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

[M.Rizk]

I have had the phone now (Max) for over 3 months and I did not experience any signal issues so far. I have used the phone in a total of 3 countries (2 of them I was roaming) and it never drops signal or show less bars than older iPhones.

LTE speed is amazing when it comes to the downlink. Uplink usually a little slower than older iPhones but not really noticeable in real world usage.

I never had any dropped calls (VoLTE, or even 3G when roaming). No issue texting. No issues with the internet LTE or WiFi.

 

[jay968]

After having tried and returned the Xr a couple of weeks ago, I sent and picked up an Xs last night and spent some time comparing it to my Galaxy S10e. I was actually surprised that data speeds were quite good, pretty much the same as the Samsung phone, both varying between anywhere from about 12mbps at the worst and over 100mbps at best (yes they both varied that much). But what bothered me was that signal strength last night averaged about 3-4db lower than what I was getting with the Samsung. I just swapped the cards back and forth and measured in various places that I was familiar with. I almost decided to keep the iphone since I liked it otherwise and didn't think that 3-4db was a deal breaker, but this morning I ran the same tests and saw that the Xs was averaging about 12-15db lower than what I was getting with the Samsung. Same SIM card, same locations, same towers as I just swapped the SIM back and forth. And a lot of this inside my house where I routinely get between -78 and -85db. This morning, the iphone was averaging between -90 and -100db (and even went to -109 for a while) while the Samsung did between -78 and -85. I live about a half mile from the tower. I returned the iphone this morning and decided to just stay with the Samsung.

 

[rjedoaks]

After using my xs for 5/6 months, coming from a 7, definitely overall better reception. I do get the 3 bars and nothing occasionally. Have to reboot. That never happened with the 7. Using the Sprint network. Overall, enjoyable

 

[jay968]

One thing I have learned is that the bars mean absolutely nothing. You need to check db.
Go to the dialer, type *3001#12345#* and hit the call button. From there, select LTE, then on the next screen serving cell meas, then on the next screen look for rsrp0. This is the actual signal strength in dbm. Anything under -80 is great, between -80 and -90 is very good, between -90 and -100 good, between -100 and -110 fair, and -110 and -120 poor. Worse than -120 and you are probably dropping calls. I have seen 3 bars on an iphone XS when signal strength was at -115. Not a good indicator at all. I've also seen 4 bars on older Galaxy phones when the db about that same -115db. There is no standard for the bars. The phone manufacturers put as many bars in there as they want for a given signal strength and sometimes the cell carriers alter them further. Seems the last generation of galaxy phones (my old S9 and my wife's Note 9) both showed 4 bars when my current S10e shows 2. The bars really mean nothing.

 

[NJHitmen]

The bars really mean nothing.

This conclusion fits with my experience. I've been comparing my old 7 and my (relatively) new Max. Both on AT&T. The 7 consistently showed 4 or 5 bars around my house - yet I dropped a lot of calls if I wasn't on wifi. On the flip side, the Max never shows more than 3 bars (sometimes only 2) - but I haven't dropped a single call. Data speeds are better too, but I'm not sure if that's more a function of the superior modem/antennas in the Max than a reflection of actual signal strength.

I haven't yet measured signal strength using the method you described. Thanks for posting those instructions - I've seen them before, but I keep forgetting them. Now that I have them right in front of me, I'm going to check out those numbers at my earliest convenience.

 

[jay968]

This conclusion fits with my experience. I've been comparing my old 7 and my (relatively) new Max. Both on AT&T. The 7 consistently showed 4 or 5 bars around my house - yet I dropped a lot of calls if I wasn't on wifi. On the flip side, the Max never shows more than 3 bars (sometimes only 2) - but I haven't dropped a single call. Data speeds are better too, but I'm not sure if that's more a function of the superior modem/antennas in the Max than a reflection of actual signal strength.

I haven't yet measured signal strength using the method you described. Thanks for posting those instructions - I've seen them before, but I keep forgetting them. Now that I have them right in front of me, I'm going to check out those numbers at my earliest convenience.

Yes, I think this is important because I have observed that a lot of the newer, especially the late 2018 phones seem to treat the bars differently (perhaps more realistically) than the older ones. In the past few weeks I have looked at the bars on the S10e, S10, iphone xr, xs and a Pixel 3. All show less bars than my older S9 and my wife's Note 9. I wonder if a lot of the complaints here are from people who are ticked at the lower bars they are seeing without realizing that the actual signal strength really isn't much different than older phones...maybe some but not all that much really. BTW I used to have an iphone 5c which seemed like a stellar phone as far as reception goes, but I think that it too showed bars higher than what was realistic. And yes, I had a 7 for awhile and thought it was stellar...because it always showed a lot of bars. Now I know better!

