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iPhone XS Max Is the mobile reception on the xs Max even worse than iPhone X ?
- Thread starter mydogeatsbeats
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Watch it just change the bars to make it look like you have more than you really do lol
Currently updating and hoping my service on AT&T is fixed. Rarely get over 1-2 bars on the Max when I was consistently at 3-4 on my X.
Currently updating and hoping my service on AT&T is fixed. Rarely get over 1-2 bars on the Max when I was consistently at 3-4 on my X.
I just updated to 12.1. I am seeing no improvement just based on some early speed tests at work. Again, I know speed tests aren’t the most definitive test, but I see no improvement. I’ll test it more over the day and while I’m out and about, but this is very disappointing. I can’t say I’m surprised given others posted that the beta offered no improvements.
I’m in NYC with a XS Max on AT&T. 12.1 comes with updates to modem firmware and a carrier update, but I see no changes in LTE performance. I had upgraded from a 7+ and historically have seen LTE speeds around ~30-40mbps. This is my second XS Max after receiving a replacement. Been in touch with 2 different senior advisers, and have provided multiple screenshots/sysdiagnose files to Apple engineering. Last heard from the adviser Tuesday 10/23, who told me engineering is aware of the issue and are working on a fix. Take that with a HUGE grain of salt...
I’m in NYC with a XS Max on AT&T. 12.1 comes with updates to modem firmware and a carrier update, but I see no changes in LTE performance. I had upgraded from a 7+ and historically have seen LTE speeds around ~30-40mbps. This is my second XS Max after receiving a replacement. Been in touch with 2 different senior advisers, and have provided multiple screenshots/sysdiagnose files to Apple engineering. Last heard from the adviser Tuesday 10/23, who told me engineering is aware of the issue and are working on a fix. Take that with a HUGE grain of salt...
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12.1 on Verizon does not fix the issue for me at all. Bummer.
I know it's not all about speeds, but I'm at work and naturally my first test was to see if LTE speeds were back to what I had on my previous 7+. I won't know until later when I am out and using my phone to determine if it's any better with reacquiring signal and data use. However given I see no change in just a plain speed test, it doesn't make me hopeful that anything else will have improved.
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Me too buddy :-(
Has anyone who installed 12.1 with the issue done a reset network setting after install?
So, good news and bad. The good news is that the release did have an impact: my XS no longer constantly drops down to 4G. It holds a steady LTE connection no matter where I walk in my house, which wasn't the case an hour earlier on release 12.01.
In certain parts of the house, my LTE speeds are back up to 8+ levels! However, in areas where the connection is weaker, the speeds remain terrible: my latest speedtest was .34 Mbps down. A few minutes earlier it was .06 Mbps down. In a way, the release has made the phone worse, as it was faster when it constantly dropped down to 4G.
Final thoughts: 12.1 fixed the LTE connection issue, strengthening the phone's grip on LTE. It had no impact on weaker LTE signals however, with weak connections remaining extremely problematic for the phone.
So, quick recap-- my XS Max was one that has been working fine over celluar (tmobile). Similar performance to my old 7+. Slightly weaker 5ghz wifi reception.
Just installed ios12.1
Upload speeds on speed test are now consistently much higher than average, which is interesting.
Still have to test wifi to see if there is any change there.
Just installed ios12.1
Upload speeds on speed test are now consistently much higher than average, which is interesting.
Still have to test wifi to see if there is any change there.
I really believe that this problem can only be fixed with a redesign of the antenna. I am an electrical engineer that has a basic understanding on RF design even though I don't actively do RF design. The XS antenna gain performance graphs speak for themselves. 
Maybe vinegarsnots and solodog have phones with a redesigned antenna and that is the reason that they are not experiencing problems. I am aware of the requirement for Apple to submit the antenna parameters to the FCC if they did a redesign, however, revenue trumps requirements and maybe Apple bypassed this step and phased a redesigned antenna into production.
