Have you, like the thousands of other users, experienced the reception problems with the new iPhone 4? This problem is easily solved by getting a bumper (or using a makeshift one like a Livestrong bracelet). But now, getting a free bumper from Apple has never been easier because… there’s an app for that!

Here are Apple’s own directions:

Follow these steps to apply for a Bumper or case.

1. On your iPhone 4, download the iPhone 4 Case Program app from the App Store.
2. Launch the app and sign in using your iTunes Store account or Apple ID.
3. Select your Bumper or case.

For iPhone 4 purchases made before July 23, 2010, you must apply no later than August 22, 2010; otherwise, you must apply within 30 days of your iPhone 4 purchase. To qualify for this program, you must purchase your iPhone 4 by September 30, 2010.

Simple as that; all you need to do is get the app and you’ll have your bumper delivered to your door in no time!

But how does getting a bumper fix the problem you ask?

The answer is simple, the problem lies here:

See the little black band that just looks like a black line in the antenna?

There lies the problem.

According to Spencer Webb, an antenna designer for Apple, “The iPhone 4 has two symmetrical slots in the metal frame, which when covered, will affect antenna performance. There is no way around this, it’s a design compromise that is forced by the requirements of the FCC, AT&T, Apple’s marketing department and Apple’s industrial designers, to name a few.”

So basically, the iPhone 4 has two antennas that are separated at the point of the black band. When the gap is bridged by an electrical current,  transferred by a human fingertip perhaps, there is some interference that causes the reception quality to degrade.

SO, whats the best way to avoid this all together? Get a bumper! No touching of the gap means no bridging of the electrical current, and therefore no reception issues!

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