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mydogeatsbeats

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 16, 2016
145
72
It bothers me when people say that. What leads you believe they are actively investigating it? I went to a carrier store and the employee told me "yes there is an issue and Apple knows about it, they are pushing an update soon". I believe Apple is looking into some customers phones but I don't believe they have acknowledged any issue with signal whatsoever.

They called me from USA even though I live in Germany. They take it very seriously though I believe it’s hard to improve. I notice perfect LTE performance while good weather. When its cloudy it seems to get worse.
 
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akash.nu

macrumors G4
May 26, 2016
10,870
16,998
Interesting to see that the X has 3 bars and the XS has 2, but gets a better speed.


The bars are calculated based on approximation and also is displayed based on some specific algorithmic cut off points. There could very well be a software difference between the 2.
 

ROLLTIDE1

macrumors 68000
Sep 12, 2012
1,906
625
The bars are calculated based on approximation and also is displayed based on some specific algorithmic cut off points. There could very well be a software difference between the 2.

For my testing I slapped that bad boy into fieldtest mode and there was a huge difference between my 7 and XS in the same locations
 

Ngamtns706

macrumors regular
Sep 21, 2015
212
82
iPhones never have the best reception. Mine seems to jump around but is definitely faster in normal to strong signal. Signal jumps around weird. I think it’s mainly software or cell update.
 

naturalstar

macrumors demi-goddess
Mar 9, 2012
2,858
5,836
So I’ve been around a few places this week. No issues with reception on Verizon’s LTE. It operates as expected. No connection or reception issues.

I’m currently in my dealership for service. I got on their WiFi and ran a few speedtests. I’m getting 170-180Mbps down and ~24 on the upload. At home I get 75-80Mbps down and 11-12 up. About the same as I was getting on my 8 Plus. I’m not seeing the abysmal speeds that some are posting here.

I haven’t had any connectivity issues on WiFi since I last wrote about it here. Our area was having cable outage issues last weekend, so that could have been the problem. I’ve been planning on swapping out our current modem/router for something better and now would probably be a good time.

Guess I’m okay. Will still pay attention since I have a few more days in my return window.
 

DotCom2

macrumors 603
Feb 22, 2009
6,322
5,634
Someone on the Apple Community boards has these problems and had it tested by Apple and he was told there was nothing wrong with the phone. I sure hope this isn't a massive hardware issue that Apple is refusing to admit (publicly) and is going to take months and months to resolve. Probably not until it becomes newsworthy and their stock drops? :eek:
 

dominiongamma

macrumors 68030
Oct 19, 2014
2,518
5,464
Phoenix. AZ
Someone on the Apple Community boards has these problems and had it tested by Apple and he was told there was nothing wrong with the phone. I sure hope this isn't a massive hardware issue that Apple is refusing to admit (publicly) and is going to take months and months to resolve. Probably not until it becomes newsworthy and their stock drops? :eek:
This needs to happen so it gets Apple attention, like the whole battery fiasco, Apple reacted to it once it became public
 
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DotCom2

macrumors 603
Feb 22, 2009
6,322
5,634
This needs to happen so it gets Apple attention, like the whole battery fiasco, Apple reacted to it once it became public
EXACTLY! And the sooner the better! If you are having a problem with your new phone, don't just wait around for a fix (if ever). Call Apple or take it in and least have it documented that there is indeed a problem. Or even better, return your phone with the reason why. ONLY this will get their attention.
 

digitalfreaknyc

macrumors newbie
Oct 17, 2011
11
17
T-mobile user here and I upgraded from the 6S Plus to the XS MAX 256. I live in NYC and have noticed that it is EXTREMELY difficult to get service back when I enter subway stations.
In the subway tunnels, it's pretty typical to not have service but all the stations are wired for cell service. When I get to a subway station, we'll pull in, stop and be pulling away by the time I get any signal at all. And, by that point, it doesn't matter. On my older phone, it would pop up as soon as you entered the station.
Also, I live above ground and when i get there, it takes a very long time to get signal back after coming out of the tunnel. We're usually pulling away from the first stop before I even get signal back.
This is ridiculous!!
Side note - no WIFI problems, though, that I've experienced. It defaulted to my home 2.4 signal but I just removed that from memory and now it goes to the 5.
 
