Database Users

OMG! HD2 has same grip reception flaw as iPhone 4

If you hold the phone in your left hand - just like the iPhone 4's "wrong" grip (your skin presses against the lower left side of the phone) watch reception bars go down 1 or 2 bars. The longer you leave your hand there, the more the bars go down. Release and they are up again. Tried it with and without a case. Same issue.

Just because it happens to HD2 does not necessarily become a problem.
I could also reproduce that on my iPhone 3GS and 3G in some location but not in all locations. I didn't even realise this until people start complaining about iPhone 4. To reduce the signal, i have to grip it (without using a case) very tightly without lettting go for a long time. If I periodically relax my hand as I would in normal usage, then signal won't go down. As this is not the way I normally grip, and the fact that I've been using my phones for so long without even knowing there is a "problem" probably means that I have nothing to worry about.
Then, I searched the youtube and found out that it is also happening to Nokia phones:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi1gHDa7-X0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ7t75Uo6qQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amPG52DVQuk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zsuxbd0L0g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyLrFY3mI0M
Nokia is trying to fool everyone by saying that users can hold their phones in anyway they want, but this is simply not true. See this:
http://www.appleinsider.com/article...at_iphone_4_death_grip_gets_called_on_it.html
Haven't got an iPhone 4 yet, but my impression is that this issue is more pronounced with it. IMO, although it can be easily fixed by using a case, applying a sticky tape or nail polish over the lower left half of the antenna, Apple would definitely need to address this issue so that out of the box the extent of signal strengh reduction is minimized.

I didn't say it was a problem. I was just shocked to find it out after all this time I had it and never knew. Hence the OMG!

I think the phenomena is likely to exist with every phone, in certain locations, with certain hand type, but owners of the phone may not notice it unless they deliberately test it out. I could only produce that phenomena is one part of my house but not in another. Just like half the iPhone 4 owners were not able to reproduce this problem while about half were able to. My guess is that it has nothing to do with manufacturing defects, but simply a case of the location, orientation, and body type.

There have been discussions about that at the beginning on the HD2. The antenna is in the bottom part of the phone, between the bottom and the start of the metal cover, i.e. where your hand is (as stated in the manual).
The end word is that pretty much every phone on the market will have its reception drop a bit when you hold it.

FCC only allows the antenna to be located at the bottom of the phone, away from the user's brain. Also, the level of signal strengh must not exceed what's allowed. So, even if the manufacturer want to relocate the antenna to the top part of the phone so that user's hand could not touch it so easily, it would not be approved. Simiilary, even if the manufacturer could increase the signal strength, it would not be approved.

eaglesteve said:
Haven't got an iPhone 4 yet, but my impression is that this issue is more pronounced with it. IMO, although it can be easily fixed by using a case, applying a sticky tape or nail polish over the lower left half of the antenna, Apple would definitely need to address this issue so that out of the box the extent of signal strengh reduction is minimized.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I heard that the fastest and cheapest way to solve teh Iphone 4 reception problem was to put a condom over it. They are cheaper than the bumper and are available in a varitey of colors and textures. The added plus is that you always have a condom handy should you need one

Classic Apple!
Let HTC and Nokia work tirelessly for years upon years only to one-up them with a bigger shinier version of a feature EVERY smartphone has had since 2003.
Sheesh.

wineds said:
I heard that the fastest and cheapest way to solve teh Iphone 4 reception problem was to put a condom over it. They are cheaper than the bumper and are available in a varitey of colors and textures. The added plus is that you always have a condom handy should you need one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your recommendation would suit youself my friend. I'll use a nice looking case.

Basically every phone has way to hold it which will lower signal strength. With most smartphones it is rather easy. Most phones also have picture in manual how to hold it correctly. It's nothing new.