Maybe vinegarsnots and solodog have phones with a redesigned antenna and that is the reason that they are not experiencing problems. I am aware of the requirement for Apple to submit the antenna parameters to the FCC if they did a redesign, however, revenue trumps requirements and maybe Apple bypassed this step and phased a redesigned antenna into production.
I really believe that this problem can only be fixed with a redesign of the antenna. I am an electrical engineer that has a basic understanding on RF design even though I don't actively do RF design. The XS antenna gain performance graphs speak for themselves.
Maybe vinegarsnots and solodog have phones with a redesigned antenna and that is the reason that they are not experiencing problems. I am aware of the requirement for Apple to submit the antenna parameters to the FCC if they did a redesign, however, revenue trumps requirements and maybe Apple bypassed this step and phased a redesigned antenna into production.
My phone is a launch day phone...
Depending on network traffic in the area by my house, my Tmobile download speeds range from 5Mb (in the afternoon) to 120Mb (around 2am).
Speed tests arent any good unless you have another device on same network and tower and band all at the same time running the speed test simultaneously.
Great to hear you're seeing some improvements. Also great to hear that your phone has been good with cellular, I am jealous! Again I just wish there was some rhyme or reason to those of us having problems. 2 phones and both are the same for me. Others have gone through more with no improvements, others have gone through replacements to find better performance. My brother in law got his XS and has no problems. The whole thing is super bizarre.
Verizon - iOS 12.1 ...
I am also seeing an uptick on uploads. Somewhat respectable even. My downloads were always good if not great. It was my uploads that were pathetic. 12.1 brought my uploads back to life. The jury is still out though but initial impressions are favorable.
I am also seeing an uptick on uploads. Somewhat respectable even. My downloads were always good if not great. It was my uploads that were pathetic. 12.1 brought my uploads back to life. The jury is still out though but initial impressions are favorable.
I totally get that, and admittedly I am not a super technical person.
The only thing I will say is that even anecdotally speaking, if I have in the past always used my phones in the same locations (work/home), and have made no changes in my cellular plan, even without knowing the exact network/tower/band, one would notice a big degradation no? I for one have never seen my phone EVER produce a DL speed greater than ~1-3mbps. That's from testing all times of the day, multiple times in the same location, multiple times in different locations, and in different states.
Again this is all anecdotal, but it's a case of "my phone always worked in my area and I never had problems with data, and now all of a sudden it's terrible and the only thing different is my new phone (2 units at that)".
Again who knows what the core issue is. It's just been an ongoing mystery/nightmare.
I am an electrical engineer that has a basic understanding on RF design even though I don't actively do RF design. The XS antenna gain performance graphs speak for themselves.
Maybe vinegarsnots and solodog have phones with a redesigned antenna and that is the reason that they are not experiencing problems.
Electrical engineering and RF fundamentals have absolutely nothing in common. Antenna gain is only a portion of the overall reception network, just the same as wire gauge is only a portion of the overall capacity of an electrical network.
To help you understand better, I can run 20amps of 120vac through a 12awg wire that’s a short run just fine, and I can run 20amps through an 8awg wire that’s the same distance. Just because the pipe is bigger doesn’t mean you’re getting better performance.
Similar with RF. Overall antenna gain will help the receiver and transmitter in the phone pick up and send signals to cell towers easier, but it can be overcome by increasing the power inside the device to make up for the lack of reception from the antenna. Think in terms of a cellular booster, taking weaker signals and making them stronger with amplification.
Now, does that mean there couldn’t have been a better design, of course not. Keep in mind the band around the device is the antenna, and it has been reconfigured from a 2x2 to a 4x4 configuration in the exact same amount of space, which also means the hardware “amplification” is to speak had to be increased to make up for the significantly smaller individual antennas.
There aren’t different antenna designs, the FCC would throw a fit. There will be software tweaks that might push the boundaries of legal power transmission, but hardware won’t be changed until the next device is submitted for review.
I really believe that this problem can only be fixed with a redesign of the antenna. I am an electrical engineer that has a basic understanding on RF design even though I don't actively do RF design. The XS antenna gain performance graphs speak for themselves.
