iPhone 4: Is call dropping exaggerated?

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RooseveltG
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iPhone 4: Is call dropping exaggerated?

Post by RooseveltG »

Is this problem real or exaggerated by a small number of disgruntled owners?

Roosevelt?
Geraldson
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Post by Geraldson »

I drop a LOT of iPhone 4 calls!
MichaelCorleone
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Post by MichaelCorleone »

I have the iPhone 3GS and love it, except for the dropped calls. It is particularly terrible when the other person also has an iPhone. I don't think the iPhone 3GS has an antenna issue, but AT&T probably has the worst network of any of the major carriers.
chaz
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Post by chaz »

Too many reports, and Apple is giving cases to buyers.
Chaz | | “Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." Woody Allen | | http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
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johnoutk
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Post by johnoutk »

MichaelCorleone wrote:I have the iPhone 3GS and love it, except for the dropped calls. It is particularly terrible when the other person also has an iPhone. I don't think the iPhone 3GS has an antenna issue, but AT&T probably has the worst network of any of the major carriers.
Agree. I have a 3GS as well and have problems with dropped calls and weak signals. I hate the AT&T service with a passion. I almost got rid of mine a month after I bought it because of it.
MichaelCorleone
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Post by MichaelCorleone »

If this actually happens, it will be FANTASTIC!

http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid ... 5gMo.E6RUo

The network and reliability of Verizon and the technology of the iPhone. Sounds great!
jstat
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Post by jstat »

I have more dropped calls with my iPhone 4 than I had with my iPhone 3G. Mostly a problem in places with weak signals. I do tend to hold a cell phone with the unapproved left-hand grip :shock:
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RooseveltG
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Anyone happy?

Post by RooseveltG »

Are there any Bogleheads who are happy with their iPhone 4s?

Roosevelt.
sommerfeld
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Post by sommerfeld »

Best summary of the situation I've seen. (Yes, it's narrated in Chinese, but the visuals alone are sufficient):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn-YesqzvNk

Seriously, it sounds like a bit of tape will do for most users, but, on the other hand, we generally tolerate a lot more unreliability from cellphones than we tolerate in our wired phones.
jstat
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Post by jstat »

I am happy with my iPhone 4, but I don't make a lot of calls; mostly use it for text messaging and e-mail. And tape does seem to fix the problem.

I already ordered my free case.
Auream
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Post by Auream »

I've had an iPhone 4 since launch day and haven't had a dropped call yet. It's replacing a 3G which I rarely had dropped calls with either. On the other hand, I don't make a lot of phone calls, I probably use 200 minutes a month tops.
shelanman
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Post by shelanman »

I don't have an iPhone, but am on AT&T's network.

I have about a 70% dropped-call rate on calls lasting more than 3 minutes.

My friends and coworkers with AT&T service, regardless of phone, all report dropped call rates in excess of 40%, so I doubt it is really a phone problem.

The "antennagate" problem of holding the phone "wrong" causing the signal to fail is real, though.
sscritic
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Post by sscritic »

Most reports about dropped calls for any model iPhone talk about San Francisco and New York as the problem spots.

Without knowing where you live and without knowing where the posters above have either had problems or not had problems, you may not get a good answer.
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gatorman
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Post by gatorman »

I live in N. Central Florida and have noticed very few dropped calls, The iphone4 is a great piece of technology.
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tetractys
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Post by tetractys »

The last statistic I saw was around 1% of iphone 4 owners complaining about dropped calls. One commentator said that the media hype is way out of proportion to that number. It could be that there's a little platform war going on here.

The AT&T network does have reception problems. And I believe their bandwidth is overpriced, something like $25 for 2Gbs.

I do not own an iphone 4; but do have ios 4.01 on a 3GS, which I'm happy with. I like Apple's method of multi-tasking, which does a good job of saving battery charge. I may upgrade to the iphone 5 when it's available in 2012.

I'm still waiting for a good ios 4 jailbreak, especially now since it has been officially declared legal.

