Apple apologizes for its iPhone 4 reception problem, says software fix coming

Apple said it has figured out the oft-reported reception problem with its iPhone 4 and will issue a fix in the coming weeks. It also apologized to users and said they remain free to return the phone within 30 days if they aren’t happy with it.

The company said in a letter to its users that it was “stunned” to learn that the formula it used to calculate how many bars of signal strength a phone has is totally wrong. Apple’s formula mistakenly displays two more bars than it should for a given signal strength. Hence, when someone grips an iPhone 4 in a certain way and they appear to lose reception, the real problem is that they are in a location with very weak signal strength already.

To fix the problem, Apple is adopting AT&T’s “recently recommended formula”  for calculating how many bars to display signal strength. (Is it AT&T’s fault yet again?) Apple will issue a free software fix with the new formula for not only the iPhone 4 but for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G, since all models have the problem. Meanwhile, Apple says the “wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped.”

Apple does not specifically address whether or not it can fix the problem of holding the phone in the wrong way, or even if that problem is a real one on top of the miscalculation of bars. So it will be interesting to see the reaction to this. Apple sold 1.7 million phones in its first three days and is the hottest-selling phone ever. It isn’t clear if this will be enough. Just about every Apple site that has written about the reception problem notes that Apple hasn’t answered the basic question about whether holding the phone wrong causes a real drop in bars.

Here’s the full text of Apple’s letter below:

Letter from Apple Regarding iPhone 4

Dear iPhone 4 Users,

The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.

To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of having a faulty antenna design.

At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What can explain all of this?

We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising.

Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.

To fix this, we are adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone’s bars will report it far more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit taller so they will be easier to see.

We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present since the original iPhone, this software update will also be available for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are the same— the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have caused.

As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.

We hope you love the iPhone 4 as much as we do.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Apple

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