Maybe vinegarsnots and solodog have phones with a redesigned antenna and that is the reason that they are not experiencing problems. I am aware of the requirement for Apple to submit the antenna parameters to the FCC if they did a redesign, however, revenue trumps requirements and maybe Apple bypassed this step and phased a redesigned antenna into production.
There isn't just ONE problem here. Yes, the antenna gain is weaker on the XS. FCC reports prove that.
However, having a 5% weaker antenna gain does not explain all of the weird cellular issues people have experienced. Some of that behavior is undoubtedly due to software (in iOS, carrier settings, somewhere).
The reason some people haven't had issues is because there are a LOT of variables regarding carrier, signal strength, bands used in a particular area, etc. - NOT because Apple secretly revised the antenna design. That's a ridiculous notion and it would not have happened this quickly. No way.
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In terms of those FCC graphs that WiWavelength made that caused quite a stir on here...
Remember how good the numbers were for the Pixel 3XL compared to the iPhone XS Max? Well I bought a 3XL to try last weekend and based on comparing RSRP values while on the same LTE band/cell site/sector, the iPhone XS Max was actually having a better signal on Verizon's B4 and B13 at my home. This while comparing them in the exact same locations with all else being equal. They were actually very similar though - probably within the margin of error (only like a 1-3 dBm difference). *note - I had been on the 12.1 beta 5 at that point in time*
Now this is of course only part of it. I still seem to get more weird drop outs of unusable LTE on my XSM than the 3XL, but the 3XL is not this LTE powerhouse like it was possibly projected to be. I even had a few areas where the XSM would have usable LTE where the 3XL did not. It all seems to come down to when each device hunts for a different LTE band/cell site/sector.
I am returning the 3XL due to some speaker issues and will keep the XSM for good (was thinking about selling it to a co-worker).
Edit: I do want to mention that I trust WiWavelength's work. I have read a lot of his comments/posts on S4GRU back when I was with Sprint. I do find him to be very knowledgeable on this type of stuff. He even mentions though that these FCC numbers are not the end all be all.
Remember how good the numbers were for the Pixel 3XL compared to the iPhone XS Max? Well I bought a 3XL to try last weekend and based on comparing RSRP values while on the same LTE band/cell site/sector, the iPhone XS Max was actually having a better signal on Verizon's B4 and B13 at my home. This while comparing them in the exact same locations with all else being equal. They were actually very similar though - probably within the margin of error (only like a 1-3 dBm difference). *note - I had been on the 12.1 beta 5 at that point in time*
Now this is of course only part of it. I still seem to get more weird drop outs of unusable LTE on my XSM than the 3XL, but the 3XL is not this LTE powerhouse like it was possibly projected to be. I even had a few areas where the XSM would have usable LTE where the 3XL did not. It all seems to come down to when each device hunts for a different LTE band/cell site/sector.
I am returning the 3XL due to some speaker issues and will keep the XSM for good (was thinking about selling it to a co-worker).
Edit: I do want to mention that I trust WiWavelength's work. I have read a lot of his comments/posts on S4GRU back when I was with Sprint. I do find him to be very knowledgeable on this type of stuff. He even mentions though that these FCC numbers are not the end all be all.
As Packers suggested, make sure to perform a "Reset All Network" settings after updating.
Update #2:
Prior to 12.1 on my Max, my 5ghz WiFi was VERY unstable at the end of my house (through a bunch of walls and two closed doors). 7+ was fine, but the Max would constantly disconnect.
Post 12.1, 5ghz WiFi is ROCK SOLID at the end of my house. No more drops, and same as old 7+ now.
VERY pleased with this update so far.
Prior to 12.1 on my Max, my 5ghz WiFi was VERY unstable at the end of my house (through a bunch of walls and two closed doors). 7+ was fine, but the Max would constantly disconnect.
Post 12.1, 5ghz WiFi is ROCK SOLID at the end of my house. No more drops, and same as old 7+ now.
VERY pleased with this update so far.