Anger as new iPhone 4 'loses reception when you hold it in your hand'

Users of the new Apple iPhone 4 are reporting serious problems with the new gadget's reception.

Dozens of videos have now been placed on YouTube, with angry users complaining about how the phone’s reception suddenly plunges to almost zero when they wrap their fingers around it

The problem appears to occur when the user holds the iPhone so that their hand covers the metal antenna that surrounds the edge of the new device.

According to gadget website Gizmodo, the new iPhone is frequently losing calls on the AT&T network with some users complaining that people on the other end of a call can no longer hear them once the signal drops to one bar.

Users have flooded Twitter with rumours about the problem and stop-gap remedies inclduing using tape to cover the bottom of the phone.

Early tests by the first people to get their hands on the must-have device seem to show the phone losing signal when people touch the bottom edge of it with their hands.

Technology website T3 has also reported problems and has run a test using Apple’s ‘bumper’ cover for the phone which appears to solve the issue.

Wired magazine points to a Danish wireless technology expert called Gert Frølund Pedersen who says that the problem is probably because the phone’s new antenna is built into the metal frame which surrounds the device.

‘Human tissue will have an inhibitory effect on the antenna. Touch means that a larger portion of the antenna energy turns into heat and lost.

'This makes the antenna less efficient to send and receive radio signals,’ he said.

Other users have suggested that problem is due to the user's hand completing the circuit between the antenna and the wi-fi reception.

The Apple iPad also faced some teething problems when it was launched with users reporting problems when they tried to connect to wi-fi. A software update sorted this problem out.

There have also been early reports of problems with the iPhone’s screen.

Launched by Steve Jobs as ‘retina display’, with an paralleled definition and number of pixels, some users in the US have complained about some yellow discolouration.

The iPhone 4 was unveiled earlier this month. At the time, Mr Jobs said it represented 'the biggest leap since the original iPhone'.

It offers video calling, a higher-resolution display and the ability to record and view high-definition video.

The new handset updates the iPhone 3GS which launched a year ago and sold more than a million units in its first weekend.

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Shake&Bake said:

How the fsck does that not get picked up in testing - by Apple, AT&T and other providers? :wtf:

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Everything was great in my little world—I was in Times Square with my shiny new iPhone 4. And then the inevitable happened—or what, I imagine, we'll come to think of as the inevitable. I tried to do the little trick where you hold the iPhone 4 just with your left hand and all your bars drop away until you have no service. Note to readers: Don't do this in a crowded intersection during rush hour. I felt my phone slip from my awkwardly positioned fingers—it hung for a moment at the end of my ear bud cord, like a bungee jumper moments before his cord snaps—and then I painfully watched as it tumbled over the curb in a sudden whirl of annihilation. The back glass panel shattered, and so did my heart. OK, that may be a little melodramatic…but I am really upset.

I shattered my phone hours after buying it, in the line of duty no less. If only Apple decided to make the back of the phone steel. Or rubber. Or leather. Or not ****ing glass, the most shatterable material known to man. But hey, I'm trying to think optimistically here; at least it wasn't the front screen that cracked, and the look gives it character... I guess.

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Budza said:

No loss for me. Where I ever to buy an iphone, it would not be in some fanboi style rush to 'have it first.' I wait for reviews etc, then pick up the best gadget I can afford. Better to jump on the bandwagon when all is stable than have to endure the bumpy ride at the beginning...

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bwana said:

We know the device was tested in the wild before hand so it really doesn't make sense.

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The iPhone 4 has launched officially today. Right from day one, the iPhone 4 had to endure quite the storm - people are scrutinizing the Retina Display, saying a yellow spot has appeared at the bottom, signal reception is reportedly flawed, the white version is going to be delayed and to top it all off, the special hardened glass that covers the iPhone 4 went through a nasty stress test that didn't end so good.

Some people got their iPhone 4 a couple of days early, but those were the lucky ones. Most people should be receiving theirs today - and those who didn't pre-order can walk in a store and buy one (or at least wait in line and try to get one). If there's enough in stock that is, which reports say is not the case.

The Retina Display on the iPhone 4 touts an incredible pixel density plus it should offer amazing image quality. It's not all rainbows and butterflies though - many users report seeing easily visible spots with yellowish tint on random spots on their screens.

For some it's a yellowish spot in the bottom of the display, for other the spot can take up a whole band across the screen. Not everyone is seeing it though - it's early to tell if this is a common problem or just a few defective units.