The HD2 issue your mentioning is a normal reaction to covering an antenna. This SHOULD happen in all phones since you are partially blocking the antena.
The iPhone 4 issue is not similar, if you go through this post:
http://gizmodo.com/5571171/iphone-4-loses-reception-when-you-hold-it-by-the-antenna-band
you'll see that the signal loss is due to connecting the left side of the antenna with the bottom by touching the left side and the bottom (left) portion of the phone. If you put a "Bumper", apple's term for cover, and then hold the iphone in exactly the same way, you will not lose the signal.

omar302 said:
If you put a "Bumper", apple's term for cover, and then hold the iphone in exactly the same way, you will not lose the signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing is I have a black rubberised case around my HD2 and even WITH the case the bars still drop.

tboy2000 said:
The thing is I have a black rubberised case around my HD2 and even WITH the case the bars still drop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as long as you are not brothered, it cannot be called a problem.

tboy2000 said:
The thing is I have a black rubberised case around my HD2 and even WITH the case the bars still drop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, thats because the singal has to go through your hand, so it might lose a bar or two.
All phones get this.
The Iphones problem is not the same thing, it just hast he same result.

if i leave any phone I've ever had in pretty much any spot in my house the signal flutuates.
sod all to do with holding it.

just use a BT headset

anyone cares for some duct tape?
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apples-latest-conundrum-duct-tape-2010-07-12?dist=countdown

lol... Snapperheads...
If you watch the iphone vid on youtube showing the 'making of' the phone you'll notice the alloy frame is the antenna... Covering it will help not to drop the reception... But having to have a cover to not lose reception is a joke...
As for the HD2, all phones held in a hand will have variance in reception... I tried the left hand thing on mine and it didn't drop a bar...

i have no problem with mine........may be the signal/reception from my carrier is really great unlike that in US.....

LOL good thing i'm not left handed

Same Reception Problem as iPhone 4??? link w/ vid

/watch?v=LROTHrTR92k&feature=player_embedded#at=22
sorry I can't post links quite yet, add this onto the end of youtube.
It better not be like this when I pick it up Sunday.........

wow. i really have to wonder what he did to make it look like that.
When losing reception, phones don't go 100%-0% in a split second.
I bet he's just going for ratings after the whole iPhone mess.
Also, i can assure you that it doesn't matter how you hold it, even if you bury it in your hands from all sides, there's no catastrophic signal loss.

Mine has that problem. Full signal. Hold on the phone down the bottom and it drops down to 1 or 2 bars. As soon as you let go of the bottom, back up to full bars.

Signal loss when covering the antenna area is not a "problem", it's the laws of physics at work.
1 bar is totally reasonable, and depending on signal quality, 2 as well.
But going 100%-0%... that's pure BS.

I think this appears only when in 3G mode.

The VDO might not be telling the whole truth. From a user point of view, I have never seen signal dropped drastically like that.

Evans_Prophet said:
I think this appears only when in 3G mode.
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Click to collapse
I think it would still appear in GSM -mode, but the signal drop is nowhere near the amount when using UMTS.

Mine does it as well, in 2G and 3G, drops from -111dBm to 0dBm

My blackberry bold 9700 lose some signal when i cover the bottom. Every phone lose some signals when cover the bottom.

i can confrim this also happens with my Samsung Galaxy s aswell, and to those who say this is normal and happens to every phone, then you are wrong, i have a bunch of old nokias and NONE of them lose signal no matter where you hold it. the phones i tried it on are, the e71, 5800, the 6220 classic and the 6630. none of these phones loses any signal when gripped from anywhere. im so disappointed in this phone now

coldlazymo said:
i have a bunch of old nokias and NONE of them lose signal no matter where you hold it.
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Click to collapse
Yes they do. It's physically impossible to make an antenna that doesn't lose signal when covered. You can code the bars to show the signalstrength any way you like though. If I code the bars to show 4 bars 1-20% and a fifth at 20%-100% you'll very rarely see less than "full" signal.