Maybe the manufacturers are getting their standards in order.

And yes, the better data is most likely the result of your newer phone using 4X4 mimo insteadl of 2X2 mimo which your older phone used. 4X4 will allow data to flow twice as fast as 2X2. When I tried the iphone Xr a couple of weeks ago, I rarely got above 20mbps. It uses 2X2. But the Xs that I tried yesterday averaged about twice as fast, sometimes going over 100mbps. This phone uses 4X4.
[doublepost=1554612856][/doublepost]What is important too is that the day before yesterday I had both the Xs and my S10e with me and I spent a good deal of time swapping the SIM between the two and comparing signal strength, not using bars but looking at the actual db results. The Samsung phone consistently showed between 3 and 4 db better coverage than the iphone (nothing drastic but noteworthy). I really wanted to own the iphone because of its dual SIM capabilities, but the deal breaker was when I got up yesterday morning and saw that the iphone, for whatever reason was coming in between 12 and 15 db worse than the Samsung. For this reason I returned the iphone. I was real disappointed. To this moment I am not quite sure why the results were so bad yesterday morning on it compared to the night before, but I just thought that it was best to return it and not beat my brains out over it.

 

[George Knighton]

...the day before yesterday I had both the Xs and my S10e with me and I spent a good deal of time swapping the SIM between the two and comparing signal strength, not using bars but looking at the actual db results. The Samsung phone consistently showed between 3 and 4 db better coverage than the iphone (nothing drastic but noteworthy).

In poor signal areas, that is definitely enough to make a difference between having good data and not having it, or being able to make a call and not being able to make a call.

I really wanted to own the iphone because of its dual SIM capabilities, but the deal breaker was when I got up yesterday morning and saw that the iphone, for whatever reason was coming in between 12 and 15 db worse than the Samsung.

I have an XS Max and an Android play phone, an LG V30 with an excellent Qualcomm modem.

It has been my experience that the iPhone will hold onto a bad signal long after the LG V30 has moved to a better signal. Sometimes it is a different array altogether, and sometimes it is a different signal on the same array.

I think Apple is going to discover that this alliance with Intel was just a mistake all the way around. They need either their own modems, or find a way to come to an agreement with Qualcomm.

It's the ecosystem that has kept me on iPhones, but the superiority of the Qualcomm modems has become rather clear.

My world is full of iMac, MacBook, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, and other things I've probably forgot about.

If their "world" were not so obviously superior to the Android and Windows world, I'd probably have a Qualcomm-based device by now, ARM iOS tailoring notwithstanding.



It's time to up the game, "Tim Apple."

 

[jay968]

>>>It has been my experience that the iPhone will hold onto a bad signal long after the LG V30 has moved to a better signal. Sometimes it is a different array altogether, and sometimes it is a different signal on the same array.<<<

This is one of the things I just don't understand about cell phone reception. I have tried Verizon a few times at my home and never can stay with them because the signal is barely acceptable at all. I am lucky if I get -105 db on any given day. HOWEVER at times when I have tried them...every once in awhile I will see the phone kick over to another tower which gives me -95 or so which I could live with. However, the phones will always return to the bad signal presumably because it is a preferred band for some reason.

Why oh why do cell companies do this? They would rather I cling to an awful signal on some preferred band then get onto a good signal on another. Makes no sense to me!

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

One thing I have learned is that the bars mean absolutely nothing. You need to check db.
Go to the dialer, type *3001#12345#* and hit the call button. From there, select LTE, then on the next screen serving cell meas, then on the next screen look for rsrp0. This is the actual signal strength in dbm. Anything under -80 is great, between -80 and -90 is very good, between -90 and -100 good, between -100 and -110 fair, and -110 and -120 poor. Worse than -120 and you are probably dropping calls. I have seen 3 bars on an iphone XS when signal strength was at -115. Not a good indicator at all. I've also seen 4 bars on older Galaxy phones when the db about that same -115db. There is no standard for the bars. The phone manufacturers put as many bars in there as they want for a given signal strength and sometimes the cell carriers alter them further. Seems the last generation of galaxy phones (my old S9 and my wife's Note 9) both showed 4 bars when my current S10e shows 2. The bars really mean nothing.

Instead of seeing rsrp0 or anything on the last screen, I see "Waiting for update".

LTE is turned on, but my Xs Max is only seeing 1 bar of 4G on ATT right now, so maybe it's not seeing any LTE towers and therefore waiting to update...

