iPhone 4 owners report reception and signal issues; Steve Jobs responds

With the iPhone 4 launch just a few days old, a large number of users are already reporting reception issues that may be the result of the iPhone 4's new hardware design.

As opposed to previous iterations of the iPhone, the iPhone 4's antenna system is integrated into the exterior steel band which envelops the device. As a result, users are now finding that when they cup the newly designed iPhone in their left hand, the number of bars which indicate signal strength starts to drop before their eyes.

The video below showcases what is unfortunately starting to look like a widespread problem.

Interestingly enough, an antenna expert from Denmark anticipated [1] that Apple's new iPhone design may bring with it unforeseen reception problems.

The actual circuit board works as a part of the antenna and the metal frame around the coupler signal into it. But it means that the user can not avoid interfering antenna system with its touch.

… the human tissue will in any event, 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.

To be clear, the aforementioned problem only appears to manifest itself when a user's hand simultaneously touches the left side of the phone and the bottom left corner of the phone. Still, that's obviously no conciliation for affected users.

The problem, which has already been dubbed the "death grip", prompted several folks to email [2] Apple CEO Steve Jobs. 

One email stated:

Hi Steve,

So, um, just got my iPhone 4. Its lovely and all, but this ‘bridge the two antennae to kill your reception’ thing seems to be a bit serious. If I bridge them with my hand or with a piece of metal the bars slowly drop to ‘Searching…’ and then ‘No Service’.

Its kind of a worry. Is it possible this is a design flaw?

Regards

- Rory Sinclair

Jobs' reply was probably one he'd rather take back.

Nope. Just don’t hold it that way.

What followed was an avalanche of criticism directed at Apple and Jobs, and rightly so. It would have been much more appropriate if Jobs acknowledged the common problem instead of dismissing it with advice about how users should hold their own smartphones.

In the wake of Jobs' email reply, a number of sites have posted still shots [3] of Steve Jobs where he's using the iPhone 4 in the very manner he tells others not to. Also, Apple's advertising and promo videos of the iPhone 4 are filled with shots of users holding the iPhone "incorrectly."

In any event, Apple's official position on iPhone 4 signal/reception issues is as follows:

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.

Over the weekend, an unsubstantiated rumor popped up suggesting that Apple was planning to release a software update to fix the problem sometime early this week. The rumor was based on a supposed Apple support thread which has since been removed.

Lastly, and in response to another user complaint about iPhone 4 reception issues, Steve Jobs sent out [4] the following email this weekend.

"There is no reception issue," Jobs wrote, "Stay Tuned."

And stay tuned we shall.