Michelle Steiner

<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/07/02appleletter.html>

Dear iPhone 4 Users,

The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s
history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best
smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were
surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately
began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.

To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce
its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as
well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that
iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the
black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far
bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of
having a faulty antenna design.

At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of
emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone
3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What
can explain all of this?

We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both
simple and surprising.

Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to
calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our
formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should
for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when
we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several
bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an
area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are
erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their
high bars were never real in the first place.

To fix this, we are adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for
calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real
signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone’s bars will report it far
more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception
they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit
taller so they will be easier to see.

We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates
the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present since the
original iPhone, this software update will also be available for the iPhone
3GS and iPhone 3G.

We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are
the same— the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever
shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this
issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For
those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have
caused.

As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your
undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within
30 days of purchase for a full refund.

We hope you love the iPhone 4 as much as we do.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Apple

--
Check out the Hot Cocoa Party
<http://www.hotcocoaparty.info>

salgud

On Fri, 02 Jul 2010 06:29:01 -0700, Michelle Steiner wrote:

> <http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/07/02appleletter.html>
>
> Dear iPhone 4 Users,
>
> The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple¡¦s
> history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best
> smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were
> surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately
> began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.
>
> To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce
> its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as
> well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that
> iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the
> black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far
> bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of
> having a faulty antenna design.
>
> At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of
> emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone
> 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What
> can explain all of this?
>
> We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both
> simple and surprising.
>
> Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to
> calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our
> formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should
> for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when
> we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several
> bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an
> area with very weak signal strength, but they don¡¦t know it because we are
> erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their
> high bars were never real in the first place.
>
> To fix this, we are adopting AT&T¡¦s recently recommended formula for
> calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real
> signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone¡¦s bars will report it far
> more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception
> they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit
> taller so they will be easier to see.
>
> We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates
> the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present since the
> original iPhone, this software update will also be available for the iPhone
> 3GS and iPhone 3G.
>
> We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are
> the same¡X the iPhone 4¡¦s wireless performance is the best we have ever
> shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this
> issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For
> those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have
> caused.
>
> As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your
> undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within
> 30 days of purchase for a full refund.
>
> We hope you love the iPhone 4 as much as we do.
>
> Thank you for your patience and support.
>
> Apple

From Ars Technica (Apple haters) this morning:

"Apple's explanation that it always used too many bars¡Xespecially for users
in low signal areas¡Xsounds like the company wasn't doing enough to account
for interference or the other variables that come with overall signal
strength, resident Ars programmer and former GSM/RF Engineer Clint Ecker
told us. At the same time, the explanation gives us some pause¡Xwhy has this
problem in bar calculation only come up now and not previously if it has
been in practice for two years already? Furthermore, Apple's statement
doesn't address the very real issue of handsets losing up to 24dB of signal
strength from simple bridging two of the phone's antennas¡Xwhich is either a
serious hardware flaw or another error in how the phone detunes its
antennas.

Apple didn't give enough information to really know what's going on, but we
cautiously await this software update that will claim to fix everything."

salgud

On Fri, 2 Jul 2010 08:01:36 -0600, salgud wrote:

> On Fri, 02 Jul 2010 06:29:01 -0700, Michelle Steiner wrote:
>
>> <http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/07/02appleletter.html>
>>
>> Dear iPhone 4 Users,
>>
>> The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple¡¦s
>> history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best
>> smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were
>> surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately
>> began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.
>>
>> To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce
>> its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as
>> well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that
>> iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the
>> black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far
>> bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of
>> having a faulty antenna design.
>>
>> At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of
>> emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone
>> 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What
>> can explain all of this?
>>
>> We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both
>> simple and surprising.
>>
>> Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to
>> calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our
>> formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should
>> for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when
>> we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several
>> bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an
>> area with very weak signal strength, but they don¡¦t know it because we are
>> erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their
>> high bars were never real in the first place.
>>
>> To fix this, we are adopting AT&T¡¦s recently recommended formula for
>> calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real
>> signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone¡¦s bars will report it far
>> more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception
>> they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit
>> taller so they will be easier to see.
>>
>> We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates
>> the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present since the
>> original iPhone, this software update will also be available for the iPhone
>> 3GS and iPhone 3G.
>>
>> We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are
>> the same¡X the iPhone 4¡¦s wireless performance is the best we have ever
>> shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this
>> issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For
>> those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have
>> caused.
>>
>> As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your
>> undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within
>> 30 days of purchase for a full refund.
>>
>> We hope you love the iPhone 4 as much as we do.
>>
>> Thank you for your patience and support.
>>
>> Apple
>
> From Ars Technica (Apple haters) this morning:
>
> "Apple's explanation that it always used too many bars¡Xespecially for users
> in low signal areas¡Xsounds like the company wasn't doing enough to account
> for interference or the other variables that come with overall signal
> strength, resident Ars programmer and former GSM/RF Engineer Clint Ecker
> told us. At the same time, the explanation gives us some pause¡Xwhy has this
> problem in bar calculation only come up now and not previously if it has
> been in practice for two years already? Furthermore, Apple's statement
> doesn't address the very real issue of handsets losing up to 24dB of signal
> strength from simple bridging two of the phone's antennas¡Xwhich is either a
> serious hardware flaw or another error in how the phone detunes its
> antennas.
>
> Apple didn't give enough information to really know what's going on, but we
> cautiously await this software update that will claim to fix everything."

I find this fascinating. Apple doesn't know how to properly calculate the
number or bars? After 4 phones?

Or, they deliberately exaggerated the number of bars, to make it look like
the iPhones were getting better reception than they were. Of course, it
could have been an accident. But it is strange, especially that it happened
on a phone notorious for poor reception.

No need to respond to this thread, I already know who's gonna say what.

Michelle Steiner

In article <1ehuuf2j1oglx$.rrm5szmeuvow$.dlg@40tude.net>,
salgud <spamboy6547@comcast.net> wrote:

> No need to respond to this thread, I already know who's gonna say what.

Just as we knew what you were going to say.

--
Check out the Hot Cocoa Party
<http://www.hotcocoaparty.info>

News

salgud wrote:
> On Fri, 2 Jul 2010 08:01:36 -0600, salgud wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 02 Jul 2010 06:29:01 -0700, Michelle Steiner wrote:
>>
>>> <http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/07/02appleletter.html>
>>>
>>> Dear iPhone 4 Users,
>>>
>>> The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple¡¦s
>>> history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best
>>> smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were
>>> surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately
>>> began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.
>>>
>>> To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce
>>> its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as
>>> well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that
>>> iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the
>>> black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far
>>> bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of
>>> having a faulty antenna design.
>>>
>>> At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of
>>> emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone
>>> 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What
>>> can explain all of this?
>>>
>>> We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both
>>> simple and surprising.
>>>
>>> Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to
>>> calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our
>>> formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should
>>> for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when
>>> we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several
>>> bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an
>>> area with very weak signal strength, but they don¡¦t know it because we are
>>> erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their
>>> high bars were never real in the first place.
>>>
>>> To fix this, we are adopting AT&T¡¦s recently recommended formula for
>>> calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real
>>> signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone¡¦s bars will report it far
>>> more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception
>>> they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit
>>> taller so they will be easier to see.
>>>
>>> We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates
>>> the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present since the
>>> original iPhone, this software update will also be available for the iPhone
>>> 3GS and iPhone 3G.
>>>
>>> We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are
>>> the same¡X the iPhone 4¡¦s wireless performance is the best we have ever
>>> shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this
>>> issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For
>>> those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have
>>> caused.
>>>
>>> As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your
>>> undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within
>>> 30 days of purchase for a full refund.
>>>
>>> We hope you love the iPhone 4 as much as we do.
>>>
>>> Thank you for your patience and support.
>>>
>>> Apple
>> From Ars Technica (Apple haters) this morning:
>>
>> "Apple's explanation that it always used too many bars¡Xespecially for users
>> in low signal areas¡Xsounds like the company wasn't doing enough to account
>> for interference or the other variables that come with overall signal
>> strength, resident Ars programmer and former GSM/RF Engineer Clint Ecker
>> told us. At the same time, the explanation gives us some pause¡Xwhy has this
>> problem in bar calculation only come up now and not previously if it has
>> been in practice for two years already? Furthermore, Apple's statement
>> doesn't address the very real issue of handsets losing up to 24dB of signal
>> strength from simple bridging two of the phone's antennas¡Xwhich is either a
>> serious hardware flaw or another error in how the phone detunes its
>> antennas.
>>
>> Apple didn't give enough information to really know what's going on, but we
>> cautiously await this software update that will claim to fix everything."
>
> I find this fascinating. Apple doesn't know how to properly calculate the
> number or bars? After 4 phones?
>
> Or, they deliberately exaggerated the number of bars, to make it look like
> the iPhones were getting better reception than they were. Of course, it
> could have been an accident. But it is strange, especially that it happened
> on a phone notorious for poor reception.


