Signal problem due to software? Jobs says “What problem?”

By James Pocock June 25, 2010 5:51 am EST Comments

With the launch of any new device there’ll be a few hiccups at first. On the first day, some were reporting the iPhone 4 as losing signal strength when held in a certain way due to holding over the antenna, but a bit of recent testing may shed some different light on the matter.

Some users have recorded videos of the 3G and 3GS losing signal too, showing that it’s not just the iPhone 4 that has this problem, but that it could be a problem with iOS 4. It seems that a lot of users can still place calls with very little signal strength, and it may just be a glitch in the firmware, causing it to not display the signal strength accurately, showing it has having less coverage that it really does. However, not every device running iOS 4 has run into this problem, a lot of them displaying reception perfectly.

Steve-o response?

Of course, it wouldn’t be too long before we had some comment from the Cupertino chief. A user on the MacRumors forum, named samcraig, sent an e-mail to the man himself asking about the issue.

Samcraig: “What’s going to be done about the signal dropping issue. Is it software or hardware?”

To which he got a short and quick response:

Jobs: “Non issue. Just avoid holding it in that way.”

In a later email he adds a bit more meat to the bones:

“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.”

So, if you were one of the odd few that were struck with this and have been holding your iPhone funny to stop this happening to you, don’t fret too much. Knowing Apple, they should be around with a fix of some kind (if it’s a software issue) in the near future, so if it shows you have low reception, try to use it anyway. It might still work. If not, take Jobs’ advice and try out one of the many available cases, maybe check out Apple’s try at a cover with one of their Bumper’s.

Post a comment and tell us if you’ve experienced any signal issues, and if you’ve got around it any way or found you can still make and receive calls.

Via: Phonedog, MacRumors