Cannot slide to answer phone calls

I think i found the solution! I tried this method several times and it helped me all the time. So when the slider not workin just after takeng out of my pocket when some on callining i waited about 5 or 10 seconds just for cooling down the screen and slided it at last moment and it worked.

So try it and good luck!

I've had the same problem but it only happens occationally, maybe every 5th or 10th incomming call. It's happened 4 times in 3 days this time around. The last two times were back to back incomming calls. I've had the iPhone for 4 or 5 weeks and have returned it three times, getting new ones in exchange. The new phones do the same thing but it takes a few days to a week for the problem to occur. On the last phone (the one I currently have) I have not installed any applications. All I have done is set up an e-mail account that uses ActiveSync. My phone sync's with my company's Outlook. I know that my finger is not defective because the same thing happens with my wife attempting to answer my phone. I have an Otter Box but ripped out the screen protector to see if that was the problem. I ordered a new SIM card from our friends at AT&T to see if that fixes the problem.

I was wondering that there could be corruption issues with my MS Outlook contacts being imported to the iPhone. Has anybody had the problem where ActiveSync was NOT used and the contacts were NOT sync'd?

Another gripe I have is that if I allow my cheek to touch the phone it will sometimes end the call.

Worst phone I've ever owned.

Hi ,today I was expecting a really important phone call ,but like all of you are saying could not slide to answer ,this happend 3 times in a row have tried giving a reset and also switched off my phone 2 times but after another phone call it happend again its not a heat problem as I was in my office with the AC at 18 degrees all the day ...hope apple will solve this problem in the short time possable as if not will deffinatly get another phone .

Massimo497

Malta europe

Hello,

I bought my Iphone 4, october 2010, it worked well till the month of april, and since then, once a while about once a week i can't slide to unlock when getting an incoming call, the phone freezes, and i miss the call and for like 10 secondes the phone freezes, (the on/off button defreezes it after 10 seconds), sometimes alson when i receive a text message, same problem. It's verry random and i tried to call myself sometimes 30 times and i am not able to reproduce this weirdest problem. I WENT 6 TIMES to apple store, I did a hard restore and setting a new phone, they do it for me even several time, they did a DFU before restoring it, i did a DFU myself before restoring several time, they changed my phone TWO TIMES, they changed my SIM card, i am runing without absolutely any APPLICATIONS on my 3rd PHONE since one month and still have the problem (So no it's not an application). At genius bar the last time i went they wanted to change my phone again for the 3rd time because the said they keep changing the phone till the problem is fixed, i told them its rediculus, you are not trying to find the problem and i refused, each time i have to loose my screen protection, i asked them for second level support, they told me they dont have a second level support at the store. So i was so desperate that i called applecare and asked to speak to a supervisor, i described the problem, he said he never heard about it, he sugest me to do again a DFU and this time enter my contacts manually (the only thing i didnt try), i did it today and AGAIN the SAME problem when i received a text message. iI will wait to see if the problem happen with incoming calls, the supervisor gave me his private line. If doesnt work, i will go higher it really a shame that nobody from apple can help when they see this post. I bought the phone with a 3 year contract with fido (canadian wirless compagny) so i am stuck with this phone because i got it with a cheap price because of the contract. I am on OS 4.3.3(8j2), NEVER jail braked any of the 3 phones i got. The only 2 things i can think of, if the problems is not from corrupted contacts : 1) Apple store have some batches of buggy phones that they are using to replace client phones (i asked them if they replace with new phones or refurbished phone they said they said the replacement phones are always new). 2) my problem started since april 2011, i don't remember wich OS release it was, maybe since then their is a bug in the OS.

I hope that apple read this post, because its really inacetable, i bought a phone, i know with verry usefull and fun applications, but i think i would like to use it as a phone as well, never heard a phone that you can"t use it sometimes to answer calls.

Alex from Montreal

I think I can explain what the trouble we all are getting here.

Do you change your ringtone to the custom one?

If no, I'm sorry - my explanation isn't for you.

So, the phone needs to play the custom ringtone during incoming call. The custom ringtone is either in RAM or in the file. If the ringtone is decompressed (in RAM), the problem will not appear. However, if the memory with decompressed ringtone was freed (after playing some games or working with some apps), the Phone app must decompress the ringtone to be able to play it. And if you have the long ringtone (I have 40 seconds - the maximum) the problem of the unresponsible slider comes up. This also explains why after the call is missed we are able to unlock the phone with no problem (the ringtone either was decompressed or that process was killed).