In fact, that's their new plan -- peg the meter between 4 and 5. Voila!

Larry

Michelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org> wrote in
news:michelle-927E74.06290102072010@62-183-169-81.bb.dnainternet.fi:

> We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that
> incorporates the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been
> present since the original iPhone, this software update will also be
> available for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.
>

Sounds just like when the earth stopped warming and all-of-a-sudden CO2
became a poisonous war gas and Global Warming became "Climate Change",
caused by CO2 emissions.

"Bullshit" - Penn & Teller


--
Global Warming and Creationism are to science what storks are to
obstetrics...

Larry

Your Name

"Larry" <noone@home.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9DAA5D402A6Cnoonehomecom@74.209.131.13...
>
> "Bullshit"

That's good. Admitting what you are is the first step to fixing your
problems. :-\

nospam

In article <i0mlot$9lo$1@lust.ihug.co.nz>, Your Name
<your.name@isp.com> wrote:

> "Larry" <noone@home.com> wrote in message
> > "Bullshit"
>
> That's good. Admitting what you are is the first step to fixing your
> problems. :-\

some things are not possible.

Mike

On 02/07/2010 2:29 PM, Michelle Steiner wrote:
> <http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/07/02appleletter.html>
>
> Dear iPhone 4 Users,
>
> The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s
> history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best
> smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were
> surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately
> began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.
>
> To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce
> its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as
> well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that
> iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the
> black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far
> bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of
> having a faulty antenna design.
>
> At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of
> emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone
> 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What
> can explain all of this?
>
> We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both
> simple and surprising.
>
> Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to
> calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our
> formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should
> for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when
> we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several
> bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an
> area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are
> erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their
> high bars were never real in the first place.
>
> To fix this, we are adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for
> calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real
> signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone’s bars will report it far
> more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception
> they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit
> taller so they will be easier to see.
>
> We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates
> the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present since the
> original iPhone, this software update will also be available for the iPhone
> 3GS and iPhone 3G.
>
> We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are
> the same— the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever
> shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this
> issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For
> those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have
> caused.
>
> As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your
> undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within
> 30 days of purchase for a full refund.
>
> We hope you love the iPhone 4 as much as we do.
>
> Thank you for your patience and support.
>
> Apple
>

When I first got my 3G in august 2008 I got 2 bars sat at my PC, after
one of the software updates that increased to 4 bars. It may well be
apple has been deliberately conning people into thinking it had better
reception on it's phones for sometime but if it's not the 4 and just a
software fault why has no one complained about a similar issue with the
3G or 3Gs? Thre have been reception issues but I'm notaware the the way
you hold the phone was critical

I hold my 3g in my left hand (medium sized) and cover 75% of the back
most of the right side and the whole of the left side. The front, top
and bottom pretty much un obstructed with no change in the signal
strength whether I have the belkin silicon case on it or not. Putting
it doen makes no noticable difference either. Even making a call, when
the phone is almost completely enclosed, I still get a signal although I
can't see how many bars!

I love my iphone and was going to upgrade to the 4 but if I am in an
area of poor reception (not uncommon for me) but lose all signal because
I am holding it that is unacceptable.

I'll wait and see what cases and the update do before deciding whether
to upgrade my 3G to a 4 or look at alternative smartphones.

I could try and make my 3g last until th iphone 5 comes out ....

Mike