Best regards, Tet
radlink54
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Post by radlink54 »

We have 5 iPhones (3 3g's; one 3GS; one 4g) in our family. I have a new 4g. The new phone is superior in every way including call quality & connectivity, at least here in metro Nashville. I think the phone is inherently better, and apparently ATT network varies with location. The antenna issue is way overblown in my opinion, I have a case on my 4g as most users choose anyway...I see there is a recent poll that 70+% of users are hapy with ATT. I am not " happy" with them but I was on Verizon before and found their corporate crippling of Motorola and Nokia products irritating as well. In any case here in mid America the 4g works great...can't speak for crowded major markets.
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stratton
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Post by stratton »

Spoof.

Condescending Apple Press Conference

Warning the middle finger is flashed.

Paul
...and then Buffy staked Edward. The end.
exigent
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Post by exigent »

My best guess is that there are problems, but that it's overblown.

I also think that your experience with AT&T's network is likely to vary widely based on where you live. Around here, it's been great, but we're in a semi-rural locale in old Bell South (Cingular) territory. Thus, our per capita coverage is probably way above average as compared to places like San Fran or New York.
Milo
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Post by Milo »

The following links are to articles on topic from one of my favorite tech sites:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/ipho ... signal-fix
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JMacDonald
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Post by JMacDonald »

Hi,
Here is an article about problems with the iPhone: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technol ... Apparently, Apple's iOS 4 issues aren't limited to the 2-year-old iPhone 3G.
Apple Inc.'s support forum is piling up with user complaints that their iPhone 3GS, which rolled out last year, is also experiencing slowness, drained battery life, intermittent crashes, rebooting during phone calls and other odd glitches after updating to the new operating system.[/quote]
What I find interesting is that AT&T is not being blamed for the problem. Gee, I thought Apple was perfect and AT&T the cause of all the dropped calls.
Best Wishes, | Joe
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stratton
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Post by stratton »

JMacDonald wrote:Hi,
Here is an article about problems with the iPhone: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technol ... Apparently, Apple's iOS 4 issues aren't limited to the 2-year-old iPhone 3G.
Apple Inc.'s support forum is piling up with user complaints that their iPhone 3GS, which rolled out last year, is also experiencing slowness, drained battery life, intermittent crashes, rebooting during phone calls and other odd glitches after updating to the new operating system.
What I find interesting is that AT&T is not being blamed for the problem. Gee, I thought Apple was perfect and AT&T the cause of all the dropped calls.[/quote]
Apple also took down the "examples" of similar problems from other companies phones on their web site after complaints. Especially since a few tech sites were starting to call "bullshit."

Ironically, it's still probably the best phone out there from a UI PoV.

Paul
...and then Buffy staked Edward. The end.
eggs
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Post by eggs »

1) It's the best phone I've ever owned.
2) I have to be careful how I hold it, or I will indeed lose a call.
3) Apple is full of it and completely in the wrong. But damnit, it's a brilliant device (see #1)

To give you an idea of how bad it is antanae wise, I can't rest it on the left shoulder to use my hands for something else. My pinky, when holding it in my right hand, kills the signal enough to drop a call. And this is while in a plastic body glove case.

I've adjusted my habits and it now works fine, but man can it be frustrating when I'm not totally paying attention. I never thought I'd get so into the apps and everything else. At this point, the phone portion is what I use the least I think. Super high quality everything, and the camera has come to replace my point and shoot now that its 5megs. The photography apps are very impressive and make it a lot of fun.
rustymutt
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Post by rustymutt »

MichaelCorleone wrote:If this actually happens, it will be FANTASTIC!

http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid ... 5gMo.E6RUo

The network and reliability of Verizon and the technology of the iPhone. Sounds great!
I had horrid issues with Verizon and switched to AT&T.
Even educators need education. And some can be hard headed to the point of needing time out.
exigent
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Post by exigent »

eggs wrote:Super high quality everything, and the camera has come to replace my point and shoot now that its 5megs. The photography apps are very impressive and make it a lot of fun.
This is the main attraction for me right now. I have a 3Gs, but the camera is a little bit... Meh. Having higher res and a flash would be very nice.
wander
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Post by wander »

Iphone 4 antenna problem gives me good excuse to end the long unwanted conversation. :D
creditgirl30
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Post by creditgirl30 »

I've seen a lot of things that tend to show that, as long as you aren't holding it in a really weird and uncomfortable way, you really shouldn't have very many problems. But also, some areas are definitely going to get better reception than others. And AT&T definitely does not have reception as good as other companies.
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