Why the iPhone 4 Death Grip Doesn't Always Work

The recent Apple iPhone 4 Antennagate controversy put a bright public spotlight onto an technical issue of wireless networking well-known to engineers for many years. Called attenuation, the concept is an often temporary loss of signal strength caused by wireless interference or physical obstructions.

Wireless radios like those used in either Wi-Fi networking gear and cell phones are generally all susceptible to attenuation, but the extent of the problem varies unpredictably depending on many factors like the orientation of antennas, air temperature and humidity. In the case of an iPhone "death grip," even very small changes in position of a person's hand on the phone, and how dry or moist it is, greatly affect the extent of attenuation.

→ See also - Did Steve Jobs Send the Wrong Message at Antennagate Event? (macs.about.com)

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