*Or maybe your iPhone 4 struggles when your big plates of meat cover the antenna?
There has been much, much talk of how terrible the iPhone 4's signal is and how Apple must clearly issue a recall to fix this horrifying problem. The death grip has become a thing of legend. And the stink it's caused on the tech blogosphere reminds me of the Facebook privacy hoo-hah from 2 months ago (Remember that? When everyone was angry at Facebook? Swearing to quit using it etc? Yeah, that died a death didn't it?) There's even been rumours that tomorrows press conference is to announce that CEO Steve Jobs is standing down over the whole issue. Which is possibly the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard.
Firstly. The iPhone 4 has been out less than 30 days. If you are that unhappy with your iPhone 4, return it. Secondly, 2 million iPhones have been sold. And I'm not convinced this is as big a problem as is being made out.
But! Apple did release the update, and I installed it, and could finally get the death grip magic touch to actually effect my signal! At home I now saw a drop from five bars to four, and in my local, (a previous blackspot for signal) was able to get the signal to drop from 5 bars to 2 by applying the death grip. However, my iPhone 3G used to be lucky to get 2 bars in my local in the first place, let alone 5, AND usually when not trying to deliberately drop signal I keep my iPhone4 in a case anyway.
My own very unscientific conclusion is; yes, the iPhone4 gets better reception than my old iPhone, and yes, if you hold a phone in a way to cover the antenna, its going to interfere with signal. Try having a conversation via a V3 RAZR with your hand clasped over the plastic bottom and see how well you get on!
Some people are having a death grip problem. But, if a cellphone has only 1 bar signal, you KNOW you're in a bad signal area, and hold the phone accordingly. Once on my old phone, in the middle of nowhere I had to call my bank, no signal, the phone was fine on speaker phone in my hand with 1 bar. The whole 90 seconds it took me to enter all my account details and press the right options and listen to the recorded woman telling me my call was important. That was all fine. As soon as I was through to an operator, turned off the speaker phone, and placed the phone to my head, Call dropped.
My big man noggin blocked all the signal. I really must stop trying to crush walnuts with my man mind while in areas of low signal. But if that Happened when I had five bars I would be fuming! but knowing it was with one bar... I expected it. Apple is too blame here. Artificially enhancing the indicated signal, but not to blame for our own bodies interfering with signal strength.
Bad signal happens, Apple has now provided the information to deal with it. Man up and do so!
