I phone 4 - two versions?

MOPI

Hi I have been reading up on the iphone 4 and there have been some rumours that due to antennagate Apple slightly altered the manufacturing of the iphone 4 to fix this problem. So later released iphone 4's have supposedly been modified/fixed. Is this true?

Thanks in advance!

r18rws

Only software which the older models can get via itunes. No hardware was changed to the best of my knowledge.

MOPI

r18rws wrote: »

Only software which the older models can get via itunes. No hardware was changed to the best of my knowledge.

Oh right. Do you own an iphone 4 r18rws? Do you have any problems with the antenna/overall use of the phone?

jayme1

what the problem is, is there is a small black line in the metal surround

as seen here

the metal band is the antenna for the phone network and the black line separates it from the rest of the band.

what 'antennagate' was is if you have anything other than dry hands then if your hand/palm 'bridged' that gap it would short out the antenna and the phone would very quickly loose signal.

there has been no modification to the hardware to solve this problem, apple has released a software fix but because it is a hardware problem there is no way to solve it with software.

apple used to give a free 'bumper' case with it and that does solve the problem, they no longer give them with the phone but if you call applecare and complain of antenna problems then they will send you one for free.

you can also use any other case to solve the problem or a 'shield' basically a sticker around the phone.
eg.

basically apple screwed up by putting the antenna arround the edge of the phone 1. because it it can easily short out if you have anything other than very dry hands and 2. because all the advice in the world has always said 'don't hold you phone covering the antenna' and apple put it in direct contact with the skin, if the theories that say microwaves are bad for you are right then that is basically the worst place to put a the antenna.

for you information the iphone was released in June and there is one every 12 months so you be buying mid cycle as a new one will very likely be released next June.

gjchester

As an iphone 4 owner the "black band" on the left logic is rubbish. There are three such splits, one as indicated above, one by the headphone socket and one on left side. To say one particulart one is at fault is wrong.

My previous phone was an experia X1, the iphones reception is far better than the X1. Does it drop calls? Yes of course it does as cellphone reception drops, however then iPhone 4 gets far better reception than the X1 ever did in any paticular area.

The X1 seemed to have a paricularly bad cellphone radio, so other phones may vary, but iphone 4 seems to be much better than my prior smarphones for receptions.

It's not perfect by any means just a shed load better than my X1.

gjchester

jayme1 wrote: »

, if the theories that say microwaves are bad for you are right then that is basically the worst place to put a the antenna.

Depends what you measure.

If you measure SAR ratings then the inverse square rule applies so the further away from the brain the better, so Apple putting the antennae at the bottom of the case away from the brain is better as you get a far lower SAR. Great for California who really care about SAR over opther measurements

However the hands present a different RF issue, so you either get a fried brain or fried mitts...

jayme1

gjchester wrote: »

As an iphone 4 owner the "black band" on the left logic is rubbish. There are three such splits, one as indicated above, one by the headphone socket and one on left side. To say one particulart one is at fault is wrong.

actually yes there are a few reasons why that specific one is at fault
first if you look at this picture of the antenna structure (it is as if the screen is facing toward you)


as you can see the 'break' on the right hand side of the phone is purely aesthetic so you can cover or bridge that gap all you want you will never 'short' that conection out.

therefore only the top and left hand sides have the actual 'breaks' where the black strip is the insulator between the two antennas.

therefore both can easily short out the GSM antenna

the reason specifically the left hand one is the problem is simply because that is the one which frequently gets bridged in the normal way you hold the device eg in a call or texting. the top one is not the problem because there is no natural way to hold the device where you would ever bridge that gap.

here are a few more pictures proving above (these are viewed from the back of the phone)
http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/y1RInG6BsFCuADov.huge
http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/agEp5WGlTfFxY2aF.huge (top one)
http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/sNkmwEEXdeupb2DU.huge
http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/LDVKAOLYTCevDEpv.huge
http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/uSvaGasZUBorLXIC.huge
http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/EwxLvQaRQQACkXjA.huge
http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/LEUdIh3LJhgjQuCD.huge
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone-4-Teardown/3130/1

r18rws

MOPI wrote: »

Oh right. Do you own an iphone 4 r18rws? Do you have any problems with the antenna/overall use of the phone?

Yes, Moved to the Iphone 4 form 3GS and massive improvement.

No antenna issues to report here.

I use the invisible shield from Zagg (carphonewarehouse supplied it), very good coverage for protection and I assume resolved the issue. I installed form day one to avoid scratches etc but signal is basically the same as the previous iphone version

MOPI

r18rws wrote: »

Yes, Moved to the Iphone 4 form 3GS and massive improvement.

No antenna issues to report here.

I use the invisible shield from Zagg (carphonewarehouse supplied it), very good coverage for protection and I assume resolved the issue. I installed form day one to avoid scratches etc but signal is basically the same as the previous iphone version

Do you think the case is the main reason why you don't have problems with the coverage?

Thanks

gjchester

MOPI wrote: »

Do you think the case is the main reason why you don't have problems with the coverage?

Thanks

I don't use a permanantly on case, just a sock type case to stop it being scratched in my pocket.

My iphone has coverage issues in places. Then agian my wifes Krzr K1 old motorola has the same lack of coverage in the same places, as we#'re both on Vodafone.

The Iphones radio is as good as any other phones on the market, does it drop calls, undoubtably from time to time but no more than any other phone I've had, and as I said I actually think it's better than prior phones I've had. I work in a concrete and steel building and I get better reception in it on the iphone, than others. Is it great reception, no, but many of my workmates don't even get a signal.

chelseablue

Ive had an iphone 4 for just over a month, on T-Mobile.

I have had no signal problems and no problems with phone calls

Best phone Ive had, in my opinion