HUAWEI MatePad 12 X (2026) Review
Steve Jobs said all smartphones have this problem — hold it in a certain way and your phone signal goes down. Was curious so I wanted to try this one several of the phones I have here – the Galaxy S, Xperia X10 and Desire.
So I tried holding these 3 phones in every possible way to see if I could somehow affect the signal strength.
Fortunately, all the 3 Android phones have this built-in “Signal Strength” monitor which is measured in -dBm (an abbreviation for the power ratio in decibels). If you have an Android phone, you can see this by going to Settings -> Status -> Signal Strength.
The typical range of wireless received signal power over a network is somewhere between −60 to −80dBm which has a power of 10 pico-watts to 1,000 pico-watts. So as you can see, the phones we have below are in the -80dBM range.
We started out with the Samsung Galaxy S i9000 at -81dBm. When you clasp your hand at the bottom back part of the phone, the signal drops to -97dBm. Holding it just on the side did not affect the signal, just the back part (below the battery compartment)
Next one is the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 which started out around -87dBm. It drops slightly to -93dBm if you clasp the bottom back end of the phone, just like the Galaxy S above.
With the HTC Desire, I could get a nice -75dBM signal hands-free but can easily drop it to -103dBm when you clasp the phone with both hands tightly — and bringing down the signal bar from 3/4 to 2/4.
So it’s really true that holding a phone in some way will affect its signal strength though it may vary from phone to phone.
Updated: Here’s a closer shot of the signal loss on the HTC Desire and Xperia X10:
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Paul says:
🥈 Silver🏆1
Steve Jobs was right!!! I love my iPhone 3GS! :)
Les Paul says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
^ ifool ^
simplynice93 says:
🥉 Bronze🏆1
…The Death Grip Test…THAT SOUNDS GOOD! :D
I don’t believe Steve Jobs’ statement to justify the iPhone’s weakness. What i believe is that all phone that uses an internal antenna loses its signal strength whenever it’s blocked.
imitator101 says:
🥉 Rookie🏆1
Steve Jobs is right that it affects all phones.
But the real problem is the effect is more “devastating” in the iPhone 4. The phones tested here experienced a drop in signal.
The iPhone 4 loses it completely.
Fanboy says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
^ ihater ^
Fleeb says:
🥉 Bronze🏆1
@Paul, then stay with 3GS and not upgrade to 4.
You don’t hold the phone at the bottom when making calls. To add to imitator, the problem with the iPhone 4 is that there is a bigger chance holding the “death strip” when making calls than other phones. To quote for example:
“Holding it just on the side did not affect the signal, just the back part (below the battery compartment).”
Whatif says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
sir abe sa iphone4 kaya mo pabagsakin signal isang daliri lang to the point na pwede ka ma dc.. kaya mo din ba jan sa mga phone na yan? :)
alam ko pinagkaiba ng iphone4 sa mga phone na yan ay ang iphone4 nasa labas antenna (di ako sure)… kaya ayun dali ma ground yung 2 antenna :)
chris says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
certainly a design flaw on apple’s part which they refuse to admit.. i guess all their testers/developers werer right-handed?
i still think people would still buy it.. coz its an apple product :)
vista is to microsoft.. as iphone4 is to apple.
hahaha..
kumag says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
Making an antenna external is too risky. Ayan tuloy nangyari sa iphone 4 madaling mablock ang signal hindi tulad ng smartphone na using internal.
iPhone 5 sana ganito ng walang issues. lol
http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/9563/iphone5.jpg
:D
Leo says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
same here with my samsung wave, drops by 1 bar when held at the back, at the bottom of the unit where the antenna is located
-Sent via YugaTech Mobile App
BobM says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
When doing the same with my Nokia E71 by holding the phone tightly at the bottom it has no effect what so ever and it is the same when holding it at the top. In order to have any effect it requires me to hold the phone tightly with one hand around the bottom and with the other hand around the top which is a quite unnatural way to hold the phone and would be unconformable to do while making a call.
It is simply Apple places a lower priority on call quality and more on aesthetics which is fine if that is a priority for you in a cellphone over its ability to make a call but as for myself I care more about how well it can make a call and not so much for how big of a fashion statement it is and am rather surprised that anyone other than 14 year old girls would be otherwise but it is each individuals money so buy what you like.
pol says:
🥉 Rookie🏆1
We’re not wrong you are!
-apple
*nuff said*
nexusboy says:
🥉 Bronze🏆1
at least non-apple phones don’t need an ugly BUMPER CASE! HA!
John says:
🥉 Rookie🏆1
That’s like manufacturing a car that has weak brakes and saying “every braking car takes some time before it fully stops”.
it’s not a legitimate excuse. And he openly admitted that the iPhone 4 drops a teensy bit more calls than the 3GS, which already had poor reception.
This despite bragging that the iPhone 4 had the best antenna of all iPhones.
I’m not hating on Apple. I think their products are beautiful works of art, but all this BS excuses makes we want to puke.
Jiro Yan says:
🥉 Bronze🏆1
Not all iPhone 4 para sa info ng lahat. Nilahat nyo kasi ang 3 million iPhone 4 na sold na.
marco says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
ay naku.. other phones, as steve jobs claim to have the same dilema as the i-phone4, are not that worse as the iphone 4.. the point is that even if there is a signal drop the call never drops.
as for what i have experienced with my i8910.. the i8910 has its steel antenna outside its casing which surrounds the 3.7″ AMOLED 16M COLOR screen. Ive tried holding it and i noticed that when you firmly hold it left handed, the signal just dropped by 1 bar but it never ever caused a dropped call..
Laurence says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
@Jiro
Shut up. Your rip-off site proves that you are indeed just a iFool.
No due credit to the author of your blog theme. Sus, ang kapal ng mukha mo.
marco says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
@JIRO- its a design flaw kaya all the 3million iphone4 sold eh affected..
you dont even know ur stuff dude.. better shut off
Whatif says:
🥉 Bronze🏆1
@jiro yan
Pinapahiya mo lang brad mga kapwa mo iLemmings sa hirit mo.
snpklsdmbldr says:
🥈 Silver🏆1
keep drinking the kool aid isheeps!
Maurice says:
🥉 Rookie🏆1
Tama nga si SJ, but it doesn’t give him the excuse to point fingers to nokia, samsung, motorola, and htc with regard to apple’s iphone4 problems. And SJ should be mindful on the competence of his consumers and not fooling them that a problem is a normal thing and there’s nothing we should do about it. The fact that it is a problem, it needs a concrete solution not a diversion. Hence, the elaborate comparison does not convince me that SJ is on the right.
Mon says:
🥈 Silver🏆1
Bungal ako, ngiiii
Efren Sy says:
🥉 Rookie🏆2
Sabi ko na nga ba tumpak yung sinasabi ni Lord Vader ” Steve Jobs “!
The Death Grip is real
The Dark Force is strong in this one!
Knee Loat says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
its a good thing apple didnt point at Sony Ericsson or else parang party na itong party ng mga mobile makers… ehehehehe
Wakocoke says:
🥉 Bronze🏆1
at least my phone can make phone calls!
ed says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
@sir abe
While it’s true that phones in general drop signal due to “death grip” iPhone 4’s antennagate can be easily replicated even by just one finger. Hence, for iPhone 4 it’s more on “death touch” rather than death grip. Death grip affects all phones while death touch was thus far unique to iPhone 4.
xtian1986 says:
🥈 Silver🏆1
next gen iphone: Iphone 4[S]
in 3gS it stood for speed, in iphone 4S it will stand for signal rofl
Angie says:
🥈 Silver🏆1
What’s not clear with iFools is that iPhone 4 is SEVERELY AFFECTED when you grip on its weak spot. 3-4 bars with the iPhone 4 while just 0-1 bar (and for HTC, up to 2 bars) for other phones.
You may be a fanboy but you won’t be able to defend this issue. Kasi, walang solution, kundi case.
Buti kung isang case ng beer, at least owners would be able to drink the problem away. :)
john says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
pathetic and distasteful escape for steve jobs.
JKisaragi says:
🥉 Rookie🏆1
My Galaxy S does drop a bar when you hold it at the bottom curve (which is NOT the conventional way of holding it when taking or making a call). But it does not totally lose the network signal.
At least I’m not obligated to hold it “the right way”, nor am I forced to buy / get a bumper for my phone to function properly.
@iPhone 4 issue
Everything is weird nowadays when it comes to the iPhone 4. Especially on how they (Steve and company) handle the issue:
1.)The Early Adopters noticed that something is wrong with the phone, Apple says they’re holding it wrong.
2.)The EAs still say something is wrong, Apple says it’s a software problem.
3.)The EAs wait for the software fix, but Apple instead held a press con regarding the issue and the next thing we know they’re giving away free bumpers.
The cherry on top of this crap-sundae is that instead of taking the blame, Apple then points out that the issue is present in the phones of other companies as well (e.g Nokia, Samsung, HTC, etc.)
In the end, Apple still did not admit the flawed design of the iPhone 4, and since they’re so alone with this fiasco, they decided to invite the other phone companies to come join the fun. XD
I have nothing against Apple, but this is just SO wrong.
lolipown says:
💠 Supremacy🏆1
@snpklsdmbldr
they have reached levels far worse than kool-aid drinking i fear.
kiko says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
Globe will launch its iPhone 4 with free colorful band aids for the antenna gate =D LoL!