Nokia is always been the best when it comes to reception quality. Am happy with my GS signal quality.

mickeko said:
Yes they do. It's physically impossible to make an antenna that doesn't lose signal when covered. You can code the bars to show the signalstrength any way you like though. If I code the bars to show 4 bars 1-20% and a fifth at 20%-100% you'll very rarely see less than "full" signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i tested those phones, i covered them up entirely with my hands, and there was no signal loss. it stayed at 5 bars. and its not a matter of coding since even with one bar i get good call quality.
but as Hassan said, nokia have always been very good with reception quality. and maybe i am overreacting since this is the first time i have come across this, having had all nokias before and this is my first samsung/android phone. but that doesnt really mean its acceptable, i cant get a decent signal when i hold my phone, at first i thought it was the network, since this was a different network than i was with before, but now that i have tested it and this happens, i cant help but feel like i have been screwed over a bit. going from 3-4 bars when not holding the phone to it dropping to 0 is not something i like in a phone

btw, it's best to know the difference between "no bars" and "no reception".
In contrast to most phones on the market, no bars at all means you have minimal reception.
It is still possible to make calls like this.
When there's absolutely no reception, you'll see a circle with a crossout line.

coldlazymo said:
i tested those phones, i covered them up entirely with my hands, and there was no signal loss. it stayed at 5 bars. and its not a matter of coding since even with one bar i get good call quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, now read this carefully: Just because the bars don't go down doesn't mean you don't have any signal loss. You get signal loss on ALL phones when covering the antenna. You having 5 bars doesn't change that, it only tells us that the signal loss isn't severe enough to show on the display. That IS a matter of coding.
Obviously there's ALSO a quality difference. Depending on what transmitter/receiver is being used, the quality, location and size of the antenna and whatever will affect the quality of the signal. Some hardware have less signal loss than other when being covered, but fact is the signal loss is ALWAYS there regardless of the number of bars Nokia, Samsung, Apple or Anheuser-Busch brewery decide to show for whatever signal strength.

You can kill your data connection by covering the antenna on the GS...
Try with the speedtest app. Especially upload _WILL_ be killed proper, when the antenna is covered.
I put some standard kitchen aluminium foil between the phone and the backcover, It still drops bars, but uploading works a lot better.

its fine, i take it back now anyway, turns out i was right the first time, it is just the network. i lose bars even when the phone is sitting on a desk. and when i say lose bars, i mean the bars will actually fluctuate randomly, from having full bars to no bars, then back again, when the phone is in a stationary position on a table, near a window. it just happened to be coincidence that when i was testing it the timing was close enough for me to blame it on this. my apologies

Why is it most of the reception issues are in the US? I don't hear anything for Iphone 4 users in Japan and I'm using Galaxy S in Singapore, no drop calls, no drop signals blah blah. I think it is the network not the phone!

Oh noes, the world has come to an end, flee for your lives.....
If you are seriously disappointed that a phone made by imperfect people is not "perfect", then plz just return it and don't come back to this forum.
Unless you are getting dropped/crappy calls all the time, then wtf are you people complaining about? This forum is full of whiners.

Not as much whiners as hysterical people.
I can understand it a bit, since this isn't exactly a cheap phone, and is supposed to be one of the best (if not THE best) devices around.
The thing is that every time a POSSIBLE issue pops up, everyone start going crazy like "OH MY GOD IT'S 100% A PROBLEM THE PHONE IS NOT OK GET ME A DOCTOR"
Instead of, let's say, inspecting the matter rationally, and seeing if there's really a problem.
The Galaxy S has an almost full plastic body. There's no way it could share the iPhone's antenna problem, since the antenna is not exposed to our hands.
That video looks like an attempt to pull attention, for whatever reason. The only way i manage to replicate his results is by putting tinfoil on the back of my hand (which kind of leads me to think- we don't see the back of his hand even once in the video, nor there is sound, so possible raffling cannot be heared)
And even then, the results are not as drastic.
Everyone should calm a bit down and enjoy the device instead of inspecting it under a microscope for problems.
If a problem that affects your use somehow (e.g GPS, lags) appears, THEN do the complaining.

iPhone 4's "death grip" on Vibrant?

http://www.informationweek.com/news...html?articleID=225900042&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_News
Anyone see this happen to there phone?

