iPhone 7 'no service' and low signal bar issue

[jas9]

I bought an iPhone 7 from someone yesterday. All day today it was working fine and then suddenly a few hours back it started developing a 'no service' and low signal bar issue, and the problem seems to be getting severe as time passes. It goes to 'no service' and then finds signals again then again goes to no service and so on. When it shows no service, any calls made to the phone make it look like the phone is off. When it does show signal, the calls go through fine.

It has the latest software. Could it be the 'no service' issue that Apple is fixing it themselves? (ref: https://support.apple.com/iphone-7-no-service). If it is this is a motherboard problem as Apple says in this article, should it be showing No Service all the time or does it do that at times only? I'm trying to figure out if it's a software problem or a hardware problem.

I can't go to an Apple store or Apple service center as I don't have these in my country.


What could be the issue and how to fix it?

If it's a hardware issue, should I be seeing No Service permanently? Or is it normal for it lose signals and show No Service at times only?

I have iPhone 7 and iPhone 6S sitting right next to each other with the SAME carrier's sim. iPhone 7 is currently showing one signal bar whereas iPhone 6S is showing three signal bars.

 

[012512]

have you bought it second hand?

 

[jas9]

have you bought it second hand?

Yes.

 

[012512]

Yes.

That's a problem. It might be the hardware has been modified before you bought it.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Your only options are to return the phone or find a 3rd party repair shop that can do board level repairs. Many have complained that Apple won't replace effected phones anymore even though there seems to be an obvious hardware problem

 

[Minorite]

You need a trusted repair shop that does microsoldering. It's not the full board repair, just the baseband IC. My 7 already survived 2 of these (several unlucky drops of the phone). Depends on your location, but the price should be around $100.