Steve Jobs Responds to iPhone 4 Antenna Problems

It's getting heated on the web. After yesterday's reported antenna problems with the iPhone 4, users from Cupertino to Colchester have been busy filling online forums with one same question: just how exactly are you supposed to hold the thing? Covering up the bottom left corner of the handset has been seen to affect network reception, and even Steve Jobs himself has now admitted that this can occur.

The iPhone 4 antennae (Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth) are located on the outside of the handset, underneath the metal band that covers its outer edge. In response to the reception issues reported online yesterday, technology site Engadget e-mailed Apple's big cheese directly to ask if he was aware of the problem. In his reply, Jobs confirmed that the 3G network connection is affected if you hold the iPhone 4 in a certain way.

Just don't hold it that way

Steve Jobs' answer to the problem is clear:

'If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.'

Bad luck for left-handers then, or for anyone who surfs the web holding their iPhone in their left hand and navigating with their right hand. According to some sources, Steve Jobs is said to have announced a corrective software patch to reporters at the Wall Street Journal, but Engadget claims that this is neither a manufacturing nor a software problem, but a simple question of the antenna's location. We tried calling Apple to clarify the matter but, as yet, they haven't been able to deal with our request.

Two less bars

When we tried holding our iPhone 4 this way, we noticed reception issues one out of two times on average. After around 30 seconds (sometimes 45 seconds), the phone loses one bar, then two bars of reception. However, we didn't have any problems making or receiving calls.


Interestingly though, Apple is selling a range of supple protective cases, known as Bumpers (not supplied), which cover the back and the edges of the phone, and which effectively solve the problem. Once your Bumper's in place, the reception doesn't budge a bit. This can be a good solution if you very rarely have full network coverage and if you usually have just one or two bars, for example. That said, you'll currently have to shell out and extra £25 to buy a Bumper from the Apple store. However, we reckon you'll probably be able to pick up an unbranded faux-Bumper for a couple of quid on every street corner before too long.



Some readers have contacted us to say they've been experiencing the same problem since installing the iOS 4 upgrade on a 3GS phone, except that they've seen network coverage drop when holding the phone in their right hand. We therefore decided to test all the 3GS phones we could get our hands on to check it out for ourselves. However, the three iPhone 3GS updated to iOS 4 we managed to pilfer from various members of DigitalVersus staff didn't suffer the same problem as the iPhone 4.





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