Holy crap it's true, but you have to hold it in such an awkward way that I doubt I will be able to reproduce it in real life use.
I guess The Jobs wasn't lying about other phones having the issue.

I heard about this Via T-MoNews... I have tried to emulate it and I will say this:
It is true. When I held the phone "Death Grip" Style.. I lost 'bars'. But 'bars' mesning the physical representation of bars on the screen. I did not lose and data speed, and i did not check to see if voice was affected, but i have been talking on the phone all day with no problem. I also tried this in my basement where i have poor 3g reception.
I think that this is an issue on the grounds of the physical representation of 'bars' on the phone may not be calibrated properly, but if anything, a fix would make the phone appear to have MORE service, and not less, like the iPhone.

Yep, tested a few times. It's true, but it's entirely a different issue from the iPhone4's troubles.
Basically the full antenna hump has to by lying flush against the palm of your hand and it has to be held down against the palm with quite a bit of force, basically an airtight seal. I don't ever see me holding the phone in this fashion, for any reason other than to test this.

I don't think anyone ever denied that every phone in existence has some signal drop when held in a particular way. My Vibrant goes from 4 bars to 3 when held deliberately attempting to cover the entire antenna bump, but I am inside an office building that causes AT&T to go from 1-2 bars to zero when not holding the phone at all.
I attempted the two handed airtight seal method and couldn't get more than 1 bar to drop.

I can see it now "Every phone is going to get this death grip test." Is death grip considered has holding it normally or covering everything? As far as I know, iPhone had a problem when you normally hold your phone with your left hand. I went outside and did the same thing since I don't get a strong reception in my house and it was fine. Now, if I hold the bottom of the phone, then bars drop, but that should be expected.
Another thing to mention here. In that link posted by the OP, the editor had no trouble with calls and etc on the iPhone 4 while the Apple's co-founder had a different experience according to an article posted by Techcrunch.

Yes, this is for all cellphones...for a tp2 if I hold it by pinching the top right corner....I loose 3 bars...but it is not realistic to hold it that way..
On the iphone they had the antenna swirled around the phone...thus it end up in the bottom left corner which you normally would hold...
That article is trying to cover for the iphone's design flaw in general..on the Vibrant and captivate you wouldn't generally hold the phone that way for it to matter...

Drop in bars, but no dropped calls. That is a massive distinction that the source article fails to mention. Vibrant FTW

gTen said:
That article is trying to cover for the iphone's design flaw in general..on the Vibrant and captivate you wouldn't generally hold the phone that way for it to matter...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the key issue - it's a non-issue for most phones during "normal use". You have to actually try to cover the exact area, which is not a normal holding position most of the time. That's not the case for the 4G, I've seen it happen when holding the phone as I normally would with my left hand.
I'm not trying to bash the iPhone because I do like the design overall, but the article seems to leave out some key distinctions that make the iPhone issue different.

That article is so incredibly poor. ^ hit on it exactly. These are NOT the same issues.
Let the thread die.. i do not like seeing iGadget comparisons on XDA.
Ha, do it for me guys!

Poser said:
Drop in bars, but no dropped calls. That is a massive distinction that the source article fails to mention. Vibrant FTW
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ran a speed test with and without the deathgrip on my vibrant (a 4 bar difference) and noticed no notable speed changes.

Holding the phone normally, with my palm about 1/4" away from the bump/antennae on the back of the phone, I definitely lose signal, 3 bars to 0 bars. I also definitely lose download and upload speeds(according to speedtest.net app).
Also, when I go to Menu>Status>About Phone and check the signal there, it goes from about -85dBm 8asu to 0dBm 0asu.
Why would any cell phone maker put the antenna at the bottom where it could easily be covered by the hand? Doesnt it make more sense to put the antenna at the top?

