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doboy

macrumors 68040
Jul 6, 2007
3,775
2,946
I advise anyone on T-Mobile to avoid the xs max. It’s reception is poor.
Actually, TMo reception is better on the Max than my Qualcomm 7+ and my area doesn’t have 600 MHz (71) band. Per cellmapper there is no band 71 in SoCal.
 
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jomirrivera

macrumors 6502
Mar 15, 2011
348
23
I advise anyone on T-Mobile to avoid the xs max. It’s reception is poor.

Lol. The XS Max on T mobile is awesome. I have both and I have been running speed test on many, many different locations and the XS Max ALWAYS beats my X by at least 30% or more. Sometimes is much more that double the speed. I have tested the reception in at least three places that I could not even get a 4g signal in my X (inside big buildings) and in all of them my XS Max gets strong LTE. IMO, the improvement in speed and signal strength makes me remember the first time I used a LTE iphone, everything was much faster.
 

rebretz000

macrumors 6502
Sep 29, 2018
283
318
Honestly right now it's a crapshoot. Some will have issues, some will not. Just because it the new iPhones didn't work for me because of reception issues doesn't mean they won't work for someone else in a different area even on the same network. And maybe someone in my area with a different network than won't have reception issues. Who knows until Apple pushes an update to see what's really going on, but until then there is no reason to get upset with others because the phone works for them. One factor in my wanting to leave Android was the fracturing of the community. The hate and vicious attacks on those that didn't like the phone you had or vice versa. Or the loss of community in the ROM community.
 

HeadphoneAddict

macrumors 65816
Sep 16, 2007
1,041
888
Well, as you know I've posted that my Xs Max is performing well in AT&T fringe areas, and faster than my 2017 Qualcomm iPhone X when in weak signal areas and strong ones. And, it switches between LTE, 4G and 3G seamlessly so I have not lost a call yet.

So, today I was in Breckenridge Colorado, and drove the back way through the mountains from Colorado Springs with fairly weak signal in most places on the way there and back.

I had my 2017 Qualcomm iPhone X connected to CarPlay, and also my iPhone Xs Max on the dash vent as a spare mapping device, while using the Pioneer W8400 built-in Map app (since maps are stored on the device and it doesn't need cell to load maps).

Many times I had 1 bar LTE on the Xs Max when the X had no signal (or 2-4 bars 4G when LTE signal would get lost or weak), and I could use the Xs for Siri to send dictated texts or load street maps the entire drive, meanwhile my 2017 iPhone X could not connect to Siri or load any map data in those same places.

So far, if I had not read the messages on this forum, I'd have no idea that the iPhone Xs Max has cellular connection issues. My Xs Max would give me 54.2 mbps down/16.3 mbps down in the center of Breckenridge, while my iPhone X was at 33.1/18.7 mbps.
 

Feenician

macrumors 603
Jun 13, 2016
5,313
5,100
Honestly right now it's a crapshoot. Some will have issues, some will not. Just because it the new iPhones didn't work for me because of reception issues doesn't mean they won't work for someone else in a different area even on the same network. And maybe someone in my area with a different network than won't have reception issues. Who knows until Apple pushes an update to see what's really going on, but until then there is no reason to get upset with others because the phone works for them. One factor in my wanting to leave Android was the fracturing of the community. The hate and vicious attacks on those that didn't like the phone you had or vice versa. Or the loss of community in the ROM community.

Agree and it cuts both ways too. Just because I’m having a good experience, I’m not denying the experience of others who may be suffering degraded performance. It’s more interesting, and more useful, to see if the specifics of the how and the why can be teased out through sharing experiences.
 
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Pipper99

macrumors 68040
Aug 14, 2010
3,823
3,772
Fort Worth, TX
Well, as you know I've posted that my Xs Max is performing well in AT&T fringe areas, and faster than my 2017 Qualcomm iPhone X when in weak signal areas and strong ones. And, it switches between LTE, 4G and 3G seamlessly so I have not lost a call yet.

So, today I was in Breckenridge Colorado, and drove the back way through the mountains from Colorado Springs with fairly weak signal in most places on the way there and back.

I had my 2017 Qualcomm iPhone X connected to CarPlay, and also my iPhone Xs Max on the dash vent as a spare mapping device, while using the Pioneer W8400 built-in Map app (since maps are stored on the device and it doesn't need cell to load maps).