Fleeb says:
🥉 Bronze🏆1
A case is not even a solution, it’s a workaround. A solution is a hardware redesign.
Arvee says:
🥇 Gold🏆1
A workaround for Apple to escape profit loss. wise indeed! lol, ginagawa nalang nilang tanga ang mga customers nila. tsktsk
lawrence says:
🥉 Bronze🏆1
In a way, either intentional or not, I can consider this as a marketing strategy.. apple already has a solid fan base.. they sure will still buy if apple releases iphone 5 with better specs and without this stupid defect.. napansin ko kasi installment ang pag add nila ng features, kya ang haba ng staying power nila sa market.. unlike other company na nageexplore ng specs mixes with levels like entry, midrange, etc..
hays.. poor ifans.. proprietiness plang ng unang iphone na turn-off na ko e.. hehe
mr. bogus says:
🥉 Bronze🏆1
tri-nay ko yung black berry and my nokia phone na i grip pero d naman nawala ang signal ng cellphone ko(atleast may 1 to 2 bars pa)!!! halatang gusto nila i cover-up yung kamalian nila sa design ng iphone4.. at sabihin na LAHAT ng cellphone ay may ganung problem!!! wtf!!! naghanap pa ng masisisi…….
at sasabihin pa niya na mababang posyento lang ang nag complain sa apple care about sa drop call percentage… nakakuha na sila ng data ehh di pa naman nagtatagal and iphone 4 at alam na ng mga nagkaroon ng iphone 4 na may problema sa signal problem kaya talagang di na nila hahawakan yung sa bottom left corner…
di na lang aminin na nagkamali sila…
karma for steve jobs!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i prefer iphone3gs and htc android!!!!!!!!!!
the best smart phone pa rin ang
Wil says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
galaxy s user here (intro)
i think apple’s engineering team are currently tirelessly working their a_s off to find a solution for the next production run of iphone4s. tho apple already sold those 3 million of these, they’ve just delivered 600,000 units in the US so far, and some hundreds Ks more on other countries. maybe the last 600k of that 3M will get away with that issue IF the engineering team is working it
JP says:
💎 Platinum🏆1
Here’s a funny iPhone4 news flash to lighten everyone’s moods.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn-YesqzvNk&feature=topvideos
Efren Sy says:
🥉 Rookie🏆2
Personally I am not an iPhone User, but I think the topic is getting out of hand.
The topic is about other phones tested here to have the same problem thats occuring to the iPhone4
I hope all people who comments positive or negative things here about Apple are iPhone4 users and owners
you still can’t judge a product by heresay alone
lumalabas na naman ang crabmentality ng Pinoy
Hot topic yung deathgrip sa iPhone 4 because this was publicly reviewed and talked about sa internet
Parang showbiz pag may sikat na artista na mas scandal talagang pag uusapan lalo na sa Philippines
How many of the supposed 3M iPhone4s are here in the Philippines ba?
Marami kasing Deathgrip afficianados dito.
Puro violent reactions
di pa ata nakakarecover sa 9 years ni GMA
Topic: Deathgrip on other Phones tested positive, also on other brands of smartphone
comment on the 3 other brands and models tested here if you are users of it or if you have tested them also with your phones.
Wil says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
@efren, spot on :)
winner says:
🥉 Rookie🏆1
iPhone haters = Losers
Jojo says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
what if i dont like the color ?
they should protect Jobs at all cost
kritik says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
@Efren Sy – No, it has nothing to do with crab mentality. You just don’t understand.
It has become a hot topic because:
1) The problem happens on the Iphone 4, when you hold it the natural way on your left hand. Which is holding a phone on it sides. And this is a almost $1000 phone (unsubsidized). It could be forgiven if it’s only around $100 but it’s not.
2) Apple and Jobs are lied that there is a problem. First they said there is no problem, then they said that it is a software problem.
3) Jobs involved other manufacturers in the issue even if the other phones DO NOT have the exact same problem. Sure, when you cover the antenna of other phones, it would lose some signal, but it will not lose ALL of it. And the most important, it is not located in a place where you would naturally cover it with your hand
4) It’s Apple. It’s a company that loves publicity. It’s just crying foul now because it’s negative. How ironic since they keep bashing other companies in their ads and conferences.
So, you see. It’s not crab mentality. It’s Apple’s fault why it blew out of hand.
bea says:
🌱 Noobs🏆1
@efren
fyi death grip was only present in iphone 4. HTC has this problem with Eris before and the phone has been pulled out from the market.
Don’t be a fool. You only believed what Jobs has presented before you even though muCh were allibies.
