Signal issues? You're holding the phone wrong.

You can cover that black strip with scotch tape.
Works great and it does not destroy the great design like the bumper would do.

Wow, I was ready to go out and buy my first iPhone. I guess I will be sticking with the Blackberry for awhile...

I guess now we know that the Steve Jobs Keynote reception meltdown was not do to all the WiFi hot spots... Steve was just holding the phone wrong! I guess he didn't get the memo or forgot the bumpers LOL

As all us gamers say... EPIC FAIL APPLE!

Cellophane tape around the edges seems to make no difference to me, though I've seen others (in the mac rumors forum) stating that it works for them. Perhaps my left hand is just impervious to 3G signals :P

"I guess now we know that the Steve Jobs Keynote reception meltdown was not do to all the WiFi hot spots... Steve was just holding the phone wrong! I guess he didn't get the memo or forgot the bumpers LOL"

I know you're (at least sort of) joking, but SJ was using WIFI and holding the phone in his right hand. These issues are on 3G when the phone is held in the left hand.. so.. not so much 😉

Unreal, so you have purchased an expensive phone which appears to have a fundamental design flaw and now the company selling it tells its customers tough go purchase a piece of plastic to make it work! One of the worst pieces of PR I have heard, usually in the past Apple goes quiet and work behind the scenes to resolve...I wondered why the bumper was heavily pushed! The other worrying aspect is the people who blindly accept it. Other phones might have poor reception but none has an antenna on the outside which can be shorted by the user.

MerlinUK,

Rob here from the USA. Thanks for your post. Every device has a flaw, the severity of which is basically determined by the news media. Since the News likes to see large corporations or popular things fall, this will probably be coined "The worst hardware flaw in history". Just ignore the ignorant and Apple haters. They will always be there. I think in the end Apple will give everyone the "cover" to fix this problem and I'll explain why. But first I would like to put things in a little perspective.

Has anyone read much about the HTC EVO/Android phone that has maybe 8 hours of standby power? The thing won't stay charged through the night and if you use it, you recharge it. That would be a flaw also would it not? I have had many phones now and one of mine, the AT&T 8525, nearly caught me on fire twice (this was of course two different phone on two different occasions). The case got so hot in standby that it nearly burned my hands. That is a big flaw. One thing to keep in mind is that there is always a trade-off in design. In this case I think Apple took a risk on the signal strength to increase battery life: a gripe many including myself have had for a while. To get as much battery as possible they tried moving the antennas outside of the phone.

I am an electrical engineer and although I am not an antenna expert by any means I have had some training in it and I have also performed some tests. It is true that all phones' signals are affected by our hand, heads, automobiles, etc. They are at the mercy of their environment. However in this case when you cover the bottom left spacer of the phone you are in a way shorting out the antenna to the base of the phone. I did tests both with and without the "case" that Apple offers and found that the problem is greatly reduced or completely gone by using the case.

The reason for the success of using the case appears to be two-fold: One, your hand can't short across the black strip and two the cover holds your hand a few millimeters away from the antenna. So when I used the case my phone calls were quite acceptable, but without the case I had to be careful of the way I held the phone.

Take heart everyone who shelled out the cash. I was disappointed by this problem after I stood in line 6 hours to get my "reserved" phone, but I found a simple solution that allows me to use my phone the way I always have with very little grief. On the other side, this phone is incredible and I expect to get great service with this device.

On a serious note, it will also have to do with how wet/sweaty your fingers are to conduct and bridge the two antennas. After a jog or out on a hot day this will be worse. Come winter the reception will probably get better.
When I first saw this design I was surprised… while it’s a good idea to have the antenna exposed you don’t want to be touching it… If you have ever used a walky-talky, CB Radio, FM radio, WiFi Routers (even a lot of those designs are installing the antennas inside), cordless phones, etc. You never hold them by the antenna… This seems so basic… I love how at the keynote and Apple videos boast about the design for making the antenna external and made of stainless steel… Basic logic says you don’t want your hands touching the antenna… Now I have waited a year for this phone so I would not have to extent my contract and now AT&T has only given me one option in a good smart phone other than a Blackberry. I think a lot of us will be returning the iPhone 4 and maybe hoping AT&T will cut some deals for a good Droid.

This problem with reception is huge. Its a brand new design and one of the main features of the iPhone 4. Everyone that has experienced this problem should return the phone. There is absolutley no excuses for keeping it. Using a bumper case or scotch tape or whatever is a ridiculous solution. "Your holding it wrong" is crazy. Apple should recall all the phones and re-release when they have sorted it out, no matter how long it takes.

I think apple can't do that to fix that issue. The only way to compelety fix the issues is to go back to the drawing broad. And that takes a while. And do not forget the battery in the iPhone 4 is bigger and where would they put the annteas at if they do take them out of steel ring?

Apple’s (Steve Job’s) response to this issue is an absolute disgrace and completely unacceptable, if you bought a car which had an issue with holding the steering wheel a certain way it would have to be recalled. The adverts reflect a different product to what us consumers have to buy. I suspect this issue might be Apples way of sucking more hard earned currency from its loyal fan base, releasing a product with a fault then with the fix of the bumper case at a further cost to us of £/$25.00. Apple need to address this problem or they can be accused of exploitation. Either by offering the bumper case for all the loyal users that queued outside shops/on the phone for hours that have bought the Iphone4 free or heavily discounted until they fix this problem.

Just hold it another way is not the response we expect from a high quality product.

Steve Jobs hang your head in shame........

Well i have the reception issue to and am going to get Orange to swop out the unit. If that doesnt work then its going back for a refund.

I agree, I think it's silly for anyone to tell me to buy a case or hold MY phone different. It's a design flaw straight and simple. Eventually someone will come out with bottom corner covers.

This will become one of those famous retrospective design wonders: how on earth can a product reach market with such a gaping design floor; well, maybe it is not an unuseable phone, I grant that, but for a company with such heroic claims that this changes things for phones yet again, the fact the one thing I cannot guarantee it does is make a phonecall, it does look like a somewhat diminished pronouncement.

Our household has approximately 6 each of the following Apple products:
computers, phones, ipods

So apparently we like their products, and until yesterday had warm feelings toward the company in general.

My iPhone 4 is being returned if a better solution doesn't come up than the bad jokes currently offered by Apple.

I personally don't like a case on my iPhone. Never have never will.