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RSmith2023

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 26, 2015
823
884
Atlanta, GA
Why do the signal bars for both my lines on the phone not match up? Aren’t they both using the same antennas and hitting the same towers? iPhone 11 Pro Max
 

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parker5011

macrumors regular
May 17, 2018
198
194
Why do the signal bars for both my lines on the phone not match up? Aren’t they both using the same antennas and hitting the same towers? iPhone 11 Pro Max

It would only match if it’s the same carrier (Verizon, ATT) if they are different it’ll be dependent on who’s is strongest
 
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RSmith2023

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 26, 2015
823
884
Atlanta, GA
They ARE both the same carrier. I use the eSIM as a business line but they are both AT&T.

it’s about 50/50 for them to be matched up, but when they aren’t, the eSIM seems to have a stronger signal indicator
 

teeshot44

macrumors 65816
Aug 8, 2015
1,120
885
US
Even with the same carrier, you could still be on different towers. Happens frequently with my iPhone and my wife's. We're both on Verizon, but happen to be almost equidistant from two towers. Speed test and field test mode verify differences. AND, the "bars" are only estimate, not an exact measure which folks keep forgetting.
 

ecschwarz

macrumors 65816
Jun 28, 2010
1,435
356
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but the data line (top) may also have carrier aggregation (connecting to multiple towers/LTE bands) and I think when that happens, it shows the bars for the weakest signal that's part of CA.

AT&T is also known to mix and match a lot of different LTE bands (2, 4, 5, 12/17, 14, 29, 30, 66), so the chance of being on a different tower or panel can be very likely.
 
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