Okay, it just grabbed 1 bar of LTE and rsrp0 is = -111 with phone flat on table. It went to -109 when I picked it up, then bounces around between -107 and -123.

 

[jfim88]

My history...

I had an Xs Max with calls problems. Went to the Store yesterday and they give me a new one. Signal strength on this Max was very good. 4 bars in my house.

The new Max is getting bad signal. Just after a reboot or toggling airplane mode on/off connection is great with 4 bars 4G, but after a few minutes signal drops to 1 bar and I get horrible speeds. It’s very annoying. I think I’ll visit the Store again.

 

[Nhwhazup]

My history...

I had an Xs Max with calls problems. Went to the Store yesterday and they give me a new one. Signal strength on this Max was very good. 4 bars in my house.

The new Max is getting bad signal. Just after a reboot or toggling airplane mode on/off connection is great with 4 bars 4G, but after a few minutes signal drops to 1 bar and I get horrible speeds. It’s very annoying. I think I’ll visit the Store again.

Sorry to hear that people are still having problems with this.

 

[richard371]

It’s probably switching to another tower. Happens to me at work all the time with every phone I’ve ever had and coworkers.

My history...

I had an Xs Max with calls problems. Went to the Store yesterday and they give me a new one. Signal strength on this Max was very good. 4 bars in my house.

The new Max is getting bad signal. Just after a reboot or toggling airplane mode on/off connection is great with 4 bars 4G, but after a few minutes signal drops to 1 bar and I get horrible speeds. It’s very annoying. I think I’ll visit the Store again.

 

[jim29411]

Sorry to hear that people are still having problems with this.

When the OP visits the apple store, may want to trade-up to an iPhone 8. They don't have reception problems.

 

[jfim88]

It’s probably switching to another tower. Happens to me at work all the time with every phone I’ve ever had and coworkers.

But why my old Max didn’t do this?

 

[jfim88]

My history...

I had an Xs Max with calls problems. Went to the Store yesterday and they give me a new one. Signal strength on this Max was very good. 4 bars in my house.

The new Max is getting bad signal. Just after a reboot or toggling airplane mode on/off connection is great with 4 bars 4G, but after a few minutes signal drops to 1 bar and I get horrible speeds. It’s very annoying. I think I’ll visit the Store again.

UPDATE

Tested a SIM of a different carrier from my friend and perfect signal with no issues. So the problems come from my carrier. My Max is perfect.

 

[jfim88]

Does the Xr also suffers this issue?

 

[uecker87]

While I agree that the XS lineup overall doesn't get as good of a signal as say older iPhones or most Android phones (when comparing exactly the same LTE band/sector/cell site), there are a lot of people on here complaining that their phone goes from 4 bars to 1 bar some time after an airplane mode toggle... They really don't understand what is going on here.

Normally when you toggle airplane mode, the phone grabs a hold of whatever LTE signal it can immediately find - normally the main coverage band (lower frequency - greater signal reach). For example, AT&T phones will initially grab a hold of band 12, T-Mo band 12 if available, Verizon band 13, Sprint band 26.

Then after a few seconds/minutes the cell site and phone negotiate what it feels is the best band to be on for data speeds and general congestion/traffic shaping on their network. As an example, AT&T will probably find band 12 congested since it is the main broad coverage band and try to hand you off to something like band 2, 4, 30, or 66. So it looks like you are getting a "worse" signal since those are higher frequencies, but actually you are probably getting forced to a band with more capacity and/or some CA combo.

Long story short. Signal bars mean absolutely nothing. I overall agree that these iPhones aren't great RF performers and tend to hold onto a poor LTE signal on a higher frequency band too long which causes intermittent data issues.

 

[The Oak]

While I agree that the XS lineup overall doesn't get as good of a signal as say older iPhones or most Android phones (when comparing exactly the same LTE band/sector/cell site), there are a lot of people on here complaining that their phone goes from 4 bars to 1 bar some time after an airplane mode toggle... They really don't understand what is going on here.

Normally when you toggle airplane mode, the phone grabs a hold of whatever LTE signal it can immediately find - normally the main coverage band (lower frequency - greater signal reach). For example, AT&T phones will initially grab a hold of band 12, T-Mo band 12 if available, Verizon band 13, Sprint band 26.

Then after a few seconds/minutes the cell site and phone negotiate what it feels is the best band to be on for data speeds and general congestion/traffic shaping on their network. As an example, AT&T will probably find band 12 congested since it is the main broad coverage band and try to hand you off to something like band 2, 4, 30, or 66. So it looks like you are getting a "worse" signal since those are higher frequencies, but actually you are probably getting forced to a band with more capacity and/or some CA combo.

