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iPhone XS Max Is the mobile reception on the xs Max even worse than iPhone X ?

So there have been several stories posted to the main page already this morning. Nothing about this has been posted.

I’m really hoping MR and others contact Apple for comment. Soon!
 
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In The Netherlands (with T-Mobile) we do have this problem too for almost a year. The iPhone X, 8 and 8 Plus have problems like:
  • No 4G;
  • Dropped calls;
  • Slow speeds;
  • More often 'no service'.
You can read them here (in Dutch):
https://community.t-mobile.nl/apple-444/slechte-verbinding-met-iphone-283693
This occurs to a small percentage of the users, but is really annoying. The worst part is that neither T-Mobile or Apple came up with a solution, apart from swapping the phone for a new or refurbished item. This is still going on.

I have bought an iPhone XS Max and I'm using it for almost 3 days. I cannot really determine if the reception is worse than my iPhone 7 Plus. The speeds are better than my 7 Plus. The only thing that I have noticed is that this iPhone loses the 4G connection a little bit faster than my iPhone 7 Plus. Moreover, when I place the iPhone XS Max in my pockets, it drops easily to 3G where the coverage is less. I hoped it would perform better, since it has 4x4 MiMo. Overall, the speeds are pretty good since we have 256-QAM for download and 64-QAM for upload and triple carrier aggegration across the country. Here are some examples:
IMG_2275.PNG

IMG_2276.PNG

At home, I have around 180 Mbits download and 45 Mbits upload.

The iPhone XS Max uses the same frequencies like my iPhone 7 Plus had. You can view the configuration here:
IMG_2269.PNGIMG_2270.PNG

I'm not sure if the reception is worse than my old 7 Plus. I went for a 70 km (44 miles) ride with public transport ride today, which I do 200 times a year, and the patterns were almost the same. Sometimes it held the 4G connection longer than the 7 Plus, sometimes it didn't. The strangest part what I had noticed, was that I achieved around 17 Mbits of download speed over 4G (one bar) and the connection dropped to 3G. I made a GIF from that.
IMG_2272.TRIM.gif


I'm hoping that these devices won't have the same problem as the iPhone X, 8(+) have with T-Mobile Netherlands.
Fingers crossed.
2855672485
 
XS Max

I had already been maxing out WiFi with the iPhone X, so the limiting factor for me is simply that my Xfinity account maxes out in the 250-300 range. :)

And my T-Mobile arrays at home in the country don't support the fastest technologies.

Today will be the first real cellular data tests for me to see whether I get faster data in metro areas. :)
 
I've seen this report quoted several times in this thread :

https://www.wiwavelength.com/2018/09/iphone-xs-and-xs-max-mostly-fail-to.html

but to my knowledge, EIRP means "Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power" which means that the test is taking care of the signal coming out the phone.
What if the RF power amplifier is just pushing a tad less power through the antenna ?
Of course this has nothing to do with the reception signal problems that people is reporting here, but a new accurate reception test with an external RF source might be due..
My 2 cents..
 
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I’m glad I didn’t get a dud. At this work site I currently am at, I use to get 2-4 mbps. Just happened to suck as far as reception goes. Now I get 30+. Trust me, it ain’t much. But when you had 2-4 mbps before, it’s wonderful. In areas I do get reception, easily 180+ mbps.
 
It's not about speeds it's about holding on to a signal . I am sure everybody is being effected in some way you just may not know it yet
 
ROLLTIDE1 said:
It's not about speeds it's about holding on to a signal . I am sure everybody is being effected in some way you just may not know it yet
Click to expand...
I have watched hours of youtube videos on my max with no interuptions, I have downloaded a lot of apps, etc.

yet, you're saying I don't know if I have a problem or not?
 
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Well then I haven’t encountered any of these losing signal or reception with my Max at all. Hopefully it stays that way but I’m happy I haven’t.
 
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I’m definitely seeing much worse reception and speeds, it does get a little better when I go outside but either way it’s piss poor and unacceptable.
 

