This July, engineers from Consumer Reports reported that the iconic iPhone 4 can lose reception when your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone’s lower left side — especially in areas where signals are weak.
However, by then, Apple had sold over a million pieces. The company suggested an iPhone4 user should either change his/her grip or buy a case to keep the palm off the device. Apple claims all smartphones can lose signal strength if you hold it in a certain way. The iconic technology firm says it should know, having invested over $100 million building its advanced antenna design and test labs.
How antennas work
Cellphone antennas are placed on or within a cellphone to increase its ability to connect to tower signals. They are transducers, which convert an electromagnetic wave into an electrical current. Cellphones treat an electrical current as radio frequency. All antennas — including television, radio, GPS, and cellular antennas — can experience attenuation (reduction in the strength of a signal which is expressed in decibels or dB) whenever a signal is obstructed.On a mobile phone, signal loss typically occurs when your hand attenuates the most sensitive part of the antenna.
Apple admits that “...in our tests, iPhone 4 dropped from three bars to one bar when held in a way that attenuated the signal”. However, it claims the BlackBerry Bold 9700, too dropped (in Apple lab tests) from five bars to one bar when held in a way that attenuated the signal. In weak signal areas, this grip may negatively affect signal strength of the HTC Droid Eris too, it claims. The same holds for the Motorola Droid X, Nokia N97 mini, and Samsung Omnia II.
What to do?
While its claims are open to debate, Apple on its part has updated the iOS software to fix issues with the signal strength bar display on the iPhone. The iOS 4.0.1 software update, it claims, improves the formula to determine how many bars of signal strength to display on the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 3G. The signal strength remains the same, but the bars on iPhone will indicate it more precisely.
Besides, if you purchase an iPhone 4 before September 30, you are eligible for a case or bumper at no charge. You can download the iPhone 4 Case Program app from the App Store. iOS 4 works with iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 3G. A phone cover prevents the electrically-conductive skin of a finger from interfering with the signal. Apple is also offering refunds to those who previously purchased the $29 wrapper. The case giveaway may cost Apple, which has sold nearly 4 million iPhone 4s since the handset’s debut last month, as much as $175 million, according to Peter Oppenheimer, the company’s chief financial officer.
Meanwhile, there appear to be some other ‘tricks’ to solve the problem. ‘Consumer Reports’ engineers, for instance, say that you can cover the antenna gap with a piece of duct tape or another thick, non-conductive material. It may not be pretty, but it works. They have yet to test Apple’s new ‘case’ app solution.
It’s also been reported that rubber bands or Scotch Tape may solve the problem, but there are other remedies out there that could permanently damage your device or even void your warranty. Gizmodo reported that some users even resolved the reception problem by applying clear nail polish to the iPhone’s antenna points. Of course, we do not recommend it.