iPhone 4 Antenna Issue

The cluster centers on the iPhone 4 'Antennagate' controversy, where holding the phone a certain way caused signal drops, prompting Steve Jobs' 'you're holding it wrong' response. Users reference this incident to critique Apple or compare it to similar hardware problems.

➡️ Stable 0.5x Hardware
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Comments
20
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#3192
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Keywords

AFU archive.is techcrunch.com cypress.com AT wired.com THAT nbcsports.com NFL theguardian.com antenna iphone signal holding phone phones apple reception iphones issue

Sample Comments

suckerburg Oct 24, 2017 View on HN

Didn't the iphone 4 antenna issue happen under Jobs? With him claiming you're holding the phone wrong or something like that.

MrLeap Feb 4, 2017 View on HN

This reminds me of the "you're holding your iphone wrong" explanation for the signal problems.

nmfisher Jun 6, 2023 View on HN

This is the same company that told people they were holding their iPhones wrong because the antenna was dropping out during calls.I'd prefer to try it myself rather than just take their word for it.

enitihas Jul 23, 2018 View on HN

Well, he would say that the users are using them wrong. Precedent: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2010/jun/25/ipho...

hn_go_brrrrr Jul 18, 2025 View on HN

"holding it wrong" was exactly the right phrase given how that phrase was used with the iPhone antenna bridging problem. This is an Apple product failing.

JimmaDaRustla May 14, 2014 View on HN

When you held your iPhone 4 wrong and the connection dropped, people didn't claim that there was no antenna.

Ygg2 Aug 28, 2025 View on HN

That's not as bad as Apple's.https://archive.is/20240401152946/https://www.wired.com/2010...

prolikewh0a Aug 19, 2018 View on HN

Remember this?https://techcrunch.com/2010/06/24/iphone-4-antenna-issue/

gjm11 Jul 16, 2010 View on HN

My understanding is that all phones suffer #2, and the iPhone 4 is not obviously much worse in this respect than its rivals.But, of course, even if you do something that fixes #1 completely, there will always be people saying "Boo, Apple hasn't fixed the problem! When I hold my phone like this, I get less signal, just as I did before!" -- when in fact the same would be true whatever phone they used.

caboteria Aug 15, 2022 View on HN

Sounds like another round of "you're holding it wrong" - https://www.wired.com/2010/06/iphone-4-holding-it-wrong/