Case Closed: Apple Ends Free iPhone4 Antenna Fix

On Friday, Apple ran the following banner at the top of its iPhone4 Case Program Web page:

"We now know that the iPhone 4 antenna attenuation issue is even smaller than we originally thought. A small percentage of iPhone 4 users need a case, and we want to continue providing them a bumper case for free. For everyone else, we are discontinuing the free case program on all iPhone 4s sold after September 30, 2010. We are also returning to our normal returns policy for all iPhone 4s sold after September 30. Users experiencing antenna issues should call AppleCare to request a free bumper case."

Apple's site had no additional information about how the antenna issue would be resolved in future iPhones. The free case program started in July, when it became evident there was a flaw with the iPhone's antenna design that led to disconnected calls. When a user touched an area on the device's case at the point at which the two parts of its external antenna met, the iPhone would lose its signal. The bumpers were fabricated to fit around the smartphone to prevent the signal loss.