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

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MaskedCarrot

macrumors 6502
Mar 25, 2009
464
270
Northern VA
Although I only read the latter half of this thread, I haven't noticed anyone really much blaming the Intel modem chipset against the Qualcomm, being that for the past few years most people say the Qualcomm chip was better than the Intel version.

You guys think this could be causing some of the issues?
 
B

balaplus

macrumors 6502
Oct 23, 2017
384
277
MaskedCarrot said:
Although I only read the latter half of this thread, I haven't noticed anyone really much blaming the Intel modem chipset against the Qualcomm, being that for the past few years most people say the Qualcomm chip was better than the Intel version.

You guys think this could be causing some of the issues?
Click to expand...
If that turns out to be the case, we are all thoroughly hammered!

There seems to be no end in sight for the feud...
 
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0r30

0r30

macrumors 6502a
Aug 12, 2010
537
30
Texas
I had degradation when I went to the IPhone X but resetting the network settings did make an improvement. Will see if it’s that simple once I get the XSMax.
 
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nephipower

macrumors member
Nov 22, 2010
32
37
MaskedCarrot said:
Although I only read the latter half of this thread, I haven't noticed anyone really much blaming the Intel modem chipset against the Qualcomm, being that for the past few years most people say the Qualcomm chip was better than the Intel version.

You guys think this could be causing some of the issues?
Click to expand...


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

But first to nip in the bud one potential conspiracy theory, Apple's decision to forgo Qualcomm this year and source all cellular modems from Intel is not responsible for the RF power output limitations in the new iPhone models. The cellular baseband modem is separate from and well upstream of the amplifiers that generate the conducted power and antennas that generate the radiated power being measured in lab testing.
Click to expand...
 
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GarrettNolan

macrumors newbie
Jun 9, 2006
13
6
I tested my rsrp0 signal between a X and XS around 4am to eliminate heavy cell traffic. I averaged the signal strength over 4 minutes at 30 sec intervals. The X was locked in around -91 with 2 bars of signal, never dropping. The XS however was getting around -122 constantly fluctuating between 1-2 bars and searching for signal "no signal." This is in a large city area near south bay area on Sprint network inside. Both phones wifi/bluetooth were turned off and network settings were reset on both devices prior to testing.

I think I'll try and get a replacement and see if it too has the same issues.
 
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nephipower

macrumors member
Nov 22, 2010
32
37
GarrettNolan said:
I tested my rsrp0 signal between a X and XS around 4am to eliminate heavy cell traffic. I averaged the signal strength over 4 minutes at 30 sec intervals. The X was locked in around -91 with 2 bars of signal, never dropping. The XS however was getting around -122 constantly fluctuating between 1-2 bars and searching for signal "no signal." This is in a large city area near south bay area on Sprint network inside. Both phones wifi/bluetooth were turned off and network settings were reset on both devices prior to testing.

I think I'll try and get a replacement and see if it too has the same issues.
Click to expand...

Were you connected to the same LTE band on the 2 phones?
 
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nephipower

macrumors member
Nov 22, 2010
32
37
GarrettNolan said:
Both devices were on the same band at first from what I could see. But the X did not stay on the band like the XS did.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Well keep in mind there are improvements that can be done via software updates for LTE modem firmware and carrier settings updates.
 
macduke

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,479
20,560
I feel like my reception is similar which is disappointing because T-Mobile never deployed band 12 in my area, but had deployed band 71, and now that the XS supports it, I'm not noticing any better speed or signal penetration in my basement. However I did manage to pull down 490Mbps WiFi on SpeedTest.net app when in my office while only 5-6ft from my router which seemed like a big improvement. So at least the WiFi seems better.

Ok, so I just looked into band 71, and I guess T-Mobile lied to me on the phone when I talked to them about it last year. They said that band 71 would be deployed in my area last autumn so I was disappointed the iPhone X didn't support it. When checking a map from this spring that I just found when googling, it shows that it's not in my area yet, and I found another map that said it will be in my area by the end of 2018, so it's entirely likely that I don't even have band 71 yet. Lame! I've got band 12 a couple counties west and band 71 a couple counties east and nothing here in the middle in this decent sized college town.
 
S

Smoothie

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2007
781
544
California
Biko65 said:
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..
Click to expand...

EIRP is a function of both the RF amplifier's power output and the antenna's gain. But antenna gain also affects the ability of a receiver to acquire weaker signals. The FCC data includes the measured gain of the phone's antenna taken at different frequencies.
 
Gizmotoy

Gizmotoy

macrumors 65816
Nov 6, 2003
1,109
164
I have T-Mobile and the reception on my Xs Max seems worse than my outgoing 6S+. I have 1 fewer bar just about everywhere I frequent, and have No Signal at work despite the 6S+ having a passable connection.

Seems pretty crazy that the signal is worse even after replacing the metal casing for glass.
 
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naturalstar

naturalstar

macrumors demi-goddess
Mar 9, 2012
2,858
5,836
I’m going to have to watch this closely. At first I thought it was my home internet, but all of my other devices are fine and operate as usual.

I’ve lost connection to my internet once a day since having the phone. The most recent was this morning. The connection will simply drop and reconnect again, but I will only know if I am browsing online when it happens. An error will come up on Safari about not being connected to the internet. LTE kicks in, then WiFi connection comes back. Weird, but I won’t rule out Comcast/Xfinity shenanigans just yet.

I am sitting on 3 bars consistently when I have always had 4. I’m aware that doesn’t mean much without knowing actual signal strength.

Not many calls this weekend. I had a call with my son on Friday that dropped, but don’t know if it was him or me. He called me from his new Max.

Curious. I’ll monitor over the week as I move around the area more and compare with my husband’s iPhone 6 since he hasn’t upgraded just yet.
 
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decypher44

decypher44

macrumors 68000
Feb 24, 2007
1,812
2,987
Orange County, CA
When I called Apple Support this morning, the support person said this was the first he’s heard of this. I’m sure they have TONS of support staff, but still.
 
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