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

[Kimmie92592]

I’m on software 12.1 and it’s still as bad as it was before the software update. My issue is I’m showing two to three bars of LTE and having zero service while my old iPhone is working fine. I’m on T-Mobile. I feel like I’m the proud owner of a very expensive paperweight.

 

[jkozlow3]

After a week with 12.2.1 (Not Verizon)
I’ve seen better recovery from LTE to 4g and back to LTE
In the past if handset would drop To 4g it would stay until there was a cell handoff with a strong LTE signal.
Still getting moments of silence where handset can hear tower but tower does not hear handset (voice) but no call failures this week.
If data connection active during voice call handset set doesn’t always prioritize voice Over Data But it’s better than it was.
Looking forward to next modem firmware release

Carriers are learning how to rig Speedtest results especially stationary verses handset being mobile
Steaming live video from one handset up to the cloud and down to another handset shows how much it all falls apart. Not just a xs/Max Problem

What is 12.2.1? Do you mean 12.1.1 beta 1? That hasn’t even been out for a week.

 

[petesavage]

I’m on software 12.1 and it’s still as bad as it was before the software update. My issue is I’m showing two to three bars of LTE and having zero service while my old iPhone is working fine. I’m on T-Mobile. I feel like I’m the proud owner of a very expensive paperweight.

I was thinking this morning that my XS Max is like the world's swankiest iPod Touch. Really regretting returning my X to Apple back in late September.

 

[predation]

I just walked out of an ice skating rink and my phone connected from 4g to lte right away

 

[elitypes]

Agreed. And maybe also that after 3500+ responses to this thread, people feel they’ve learned about as much from this thread as they’re going to learn from it.

This is true for me personally. Unfortunately it’s slowing down because no one has any new information. Until apple or someone finds a definitive root cause, there’s nothing else to add.

I do visit this just to see if others have figured anything out or if any new beta seems to correct it. Other than that, good luck to all.

 

[jona2125]

Early in the game but I've noticed that 12.1.1 beta 1 is allowing a faster recovery from losing and gaining connections. I noticed the modem firmware jumped up a good series of numbers higher and I'm wondering if they're dialing this in better in making the phone let go faster to move on to the next available signal. I've only came across two dead zones (that's what I call coverage transition areas because the signal is strong in the area but the XS dies out latching to the previous area, in my theory anyway) so far and they recovered way faster.

 

[OBirder]

Or people have giving up on Apple ever fixing the hardware related problems with the XS phones

Tested today in low signal area with 12.1. While XS and XS Max lost complete signal the 8 kept 1 bar 4G signal throughout.

... ever ... may sound harsh. After all in 10 months we are getting the XI and I am quite confident it will improve the cellular connectivity with different hardware.

 

[jim29411]

Tested today in low signal area with 12.1. While XS and XS Max lost complete signal the 8 kept 1 bar 4G signal throughout.

... ever ... may sound harsh. After all in 10 months we are getting the XI and I am quite confident it will improve the cellular connectivity with different hardware.

What is XI?

 

[jkozlow3]

What is XI?

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-numeral

 

[jona2125]

What is XI?

He's referencing the new phone next year. It will just simply be called iPhone though and not iPhone Eleven. The decade has closed and the new one is going to kick off the next heritage of Apple.

 

[noteple]

What is 12.2.1? Do you mean 12.1.1 beta 1? That hasn’t even been out for a week.

Yes 12.1.1

 

[predation]

Just got back from Disneyland. Pics of my speed tests while I was at the park.
Not bad. No issues. Always reception when it was needed.
In and out of buildings transition was good.

iOS 12.1 btw. On Tmobile network. Now I just need further reaching 5ghz WiFi at home. Suggestions for a mesh setup or a router that will cover two story house 1800 sqft built in the late 90’s.

 

[vinegarshots]

Just got back from Disneyland. Pics of my speed tests while I was at the park.
Not bad. No issues. Always reception when it was needed.
In and out of buildings transition was good.

iOS 12.1 btw. On Tmobile network. Now I just need further reaching 5ghz WiFi at home. Suggestions for a mesh setup or a router that will cover two story house 1800 sqft built in the late 90’s.

That even looks a lot better than my experience at Disneyland with my old 7+ on Tmobile

 

[cave1238]

https://hothardware.com/news/apple-5g-iphone-2020-intel-modem

 

[jkozlow3]

https://hothardware.com/news/apple-5g-iphone-2020-intel-modem

What does that have to do with this thread?

 

[cave1238]

What does that have to do with this thread?

Well if I have read correctly there’s been a lot of talk on this thread about the modem (Qualcomm vs Intel). If not, my apologies!!

 

[jkozlow3]

Well if I have read correctly there’s been a lot of talk on this thread about the modem (Qualcomm vs Intel). If not, my apologies!!

Yes, there has been a lot of speculation as to WHY some people are having cellular issues.

• Hardware issues (modem, antenna) could include poor design/components or perhaps even a "bad batch" of phones.
• Software issues causing the phone to not always choose the appropriate band/tower or not searching aggressively enough to ensure that this selection is done in a timely manner (resulting in a poor user experience).

I'm not sure what a future modem choice that Apple may or may not make for future model phones had to do with the CURRENT issue being discussed here however.