Long story short. Signal bars mean absolutely nothing. I overall agree that these iPhones aren't great RF performers and tend to hold onto a poor LTE signal on a higher frequency band too long which causes intermittent data issues.

I respect your opinion.

Published tests however will disagree with you:

https://www.pcmag.com/news/364116/iphone-xs-crushes-x-in-lte-speeds-but-still-falls-short-of

https://www.opensignal.com/blog/201...opular-iphone-dont-experience-the-best-speeds

My personal experience with my XS and iPhone 7 Qualcomm, is the XS equals or betters the 7.

We may have to agree to disagree ...

 

[uecker87]

I respect your opinion.

Published tests however will disagree with you:

https://www.pcmag.com/news/364116/iphone-xs-crushes-x-in-lte-speeds-but-still-falls-short-of

https://www.opensignal.com/blog/201...opular-iphone-dont-experience-the-best-speeds

My personal experience with my XS and iPhone 7 Qualcomm, is the XS equals or betters the 7.

We may have to agree to disagree ...

And you are not comparing signal strength, but data throughput.

That is NOT what I am talking about. I am talking about receiving/transmitting a signal. Of course a new XS with a LTE Category 16 modem should outperform a 3 year old iPhone 7 with a LTE Category 12 modem when both are connected and have signal. Technology has advanced. There is now 4x4 MIMO and more carrier aggregation combinations - not to mention more spectrum being used by carriers.

I am talking specifically about the ability to receive and transmit a cellular signal - not the data throughput when one has a connection. A fast connection is great - don't get me wrong. I'd rather know I have a reliable connection at all times verses a super fast connection but dealing with LTE connectivity issues in more areas due to the limited coverage areas because of weaker overall LTE signal.

 

[The Oak]

And you are not comparing signal strength, but data throughput.

That is NOT what I am talking about. I am talking about receiving/transmitting a signal. Of course a new XS with a LTE Category 16 modem should outperform a 3 year old iPhone 7 with a LTE Category 12 modem when both are connected and have signal. Technology has advanced. There is now 4x4 MIMO and more carrier aggregation combinations - not to mention more spectrum being used by carriers.

I am talking specifically about the ability to receive and transmit a cellular signal - not the data throughput when one has a connection. A fast connection is great - don't get me wrong. I'd rather know I have a reliable connection at all times verses a super fast connection but dealing with LTE connectivity issues in more areas due to the limited coverage areas because of weaker overall LTE signal.

The PCMag article specifically addresses signal strength (dBm) ... along with transmission speeds at that signal level. I am not sure how you can deny that.

It has been my experience that if I am in a limited coverage area, in my area, as defined by say OpenSignal, the XS scores at or above the average reported.

Connectivity issues would translate into lower transmission rates reported (no connectivity implies no transmission) and hence averages would be lower. As shown in the reports, the XS series reports higher transmission rates than prior generations.

I respectfully disagree with your overall conclusion.

I do agree however that sometimes the carrier profiles seem to direct the phone to use a band that may not have as much signal strength. (Lower signal strength however does not imply lower transmission rates depending on the band.) This is the carrier however and not necessarily the fault of the phone. This would go for any phone.

Good debate.

 

[Sorig]

Signal strength on my XS Max sure is worse than on my previous 8 Plus and 5S. I noticed that day one.

Hasn’t dropped calls or lost all reception so far but the bars go up and down throughout the day.
My old iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 5s had solid full signal all of the time basically.
Seems like the WiFi range is also a little shorter.

It’s a little disappointing.

 

[Nhwhazup]

Signal strength on my XS Max sure is worse than on my previous 8 Plus and 5S. I noticed that day one.

Hasn’t dropped calls or lost all reception so far but the bars go up and down throughout the day.
My old iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 5s had solid full signal all of the time basically.
Seems like the WiFi range is also a little shorter.

It’s a little disappointing.

I would say disappointing for sure that a new phone doesn’t work as well as your prior phones.

I know there are many on this thread that have had no problems with their 2018 phones. But for the ones that have had the issues and the lack of acknowledgement or being able to fix the problem by Apple, it’s plenty disappointing.

Maybe the 2020 phones with the Qualcomm modems will be back to old standards and actually work well for all the users.

 

[kneezmo]

Good news. Apple and Qualcomm are friends again... so better modems will be come. hope this year!

 

[decypher44]

Good news. Apple and Qualcomm are friends again... so better modems will be come. hope this year!

Unfortunately, next year. Have to hang on another year.

 

[kneezmo]

Unfortunately, next year. Have to hang on another year.

good idea xD skip this year all maybe apple download the prize