I believe it is illegal to put the antenna in the upper part of the phone
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

jsgrindin said:
I believe it is illegal to put the antenna in the upper part of the phone
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if it's "illegal" as in punishable by jail time, but I believe FCC regulations enforced on cell phone manufacturers mandate antennas to be on the bottom of the phone to increase distance to that grey spongy thing between your ears.
Has to do with exposure to radiation from the antenna.

What if you're holding the phone in landscape with your fingers going over the back of the hump? Does that affect data, speakerphone calls, or GPS signals?

I can reproduce signal loss cupping it in my hand but no call or data change. The iphone issue actually detunes the antenna.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

People. These are completely separate issues. Please quit trying to make our phone like the iPhonie, good or bad. jeebus.

after i put on the gel case from t-mobile i can no longer replicate the "death grip"

s15274n said:
People. These are completely separate issues. Please quit trying to make our phone like the iPhonie, good or bad. jeebus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed.
Troll mode [ON] OFF
$10 says a sledgehammer will also cause you to lose signal.
Troll mode ON [OFF]
Sorry.

[email protected] death grip

Antenna issue

Ive had spotty 3g at my house since i got my phone. Most ive seen is 2 bars. Noticed tonight i left my phone on table and came back and i had full bars with 3g.
Picked up phone like i always and hold with left hand it drops to 1 to no bars. So i hold the phone with right hand i get stronger signal, left hand weak...
Im guessing the antenna is on the left bottom side of the phone apparently covering it up drops my 3g signal significantly, going from full to no bars just by covering left corner ...anyone else?
Not really complaining because i still connect 3g fine but i do drop to edge allot if im in certain rooms and phone calls never drop just curious of maybe a solution or whatnot
I looked on youtube and found this but you dont have to hold phone like this. just palm it with left hand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vefQ4I2wOXs
And sorry if posted already i could find anything on this here

Happens here too. Funny thing is that I have case on it. One thing those in the youtube comments are mixing up and not understanding is the signal strength. I wish they were more smart people in the world lol..
Anyway what I am getting at is that this happens with all Vibrants, it just depends on your current signal strength in dBm. For example, if I'm inside with around 4-5 bars, around -81dBm. Then when I grip it, the signal will go down by -20dBm or more resulting in two to three bar lost. Where as if I'm outside with around -51dBm and do the same thing. It will result in the same -20dBm but you won't notice it enough because the bars don't start to go down until around -89dBm or more.
* The lower the dBm, the better your signal.
* It was the same issue with Nexus One.
* The design of the phone is causing your hand to have more of an effect on it.
If anyone want to proove this case. Just get two Vibrants next to each other in the same area and do the hand thing.

Yea see i never noticed this with my N1 But yea what your saying makes scene.
Its not a big deal i still connect avr 1mbps with weak signal but found it odd

Yea same here. I do admit the signal is even more sensitive than my n1 was though. Oh well I guess this is just one thing we have live it until a better phone comes again.

Shouldn't 2.2 come with an updated radio and if so maybe it will help

It might make the radio use more power from my experience but this isn't a software issue. Though speaking of software, right now the dBm read out and bars are off by 5 or so dBm. So when we get the 2.2 update we should see the proper signal read out which will appear stronger and it should be more stable as well. Either way, our hands will still be able to affect the phone. Just like any other phone but more drastic with the Vibrant, N1 and iPhone 4.

