Steve Jobs said all smartphones have this problem -- hold it in a certain way and your phone signal goes down. 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. 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. 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. Read more in our articles including "The Death Grip Test on Antenna Signal" and "NTC ask telcos to turn off network services during Papal visit".
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May 14, 2026Steve Jobs said all smartphones have this problem -- hold it in a certain way and your phone signal goes down. 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.
Our coverage of antenna signal includes: "The Death Grip Test on Antenna Signal"; "NTC ask telcos to turn off network services during Papal visit"; "Globe cuts off service on Black Nazarene due to security". Each article provides unique insights and information.