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gadgetfreaky

macrumors 65816
Oct 28, 2007
1,404
532
T-mobile user here and I upgraded from the 6S Plus to the XS MAX 256. I live in NYC and have noticed that it is EXTREMELY difficult to get service back when I enter subway stations.
In the subway tunnels, it's pretty typical to not have service but all the stations are wired for cell service. When I get to a subway station, we'll pull in, stop and be pulling away by the time I get any signal at all. And, by that point, it doesn't matter. On my older phone, it would pop up as soon as you entered the station.
Also, I live above ground and when i get there, it takes a very long time to get signal back after coming out of the tunnel. We're usually pulling away from the first stop before I even get signal back.
This is ridiculous!!
Side note - no WIFI problems, though, that I've experienced. It defaulted to my home 2.4 signal but I just removed that from memory and now it goes to the 5.

Yes- signal re-acquisiton is one of the main issue. That def seems like a software fix could help.
 
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ROLLTIDE1

macrumors 68000
Sep 12, 2012
1,906
625
my replacement phone has the same cellular reception issues and will be going back. Will upgrade next year when the 5G Iphones are out
 
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PBz

macrumors 68030
Nov 3, 2005
2,616
1,577
SoCal
my replacement phone has the same cellular reception issues and will be going back. Will upgrade next year when the 5G Iphones are out
That is unfortunate. I really wanted to upgrade but I’ve been too many rounds ‘working’ with a Trillion dollar company who releases products with issues to meet a quarterly sales number. On top of that, they will hide issues (I even had an Apple Manager go off on me and call me the media) when they know they don’t have a fix.
 

madKIR

macrumors 6502a
Feb 2, 2010
849
801
NYC
T-mobile user here and I upgraded from the 6S Plus to the XS MAX 256. I live in NYC and have noticed that it is EXTREMELY difficult to get service back when I enter subway stations.
In the subway tunnels, it's pretty typical to not have service but all the stations are wired for cell service. When I get to a subway station, we'll pull in, stop and be pulling away by the time I get any signal at all. And, by that point, it doesn't matter. On my older phone, it would pop up as soon as you entered the station.
Also, I live above ground and when i get there, it takes a very long time to get signal back after coming out of the tunnel. We're usually pulling away from the first stop before I even get signal back.
This is ridiculous!!
Side note - no WIFI problems, though, that I've experienced. It defaulted to my home 2.4 signal but I just removed that from memory and now it goes to the 5.
Hello fellow New Yorker! I had the exact same scenario last year with an iPhone 8 Plus and an X, both with Intel. I switched to an X with Qualcomm and my issues were resolved. It’s just the Intel modem is very bad at maintaining signal in low signal areas and it’s slow at reconnecting as well.
 
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DotCom2

macrumors 603
Feb 22, 2009
6,322
5,634
Hello fellow New Yorker! I had the exact same scenario last year with an iPhone 8 Plus and an X, both with Intel. I switched to an X with Qualcomm and my issues were resolved. It’s just the Intel modem is very bad at maintaining signal in low signal areas and it’s slow at reconnecting as well.
I wonder if Qualcomm is laughing its head off right now? SIGH
 

zemaker

macrumors 6502
Nov 25, 2011
295
188
It is extremely important that everyone who has an issue posts on the official Apple forum so that they know. They will contact you and things will get rolling on their end.
 
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Fredo C

macrumors member
Mar 18, 2012
93
45
T-mobile user here and I upgraded from the 6S Plus to the XS MAX 256. I live in NYC and have noticed that it is EXTREMELY difficult to get service back when I enter subway stations.
In the subway tunnels, it's pretty typical to not have service but all the stations are wired for cell service. When I get to a subway station, we'll pull in, stop and be pulling away by the time I get any signal at all. And, by that point, it doesn't matter. On my older phone, it would pop up as soon as you entered the station.
Also, I live above ground and when i get there, it takes a very long time to get signal back after coming out of the tunnel. We're usually pulling away from the first stop before I even get signal back.
This is ridiculous!!