The bars are generally useless and I don't think it's really an issue unless it's actually dropping the signal. I have zero bars of 3G all the time, and I still get full speed. The difference between zero bars and zero signal is rather large, IMO.
If the signal attenuation from holding it causes you to drop 3G altogether, well, I feel for you. It's never happened to me, and I've done all kinds of grip experiments to see if I could make the signal attenuate.
To go on, the Vibrant has the best radio of any phone I've ever used. The test for me is whether I can hold signal in my building's elevator. Virtually every phone I've owned (and most all my friends' phones) dropped signal as soon as the doors closed or shortly after. Prior to my Vibrant, the champ was my Blackberry 8820, which could hold signal for about two floors before cutting out. The Vibrant? It may drop to EDGE, but I still hold some kind of signal all the way down, which is amazing.

That something I notice the first day I got the Vibrant , did not have that issue with other previous phone in the same spot... if I put the phone in a table it gets full bars.. once I pick up the phone it goes back to 2 bars... the only way I get full bars is if a hold the phone just from the bottom.

I'm going to have a seizure if I see another one of these threads.
-81dBm is an obvious flaw and should be completely disregarded UNLESS you're off of JFD or anything based on JFD. This phones reported signal strength refreshes FAR more often than nearly all other Android phones on the market. Motorola on T-Mobile being the slowest to refresh any signal changes.
The bars are wrong and very inaccurate. Do a search. Update to JI2 or JI4.

heygrl said:
I'm going to have a seizure if I see another one of these threads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another one of what threads?
Cut me some slack i rarely ask questions here and no one force you to click on this thread... but i do appreciate the info you gave.
Only thing i noticed when I went threw your post history is you replying to this question with threads with topic names not related to this problem.
And if you read my first post you would have seen
demo23019 said:
And sorry if posted already i could find anything on this here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and
demo23019 said:
Not really complaining because i still connect 3g fine but i do drop to edge allot if im in certain rooms and phone calls never drop just curious of maybe a solution or whatnot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... thanks for the info guys

Has desire HD got iPhone grip problem

I have created a new topic as I feel this one is important and don't want it to get lost in the ether.
I've noticed if you hold the phone in a normal way and it doesn't matter if its left or right hand the signal and WiFi will drop , when you change your grip signal goes back to normal .
IPhone problem on a HTC ?
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Just picked up my phone. Full WiFi signal. Full mobile signal.

I can make wifi drop to 1 bar by holding the top half of the phone. Base of thumb on the volume control, top of thumb covering the power button and palm touching the camera. Releasing it, the signal will jump straight up. But who smothers their phone anyway?

Trifidw said:
I can make wifi drop to 1 bar by holding the top half of the phone. Base of thumb on the volume control, top of thumb covering the power button and palm touching the camera. Releasing it, the signal will jump straight up. But who smothers their phone anyway?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 I can simulate this as well. At least its not at the bottom where your more likely to hold it in a call

mancuk29 said:
I have created a new topic as I feel this one is important and don't want it to get lost in the ether.
I've noticed if you hold the phone in a normal way and it doesn't matter if its left or right hand the signal and WiFi will drop , when you change your grip signal goes back to normal .
IPhone problem on a HTC ?
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not that simple. I'll bet there isn't a phone with an internal antenna that wouldn't drop a few bars anywhere when held in hand. Point is that the singal strenght in iphone 4 drops significantly more than in any other phone.
So does the DHD have the same antenna problem than iphone4? The only way to find out is to test in serval locations that will the DHD drop the signal when iphone 4 doesn't when the phones are held in hand. Comparing bars is pointless becouse it's calculated in so many different ways in various phones.

All phones suffer from this to some extent. The problem with the iPhone is that the metal part of the aerial is on the outside of the phone so that you are actually touching the aerial with your skin, which is why it's such as issue. At least HTC have a bit more design sense.

berek9999 said:
All phones suffer from this to some extent. The problem with the iPhone is that the metal part of the aerial is on the outside of the phone so that you are actually touching the aerial with your skin, which is why it's such as issue. At least HTC have a bit more design sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 The problem in iPhone 4 is due to the design of the phone - it uses the chassis as the aerial but the DHD is not designed to work in the same way.

