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

[Phone Junky]

But they use data on their phones.

There is FIVE TIMES the number of views on the “OMG the camera” thread

That’s not the case anymore, is it?

 

[Kimmie92592]

I hate ATT and my LTE isn’t working at all in places where it used to work. I upgraded from iPhone 7 to Xs max

 

[Viper2005]

Any reports from Canada?
My Rogers LTE has always been one-two bars in my house on my X, and it's still 1-2 bars with my XS Max. Haven't lost LTE connectivity yet.

 

[vinegarshots]

Both my wife and I previously had two unlocked carrier-free Iphone 7 Pluses with Qualcomm modems that we were using on Tmobile.

I traded mine in for my Iphone XS Max, but my wife still has hers, so I just ran 5 simultaneous speed tests between the two on Tmobile LTE.

4 out of 5 tests, the XS Max was faster by at LEAST 20-50%. 1 out of 5 tests, the iPhone 7 Plus with Qualcomm modem was faster by about 5%.

Haven't had any dropped LTE connection yet, and I actually had one to two bars of service in a mall where I used to have 0 bars.

 

[Packers1958]

That’s not the case anymore, is it?
View attachment 788266

Don't you just hate it when you get to prove someone wrong!
[doublepost=1537832997][/doublepost]

Both my wife and I previously had two unlocked carrier-free Iphone 7 Pluses with Qualcomm modems that we were using on Tmobile.

I traded mine in for my Iphone XS Max, but my wife still has hers, so I just ran 5 simultaneous speed tests between the two on Tmobile LTE.

4 out of 5 tests, the XS Max was faster by at LEAST 20-50%. 1 out of 5 tests, the iPhone 7 Plus with Qualcomm modem was faster by about 5%.

What is your signal strength? if you have 2 or more bars, this is not an issue. It's about when the signal is weak. That's when the the new iPhones have problems and that's what this discussion is about.

 

[upnorth85]

Don't you just hate it when you get to prove someone wrong!
[doublepost=1537832997][/doublepost]

What is your signal strength? if you have 2 or more bars, this is not an issue. It's about when the signal is weak. That's when the the new iPhones have problems and that's what this discussion is about.

Thanks for giving clarity. I too was puzzled. In the twin cities, I have had no issues.

 

[vinegarshots]

Don't you just hate it when you get to prove someone wrong!
[doublepost=1537832997][/doublepost]

What is your signal strength? if you have 2 or more bars, this is not an issue. It's about when the signal is weak. That's when the the new iPhones have problems and that's what this discussion is about.

That doesn't seem to be true in all cases (edit: also, like i said, an area that previously gave me no service is getting 1-2 bars):

Update everyone local Apple store today.
Replaced the phone today at my local apple store same issue this is going back tomorrow for a refund something definitely not right here the genius bar staff was shocked we reset the iphone to brand new tried my old sim card terrible speeds with only 1-2 signal bars.
Move my sim card back to my iPhone X speed back to normal and signal bars showing 4-5.
Not taking any chances with this will wait out.

 

[twennywonn]

I created a quick poll just because this issue is so polarizing.

If you have time please cast your vote.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-xs-xs-max-signal-poll.2142585/

 

[RickNY]

While my cellular performance is not as good as my X, with the XS Max I am seeing fairly solid WiFi performance as long as it holds on to 5ghz

 

[twennywonn]

While my cellular performance is not as good as my X, with the XS Max I am seeing fairly solid WiFi performance as long as it holds on to 5ghz

Agreed I am pulling in the 550Mbps which is higher then I was ever able to pull on my X

 

[nephipower]

On AT&T my phone goes from max LTE signal to searching for signal . There is no 4G for whatever reason. Why would this be ?

This is the exact issue that happened to me once during launch day.

 

[ant the ninja]

I bought a new XS today to test to the screen since my current XS has a weird hue but the new one was worse however when I bought it they activated the new phone. So I just had Verizon activate my old XS and now I can barely break 5mbps as to where I was getting 60-80 in my home. Currently calling them back now. Something is really wrong here

 

[nephipower]

I've also noticed degraded cell reception on two iPhone XS Maxes.

The issue appears to be in the modem's ability to deal with edge cases, ie in areas where reception is typically stable but marginal (your 1-2) bar scenarios. I spend a lot of time in one such area and noticed that service with the Max has been switching to 3G or 1x and becoming unusable. This typically occurs once the phone goes into sleep mode with the display dark. With previous iPhones I had no issues here.