So, the solution would be one of the following:

1. Switch to some standard ringtone.

2. If the slider is not working - wait for several seconds with no additional attempts to answer; and after 5 seconds - try it again.

3. Set the shorter ringtone.

As to me, I'm facing with this problem not very frequently, and I have not finished all experiments to prove my point.

Just to tick off the list of possibilities that some have mentioned here for my own problem with the non-functioning slider on occasional incoming calls:

- I have had the problem even when a caller is not in my phone book, so that rules out the corrupted contact variable for me.

- I do not use a custom ringtone, and do not have any installed, so custom ringtones aren't the issue.

- The problem for me has occurred when my phone was sitting on my desk, and had been there for hours, so it's not a case of heat or static or whatever resulting from the phone being in my pocket.

It's definitely a bug and it's definitely quite annoying. And judging from the 16,000+ views of this topic, I would say it's a rather major issue for many users, and it requires a fix from Apple and soon. Threads pertaining to this issue go back three years here.

Update...

Its been more than 3 weeks since I disabled almost all of my Notifications and I have not had a single issue. Again my theory is that I had an APP or a few that would be jamming up the phone with a Notification. Real technical I know but it has worked try it.

Gregg

I turned off Notifications and still had the problem occur.

I've returned my phone for a new one four times... the last one was three days ago. Yes, I'm on my 5th iPhone in less than two months of making the purchase. I will keep returning it until the problem's fixed or if I just can't take it any more or Apple goes out of business. If you own Apple stock, it's time to sell!

The last phone failure occured with the following:

1) The phone failed after three to six days of being activated, just like the others.

2) Otter Box screen protector ripped out (no screen protector at all)

3) No downloaded applications

4) Did not change the ring tones

5) Did not connect to my PC via cable connection

6) Took a few pictures

7) Moved icons around on the iPhone to clean up the display.

8) Set up e-mail account via Microsoft Exchange

9) Set up ActiveSync with Outlook

10) Sync'd in the Contacts, E-mail, and Calendar

11) Set up iPhone to Fetch data instead of Push (as a test). Had Notifications turned off.

12) Made a dozen or so phone calls

13) Received a dozen or so calls

Note: On my current (5th) iPhone-4 I also had a new sim card installed. Also found out that iTunes was duplicating a whole bunch of shortcuts on my PC. I uninstalled itunes thinking that maybe the shortcut garbage was being sent to the iPhone via Microsoft Exchange.

Hello,

I tried everything possible and imaginable and i still have the same problem, if you read my last post, the only thing i didn't try is to enter my contacts manually after a restore and unfortunatly i Still sometime canot slide to unlock when receiving a call (so i loose my call and the phone freezes for about 10 15 seconds after i miss the call) or when i receive a text a message :

* they changed 2 times my phones, so this is a brand new one.

* they changed my sim card.

* I entered some contact manually, no synch.

* I am not running any application

* Restored like a new phone always.

From october 2010 (date i bought my iphone) to mars 2011, i never had this problem. My conclusion their is batches of Iphones 4 that bugs with OS 4.3 and higher, so its a combination of faulty Iphone 4 and using OS 4.3 and higher (OS 4.3 was shiped on 9 mars 2011). I hope that Apple will fix this bug with OS 5.

I have an open case with a senior engeneer from Apple, that i will call tomorow to see what he thinks and i keep u posted.

By the way the problems happens ALSO when i dont have my iphone in my pocket.

This happens to me randomly.

I know have the iPhone 4

I find that when i cannot slide to answer, if I push the top power button, wait a second, I am then able to answer the call. Hope this helps.

Ps

I tried licking my finger, heating

My finger, everything! Nothing else helps except pushing

Top power button

(when a call comes in and you push the top button, it's an

Ignore to stop the ringing, wait a second after ignoring

Call, then you are able to answer. )

Hello,

I tried what wop.simone and still i can't answer ! i called again the senior tech and he is sending me a new phone (it will be the 3 replacement but this time not frome the apple store !!!) because i tried to remove the case and the screen protector as he told, still the same problem. I am prety sure that their is some phones that bugs with OS 4.3 for iphone 4. If their is the same issue, the senior tech will make a engeneer calling me directly from the head quarters I will keep you posted. I can't accept the fact that a phone that can't answer calls even if doesn't happen often, it's not acceptable we pay a lot for this phone.