My Max is on AT&T and I have payed close attention to this same scenario in NYC and have seen no issues. Works just as well as my 8 Plus did.

The wifi on the other hand is a bit slower then I would expect but it’s not something I would notice without doing a speedtest.
 

AudibleNectar

macrumors member
Jan 22, 2018
47
31
my replacement phone has the same cellular reception issues and will be going back. Will upgrade next year when the 5G Iphones are out


You won't be seeing any iPhone or much of any 5G phones in '19. Most definitely not Apple. Maybe a select few from other mfgrs but when it comes to "early release" that's one early release I will most definitely stay away from. It will cost more than it's worth on a system not yet developed sufficiently to spend $$$ on it.

It's like Sony Hi-8 and Beta video technologies of the 70's-80's: Better tech than the standard, but never became ubiquitous/saturated in the market so was always "niche". Until it becomes engrained enough that it's saturated/going to be proven norm I'll let others be guinea pigs first.
 
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brosenz

macrumors 6502
Apr 26, 2011
344
90
When the signal is strong the device will fly, this is with T-Mobile at the parking lot in Ridgedale mall in Minneapolis, 200 Mbps down is AMAZING!!!!
 

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Trey M

macrumors 6502a
Jul 25, 2011
965
342
USA
Just to chime into the 51 post thread...

I have noticed some funny stuff in regards to the connectivity issues, both over cellular and WiFi with my XS Max. I am a VZW subscriber, and I have AT&T 1G Fiber to my premise.

WiFi was the first issue I noticed; a few times I've found that I was having trouble downloading basic video in my small apartment, where I NEVER have issues due to proximity & my 1G speeds. I previously came from an X. It's really odd, 95% of the time it works fine, and 5% of the time I notice things are just really slow. I also see my WiFi bars constantly flickering between 2 and 3 bars when I'm within 10 ft of my router. Really odd. I have 2 SSIDs setup, one for 2.4 and one for 5GHz, and I always ensure I'm on 5GHz. These issues still happen on my 5GHz network, but sporadically.

As for cellular, this is a little harder to analyze as VZW has had a lot of outages and overall issues in southern states this last week (I live in TX). Tuesday I couldn't even make an outgoing call for several hours. But I have noticed when in low service areas that I have trouble getting decent download speeds. Again, not anything too conclusive or scientific, but I have noticed it a few times.

Here's to hoping this can be fixed via software :) While I don't necessarily doubt that the antenna design may be a tad inferior in the XS/XS Max when compared to the X based on the analysis on Tom's Guide or whatever, I do think that there's a margin which exists where real-world differences between models will likely be nominal. As long as it's very close, I don't really care to be honest. Other than that, enjoying the XS Max a lot. Only other issue is occasional freezing, which is just an iOS 12 issue which will undoubtedly be fixed soon.
 

BiggAW

macrumors 68030
Jun 19, 2010
2,563
176
Connecticut
It's the antenna, not the modem.

There's two separate issues that affect each other.

1. The Xs and Xs Max have lousy reception.
2. Intel radios are bad at maintaining connectivity in weak signal areas, or re-connecting.

The physical design of the NYC subway and the way Transit Wireless provides a carrier neutral DAS at the station platforms makes the Intel re-connection issue far more obvious to far more people than it otherwise would be. I'm not faulting Transit Wireless, they do what they do well in my experience, but they retrofitted mobile service into a 114-year-old subway system in an extremely dense city. The fault lies with Intel's poorly performing radios, and Apple's refusal to just use Qualcomm parts that are clearly better.

In buildings and rural areas with weak coverage, the antennas are a far bigger part of the issue, since the actual signal level is weak, and there are far fewer sites or antennas to re-connect to, but the Intel chips' weak cell edge performance comes into play as well.
 
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