Holding phone lowers signal - is this normal;

[DJDB]

Hi there.

I've been having problems with a Milestone, so i decided to give it away and buy a Desire. Overall, the phone is good. But i'm having a major issue that troubles me:

Bought the phone yesterday and immediately updated to Froyo.

I'm having problems with the antenna (which i believe is in the lower right corner). By just holding my phone with my hand (not touching the antenna) drops my signal significantly. For HDSPA, it goes down from 3 bars to 0 (but i can make calls) and for GSMA it goes from 4 to 3. As i found out through the menus, the drop for HDSPA is around -10dbm and more.

I'd like to ask: is this normal;

I know that you shouldn't touch the antenna, but on mine bars goes down all the way just by holding the phone.

Any advice;

Thx in advance.

 

[Nodders]

Sure its not an iPhone? Haven't heard of this problem at all on HTC devices (despite what Steve Jobs would have you believe). If you really are having problems then I suggest you take the phone back to your retailer and change it.

 

[NorthernNoel]

I've been having this problem since the Froyo update. If you look in the bugs thread at the top you'll notice quite a few others are as well. Pretty annoying but hopefully HTC will fix it with an update as it worked fine in Eclair.

 

[DJDB]

Yes i'm sure...

I've been having great problems with my Milestone, so i want to send it for service/replace only if i am 100% sure that this isn't normal.

I found out many reports and videos for similar problems and i'd like to know if i'm on a faulty device or if it's something else. Also, i'd like to know if anyone found a solution for this.

@NorthernNoel: Good to know that i'm not the only one on this.

 

[Jammy]

The Desire will drop roughly 10dBm if you hold it tightly at the bottom.

Most phones do drop slightly when gripped over the antenna(although on the iPhone 4 does drop around 30dBm).

 

[Nodders]

"Quite a few others"? I saw about 1 on a quick skim so it obviously isn't a wide problem. How about getting in touch with HTC directly and explain the problem you are having. This whole issue is currently sensitive enough they are likely to be pretty keen to help you solve it.

 

[oOoMAJESTICoOo]

Sure its not an iPhone?

LOL

This.

 

[DJDB]

I'll contact my local HTC service (Greece). What a pain... . Anyone else with the same issue after Froyo update;

I can't believe that i'm so unlucky and bought another faulty phone after a faulty Milestone...

 

[icechiller]

I had this issue with 2.1 as well so I doubt it's anything to do with Android. Can be quite frustrating if it does it while I've been typing a text message, which is when it will usually happen. Never get any problems holding it for a phone call though.

 

[Paranoid_Android101]

There is no antenna problem on the desire at all, certainly not on the same scale as the iphone4 as the antenna is not external on desire. Since ive updated to Froyo there has been no change in signal strength other than my wifi signal is much much better now. I would say its more of a network coverage issue than anything else, but thats from my own personal experience!

 

[matttye]

I can actually reproduce this about 75% of the time since the Froyo update. Goes from 3 bars to 1 bar when I hold it using the same faulty grip that the iPhone suffers with.

This didn't happen prior to the Froyo update and my actual signal seems unaffected (note the word "seems" - I don't suffer dropped calls, slow internet, etc)

 

[DJDB]

Mmmm... Others say there is no problem at all, others have the same issue as i do. Kinda confusing and i'm sure that if i call HTC, they'll (typically) request to send the handset for repairs. The problem is that service here in Greece is not what you might expect and i don't want to have my Desire doing trips without reason...

Mine has problems mostly with HDSPA connection. Goes from 3 to zero bars when i hold it with my right hand for some seconds and returns when i leave it. But even with zero bars, i can surf the web quiet fast. It SEEMS to work. If i set it on Auto and hold it for a while, it goes to GPRS after HSDPA's zero bar. The problem is not as noticeable on GPRS as on HSDPA (i have to hold it tight and for more time to lose 5-10 dbm and go from 80 to 90).

Don't know what's happening. I wish i had test it more with 2.1, so now i'd be sure that there's something wrong software-side (on which occasion i'd be more relaxed).

Has anyone with this issue contacted HTC?

