iPhone 4 Reception Loss with Paperclip

Apple claims that "gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance," which seems to have some truth to it. However, I and many others are getting dropped calls as a result of this, and it clearly is a problem with a bridge between the antennae. I decided to try something out; take a piece of a paperclip, less than an inch long, and place it on my phone so that it bridges that connect. Result? Signal drops. I find it hard to believe a tiny piece of a paperclip is enough to "result in some attenuation of its antenna performance."

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• iphone
• connect
• issue
• reception
• problem

[glui2001]

Have you tried making a call?

[zildjianfan]

@glui2001 Yes. With paperclip a crummy call will go through, with left hand no call

[Stupendoussteve]

Uh paperclip can screw up television stations, or help you receive it better. At the UMTS frequency range the wavelength is only around six inches, something "small" blocking it can have a huge affect. A radio station, by comparison, has a wavelength of 10 feet or so, and you still get static quite a bit.

[zildjianfan]

@Stupendoussteve A hand can carry a current between the pieces, which is what I hoped the paperclip would also do. I did this as contradiction to Apple's claim of a hand being a buffer for signal transmission.

[GreenTeaGringo]

what I don't understand is why the effect happens so slowly, and not instantaneously.

[zildjianfan]

@GreenTeaGringo If I hold it in my left hand, it drops instantaneously. That paperclip is obviously very small, so I imagine it takes longer for whatever interference is happening to build up. I am no expert on this sort of thing; this is just my best guess.

[cowboy0212]

How often do you place a paperclip unto a cellphone? Just a question

[GetVIP]

Make a new video where you bridge the two antennas with the paperclip in farther points (not in death grip, just leave the death grip untouched and not covered in any way). These farther points can be the bottom of the phone and any left side of the phone (not near the death grip). This will be the total proof that apple LIED.

Thanks, waiting for this new video. I didn't see anyone do this, yet :)

[ErwinBrinkhuis]

I'm gonna do that every day......thanks.