The iPhone 4 Redux: Analyzing Apple's iOS 4.0.1 Signal Fix & Antenna Issue
by Brian Klug & Anand Lal Shimpi on July 15, 2010 12:28 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- iOS 4
- iPhone 4
- Mobile
Final Words
The new signal strength visualization in iOS 4.0.1 is simply going to be more honest with iPhone users. Whether that's going to result in customers confused about why their phone performs "worse" after the update or simply get really mad at AT&T remains to be seen. In the area of Raleigh, NC that I live in, it's tough to get better than -90 dBm on AT&T without driving a few miles away. Even then you're only at -80 dBm at best. I literally have to drive for about 10 minutes to see a fifth bar on the iPhone 4 now in my area.
Not everyone will like the new bars but you can't fault Apple for being more honest with its users. We'd still prefer if Apple allowed all users to see a numeric readout of their signal strength if they desired, but this is a step in the right direction for transparency at least. Unfortunately, that's only part of the problem.
Yesterday Microsoft’s COO referred to the iPhone 4 as Apple’s Vista. I’d actually take that one step further and call this whole situation Apple’s first Microsoft moment. And I don’t mean that in a bad way towards Microsoft, but rather that as a result of Apple’s own great success, it is now susceptible to the sort of fire that Microsoft has been for years.
When Apple had issues with battery life in Snow Leopard, CPU utilization while playing MP3s in Mac Pros, or even SSDs in 2nd gen unibody MacBook Pros the backlash just wasn’t there. While Mac users care about having problem-free hardware, there simply aren’t enough users to really create the angry mob that has happened in iOS land. Well there are a ton of iPhone users out there. This isn’t going to be the last time that Apple feels the heat.
A large part of it is Apple’s fault. At any company that regularly introduces new products there’s this concept of regression testing. It’s particularly prevalent in technology companies that have to deal with things like driver updates. The idea behind regression testing is to make sure that anything new you introduce doesn’t break anything that previously worked fine. While the iPhone 4’s antenna tradeoff is largely acceptable if you live in an area with good reception, if you don’t then it quickly becomes a problem. This combined with some of the other Apple follies I mentioned above leads me to believe that Apple simply needs to test more. This is something I’ve asked for in previous Mac articles.
And Apple honestly should have been more willing to discuss the issue publicly than it has been. There's no reason Apple couldn't have come public with its own testing showing the same results we showed in our iPhone 4 review.
The phone itself delivers better battery life than anything else in its class, has good performance and a wonderful screen. Whether or not the antenna design manifests itself as an issue really depends on AT&T’s coverage where you’re using the phone. As a result, AT&T can also share in the blame here. As I mentioned in our EVO 4G review, Sprint and Verizon appear to have slower data rates but more consistent coverage wherever I use them. In comparison, AT&T generally offers higher peak transfer rates but reception that varies more wildly.
Criticism that isn't constructive is rarely useful, and as we’ve just shown there are things that Apple can do to address the issue today. Using a bumper the iPhone 4 behaves no differently than the 3GS. Hold the phone as tightly as you want with a bumper and it’ll lose as much signal as a 3GS or Nexus One. Put some sort of insulating coating on the stainless steel band and you’ll significantly reduce, but not eliminate the issue.
Apple iPhone 4 with Bumper Case. Image Courtesy of Sarah Trainor.
The third option would be a redesign of the phone’s internals, potentially even taking a step back to something more reminiscent of the 3GS’ antenna design. I’m not sure this is necessary because of the options on the table today.
Our original assessment still stands: Apple should provide free bumpers to iPhone 4 customers. Nickel and diming is never the way to maintain a loyal customer base. Introducing a non-conductive antenna band and replacing existing phones in the market also makes a lot of sense, assuming Apple has found a way to do that. Apple planned a press conference for tomorrow to talk about the iPhone 4 and presumably these issues. In a little over 24 hours we'll find out how Apple views the situation and what it plans to do about it.
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takkischitt - Thursday, July 22, 2010 - link
Hi,I've been looking everywhere to try and source the correct Kapton tape but I'm struggling.
Can anyone give me an extact model number and description so I can hopefully find the right one to order on the net?
Thanks!
Great article btw
crashnburn - Saturday, July 24, 2010 - link
Question is.. Am I better off with getting an iPhone 4 or a 3GSv12v12 - Sunday, July 25, 2010 - link
Wow this is hilarious... people are using tape and all kinds of MacGyver tricks and tinkering to get it to work "properly" or "better." WHO DOES THIS? Would any of you accept a washing machine that required a rubber stopper from home depot to properly seal in water? Or would you use some aluminum foil to increase your brand new flat screen's picture (hypothetically speaking of course)???RETURN the fscking thing, roll the dice and get another one, OR get a Droid or some other phone thats known to work?
