iPhone 4 Antenna problem due to ‘miscalculated formula’ says Apple

(AFP PHOTO/Ryan Anson)

Apple has revealed the "simple and surprising" reason for the iPhone 4's antenna problems in an official statement.

The iPhone 4's unprecedented release has been marred by wide-spread reports of a dramatic signal drop off when a user holds the device in a particular way.

"We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising" wrote Apple in a July 2 press release.

"Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong" said Apple.

"Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars," explained the company.

"Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don't know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place."

Apple's iPhone 4 antenna problems escalated into "Death Grip hysteria" this week as law firms encouraged disgruntled consumers to join a class action suit against the company.

Many users reported a dramatic loss of signal when they held the phone tightly in their hand and covered the gap in the lower left hand corner of the metal band that edges the outside of the phone. The stainless steel metal band doubles as an antenna for the device.

Despite wide-spread coverage of the antenna problems Apple has sold over 17. million iPhone 4's and has become the most successful product to be launched in the company's history.

Apple plans to fix the signal strength display error - a problem that, According to Apple, has been ongoing since the release of the original iPhone - with a free software update that should be available "within a few weeks".

It is yet to be seen if this statement will appease angry users and cull any impending legal battles as the fix does not appear to address the dropped voice calls some users report experiencing when bridging the gap in the antenna.

"As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund" added Apple.