You have the most in your Comment that is off-topiC by the way.
Efren Sy says:
🥉 Rookie🏆2
Again as I’ve said in my comment read all of the previous comment before you start attacking for this matter now ME.
is the topic you are viewing now ” HEY LET’S START POSTING NEGATIVE COMMENTS ABOUT THE APPLE IPHONE4 BECAUSE WELL IT’S POPULAR AND OH IF YOU DON’T OWN ONE AND JUST WANT TO JOIN THE BANDWAGON OF NEGATIVE POLLUTING NETIZENS IN THE PHILIPPINES OH WHAT THE HELL.”
All I am saying is Yugatech posted 3 test subjects, No iPhone 4 involve. Now if anyone of those people that posted about the DeathGrip pertaining to Apple’s New Phone has indeed purchase and currently owns an iPhone 4 now, please do make the same video review of the Apple Product then post your youtube video link here so that our fellow Yugatech Readers can in turn start posting NEGATIVE stuff about it.
IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME DEATHGRIP ISSUE WITH THE SAID 3 MODELS POSTED HERE OR OTHER SMARTPHONES THEN COMMENT.
Until Globe Telecom hasn’t release the official Locked iPhone 4 here, and I kmow many Globe subscribers will avail even if it will cost so much, because I know people with deep pockets will afford, POSTPAID. Then hold your bad comments for now. But as I’ve said, if you are one of those fortunate people with lots of money that came from your hard work, or from anywhere and so happen to purchase it from UK or Canada where its openline, and had it shipped here in the Philippines. Then is experiencing Signal Problems due to deathgrip syndrome. Feel free to start or continue. The Force is strong with you!
Efren Sy says:
🥉 Rookie🏆2
I thought this topic was about the review that other smart phones from other brands also have the deathgrip signal going down issue.
is this the Steve Jobs please admit you are a loser section.
wow 3M iPhone 4 units
how many millions of units could the filipino people have?
I for sure don’ have one.
hmmm. maybe our fellow netizens here that are having problems with the signal of iPhone 4 really do have the iPhone 4.
Please post your personal encounters with the said product.
also there is an iPhone 4 first impression topic here at YUGATECH
Efren Sy says:
🥉 Rookie🏆2
I thought this topic was about the review that other smart phones from other brands also have the deathgrip signal going down issue.
is this the Steve Jobs please admit you are a loser section.
wow 3M iPhone 4 units
how many millions of units could the filipino people have?
I for sure don’ t have one.
hmmm. maybe our fellow netizens here that are having problems with the signal of iPhone 4 really do have the iPhone 4.
Please post your personal encounters with the said product.
also there is an iPhone 4 first impression topic here at YUGATECH
pabs says:
🥉 Rookie🏆1
I think now, its proven that Apple products are not really that good. Its only the hype that made it. So , buti nga sa inyo na mahilig mag pa sosyal at sumunod sa kung ano ang sinasabi ng iba. He he he, you deserve it all. I, for one deserve my Nokia N97 , forever strong and good.
mr. bogus says:
🥉 Bronze🏆1
@efren: teka teka!!! di ka naman pala iphone user pero nagcocoment ka dito… your S.O.B!!!!
respect others opinion… whether its positive or negative or alimangong mentalidad pa yan.. hindi mo mapleplease ang lhat ng tao na mag agree sayo… its your opinion… respetuhan lang tayo… we get your point!!! so stop talking na parang paslit na inagawan ng lolipop sa kalye!! kung may bitterness ka sa buhay wag mo isasama dito sa blog
remember this phrase: “respect others opinion”
JKisaragi says:
🥉 Rookie🏆1
@Bea
Actually, the so called “Death Grip” exists in every phone. Only that it is prominent in certain situations, and unlike the iPhone 4 where holding it normally (as provided already in most of the tech sites), you’d have to handle your phone “awkwardly” to reproduce the same effect.
@Efren Sy
I think Apple blew it by including the other phone companies in this fiasco of theirs (July 16 Press Conference, Cupertino, California), which entitles almost every other Filipino (or maybe not just us) who have the phones of Apple’s “rivals” to comment on the said issue.
Please also note that Apple had several chances to own up to the issue and rectify it right away. But what did they do? They dodged the issue and they continue to deny it even when they are now giving out free bumpers / cases (not to mention refunds in some parts of the world), which, in my opinion, is an indirect fess-up to their iPhone 4 woes.
I guess people here, even if they don’t own an iPhone 4 (yet), are just ticked off because of all the deceit being thrown around. We’re all consumers, and I’m sure we don’t want that happening to us.
You don’t have to own an iPhone 4 to see that there is something wrong (and I’m not talking about the signal issues). :)