News/stories starting to circulate about possible reception problems with the new iPhone. Seems to be when holding the phone ,reception is dropping.

Forum link here
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=947585

Youtube link to guy showing problem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ixIHyEPO5g

Anyone else been reading about this?

It's intriguing, but why isn't everyone experiencing this problem? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxsZQ...layer_embedded

Bad batch maybe? Or just their location?

I think most people don't have theirs yet so we will see later today and then we will see , but I will be trying this.

Been keeping a tab on macrumors forum. Seems like it's happening to older devices that upgraded to IOS4, not just the iphone4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84Lpt2YkF3Q

With that video above, surely it is pretty common sense that if you pick up the phone then the signal will be weaker. In my old house I could get 2-3 bars but when I picked up the phone it would go down to about 1 or lose service. Where I live now I get full bars everywhere in the house because I live on a hill, but if I pick it up it can still drop to 3 or 4 bars because my hands are blocking the signal.

I do find holding it more lightly with the fingertips is usually better, it you clasp it tightly then less signal is going to go through, but you need to be careful you don't drop your phone! It has been the same on both my iPhone and Nexus One. It is just physics, nothing to do with the iPhone.

Its certainly not my experience that holding a phone causes the signal to drop. In fact most phones have the aerial positioned at the top or bottom of the handset so that its not covered by the phone.
This would seem to be an issue when the iPhone4 is held with fingers on the side of the phone.
Apple say its a firmware problem. Indeed there are other reports that call dropping is less of a problem than with the 3GS.
It will certainly be interesting to see whether this (and the screen discolouration) turn out to be real problems.

Well I played around with my 1st gen iPhone last night and if I held it, I did seem to lose 1 or 2 bars of service. I'd put it down and it would regain them. So perhaps all phones do this? Although it's concerning that people can take it all the way down to "No Service" just by holding it. That's surely not right.

HUGE list of people with issues (and videos) here

http://gizmodo.com/5571171/iphone-4-...e-antenna-band

Apple had said that the iPhone4 wouldn't have the issue that earlier iPhones had (because of the positioning of the aerial). We will have to see how widespread the issue is.

It doesn't happen on my 3GS. I wonder if people are earthing the antenna by touching the metal strips on the iPhone 4?

This is another reason why you jouldnt rush out to buy something a soon as it's releases. At least if you wait a few months any issues such as this can be identified and resolved!

Gawd, I'm glad I didn't rush out and get one. I'm lucky to get two bars where I live and I'd get none if I picked it up - how frustrating would that be?

I think the issue is touching the bottom section below the line and the above section at the same time causing the circuit. Although I have seen a few videos of it happening when they are not touching the bottom piece but only the middle section.
It is an incredible faux pas but it is also interesting that it is not affecting everyone. Which may point to a manufacturing error rather than a design flaw?

I don't see this problem at all

Neither do i... (so far)

But apparently there is some problem at the bottom left corner http://www.macrumors.com/2010/06/24/...m-left-corner/

Might be waiting a while for a "hands on" review then?

http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/8...hammertime.jpg

I've talked to a huge number of Vodafone iPhone4 users today and they all complained about bad reception. At least, I think they did, as it was genuinely hard to hear most of them!

Mark

being a left hander it counts me out then! what with the bluetooth limits and wifi only streaming and no flash it looks like its gonna be an android for me!

Well, Jobs was right when he says it's magical, it definitely makes the signal disappear

it looks like it could be a software issue, since IOS4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84Lpt2YkF3Q

No sorry, it is not common and not acceptable.

Mine is doing it, and it is irritating. Hopefully it will be fixed with an update?

I just tested this theory out by holding the phone and wrapping my hands over the entire metalic strip. Went from full bars to just one! So there is definitely some kind of issue.

This really isn't any more than basic antenna theory getting overwrought. Because the metal antennae are exposed, unlike in most designs, your skin can conduct the energy. Your arm become part of the antenna when touched. The fluctuation in the sensitivity bars is natural due to the changed impedance on the antennna but you're not really breaking the air interface by touching them, and evidenced of dropped calls on a launch day is nothing to get excited about. These things have been on test for months, don't forget.

Its made of metal and as such is as expected.
Metal stops signals so workrounds are the acceptable compromise.

Workarounds?