Update: Engadget seem to have got the likely cause for the yellow spots. It's supposed to be some sort of a chemical used for bonding the layers of the screen. What's more it should evaporate in a few days of use.

Another thing that Apple bragged about was better signal reception on the iPhone 4. Well, users quickly spotted a problem with that too. Obviously holding your hand tight over the bottom left corner will cause the iPhone 4 to go from zero bars to full and back to zero again, while standing in the same place. Check out this video demo by Engadget.

Reportedly, the problem lies in the lower left corner of the iPhone 4 - holding it with your left hand so that you hand touches that corner drops the reception bars all the way down.

In case you were eying a white iPhone 4, it'll be a while before you can actually get one. Apple says that it has "proven more challenging to manufacture than expected", so white iPhone 4s won't be available till the second half of July. Bummer. Gizmodo have a theory or two why that is.

And finally, the guys from iFixYouri decided to drop it - quite literally drop a brand new iPhone 4... on the pavement. The glass covering the front and back of the iPhone 4 has been strengthened to be much tougher than plastic and more scratch resistant. But obviously that's true (spoiler alert!) only for a head-on impacts not for side ones.

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For the first time, Apple support technicians have pointed at a manufacturing issue as the origin of the yellow bands and spots that people are finding in their iPhone 4's displays. There's no official word from Apple yet, however.

I too have the yellow discoloration on the bottom of my new iphone 4 screen.

I called Apple and they guy told me that it is residue from the manufacturing process and that they rushed the shipments out to hit deadline. He also told me that its just because the residue is not dry fully yet and it should clear up within a couple of days.

Pat Cain

Presumably, this "residue from the manufacturing process" is the adhesive used to bind the glass with the screen, as pointed in our ongoing coverage.

We are still receiving contradicting reports, however: At least three readers have said that Apple support has directed them to ask for a replacement instead of waiting for the yellow spots to disappear. Two readers have told us about this after Pat talked with Apple support. Naldien, a Gizmodo reader who got his iPhone 4 at the University Village store in Seattle, says that Apple Store employees there were aware of the problem:

"So, did you hear about the screens yellowing at all?" and an employee said "Yeah, if that happens to you just bring it back in and we'll swap it. We have tons of replacement phones in-stock."

Naldien discovered that his phone also had the yellow tint problem in his car, after leaving the Apple Store.

There is still no word about the other display problem that seems to affect a handful of users: White spots randomly distributed over the screen, resembling a constellation of stars.

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The ‘really cool’ engineering responsible for the seams in the steel band around the iPhone 4 – seams that separated antennas – did not envision users holding the device in their palm. The bottom left seam, separating the UMTS/GSM antenna from the Bluetooth/WiFi/GPS antenna, when covered by your hand, causes a significant drop in signal reception quality.

This issue, when brought to the notice of Steve Jobs by a disappointed user, was countered with a Jobsian short, but very dismissive reply:

User: I love my my new iPhone 4 (nice work) but when I put my hand on the steel bands I lost all reception. It appears to be a common issue. Any plans to fix this?
Jobs: Non issue. Just avoid holding it in that way.

Apple then followed up this with a official response, one that defended the iPhone 4 by saying all phones will suffer a loss in signal quality, if certain spots of antenna sensitivity are gripped. It’s a pity that the very spot that causes a problem on the iPhone 4 is one that has been shown being held by innumerable Apple iPhone 4 advertisements, and Jobs himself held it problematically at its launch.

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.

Possibly the most tragic (for Apple) part of the entire affair is that two (for now) of the self-developed technologies that it itself lauded, the Retina display and the marvel of metallic antenna body, are facing serious issues. This after all that testing; which in its long duration even resulted in some test units being lost.

A product recall is in order, especially after the flawed devices sold like hot-cakes, not a solution that asks users to cover one of the iPhone’s USPs. In the meantime, give out free cases.

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Apple states they know of the issue and their official statement is amazingly instructional:

"Gripping any mobile 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."

Reportedly, Steve Jobs was even kind enough to reply to some user emails - briefly, but straight to the point:

"Just avoid holding it that way."

Ok, we understand how clever it was of Apple to design the iPhone antennas in that way and we can accept new technology comes with its own quirks. But stating a right and wrong way of holding your phone with the latter able to leave you totally signal-less - well that's plain wrong. Not to mention even THEY hold it the wrong way on their ads.

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