Worse, once this happens the phone is either slow to reacquire LTE or completely gives up, requiring you to take manual action like toggling airplane mode. Occasionally it is necessary to power cycle the phone to restore service since it would indicate LTE had returned but continued to have no internet access.

The same behavior can be seen when going in to an area with no service (such as a subway) then leaving. You will likely need to cycle airplane mode to reestablish service.

If you rarely encounter weak service then this won't affect you. However for those of us who frequently spend our time on the edge it's a real problem.

From what I've read all new iPhones will be using intel modems, and I can't help but wonder if that is a contributor. Intel has always lagged behind qualcomm, so it wouldn't surprise me if their latest modem was delivered rushed, bugged and underperforming.

Fingers crossed for a software fix, but I suspect this generation of iPhones will always suffer from poor connectivity.

I think this post really hit on a key detail about this affecting users who have weak signal. It looks like the Intel LTE modem is not able to do a good job of switching to a different LTE band as needed. I think it is really telling that if turning airplane mode on and off it causes LTE to reconnect and start working again.

While I am sure that Andrew from wiwavelength.com is correct about RF perf being weaker on the XS. I would think that if the weaker antenna design completely explains the issue then cycling through airplane mode would NOT temporarily solve the issue. If so then it would mean it would re-acquire the same weak LTE connection.

This leads me to believe that since this is the first time Apple has released an LTE product with 4x4 MIMO that this is some kind of software issue with the logic to decide when to shift LTE connections to a different LTE band. I am guessing the issues will eventually be fixed by iOS firmware updates and Carrier Settings Updates.

What do you guys think?

 

[Moki808]

I think this post really hit on a key detail about this affecting users who have weak signal. It looks like the Intel LTE modem is not able to do a good job of switching to a different LTE band as needed. I think it is really telling that if turning airplane mode on and off it causes LTE to reconnect and start working again.

While I am sure that Andrew from wiwavelength.com is correct about RF perf being weaker on the XS. I would think that if the weaker antenna design completely explains the issue then cycling through airplane mode would NOT temporarily solve the issue. If so then it would mean it would re-acquire the same weak LTE connection.

This leads me to believe that since this is the first time Apple has released an LTE product with 4x4 MIMO that this is some kind of software issue with the logic to decide when to shift LTE connections to a different LTE band. I am guessing the issues will eventually be fixed by iOS firmware updates and Carrier Settings Updates.

What do you guys think?

Hope your theory is right. Time will tell.

 

[radiologyman]

I think this post really hit on a key detail about this affecting users who have weak signal. It looks like the Intel LTE modem is not able to do a good job of switching to a different LTE band as needed. I think it is really telling that if turning airplane mode on and off it causes LTE to reconnect and start working again.

While I am sure that Andrew from wiwavelength.com is correct about RF perf being weaker on the XS. I would think that if the weaker antenna design completely explains the issue then cycling through airplane mode would NOT temporarily solve the issue. If so then it would mean it would re-acquire the same weak LTE connection.

This leads me to believe that since this is the first time Apple has released an LTE product with 4x4 MIMO that this is some kind of software issue with the logic to decide when to shift LTE connections to a different LTE band. I am guessing the issues will eventually be fixed by iOS firmware updates and Carrier Settings Updates.

What do you guys think?

Intel needed to deliver a modem that would rival Qualcomm for several years already and possibly had to cut some corners to show faster LTE speeds. Now antenna RF issues looks like mostly Apple's responsibility. Regardless, it does appear that 2018 iPhones have problems reaquiring signal after it has dropped

 

[brosenz]

Don't you just hate it when you get to prove someone wrong!
[doublepost=1537832997][/doublepost]

What is your signal strength? if you have 2 or more bars, this is not an issue. It's about when the signal is weak. That's when the the new iPhones have problems and that's what this discussion is about.

I am in the Twin Cities, T-Mobile LTE iPhone 7 20Mbps, iPhone XS Max 40-44Mbps, signal ONLY 2 bars on both phones.

Wifi Xfinity contracted download speed 60Mbps, 65Mbps iPhone 7 and 69Mbps iPhone XS Max

 

[ROLLTIDE1]

Those likely that are not having the problems are those in markets with saturated towers like a big city where you could be connected to one of ten towers at anytime . Rural users and those on the edge of coverage areas are not going to be able to use any of the XS phones . Just now I made an hour drive and I almost never had full signal. It seemed stuck on 1 to 2 bars the entire trip. The only way I could get 4 bars was to turn my cellular amp on and even then it struggled to give me 4 bars . Fix your crap Apple !!!

 

[jomirrivera]

I have both, the X Max and the X both on Tmobile Network. The X signal inside my house is very weak, constantly changing between 4g and LTE. With the Max I am getting solid LTE reception everywhere inside my house. I ran a speed test and here are the results: Max 42.9 down and X 13.6. Max 13.2 upload and X 3.33. In the bathroom, my X cant even run the speed test app but my max gets over 20 meg down.

So, at least in my case, signal reception is much improved.

Wifi was exactly the same everywhere I tried inside the house and the both connected to the 5ghz band everytime. However, I have a very solid network so my wifi signal is very strong everywhere in the house.

 

[Packers1958]

I have both, the X Max and the X both on Tmobile Network. The X signal inside my house is very weak, constantly changing between 4g and LTE. With the Max I am getting solid LTE reception everywhere inside my house. I ran a speed test and here are the results: Max 42.9 down and X 13.6. Max 13.2 upload and X 3.33. In the bathroom, my X cant even run the speed test app but my max gets over 20 meg down.

So, at least in my case, signal reception is much improved.

Wifi was exactly the same everywhere I tried inside the house and the both connected to the 5ghz band everytime. However, I have a very solid network so my wifi signal is very strong everywhere in the house.

The X Max is probably on the new 600 mhz band on T-Mobile that the X is not capable of connecting to. 600 mhz penetrates buildings better.

 

[ROLLTIDE1]

I have both, the X Max and the X both on Tmobile Network. The X signal inside my house is very weak, constantly changing between 4g and LTE. With the Max I am getting solid LTE reception everywhere inside my house. I ran a speed test and here are the results: Max 42.9 down and X 13.6. Max 13.2 upload and X 3.33. In the bathroom, my X cant even run the speed test app but my max gets over 20 meg down.

So, at least in my case, signal reception is much improved.

Wifi was exactly the same everywhere I tried inside the house and the both connected to the 5ghz band everytime. However, I have a very solid network so my wifi signal is very strong everywhere in the house.

Are you in an area with band 66 or band 71 ? That would explain those speeds. I see that packers already covered it

 

[jomirrivera]

Are you in an area with band 66 or band 71 ? That would explain those speeds. I see that packers already covered it

Tmob Recenty announced that Band 71 was live here. However, I dont think the whole island is covered (I am in Puerto Rico). I tried field test viw but I could not find the band info. Do you know how I can check which band I am connected to?

 

[ROLLTIDE1]

Tmob Recenty announced that Band 71 was live here. However, I dont think the whole island is covered (I am in Puerto Rico). I tried field test viw but I could not find the band info. Do you know how I can check which band I am connected to?

*3001#12345#*

 

[jaj1962]

Definitely see a reduction in connectivity with the Xs on two different wifi services in completely different locations and providers. Also, not getting Verizon reception clearly where I've had clear reception before.

 

[gadgetfreaky]

I have both, the X Max and the X both on Tmobile Network. The X signal inside my house is very weak, constantly changing between 4g and LTE. With the Max I am getting solid LTE reception everywhere inside my house. I ran a speed test and here are the results: Max 42.9 down and X 13.6. Max 13.2 upload and X 3.33. In the bathroom, my X cant even run the speed test app but my max gets over 20 meg down.

So, at least in my case, signal reception is much improved.

Wifi was exactly the same everywhere I tried inside the house and the both connected to the 5ghz band everytime. However, I have a very solid network so my wifi signal is very strong everywhere in the house.

which band are you getting ? If you look at the antenna report- I think there will a couple bands that did fine. Maybe that's why some folks do better than others?

 

[odin]

Guys, seriously. Stop with the Intel / Qualcomm ********. Some of you are stuck on that and comparing different phones and saying “gotcha!”

This is an antenna issue as can be seen in the FCC filings and pointed out by AJ (the guy who posted those findings first and is a regular contributor at SG4RU, almost daily actually.

Comparing an iPhone 8 with Qualcomm to a XS Max with intel means nothing. It’s about antenna design and the gain (or lack thereof.) by constantly conflating these modems in these conversations we are not focusing on getting good info out there regarding the real issues.

The intel/qual issue was real in phones where both were available. Intel didn’t have support for some things. That is not the case now and you can plainly see that with the high performance of this new modem when in high signal areas. This, again, is an antenna design issue.

Software tweaks may be able to take this a bit. We will need to see if tweaking power a bit will allow these antennas to function in an acceptable manner.

Again, please try to stop comparing apples and oranges along with pears and grapes. It’s not doing anything other than muddlying the situation.