I noticed that holding the TOP of the phone with your hand cupping the back causes WiFi signal to drop when in medium to low signal strength areas and also the Network signal to drop by up to 2 bars. Apple were keen to point out that many handsets have issues with signal degradation when holding the phone, however generally this is NOT while holding it at the bottom, the natural way of holding a phone.
So while the Desire HD will suffer a signal drop when held with your hand cupped around the top of the phone, it doesn't suffer the iPhone 'death grip' which imo is still a MAJOR issue with a handset that is perfect in many other ways. Put it simply, I've not dropped any calls with the DHD!!
Regards.

OMG I can't believe someone asking this question!
Next it will be someone reporting "Why can't I access the Apple app store on this device?!"

Your having a laugh aren't u ... hate Apple with all my might .. just concerned we would have same problems ! Hold my phone different so I don't
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

apprentice said:
OMG I can't believe someone asking this question!
Next it will be someone reporting "Why can't I access the Apple app store on this device?!"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a good question and one I was considering asking myself after noticing it while browsing in bed. I sleep at the opposite end of the house to my router and can easily cut the connection while holding the phone at the top.
I think with the current trend of slimmer phones the issue will be highlighted more frequently as it is now a necessity to make use of the phone casing in regards to signal transmission. It's a known fact that the DHD unibody is part of the functioning antenna, so it's not suprising that you can produce the effect when cupping the phone.
Thankfully HTC have placed the module in the top of the phone and not the bottom like our good friends in Cupertino!

Nothing here when I try the methods mentioned. The signal stays very strong. It's been flicking between H and 3G but that's nothing to do with the phone, pure T-Mobile thing.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

I have a desire z and just googled for this grip problem and found this thread.
I have quite a bit of trouble with my desire z, it drops two bars while calling. It even gets worse when you slide out the keyboard and start typing. The wifi and gsm/3g signal drops 2/3 bars!
This kind of sucks...

Has anyone had dropped calls due to this issue? If no, then there is no problem. Lowering the signal strength is normal, dropped calls aren't.

tkolev said:
Has anyone had dropped calls due to this issue? If no, then there is no problem. Lowering the signal strength is normal, dropped calls aren't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my device there is a little signal drop, but no drop calls at all!
"Drop calls" are a trade mark of iPhone4. ;-)

No dropped calls yet but 3g/hsdpa switches to gprs when holding it.

GiGi. said:
No dropped calls yet but 3g/hsdpa switches to gprs when holding it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that's still a connection I know that it's slower and that's something you can feel unlike switching a voice call from UMTS to GSM, but it's not a drop. The higher frequency of 3G is more prone to signal attenuation and nothing can change that.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Hi all from Russia.
I have the same problem.
When the phone is on the table, the signal level WiFi and GSM 100% (A router in the half meter away from me)
Whenever I put it on your hand or touch the side cover, the level of WiFi drops to zero and GSM is not as critical, but falls to 2-3 division
I'm not saying if I go into another room, where the signal disappears altogether.(WiFi)
Do you think that this might be?
Bad soldering?

Waaa said:
Hi all from Russia.
I have the same problem.
When the phone is on the table, the signal level WiFi and GSM 100% (A router in the half meter away from me)
Whenever I put it on your hand or touch the side cover, the level of WiFi drops to zero and GSM is not as critical, but falls to 2-3 division
I'm not saying if I go into another room, where the signal disappears altogether.(WiFi)
Do you think that this might be?
Bad soldering?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check if the battery cover is closed properly. In the room where my WiFi router is, the signal drops 1-2 bars but it's still strong. I've read some reviews on 802.11n routers that claim the signal is actualy worse if you are too close to the router (can't check this myself as I am with a 802.11g router).

Dude, I checked a hundred times that damn cover
in the next room the signal disappears altogether, although on a different device everything is fine!
I tried to switch the router in different modes, the effect is the same.