 

[archer75]

Suggestions for a mesh setup or a router that will cover two story house 1800 sqft built in the late 90’s.

Unifi access points. They do handoff seamlessly and quickly. I use 2 to cover 2 stories of a 2700 Sq ft house. And you can use an ethernet backhaul.

 

[predation]

Unifi access points. They do handoff seamlessly and quickly. I use 2 to cover 2 stories of a 2700 Sq ft house. And you can use an ethernet backhaul.

Link?
Currently using a nighthawk r6700.
Would be nice if I can keep using th router

 

[Tibits]

Now I just need further reaching 5ghz WiFi at home. Suggestions for a mesh setup or a router that will cover two story house 1800 sqft built in the late 90’s.

I've been very happy with my Orbi system. The RBK50 should blanket a space your size very nicely.

 

[archer75]

Link?
Currently using a nighthawk r6700.
Would be nice if I can keep using th router

There's a lot of models out there. This is the one I have: https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Net...ie=UTF8&qid=1541426335&sr=1-15&keywords=unifi

I've had and still have a ton of routers over the years trying to find the best solution to cover my entire house. These unifi access points work better than anything i've ever used.

 

[jona2125]

Link?
Currently using a nighthawk r6700.
Would be nice if I can keep using th router

Not sure what Netgear has but I have an Asus AiMesh in my house. They have a large list of existing routers that support it and you can mix and match. I have 7 GT-AC5300's in my home and I get perfect coverage at full provider speed (40 MB/s [320 Mbps] download and 20 MB/s [160 Mbps] upload) throughout the house (about 12,000 sq. ft) and really good speeds and coverage around the outside of the house

 

[Thai]

Hot of the press!

https://www.pcmag.com/article/364768/exclusive-iphone-xs-crushes-xr-in-cellular-signal-test-resu

But but but but FCC documents say Xs is the worst...Xs is horrible...except it isn't. Oh yeah, FCC documents are about as useful as poop-flavored lollipop.

Just a reminder for those who have dementia: https://www.pcmag.com/news/364116/iphone-xs-crushes-x-in-lte-speeds-but-still-falls-short-of
[doublepost=1541430626][/doublepost]

or they recover their money and get other model (X, Xr..)

Probably not a good idea...actually pretty damn bad idea!!

https://www.pcmag.com/article/364768/exclusive-iphone-xs-crushes-xr-in-cellular-signal-test-resu

 

[stan646]

I have been following this topic from the start. Have not made a purchase yet. Presently have iPhone 7 and iPhone 7+ for wife and me. Planning on updating this year at some point. Price point for XS and XS Max just shy of $3K. Price point for 2 XR's $2200. jkozlow3's post nails it. It's user "real world" experience. I am waiting for something definitive about the issues discussed throughout this thread before I put out $3000. Right now the XR seems to be my best bet. I waited until December 17, 2016 before I purchased our iPhone 7's (before it's problems were resolved). Hopefully, this will be the case again.

 

[chripuck]

That's promising, but I really wish people realized that there is much more to this issue than DL/UL speeds - especially if you are in a strongish signal area. The cellular problems with the XS happen in WEAK coverage areas. I don't really care if I get 10MB or 50MB down for the most part. The difference is negligible and does not provide a significantly different user experience for what 99% of people do on their phones (email, texting, social media, web browsing, etc.).

What I do care about is that my phone selects the best signal/band as quickly as possible and that it maintains the best connection at all times (meaning that the phone is aggressive enough in seeking out the "best available option" when it needs to).

If the signal is strong enough, a higher frequency band (i.e. band 2/4) is fine. When the signal gets below a certain threshold, it should drop to the appropriate lower frequency band (i.e. band 13) in a timely manner. All of this should be seamless to the user and the user experience should be as good as it can be given the cellular reception in a given area (a variable Apple certainly has no control over).

All of this to say, I don't give a crap what my speeds are on a speed test as long as my phone is giving me the best user experience it can. If it's not connecting to the appropriate tower or band, then Apple is holding the user experience back. If the network/carrier/capacity sucks in the area I'm in, then so be it.

Agreed, the single most frustrating aspect of all of this is the fact that I can't use Siri in my car consistently. I ask her to do something and it takes 30 seconds to respond because the upstream is horrific. I get 40-50 down, which is 10-20% better than my iPhone 7, but it gets 4-5 up whereas my XS gets .5 up.

In strong signal areas this thing is absolutely amazing. I was at a football game a few weeks ago and buddies on their iPhone 7's and 8's couldn't get a text out, I was getting 100 down/20 up.
[doublepost=1541432739][/doublepost]

Hot of the press!

https://www.pcmag.com/article/364768/exclusive-iphone-xs-crushes-xr-in-cellular-signal-test-resu

But but but but FCC documents say Xs is the worst...Xs is horrible...except it isn't. Oh yeah, FCC documents are about as useful as poop-flavored lollipop.

Just a reminder for those who have dementia: https://www.pcmag.com/news/364116/iphone-xs-crushes-x-in-lte-speeds-but-still-falls-short-of
[doublepost=1541430626][/doublepost]

Probably not a good idea...actually pretty damn bad idea!!

https://www.pcmag.com/article/364768/exclusive-iphone-xs-crushes-xr-in-cellular-signal-test-resu

Sigh....