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Just pointing out that for anyone I've ever met, the antennagate was just media sites drumming up page-views. I never had an issue, and despite everyone at my

by ssmoot 14y ago

Just pointing out that for anyone I've ever met, the antennagate was just media sites drumming up page-views. I never had an issue, and despite everyone at my office having iPhone4s and 4Ss, the only time any of us were ever able to affect antenna-strength was having a wet hand, and then purposefully applying a lot of pressure to attempt to attenuate the case. It could be the signal-strength display "fix" was hiding issues (actually, this is almost certainly the case), but in practice, it was never an issue, and the 4 had consistently better signal than any other device I've owned, including a GalaxyS2 since the iPhones could get a good enough signal in elevators that previous phones (both iPhone and Android) didn't. And despite being the same basic design AFAICT, never seen a mention of the issue with the iPhone5.

jscheel 14y ago
I could consistently re-create antennagate on my iphone 4 every single time I "held it wrong." I was forced to completely change the way I help my phone, permanently.
- dusing 14y ago
  You could have returned the phone, you were not forced to do anything.
  - tatsuke95 14y ago
    Typical exchange: Person A: Apple is amazing. Antenna-gate was mass media nonsense. Person B: I, personally, had major problems with the antenna. Person C: Why don't you just get rid of your phone then? No one told you to buy one. Or, I can demand the quality and service I expect from a premium product. What's wrong with that?
    - clarky07 14y ago
      If this makes you think it's not a premium product, or the best out there, go get a different product. What's so wrong with that? I want a pony, but dammit Apple doesn't offer ponies. Saying "I WANT A PONY FROM APPLE NOW" isn't going to make it so. Quit bitching and take your business elsewhere. If you happen to think the iPhone is still the best even with this problem, then get a case or hold the phone differently.
      - freehunter 14y ago
        I agree with Politician A on every point except one. So since we have that one disagreement, I'm going to vote for politician B instead, with whom I disagree on every issue but this one. One issue doesn't mean you have to hate the phone as a whole, or stop using it. The more acceptable response is to ask that the issue be fixed. Just because an iPhone has signal issues that are inconvenient doesn't mean it's not the phone that this person likes better than the others.
        clarky07 14y ago
        It's a problem with the phone. Apple offered a free solution, put a case on it. If you don't like that solution, what do you want them to do about it? Re-engineer the phone just for you and give you a replacement? It's not like this was a 1-off problem, like Joe's phone was defective so we replace Joe's phone. EVERY phone was made the same with this problem. You can't just "fix it" for Joe. It isn't a matter of customer service where they can just fix the issue.
        freehunter 14y ago
        You're missing the point. Just because there's one problem with the iPhone, no matter how many people it affects, doesn't mean it's automatically a bad choice if every other feature is what you're looking for in a smartphone. If the antenna makes a phone 90/100 but every other phone is still at best 80/100, does switching platforms make sense? It's still a valid issue to complain about, but not enough to make the decision to abandon the platform for some people. The point is, the iPhone is what these customers were looking for. They still like it enough to keep it, and they like it enough to complain when there are quality issues rather than switch.
        clarky07 14y ago
        I think you're missing my point. What do you want Apple to do about it? They gave everyone a free case with which it works fine. It wasn't a quality issue, it was a design issue. These are different things. No amount of QA will fix a design issue. What possible other response from a customer service perspective could you want here?
ZeroGravitas 14y ago
I believe (and some quick Googling corroborates) that the iPhone 5 has a completely different antennae setup. I believe they also tweaked it for the CDMA iPhone 4 and all the 4S models, so perhaps you've not been having a problem because they fixed it.
gnaffle 14y ago
Antennagate was way overblown, but it was a real issue for some people. With the right combination of specific unit (varying tolerances for the antenna / radio assembly) and cell phone coverage, you would run into problems. The iPhone 4S and 5 has a different antenna design and (i think) has some kind of coating on the metal frame to lessen the issue.
melvinmt 14y ago
I recently removed my iPhone 4 cover because I was sick of it and suddenly it was dropping calls and losing signal when I was holding it in my hand. I never had any of these issues back in Holland either (better signal perhaps?) but here in SF the problem is very real.
sixothree 14y ago
I never had a problem with the antenna on my iPhone 4... Until I switched to t-mobile. Then it was a noticeable problem. I could force it into 'searching' mode just by holding it wrong.

