Apple Offering Free Phone Bumpers to iPhone 4 Owners

Well. I admit that I didn’t see this coming. It should come as no surprise to anyone that some iPhone 4users have been battling with a problematic antenna, as the issue has been dominating the headlines ever since the phone’s launch. There has been no shortage at all of speculation, with some wondering if Apple would turn one of the most unlikely scenarios into a reality… a recall, or remedy the issue some other way.

A couple of weeks ago, the company sent out an open letter explaining the issue. That being that the algorithm to detect the number of shown bars was incorrect… an “issue” that’s now been fixed. Of course, no one believed that a software update would fix a hardware issue, and last week, during an impromptu press conference, Apple did something I never thought I’d see it do… offer up free phone bumpers to those who want them.

The bumpers are rather generic in design, and according to Ars Technica, they could be a bit better, but word is that they do help the problem. And who could turn down a free bumper? They cost freaking $30! For a piece of rubber! Even if you are not experiencing the issue at the moment, I’d recommend heading to an Apple store to pick one up anyway, because you’ll regret not doing so if the issue creeps up in the future.

For those who don’t want to deal with a makeshift solution, Apple has extended the return warranty by an additional 30 days from the date of its press conference, when occurred on July 16. If you can go without your phone for a little while until the issue is truly solved, there’s at least that option available.

If you’re interested in seeing the press conference for yourself, you can go right over to Apple’s site, and likewise, if you’re interested in reading more about antenna design, and somewhat odd comparisons to other phones on the market, you can look here.

The opposite of amplification, attenuation happens whenever a signal is obstructed. All antennas — including television, radio, GPS, and cellular antennas — can experience attenuation. And with most antennas, the density and composition of the human hand can cause attenuation to a greater degree than some other materials. On a mobile phone, signal loss typically occurs when your hand attenuates the most sensitive part of the antenna. In the photos and videos below, we demonstrate how different grips cause attenuation on many popular smartphones — including iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS.