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Wide opeN

macrumors 68000
Aug 27, 2010
1,763
1,035
Georgia
I have an XS with T-Mobile and service has been ****** since day one. In areas that should be 4 bars I’m lucky to get two. Can’t wait to get a new one next month.

The definition of YMMV... Xs Max here in Atlanta on T-Mobile is flawless, with exception to the occasional signal reboot. I chalk that up to running dual sim however.
 
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fastbagger

macrumors 6502
May 13, 2015
252
117
Yes same here!! It’s so frustrating. I finally stopped trying and use WiFi when I can but even that is hit or miss sometimes. I’m counting down till I can get a new one lol
Really? You can’t wait to give money to Apple again? I am so bitter do not know if I will buy another Apple product again. I bought a Pixel 3A XL is a great phone looking forward to see what Pixel 4 brings. Only way I would consider another iPhone is if has Qualcomm chip.
 
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fryfrkhlly

macrumors 6502a
Jan 29, 2013
660
1,552
Phoenix, AZ
Really? You can’t wait to give money to Apple again? I am so bitter do not know if I will buy another Apple product again. I bought a Pixel 3A XL is a great phone looking forward to see what Pixel 4 brings. Only way I would consider another iPhone is if has Qualcomm chip.

I can’t do android. I just can’t. I’ve tried but I prefer IOS too much. I’m looking forward to a new phone. I’m hoping and praying for some improvement.
 

fastbagger

macrumors 6502
May 13, 2015
252
117
I was surprised how good Android has gotten. If a Qualcomm chip is in next iPhone or they fix that poor connectivity issue I will buy one.
 
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Olivia23

macrumors 6502a
Jul 26, 2008
797
243
around
I’m surely not obsessed with having a Qualcomm modem - just want a phone that works. I went from a great working 6S Plus to 2 Maxes (6 weeks apart) with terrible reception problems to an X that also works great - all with the same carrier and same SIM.
Yep me too. I hate my XS Max.
[doublepost=1566910236][/doublepost]
I was surprised how good Android has gotten. If a Qualcomm chip is in next iPhone or they fix that poor connectivity issue I will buy one.
Yep I’m looking hard right now at the Note 10+. I’m going to try and wait to see the new Pixel 4 has to offer though.
[doublepost=1566910669][/doublepost]
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.
My XS Max at first was getting a great signal. Then after a few weeks it seemed to get worse. Nothing I do now changes the signal for the better. Only if I restart the phone. Then it loses the good signal after a few minutes. I have Verizon and I’m in an area the gets good downtown signal.
 

newellj

macrumors G3
Oct 15, 2014
8,154
3,047
East of Eden
I can’t do android. I just can’t. I’ve tried but I prefer IOS too much. I’m looking forward to a new phone. I’m hoping and praying for some improvement.

Android itself may have improved, though I have no idea whether it's competitive on features with iOS at this point. When I last used Android it was a cesspool. Google's updates were unpredictable. Developer updates were unpredictable. Hardware manufacturers updated firmware on a whimsical basis. But the real problem was that VZW, which in spite of all my issues with VZW I'm very unlikely to leave for another carrier, was so bad about signing off on firmware updates that for all practical purposes you had a 12-month phone.

And the reality is that although my cell reception has been a disaster since the iPhone 7 (went through five or six of them), today I rely on cell service fairly infrequently, and the places where reception is poor are places where there's actually no signal (for everyone). YMMV on that all, of course.
 
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icloudUser

macrumors regular
May 20, 2019
217
80
Never experienced reception or signal issues on my 8 plus (or earlier) at this scale.

With the XS and the current XR its a constant problem. Two bars on my XR atm whereas its close to full signal on the android phone on the table besides me. Its the same mobile network for both.
Even holding on to a WIFI signal seems to be a problem with these newer iphones. Needless to say its frustrating to use the phone when your network connection is poor.

Is this is real problem with 2018 iphones? if yes why there is no recall? and Apple is still selling them at premium prices?
 

trparky

macrumors member
Jul 5, 2010
71
8
So as a person who's on T-Mobile and I'm about to buy a new iPhone, should I avoid the iPhone XS?
 

Kimmie92592

macrumors member
Feb 13, 2013
57
21
California
So as a person who's on T-Mobile and I'm about to buy a new iPhone, should I avoid the iPhone XS?
I would absolutely avoid the iPhone XS. And don’t get any newly released iPhone until it’s clear that this issue is solved. I’m regretting this phone daily, hourly, nearly a year later.
 

trparky

macrumors member
Jul 5, 2010
71
8
I would absolutely avoid the iPhone XS. And don’t get any newly released iPhone until it’s clear that this issue is solved. I’m regretting this phone daily, hourly, nearly a year later.
Crap. I have an iPhone 7 Plus right now that I want to upgrade and yes, it has an Intel modem in it. Did Intel somehow manage to make their modem chip worse than the one in the iPhone 7 Plus?

I have no issues with my iPhone 7 Plus though.
 

fastbagger

macrumors 6502
May 13, 2015
252
117
Crap. I have an iPhone 7 Plus right now that I want to upgrade and yes, it has an Intel modem in it. Did Intel somehow manage to make their modem chip worse than the one in the iPhone 7 Plus?

I have no issues with my iPhone 7 Plus though.
Seems only the CDMA intel chips are having the issue
 

Kimmie92592

macrumors member
Feb 13, 2013
57
21
California
Crap. I have an iPhone 7 Plus right now that I want to upgrade and yes, it has an Intel modem in it. Did Intel somehow manage to make their modem chip worse than the one in the iPhone 7 Plus?