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Ortiz83 said:
Yes with the Max. And just to let everyone know, I’m not saying the problem is not there. I’m just saying I having encountered it.
Click to expand...
that is what I am saying as well. therefore there is a strong likelihood that this is not a hardware issue on ALL XS MAX iphones!
 
I’m seeing much better reception on my Max compared to my 8+ on cellular for sure. I’m in an area that has really low speeds, and I usually only got around 1/2 to Mb download from my 8+ and have been getting around 13-14 Mb with the Max since I’ve gotten it. It also seems better at maintaining the signal, as my 8+ had issues with this as well
 
Cayden said:
I’m seeing much better reception on my Max compared to my 8+ on cellular for sure. I’m in an area that has really low speeds, and I usually only got around 1/2 to Mb download from my 8+ and have been getting around 13-14 Mb with the Max since I’ve gotten it. It also seems better at maintaining the signal, as my 8+ had issues with this as well
Click to expand...
you don't know what you're talking about either!!!!

hahah j/k
 
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Ok. So first time with the phone driving into work. I work fairly far from home, so it takes about an hour each way.

The drive in this morning had me at two bars. With my 7+, I’d have full bars for 90%of the drive.

Something is wrong. Period.
[doublepost=1537799313][/doublepost]And still NOTHING on the front page.
 
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Orangeman13 said:
I have watched hours of youtube videos on my max with no interuptions, I have downloaded a lot of apps, etc.

yet, you're saying I don't know if I have a problem or not?
Click to expand...
And that means nothing at all. Using download speeds are not a way to tell if the reception of a phone is better or worse. You need to compare dBm values between two devices that are on the same LTE band, the same cell site, and the same sector at that site.

I have done exactly that between my Max and my Pixel 2. On Verizon's LTE band 4, the Max is averaging 5-8 dBm less than the Pixel 2 while connected to the same everything.

Using download speeds are normally network dependent. The Max has more LTE bands - 4x4 MIMO, etc... Things that should increase download speeds if your network is using it.

Also for people in dense urban areas (or other areas of strong signal) then this issue won't bother them as much. The point of this thread is that the new iPhones are not as reliable at this moment in fringe signal areas. There are a lot more drops to 3G or no service in areas of weak LTE than previous phones.

Sometimes software updates can help some... but the FCC docs don't leave me too confident at this moment. Nonetheless, I am going to give Apple the 2 weeks of my return policy to try to iron things out.
 
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I went to my dads house this morning, where At&t service has been non existent the last 5 years with all previous iPhones, actually had a little bit of service and data for the first time. Clearly I am an outlier so far.
 
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decypher44 said:
Ok. So first time with the phone driving into work. I work fairly far from home, so it takes about an hour each way.

The drive in this morning had me at two bars. With my 7+, I’d have full bars for 90%of the drive.

Something is wrong. Period.
[doublepost=1537799313][/doublepost]And still NOTHING on the front page.
Click to expand...

To submit something to Macrumors you can email them @ tips@macrumors.com
 
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uecker87 said:
And that means nothing at all. Using download speeds are not a way to tell if the reception of a phone is better or worse. You need to compare dBm values between two devices that are on the same LTE band, the same cell site, and the same sector at that site.

I have done exactly that between my Max and my Pixel 2. On Verizon's LTE band 4, the Max is averaging 5-8 dBm less than the Pixel 2 while connected to the same everything.

Using download speeds are normally network dependent. The Max has more LTE bands - 4x4 MIMO, etc... Things that should increase download speeds if your network is using it.

Also for people in dense urban areas (or other areas of strong signal) then this issue won't bother them as much. The point of this thread is that the new iPhones are not as reliable at this moment in fringe signal areas. There are a lot more drops to 3G or no service in areas of weak LTE than previous phones.

Sometimes software updates can help some... but the FCC docs don't leave me too confident at this moment. Nonetheless, I am going to give Apple the 2 weeks of my return policy to try to iron things out.
Click to expand...
did you not read my post? I am not talking about speeds - I said with no interruptions - meaning no dropping of service!

Geez.....
 
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