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back to article Apple speaks out on iPhone 4 signal slippage

The iPhone 4's signal loss woes - caused, it seems, by the way people hold their handsets - is a software problem, Apple has claimed. "We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising," it said in an open letter to iPhone 4 buyers. "Upon investigation, we were stunned to find …

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  1. ThomH

    So they've admitted to having made a mistake?

    That's peculiar. And presumably there's no way you could rejig a signal reading to give different results depending on what is causing interference?

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  2. Jolyon Ralph
    Thumb Up

    Aha! A cunning solution!

    "We found that if we show four bars or more regardless of how low the signal is, suddenly everyone thinks the phone is working properly!"

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  3. Bill Cumming
    FAIL

    Ignore the "Bars" and...

    ...Get the "Field Testing" software (Which was conveniently removed from iOS4) and get direct readings of the signal strength.

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  4. Code Monkey

    Sounds like

    Authentic frontier gibberish

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  5. DaveB
    Thumb Up

    Simple

    "I keep getting this red warning light.....can you fix it?"

    No problem sir we will remove the bulb.

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  6. Anonymous Coward
    Gates Horns

    ROTFL

    Yes, and I assume the data rate tests where it massively drops when being held were a feature as well?

    So Apple are basically saying:

    - There is a problem

    - We won't give free bumpers

    - We won't fix the problem

    - We'll make the problem 'normal operation' instead

    - We won't be sued

    - Bite me

    I hope this will get ugly. Either Apple will be driven to actually fix this, or Google, HTC et al take this golden opportunity to make the final push for Android devices to beat the iPhone in the next few months.

    I'd say that I can't see Apple recovering from this one, but unfortunately, they always do.

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  7. Azz 2
    Thumb Down

    Software my arse!

    I have an iPhone 4 and whilst I accept there is a real design flaw with the new handset, it has not caused me any issues at all. It's not an effort for me as a right handed person to hold the phone in a way that does not cause the drop out.

    Anyway, I have speedtest app on my phone and I can consistently kill the speed test by holding it in the deathgrip. If I then wait a few seconds and try again whilst not using the deathgrip, I get decent speeds again. And when I say consistent, I mean like ten times on the trot.

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