Apple letter about iPhone 4 • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#41

Post by adam_albrecht » Fri, Jul 02, 2010, 1:34 PM UTC

ttol wrote: post #32

I could care less about the signal problem. The proximity sensor thing is insanely annoying. I am much much more likely to end the call or put it on mute than I am to drop the call due to reception issues. I've exchanged the phone once already and the replacement phone has the same issue. At first, I thought it was my face (shape? texture?), or the way I was holding it (am I suppose to push it with force against my e…

I've had the exact same problem, but this is the first I've heard of someone else having it.

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#42

Post by ttol » Fri, Jul 02, 2010, 1:36 PM UTC

d_r wrote: post #38

ttol wrote: post #32

I could care less about the signal problem. The proximity sensor thing is insanely annoying. I am much much more likely to end the call or put it on mute than I am to drop the call due to reception issues. I've exchanged the phone once already and the replacement phone has the same issue. At first, I thought it was my face (shape? texture?), or the way I was holding it (am I suppose to push it with force against my e…

I second that. I love my iPhone 4, but the proximity sensor problem causes me to accidentally mute calls, call random people in my contacts list, etc., etc. It is beyond frustrating and I'm surprised there hasn't been a greater mention of this. There is a lengthy thread on Apple forums about this issue, with no resolution: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2475509&#3...

yea, while the antenna is arguably theoretical/subjective (apple: faulty formula / world: rdf?), the proximity sensor is very real and affects calls now. i too am also surprised people are focusing on antenna and not proximity.

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#43

Post by joblessjunkie » Fri, Jul 02, 2010, 1:38 PM UTC

I actually believe them.

I can't recall ever seeing my iPhone report 2 or 3 bars -- it's always a very low or very high signal indication. And yet, so many times I've gotten bad performances at "full signal"...

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#44

Post by bombs » Fri, Jul 02, 2010, 1:38 PM UTC

jokermatt999 wrote: post #29

bombs wrote: post #9

"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." This is more pragmatic than bitching on the Internet (I concede a difference between investing and reporting these problems and merely bitching) or class action lawsuits[1]. Vote with your wallet, eh? [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/ite…

Would there be issues with an early termination fee or the contract?

AT&T have a fee-free 30-day cancellation policy [1]. AT&T will refund any activation fees, but you're still liable for any usage fees.

If you cancel after the 30 days, there is an early termination fee of $325.00 (minus $10.00 for each completed month).

[1] http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/specials/iPho...

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#45

Post by ttol » Fri, Jul 02, 2010, 1:38 PM UTC

adam_albrecht wrote: post #41

ttol wrote: post #32

I could care less about the signal problem. The proximity sensor thing is insanely annoying. I am much much more likely to end the call or put it on mute than I am to drop the call due to reception issues. I've exchanged the phone once already and the replacement phone has the same issue. At first, I thought it was my face (shape? texture?), or the way I was holding it (am I suppose to push it with force against my e…

I've had the exact same problem, but this is the first I've heard of someone else having it.

isn't it a relief to know it's not your face and not the way you're holding it? once i found out others were experiencing it, it was a great relief. you can now stop doing hand gymnastics with the phone and wait for some fix too.

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#46

Post by mechanical_fish » Fri, Jul 02, 2010, 1:38 PM UTC

r0h4n wrote: post #8

My palm is pretty big, and when i fully cover my nokia 1100 cell phone, not a single bar of network is lost. Stop Covering up Apple, and admit that you guys committed a mistake.

My phone has six bars, and they never, ever go away, even when the phone is powered off. Take that!

(Electrical engineering textbooks should come with warning labels. "DANGER: once you understand how reality works, human psychology will occasionally give you migraines.")

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#47

Post by woodrow » Fri, Jul 02, 2010, 1:39 PM UTC

Does anyone else feel this letter seems strangely/hastily/poorly written for corporate communication?

It uses terms/expressions like "totally wrong", "Their big drop in bars", "the iPhone’s bars", pretty much anything that mentions "bars", etc.

Or do you think this is just about keeping it colloquial, so it sounds like a real email from one of your friends?

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#48

Post by shade » Fri, Jul 02, 2010, 1:39 PM UTC

jokermatt999 wrote: post #29

bombs wrote: post #9

"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." This is more pragmatic than bitching on the Internet (I concede a difference between investing and reporting these problems and merely bitching) or class action lawsuits[1]. Vote with your wallet, eh? [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/ite…

Would there be issues with an early termination fee or the contract?

There shouldn't be. I believe most cell companies give you a 30 day window to change your mind and cancel service.

Verizon does, and I ended up taking advantage of that when I returned the Droid and switched back to the iPhone after 2 weeks. Unfortunately, because Verizon's billing department is terrible, they charged me the ETF even though they shouldn't have and I had to go talk to a CSR to get it removed.

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#49

Post by yumraj » Fri, Jul 02, 2010, 1:40 PM UTC

Am I missing something here, but if there is a bug in how they calculate bars shouldn't it apply equally in all the cases.

for example, if signal == some-weak-signal, then bars = 5 then, if signal == some-weak-signal - 1 (for example), then shouldn't bars = 4 instead of bars = 0 (or 1).

This seems like horseshit to me. Though it seems people are buying this explanation, so as far is Apple is concerned, it worked.

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#50

Post by marknutter » Fri, Jul 02, 2010, 1:41 PM UTC

ttol wrote: post #32

I could care less about the signal problem. The proximity sensor thing is insanely annoying. I am much much more likely to end the call or put it on mute than I am to drop the call due to reception issues. I've exchanged the phone once already and the replacement phone has the same issue. At first, I thought it was my face (shape? texture?), or the way I was holding it (am I suppose to push it with force against my e…

There are far more people and bloggers bitching about the Antenna issue, so it's become Apple's biggest priority. Just give it time, these issues have a way of getting solved.