The problem surfaced as soon as the iPhone 4 started selling last week. Now Apple says give it a few weeks, and a free software update will be ready to fix a faulty signal display on the phone.
Apple still defends its phone while critics say Apple is not addressing a reception issue.
"I'm wondering whether I should wait a month before they fix it, but I don't know, they're out of them anyway," said Peter Velikin of Palo Alto.
It's not blind love for all iPhone fans now that Apple has officially released an open letter admitting its iPhone 4 has a software problem that can cause a dramatic drop in signal strength.
"I have friends who do have the iPhone 4, and they are able to make the bars go down, but they said that the reception has not been any different then with their previous iPhone. So it does seem like a software issue, not really a connectivity issue," said iPhone user Matthew Potter.
Apple says after much investigation and lab testing, it has answers. In its letter, the company says:
"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," "Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays two more bars than it should for a given signal strength."
"This is a fairly stunning admission from Apple that the software that they've been using all along to determine the signal strength of the phone has been inaccurate. This is a company that prides itself on great software engineers, and it's been three years since the iPhone has been on the market," said tech analyst Larry Magid.
Apple says this newly-discovered mistake has been present since the original iPhone and to fix it, a software update will be available within a few weeks. But the signal bars may not be Apple's only problem. Many say the iPhone 4 has a faulty internal antennae design and that reception and calls can drop, depending how the phone is held.
"I think they messed up, yeah. And I don't think they're admitting it, but they'll be forced to fix it," said Velikin.
"I'm sure they'll work it out by the time that I want to get an iPhone. If they don't have someone there that can work out it now, they'll find someone and hire someone that can," said Marsha Hopwood of Palo Alto.
Oddly enough, the same day apple started selling its latest generation iPhone, it also posted three jobs on its website, asking for antennae engineers for the phone and iPod. It's not clear if it's just coincidence, or has something to do with the criticisms of antennae problems.
