# Class Action Suit Over iPhone Antenna



## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/06/apple_iphone_4_scam.php

_Is the iPhone 4 a scam? Did Apple knowingly make an imperfect device, one which is practically designed to drop calls, and then expect owners to cough up extra cash to buy the fix?

The answers to these questions are a resounding yes, if you ask Houston attorney Danny Sheena, who recently filed a national class-action lawsuit against Apple in Galveston federal court.

On behalf of all iPhone 4 owners, Sheena claims that Apple knew its phone antennae design was flawed, causing calls to drop, but proceeded to market anyhow without warning customers or providing a remedy other than buying more Apple gear.

Here is the apparent problem: two antennae on the iPhone 4 wrap around the outside of the device and connect along the side of the phone. When a user holds the phone, however, his fingers cover the antenna connection, causing the call to be dropped. Sheena says that by the end of the first day of sales on June 24, reports of the antenna problems were all over the Internet. _


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

I don't think it's a scam, the problem is that during development, they likely never ran into the issue.


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## BubblePuppy (Nov 3, 2006)

dpeters11 said:


> I don't think it's a scam, the problem is that during development, they likely never ran into the issue.


Now why would that be, unless the testing process was inferior. Maybe that is why Apple is advertising for antenna engineers/specialists. Coincidence? What did Apple know, and when did Apple know it.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I'm not sure a class action suit is really going to help anyone. By the time it gets heard by a judge, the iPhone 7 will be out. Realistically, Apple should in good faith offer a bumper to anyone who claims to be affected. They've got to cost about 15¢ to make.


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## BubblePuppy (Nov 3, 2006)

Stuart Sweet said:


> I'm not sure a class action suit is really going to help anyone. By the time it gets heard by a judge, the iPhone 7 will be out. Realistically, Apple should in good faith offer a bumper to anyone who claims to be affected. They've got to cost about 15¢ to make.


A bumper? Don't you mean a band-aid? That seems like a poor solution for a company that is supposed to stand for quality and innovation. It's a defect in the phone, an accessory shouldn't be needed to make the phone perform the way it should out of the box.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

BubblePuppy said:


> Now why would that be, unless the testing process was inferior. Maybe that is why Apple is advertising for antenna engineers/specialists. Coincidence? What did Apple know, and when did Apple know it.


Because all of their test units had the 3G disguise wrapped around them, preventing the grounding issue.


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

BubblePuppy said:


> It's a defect in the phone, an accessory shouldn't be needed to make the phone perform the way it should out of the box.


What he said.
That's like GM selling cars that have non working headlights, and then issuing everyone a flashlight in compensation. :lol:


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

I think Apple needs to hand out free bumpers to those that want them. 

But I also think that people need to man up and bring their phone back to the store if they truly don't like them. There is a 30 day return policy on phones, after all.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

BubblePuppy said:


> A bumper? Don't you mean a band-aid? That seems like a poor solution for a company that is supposed to stand for quality and innovation. It's a defect in the phone, an accessory shouldn't be needed to make the phone perform the way it should out of the box.


In the world of "should," you're right. But in truth, the manufacturing blitz has started and the testing period is over. Maybe they'll test better next time. FWIW I'm left handed and didn't have a problem making calls holding the phone the way I normally do. I guess I should be excluded from the class.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

tcusta00 said:


> Because all of their test units had the 3G disguise wrapped around them, preventing the grounding issue.


Exactly, that's the current thought. And the ones used in the secure areas at Apple HQ, they likely had special equipment to get a signal, a pro version of what consumers can buy for example after you get past all the Get Smart doors into the secret lair.


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## BubblePuppy (Nov 3, 2006)

tcusta00 said:


> Because all of their test units had the 3G disguise wrapped around them, preventing the grounding issue.


So we think, but if that is the case then the testing was not done under "real life" conditions.
I doubt anyone here would be happy if Directv released the latest and greatest dvr to only later find out it won't record HD unless you put a piece of duct tape on the front panel as dtv suggested as a fix.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

No, but I'd do it if I liked the equipment otherwise.


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

BubblePuppy said:


> I doubt anyone here would be happy if Directv released the latest and greatest dvr to only later find out it won't record HD unless you put a piece of duct tape on the front panel as dtv suggested as a fix.


Well, that is actually partially true. Some DirecTV HDDVR's won't accept a signal from an IR blaster unless a piece of tape with a pinhole in it is placed over the IR Window. If a DVR can't receive an IR signal, then it doesn't perform as expected.

As for the current issue, how many people actually use an iPhone without a case of some type. Almost everyone I know who as an iPhone has an Otterbox and the rest have some sort of rubber case. Not one person I know uses an iPhone without a case.


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/iphone-4-gets-a-1-alternative-to-pricey-bumpers/










_Entering this morose situation with a bit of ingenuity is Oliver Nelson, who alerts us to the fact that rubber wristbands of the sort your favorite cyclist wears are apparently an almost perfect fit when stretched around the 4's antennae. He advises that a 1.125-inch long by 0.125-inch wide incision (into the unstretched band) is necessary to keep the 30-pin port and speakers open, but otherwise it seems like a pretty effortless and dirt cheap way to avoid all this drama._


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## Lee L (Aug 15, 2002)

Herdfan said:


> As for the current issue, how many people actually use an iPhone without a case of some type. Almost everyone I know who as an iPhone has an Otterbox and the rest have some sort of rubber case. Not one person I know uses an iPhone without a case.


I am using my iPhone4 with no case. I did the same wth my 3G for most of the two years I had it. I tired a thin snap on the back "case" for a few months, but just did not like it, plus dirt got in and caused it to scratch anyway. I have briefly (as in minutes) tried a plastic or rubber case a friend had or just put their phone with the case in my poicket a few times and it just makes it too hard to get in and out of your pocket.

Naked all the way for me!


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## wingrider01 (Sep 9, 2005)

dpeters11 said:


> I don't think it's a scam, the problem is that during development, they likely never ran into the issue.


from what I understand from reading it is only if the phone is held in the left hand, maybe they did not have a left handed tester since we are the largest minority in existance


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

wingrider01 said:


> from what I understand from reading it is only if the phone is held in the left hand, maybe they did not have a left handed tester since we are the largest minority in existance


Unless I'm in the minority, I usually hold a phone in my left hand when on a call, and I'm right handed. Hold phone in left, dial with right.

The clandestine case that was on the one in the bar makes a lot of sense.


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## HDJulie (Aug 10, 2008)

I do the same -- I hold the phone in my left hand when on a call. Then again, I wear my watch on my right hand which is supposedly odd for a right-handed person.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

HDJulie said:


> I do the same -- I hold the phone in my left hand when on a call. Then again, I wear my watch on my right hand which is supposedly odd for a right-handed person.


Ditto on both accounts.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Either way, Apple has exposed a flaw in their testing here.

IF it is a hardware problem, then they have not only a poor design team (hence maybe why those job openings for antenna specialists)... but also a poor testing team that isn't testing likely scenarios for use of the phone.

IF it is a firmware problem, then the hardware design team is off the hook... and maybe even the programmers... but the test team would still be on the hook for missing this.

And I say all this as an iPhone owner who wants one of the new phones.


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