by ssmoot 14y ago

jscheel 14y ago

I could consistently re-create antennagate on my iphone 4 every single time I "held it wrong." I was forced to completely change the way I help my phone, permanently.

dusing 14y ago
You could have returned the phone, you were not forced to do anything.
- tatsuke95 14y ago
  Typical exchange: Person A: Apple is amazing. Antenna-gate was mass media nonsense. Person B: I, personally, had major problems with the antenna. Person C: Why don't you just get rid of your phone then? No one told you to buy one. Or, I can demand the quality and service I expect from a premium product. What's wrong with that?
  - clarky07 14y ago
    If this makes you think it's not a premium product, or the best out there, go get a different product. What's so wrong with that? I want a pony, but dammit Apple doesn't offer ponies. Saying "I WANT A PONY FROM APPLE NOW" isn't going to make it so. Quit bitching and take your business elsewhere. If you happen to think the iPhone is still the best even with this problem, then get a case or hold the phone differently.
    - freehunter 14y ago
      I agree with Politician A on every point except one. So since we have that one disagreement, I'm going to vote for politician B instead, with whom I disagree on every issue but this one. One issue doesn't mean you have to hate the phone as a whole, or stop using it. The more acceptable response is to ask that the issue be fixed. Just because an iPhone has signal issues that are inconvenient doesn't mean it's not the phone that this person likes better than the others.
      - clarky07 14y ago
        It's a problem with the phone. Apple offered a free solution, put a case on it. If you don't like that solution, what do you want them to do about it? Re-engineer the phone just for you and give you a replacement? It's not like this was a 1-off problem, like Joe's phone was defective so we replace Joe's phone. EVERY phone was made the same with this problem. You can't just "fix it" for Joe. It isn't a matter of customer service where they can just fix the issue.
        freehunter 14y ago
        You're missing the point. Just because there's one problem with the iPhone, no matter how many people it affects, doesn't mean it's automatically a bad choice if every other feature is what you're looking for in a smartphone. If the antenna makes a phone 90/100 but every other phone is still at best 80/100, does switching platforms make sense? It's still a valid issue to complain about, but not enough to make the decision to abandon the platform for some people. The point is, the iPhone is what these customers were looking for. They still like it enough to keep it, and they like it enough to complain when there are quality issues rather than switch.
        clarky07 14y ago
        I think you're missing my point. What do you want Apple to do about it? They gave everyone a free case with which it works fine. It wasn't a quality issue, it was a design issue. These are different things. No amount of QA will fix a design issue. What possible other response from a customer service perspective could you want here?

ZeroGravitas 14y ago

I believe (and some quick Googling corroborates) that the iPhone 5 has a completely different antennae setup. I believe they also tweaked it for the CDMA iPhone 4 and all the 4S models, so perhaps you've not been having a problem because they fixed it.

gnaffle 14y ago

Antennagate was way overblown, but it was a real issue for some people. With the right combination of specific unit (varying tolerances for the antenna / radio assembly) and cell phone coverage, you would run into problems. The iPhone 4S and 5 has a different antenna design and (i think) has some kind of coating on the metal frame to lessen the issue.

melvinmt 14y ago

I recently removed my iPhone 4 cover because I was sick of it and suddenly it was dropping calls and losing signal when I was holding it in my hand. I never had any of these issues back in Holland either (better signal perhaps?) but here in SF the problem is very real.

sixothree 14y ago

I never had a problem with the antenna on my iPhone 4... Until I switched to t-mobile. Then it was a noticeable problem. I could force it into 'searching' mode just by holding it wrong.