 

[Nodders]

One other option (but one you'll need to be careful with) is to root it and try some other ROMs - see if it is somehow software related. Some good guides to rooting on the root subforum. The careful bit is that you will need to be able to put your original software back on there if you do end up returning it or sending it back. You can do this but I personally wouldn't know how precisely.

 

[spenspuma]

This is perfectly normal.

Cover any phones antenna and itll slightly drop signal

 

[Nodders]

It doesn't sound normal to me. A slight drop perhaps, but DJDB is talking about losing a strong signal down to no signal. My phone doesn't do that and I doubt yours does either.

 

[DJDB]

This is perfectly normal.

Cover any phones antenna and itll slightly drop signal

Don't know if it's normal but i'm almost sure (or wish) that there isn't something wrong with my Desire (hardware-side).

I'd like to ask those who see no such problem on their phones (even if it's a normal issue): have you tried holding the phone with you're right hand and have it's right down corner inside your palm (even touching it with the corner of your phone) and keep an eye on your phone's signal; Not the graphical bars, but from system information on the options, where you can see exactly how much dbm you have. And not with a 2G connection, but with 3G/HDSPA. Do you notice anything?

 

[DJDB]

Also, the same issue has been reported for the Nexus One (similar phone with the Desire) here: Major signal degradation when Nexus One is picked up - Android Help . As you can see, there's something wrong and now the same problem exists on Desire.

If you don't notice the problem, then maybe you're in an area with strong 3G coverage.

 

[anoniemouse]

Also, the same issue has been reported for the Nexus One (similar phone with the Desire) here: Major signal degradation when Nexus One is picked up - Android Help . As you can see, there's something wrong and now the same problem exists on Desire.

If you don't notice the problem, then maybe you're in an area with strong 3G coverage.

Don't get a problem at all with my phone, if anything my signal strength increased.

 

[charlies99]

No Difference...Think Steve jobs started this thread

 

[Paranoid_Android101]

No Difference...Think Steve jobs started this thread

Apple will hold a conference soon informing the world of this non issue

 

[Bunjiweb]

It depends how far you are from the cell, if u are in an arew of low reception, holding your desire at the base will reduce signal to a much greater extent.

At home I have a pretty bad signal, only gprs, no 3g or HSDPA. I live near fields rather than tower blocks so Orange felt the need to provide me with a tower approx 8km away according to rf signal tracker and signal radar, both free apps on the market.

At my work locations, both on the outskirts of town I have a consistent 3g or hsdpa connection and never notice any signal degradation whilst holding my desire in any way.

So personally I put it down more to the patchy signal provided by networks rather than the phone. The iPhone problem is quite different as it is more down to short-circuiting the external antenna on the lower edges of it.

Ben

 

[Bunjiweb]

It depends how far you are from the cell, if u are in an arew of low reception, holding your desire at the base will reduce signal to a much greater extent.

At home I have a pretty bad signal, only gprs, no 3g or HSDPA. I live near fields rather than tower blocks so Orange felt the need to provide me with a tower approx 8km away according to rf signal tracker and signal radar, both free apps on the market.

At my work locations, both on the outskirts of town I have a consistent 3g or hsdpa connection and never notice any signal degradation whilst holding my desire in any way.

So personally I put it down more to the patchy signal provided by networks rather than the phone. The iPhone problem is quite different as it is more down to short-circuiting the external antenna on the lower edges of it.

Ben

 

[NorthernNoel]

I think you could be right with how far away from the cell. At home it doesn't appear to be a problem for me but at work as soon as I hold the phone it shows no bars. This was never a problem for me in 2.1.

 

[DroidPete]

No Difference...Think Steve jobs started this thread

First Steve Jobs picks on the Canadian's with RIM (Blackberry), now he's picking on the Taiwan's with HTC - going round world, eh?

 

[riki1kenobi]

Could it be that the people affected are more highly (static) charged than the rest?

Electrical interference maybe causing it? Could maybe try using a rubberised cover for the phone and see IF that has any effect......

Only reason I suggest this is because I get quite a lot of static bites when touching metalic objects etc and when I use practically any phone which has metallic areas it loses signal. On my desire I got a TPC cover and it has reduced the signal drop issue!