The stupid masses have gotten HAD again... "OMG I've GOT to get the newest, (BETA) latest, greatest phone so I can be cool and waste hours of daily productivity playing around with it like a toy like everyone else..." Baaaaah baaaaaaah, said the sheeple. WAKE UP noobs, YOU DO NOT BUY NEW PHONES, until they've been thoroughly tested and de-bugged. Christ, anyone that knows anything about technology knows TODAYS devices are public-BETAs that the corps use YOU to test, while they profit from your fully-paid dollars up front, which they immediately invest in hedge funds and the stock market to recoop massive short-sell interest from, while YOU all are not only footing the bill for, BUT doing all the leg-work by testing the phones and reporting (complaining) back to them... I digress.
YOU all are the problem, there's NEVER been a "beta-test" type market like this crap we have today, bc YOU all have ALLOWED this POS beta-warez business model to flourish and take advantage OF US ALL... This is just a waste of txt, since you'll just keep buying and shopping to be "cool," and "hip."
Thanks a lot sheep... See you at the slaughter house! Please... AFTER YOU... I insist ;-)
kalleboo - Tuesday, July 27, 2010 - link
The android bars vary by manufacturer, they're not all exactly the same. My Sony Ericsson X10 shows 3 bars for -85 dBm/14 asu, contrary to this graphbubblesmoney - Wednesday, July 28, 2010 - link
On GSM or UMTS frequencies (between 870 MHz to 2170MHz around the world) used the noise signal floor is between -111 to -114dbm. The signal noise floor is that strength at which the signal cannot be distinguished from background radiation.The signal noise floor depends on the frequency of broadcast and not the device as far as i am aware. So the iphone cannot have a different noise floor compared to other mobile phones, unless Jobs got the governments all over the world to beam a special signal on a different frequency purely for the iphones!!!!
Anandtech has made a basic error in this analysis i think and consequently this whole article is wrong and meant to favour the iphone either inadvertantly or deliberately.
see post number 57 on the thread in this link for my explanation why this anandtech article is wrong http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php...
please note that -113dbm (some resources say -111 instead of -113) is the noise floor where signal is indistinguishible from background radiation. look it up in science webpages if you doubt what i say. so if the iphone shows signal to be -120dbm then that is an error. just because it shows a number does not mean that the -113 noise floor value does not exist in physics for gsm broadcast frequencies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson%E2%80%93Nyqui...
see gsm freq bands for the world here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_frequency_bands the freq bands (GSM AND UMTS) used in uk are between 870 to 2170MHz and for that the noise floor is between -111dbm and -113dbm and for the noise floor to be 120dbm the freq would have to be in 180kilohertz which is !!!! and bull as the freq bands used are in MHz so the anandtech numbers dont add up in the 120dbm small print, as there is no 180kilohtz band for gsm in usa or uk as far as i can tell!!!! and 180khz is the freq used for AM band radio and looks like the iphone4 is getting interference from 180khz AM band radio signals too as far i can tell from what anandtech says about 120dbm etc !!! yikes!
I would be happy to be proved wrong and to learn, but from what i have shown i am right! Noise floor depends on the frequency band of transmission rather than circuitry. In the UK Cellular mobile services operate within the frequency ranges 872-960 MHz, 1710-1875 MHz and 1920 - 2170 MHz so the noise floor would be between -114 to -111dbm.
It would be similar in the USA too.
see the rest of my detailed response elsewhere on other forums (post 57 of the thread on the link) http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php...
I hope there is a response to this comment of mine, from this articles writers or some other RF engineers, as due to the reasons quoted in my ananlysis i think this article by anandtech is grossly wrong. I would be happy to stand corrected if my analysis is wrong.
yes the signals can be sensed at -120dbm but that wouldnt be signals from commercial GSM or UMTS signals, it would be some other signals sensed by the iphone4 sensors and giving a wrong reading of the signal strength. As i said earlier the signal noise floor depends on the broadcast frequency and not the handset, so this article is wrong and grossly so as it is making assumptions of the iphone4 being able to sense GSM / UMTS signals of the order of 120dbm which isnt possible for the frequencies broadcast as per the physics involved. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson%E2%80%93Nyqui... that or Jobs and anandtech found some way to defy physics!
amariofrmdamoon - Sunday, November 4, 2012 - link
I've never seen kapton tape used that way, but a good source for it seems to be www.kaptontape.com. There are some other insulating tapes at www.maskingproducts.net. May be worth a try to see if some other cheaper tapes work in a similar manner. Anyone know if it works similarly with the iphone 5. Thanks!