It's been 20 days since receiving my 5th iPhone in about two months of the original purchase. Yes, you read it right, I've had my iPhone replaced with a new one four times. Today, my fifth iPhone failed to allow me to answer an incomming call. I pasted an e-mail below which went to the iPhone support manager at the local store. That e-mail was dated 7/12, a few days after receiving the replacement iPhone. I sent that e-mail after receiving the fifth phone and had been hoping that the problem was resolved. Nope! I have an appointment for tomorrow evening, 7/29/2011.

Subject: My iPhone problem is as discussed in this Apple.com discussion thread...

Cal,

… Many people are having the same problem as I am. The frozen slider problem goes back for years and with prior iPhone versions too. This link is current and for iPhone-4. My complaints are listed too. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2483599?start=0&tstart=0

In trying to figure out what's going wrong:

1) I've removed the Otter Box screen protector

2) I've set up the e-mail account with "Fetch New Data" both turned on and turned off… no help.

3) I've tried turning "Notifications" off but this didn't help either.

4) I've tried leaving as many settings as I could in their original configuration when given a replacement iPhone and did not install any applications. I still had the problem.

5) With the third replacement (4th phone) I made sure that the iPhone was never connected to a PC. Only charged via the wall charger and car charger. I learned that I can take an iPhone screen print when the slider problem occurs. I showed your Genius the screen prints when returning the phone on July 8th. She didn't seem to recognize any significance as the screen shots just showed what you'd expect to see for an incoming call.

6) This last device (the 5th one) I had AT&T replace the SIM card and I went as far as uninstalling iTunes from my PC. I found that iTunes was creating many many many dat files in my computer's shortcuts. They were in all of my shortcut folders at multiple levels. There were maybe a few hundred or even as many as 500 of them. I wasn't counting but it took me about a half hour to delete them all. I learned that iTunes has a setting to copy shortcuts (Bookmarks) which should have been disabled. I'm hoping that this was somehow corrupting the iPhone via ActiveSync. I'll know in a few days. If the problem still exists, I should be receiving an incoming call in less than a week which I won't be able to answer due to the slider being unresponsive.

Hello,

It's defninetly the 4.3.x OS the probleme, my phone worked flawlessly from october 2010 to mars 2011 when i was on the previous OS 4.2.x ! they replaced my phone already 3 time and each time the same problem. I tried everything possible and imaginable :

* restoring without backup.

* remove the screen protection and the case.

* running without any application on the new phones

* changing my sim card.

* i run also with not contacts restore, i never had a custom ringtone

* ect ..

I am in a contact with a senior tech with apple care and he is supposed to get back to me and possibly contact an engeneer from apple. I am trying to convince them that I go back to 4.2.1, he said their is a way that they can do it but it's not their procedure.

I went yesterday to apple store since i din't have any news from the senior tech to apple store to convince them to go back to 4.2.1 but no luck.

Alex

7/29/2011 I went back to the Apple Store once again and explained the problem of not being able to sometimes answer an incoming call due to the slider becoming unresponsive. This problem must be rampant! Upon my explaining the issue, the Genius explained without hesitation that it's a software problem but she can replace the phone if I want. Now I'm on my sixth device in about two months! I wonder how much pain this has to cause us users and Apple before they get this fixed. I'm taking my iPhone back every time it malfunctions. I don't care how much of my time it takes. I'm going to keep on adding to Apple's pain until I drop or they figure out what the problem is.

EVERYONE on this forum needs to do the same. As soon as your iPhone does not allow you to answer an incoming call just once, take it back to Apple and insist that they fix it or give you another one.

I work for a very large company of more than 10,000 employees. The iPhone is one of the standard devices my company provides its employees. I happen to be in a position that has influence on which devices we purchase. What do you guess I'm telling my fellow employees about the iPhone?

Iv been Havin the same problem it seems to only happen to me if i let my phone lock by it self and it usually happens to the same select contacts more frequently but does it often and i have to ignore the call by pressing the power button twice then it works and it has also happend to me trying to answer a text but only once it has happen.. I have had three iphone 4 and each one has had the same problem.. At first i thought it had to do with somwthing on my computer because its the onlything they all had in common.. I thought maby there is something fuckd in my back ups because i had an old 3g i had unlocked and used thr same back up for my contacts so i tryed fulling my phone and manually put all my info back in and still had the problem