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Help Iphone like antenna problems!!!

J

jimbo1mcm

Android Enthusiast
Guys and gals, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but there is a small issue with the phone signal reception with the Droid X. I put a DB measuring app on my phone( Real Signal ) and experimented with techniques of holding the phone and its impact on signal strength. Here it is in a nutshell: When you hold the phone in a normal position, with most of the top half of the phone exposed, the signal is great. I got a -78db in my location. When I moved my hand up to a very high position, covering the top with my fingers, the db's went down to around -95. I did this 5 times in a row to confirm it. So the bottom line is that if you are blocking the antenna, you might lose a significant amount of signal. For example, if the only usable Verizon antenna is on your right and you are holding the phone up to your left ear, your head will block some of the signal. The obvious solution is to first hold the phone in a normal manner, leaving most of the top part ( where the antenna is, I presume ) open to receive the signal. If you are getting a poor signal when it is to your ear, try turning 180 degrees. You might have an antenna that is being blocked. This problem is not like the Iphone, where you are actually shorting out the antenna, but it is kind of similar.
 
Didn't you listen to Steve Jobs? ALL phones do this! There's no bad news here, just be aware that your signal can vary depending on how you hold a phone.

End of story.
 
I think any rf frequency gets blocked by things in it's way.
It is very simple. The hand or head will block radio signals.
the iphone however shorts the antenae which is completely different than your scenario.
What your experiencing is normal cellphone interference.
 
The difference between Motorola and Apple, is Apple puts the antenna right where someone's hand would be, Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, HTC are all smart enough to keep it away from where someones hand would be in the normal position.
 
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the issue with the iPhone isn't that you can attenuate the signal. It's HOW it gets attenuated.

You had to hold the Droid X in an unnatural position to try and attenuate it. Hence the reason Moto probably put the antenna where they did...
 
See, that above post is what most ppl fail to realize. Its not that it happens, its how it happens. And how easily it happens.
 
Check out the signal attenuation comparison chart in the AnandTech review of the Droid X.


Motorola Droid X: Thoroughly Reviewed - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News


The problem is the magnitude of the loss and how bad it is when holding the phone "normally". For example when holding a Droid X "naturally" there was 5.1dB of loss when holding an Iphone4 is was 19.8 dB. That is a big difference.


All phones have loss when held. The questions is how was the phone engineered to minimize the impact to the user. Apple didn't seem to care about the impact when they were designing the Iphone4 and the results show that.








 
OP did you do all these test also while on a call? ....cause i'm willing to bet a six pack that even if you do get the sig to drop a little that the call won't be lost. which is what happens on the IFail4...so really if the sig goes down but doesn't drop the call....then who cares.
 
10splaya22 said:
I want a free case.
Click to expand...

i like the new one apple is giving out.

tumblr_l5tne8DoAD1qzpwi0o1_400.jpg
 
do you plan on holding the phone like that? It seems perfectly reasonable to expect people to no hold there phone by the vary top. I also played with hand position and could not duplicate your results without "cupping" the vary top of the phone.

To me the key that separates the Iphone from the rest is that holding a phone in one of the most common ways dramatically reduces signal. if the "heal" of your palm is pressed against the lower left corner of the phone (the way most people would hold it if it was in there left hand) signal is reduced. To me this is like saying if you have your foot to the right of center on a brake pedal, the car may not stop.....
 
Based on what i've seen... the Droid X does not have an iPhone like antenna problem. Title is so misleading.
 
Title is very misleading. I'm getting the best consistent call quality I've ever had on a mobile phone, no matter which way I hold it.
 
Should have titled the OP differently. At least the thrust of the post was to show that it can happen if held incorrectly.
 
Why would Apple put an exposed microwave antenna on a device and place and to top that why would they place the feed point where the user would touch it?

What's more amazing is that NOBODY in the entire system caught on to it.

This seems like RF basics 101. :confused:
 
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