I have no issues with my iPhone 7 Plus though.
I have zero problems with my iPhone 7
 

trparky

macrumors member
Jul 5, 2010
71
8
Seems only the CDMA intel chips are having the issue
OK, so GSM carrier users such as those who use AT&T or T-Mobile seem to not have any issues.

If you ask me, legacy CDMA needs to die in a fire. I had Verizon years ago and phone calls on CDMA always sounded like the other person was underwater and vice versus. I can only surmise that it's because the legacy CDMA network is massively overloaded and they have to compress the crap out of the voice data stream to the point where it sounds like crap.

If you've ever been on an HD Voice call it's like night and day, you'd swear that the person you were talking to was in the same room with you; it's that crystal clear. Now if only we can get inter-carrier HD Voice to work properly like T-Mobile to Verizon. I can't believe we don't have this working yet.
 

DCIFRTHS

macrumors 65816
Jan 25, 2008
1,295
649
OK, so GSM carrier users such as those who use AT&T or T-Mobile seem to not have any issues.

If you ask me, legacy CDMA needs to die in a fire. I had Verizon years ago and phone calls on CDMA always sounded like the other person was underwater and vice versus. I can only surmise that it's because the legacy CDMA network is massively overloaded and they have to compress the crap out of the voice data stream to the point where it sounds like crap.

If you've ever been on an HD Voice call it's like night and day, you'd swear that the person you were talking to was in the same room with you; it's that crystal clear. Now if only we can get inter-carrier HD Voice to work properly like T-Mobile to Verizon. I can't believe we don't have this working yet.

I thought that Verizon and AT&T compatible HD Voice, an d that T-Mobile was going to on-board soon. That was probably a year ago that I read that. Does anyone know the current state of affairs?
 

TheIntruder

macrumors 68000
Jul 2, 2008
1,763
1,275
Seems only the CDMA intel chips are having the issue

The XMM 7560 in the XS/XR handles all the carrier standards, so in this context it makes no difference.

Furthermore, there were no "CDMA Intel chips" in the iPhone 7 either. The GSM models employed an Intel modem while the CDMA models had Qualcomm modems. Intel did not have a CDMA-compatible modem to supply at that point.

Many, if not most, also overlook the fact that the modem is not the only component in the radio system. It can only work with the signal that the antennas provide, and the switch to a MIMO array in the 2018 iPhones may have resulted in a loss in performance.

(The iPhone 4 also had reception issues, which stemmed from the design of the antennas [which lead to the infamous "You're holding it wrong." quip.] There was no Intel model to blame then.)

Testing has shown that the Intel modem in the XS/XR is blazing fast, if the signal is good. But with a less than optimal signal, it's not as refined as QCOM's technology, and that's compounded when the antenna performance has weaknesses as well.

There's also a lot of black art in RF design. "YMMV" also strongly applies as well.
 
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naturalstar

macrumors demi-goddess
Mar 9, 2012
2,858
5,836
It's gotten quite ridiculous how too the cell reception is on the XS / Max. All too often I find 1 or 2 bars in what should be a well covered area (Verizon in Houston). I never had these reception issues with my X. Today I even found a spot, where I had 3 bars, and could not get any data. And just recently I even did a clean wipe, so it shouldn't be any software / setting. Frustrating beyond belief...

Experiencing the same as I’m currently on an engagement in the DFW area, also on Verizon. I will say that for the most part I am able to get data, but the slow initial connections (not good when needing an immediate turn direction) and low signal areas (too many for a city this size) is making me look very closely at this XS Max I have.

I’ve had some weirdness in other cities this year, but TX and certain areas at home have been noticeable enough to be annoying. Really can’t afford to have lacking signal, but I do end up on WiFi most of my day, so it’s hard to definitively state the modem is the problem. Just saw your post and thought it was an interesting call out.
 

Kimmie92592

macrumors member
Feb 13, 2013
57
21
California
Does anyone know, would it be feasible to start a class action re: XS Max iPhone problems? I don't know anything about class actions but I'm getting tired of getting the run around from Apple and TMobile.
 

HeadphoneAddict

macrumors 65816
Sep 16, 2007
1,041
888
Where we live just doesn't have good signal, and With AT&T I have to turn LTE off on all my iPhones to be able to walk the dog in the neighborhood and not lose a call on my Xs Max. Neighbors with Verizon and T-Mo have the same issues - we are too close and just below the cellular towers on the mountain for them to radiate signal down to us.

In our house, right up against NORAD road, we only have 1 bar of signal on any of our Qualcomm iPhone 7, 7+, 8, and X, and iPad mini 4. Same with my Intel Xs Max = only 1 bar. Speed and connectivity on everything sucks, at usually 0.75 - 1.5 mbps, rarely 3-4mbps.

Only my iPad mini 5 has 2 bars of LTE, and right now my LTE is running about 7.8 mbps download, and 0.46 mbps up. My 7+ with 1 bar of LTE is about 1 foot away from the iPad and it's only getting 0.29 mbps download at the same time.

I'm stuck in the Apple ecosystem.

[EDIT - now the 7+ gave me 2.67 mbps on 1 bar LTE when I wasn't testing speed at the same time as iPad LTE. My Xs Max won't connect to LTE right now, but got 2 bars of 4G and ran 2.36 mbps. 1/3 the speed of my iPad mini 5.]
 

PlainEnvelopes

macrumors 6502
Sep 10, 2018
261
288
I would absolutely avoid the iPhone XS. And don’t get any newly released iPhone until it’s clear that this issue is solved. I’m regretting this phone daily, hourly, nearly a year later.

Yeah the XS max if by far the worst iphone, I have owned. I am ready to ship this one back and get the pro. Thank full for the yearly upgrade program.
 
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