes mistakes, even Apple. The sooner they can admit this, the sooner they can get back to dominating the world. I own 3 mac computers and 3 ipods and am completely satisfied with all of them, which is why i am surprised by this antenna issue and Apple's lack of appropriate response to it.
I have been very happy with my iPhone 4. I don't seem to have the signal issue. I cannot recreate the death grip signal loss. I don't know if it only a certain percent of phones affected but mine works fine. I guess sweat or certain body chemistry affect it more for others. I have used without a case with no problems(the case I want is backordered).
There is a clear design defect. The problem is known. There are two antennas making up the metal ring around the circumference of the phone, one for UMTS and GSM and the other for GPS, WiFi and bluetooth. These are separated by small pieces of plastic. Bridging the two antennas by covering the small separating piece of plastic with your finger or hand causes attenuation resulting in a certain amount of signal degradation. If you have a perfect signal to begin with and bridge the antennas, you are not likely to see a change in the number of signal bars displayed. However, if you have 4 or fewer bars then bridge the antennas, you will likely see a drop and perhaps complete signal loss.
The only solution to this problem, aside from a complete redesign of the antennas is to use a case (or just not bridge the two antennas). If you live and work somewhere that has consistently good reception, this may not be a problem and no solution is necessary. In areas that are heavily saturated with att/iphone users already or have otherwise iffy reception due to the urban canyon effect of large buildings, i.e. New York, this is more likely to be an issue.
Again, this IS a design issue and simply pointing that out does not make anyone an apple hater, nor does it personally hurt anyone who has invested in an iphone 4.