If you add a bumper case to the iPhone 4, the signal strength drop from holding the device is on par if not better than other phones. After lots of testing, I decided on 5 different positions for holding the phone, and tested signal repeatedly. I squeeze the phone hard and make sure my palms are sweaty as well. You'd never hold the phone this way because it's physically painful.
Not squeezing it to purposefully reduce signal, but making contact with the fingers and not an open palm. Held only to keep the exact position constant. It's not reported since this is considered ideal. It's difficult to be exact about the data, since signal is very sensitive to direction, ambient conditions, and cell breathing.
To generate these numbers, I measured at least 6 times and took the average. The results are pretty self explanatory. Inside a case, the iPhone 4 performs slightly better than the Nexus One. However, attenuation gets measurably worse depending how you hold the phone. Squeezing it really tightly, you can drop as much as 24 dB. Holding it naturally, I measured an average drop of 20 dB.
The drop in signal from cupping the device with a case on is purely a function of us being "ugly bags of mostly water. There's nothing Apple nor anyone else can do to get around physics, plain and simple. It's something which demonstrably affects every phone's cellular reception. From my day of testing, I've determined that the iPhone 4 performs much better than the 3GS in situations where signal is very low, at dBm 1 bar. Previously, dropping this low all but guaranteed that calls would drop, fail to be placed, and data would no longer be transacted at all.
I can honestly say that I've never held onto so many calls and data simultaneously on 1 bar at dBm as I have with the iPhone 4, so it's readily apparent that the new baseband hardware is much more sensitive compared to what was in the 3GS. The difference is that reception is massively better on the iPhone 4 in actual use.
With my bumper case on, I made it further into dead zones than ever before, and into marginal areas that would always drop calls without any problems at all. It's amazing really to experience the difference in sensitivity the iPhone 4 brings compared to the 3GS, and issues from holding the phone aside, reception is absolutely definitely improved. I felt like I was going places no iPhone had ever gone before. There's no doubt in my mind this iPhone gets the best cellular reception yet, even though measured signal is lower than the 3GS.
Conference call with three calls going at the same time, and transacting data, all at minimum signal. SNR is essentially a measure of how much of the signal is compromised by noise or interference. It's readily apparent that because the iPhone 4 works almost perfectly fine at dBm, it has much better sensitivity. The deciding factor for reporting the signal quality metric is then SNR, something Apple and other handset manufacturers will have to move to eventually instead of just power.
In reality, reporting based on SNR makes a lot more sense, since I couldn't make calls drop driving around an entire day cupping the phone, despite being at dBm 1 bar most of the time. The drop in signal from holding the phone with your left hand arguably remains a problem.
If your replacement battery came in a plastic sleeve, remove it before installation by pulling it away from the the ribbon cable. Before reconnecting the battery connector, be sure the contact clip shown in red is properly positioned next to the battery connector. Before reassembly, clean metal-to-metal contact points with a de-greaser such as windex.
The oils from your fingers have the potential to cause wireless interference issues. Perform a hard reset after reassembly.
This can prevent several issues and simplify troubleshooting. Before reassembly, be sure to clean all metal-to-metal contact points on the dock connector cable cover with a de-greaser such as windex. The oils on your fingers have the potential to cause wireless interference issues. Use a plastic opening tool to gently pry the dock cable connector up off the logic board from both short ends of the connector. Carefully peel the dock ribbon cable off the logic board and the lower speaker enclosure.
Do not use excessive force to peel the dock ribbon cable off the logic board. Doing so may tear the cable. Use a plastic opening tool to pry the lower antenna connector up off its socket on the logic board. Remove the following screws securing the speaker enclosure assembly to the outer case:. Use a plastic opening tool to lift the speaker enclosure assembly out of the case, being sure not to damage the EMI fingers on the attached Wi-Fi antenna.
Before reinstalling the speaker enclosure assembly's screws, be sure the Wi-Fi grounding fingers are installed below the lip in the iPhone's metal case as seen in the third picture. Before reassembly, be sure to clean all metal-to-metal contact points between the grounding fingers of the Wi-Fi antenna and the case of the iPhone with a de-greaser such as windex or isopropyl alcohol.
Starting near the cellular antenna cable, use the edge of a plastic opening tool to peel the antenna off the speaker enclosure. Make sure you insert the plastic opening tool under the plastic the antenna is mounted on, not the metal plate. Continue peeling the cellular antenna off the speaker enclosure, being careful not to rip the gold bracket attached to one of its edges. When installing a new cellular antenna, be sure to slide the gold bracket over the ear molded into the speaker enclosure before sticking the antenna down.
That Apple store had sold out its inventory for walk-in customers earlier in the day, and was providing iPhone 4s only to those who had reserved one. Apple's retail stores are to open at 8 a. However, as of late Thursday, Apple had not posted any inventory tool on its Web site to tell customers what models, if any, each store would have in stock Friday.
Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. His e-mail address is gkeizer ix. Here are the latest Insider stories. More Insider Sign Out. Sign In Register. If you're curious, find out about these biggest controversies in iPhone history.
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