Many times I had 1 bar LTE on the Xs Max when the X had no signal (or 2-4 bars 4G when LTE signal would get lost or weak), and I could use the Xs for Siri to send dictated texts or load street maps the entire drive, meanwhile my 2017 iPhone X could not connect to Siri or load any map data in those same places.

So far, if I had not read the messages on this forum, I'd have no idea that the iPhone Xs Max has cellular connection issues. My Xs Max would give me 54.2 mbps down/16.3 mbps down in the center of Breckenridge, while my iPhone X was at 33.1/18.7 mbps.

More importantly, how was Breckinridge? I remember the wonderful smell of burgers and dogs being grilled below my lift chair: I had to race back down for a burger. I love that place! :)
 

HeadphoneAddict

macrumors 65816
Sep 16, 2007
1,041
888
More importantly, how was Breckinridge? I remember the wonderful smell of burgers and dogs being grilled below my lift chair: I had to race back down for a burger. I love that place! :)

We had street taco's at CB and Potts, and then went to Crepes ala cart for desert. Weather was fantastic, 70 degrees and sunny! The dogs had fun at the dog park as well.

IMG_5553.jpg


IMG_5589.jpg
 

Dave FL

macrumors newbie
Dec 30, 2012
24
12
Wouldnt this cause a different rx signal strength reading between my XS Max and wife's Iphone 7 Plus then? They are reading identical signal strengths....
Not necessarily. It depends on the actual voltage received. As mentioned it won’t affect users in a strong (cell) signal area. The input stage of radio receivers have the job of presenting a constant level signal to the following stage. To simplify, when you take your phones from a high signal area into an area of low signal at one point one radio would start reading lower than the other until the signal becomes so weak the second phone also can’t receive it usefully and they both read no signal even though there is some in the air. It’s just below both receivers thresholds, and will read zero as the signal gets weaker as you get farther from the cell transmitter. The inverse, going into a higher signal area is the same. It is a little more complex since signal strength measurements are non-linear and the phones calibrations aren’t precision and different models may be calibrated differently. It was demonstrated with the iPhone 4 they can adjust the signal indications to read anything they want in these devices. No reference level measurements are provided.
 
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bushman4

macrumors 601
Mar 22, 2011
4,142
3,905
Wi fi speed and Carrier speed both slower on Max. My question is.... How can this be with all the Field Testers, quality Control, Beta Testers ?????? Apple better resolve this fast.
 
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Packers1958

macrumors 68000
Apr 16, 2017
1,954
2,587
South Dakota
This is becoming a make it or break it for me. I have a Note 8 getting full bars with and the iPhone XS is only getting me 2 bars. Not sure what the problem is.
It could very well be that your Note is locking on to a stronger band, while for some reason the iPhone is locking on to a weaker instead. Each tower has multiple bands, ones that are stronger than the other ones on the same tower. If for some reason the phone is prioritizing the weaker band over the stronger band, that can be fixed with FW. So you really can't compare the amount of bars on one phone to another phone and say the one with the more amount of bars has a better modem or antenna. Too many variables to know for sure. But if the iPhone is indeed being directed by the FW, or even the carrier to prioritize the weaker band, we should be either getting a carrier or iOS update soon. My guess since it's happening on multiple carriers, it will have to come from Apple. It reminds me of old DOS computer language and the misuse of "if" in the string of commands. If/Or in the wrong order could create a mess.

People not having issues may be in an area that is not using the newest bands that the iPhone can connect with. The older bands may indeed be stronger and more reliable at this time, until the carriers get all the bugs worked out.

Just all speculation on my part.
 
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Hotpinkflamingoaz

macrumors regular
Sep 26, 2018
162
116
Az
Does anyone know if I go ahead and keep my phone if I can trade it in later if they end up changing the antenna etc? T-Mobile credited my new phone payments $60 and I don’t want to lose it and I don’t want to lose my phone trade in. Thanks!!
 

Cobold

macrumors 6502a
Sep 16, 2014
816
1,174
Dieburg, Germany
I doubt they will really change the antennas hardware wise. They never did it on the iPhone 4 that had severe issues back then... They will "fix" it via software, optimize as much as they can and that's it.
Real hardware changes won't happen until next year's iPhone.

just my two €-cents ;)
 

Hotpinkflamingoaz

macrumors regular
Sep 26, 2018
162
116
Az
I doubt they will really change the antennas hardware wise. They never did it on the iPhone 4 that had severe issues back then... They will "fix" it via software, optimize as much as they can and that's it.
Real hardware changes won't happen until next year's iPhone.

just my two €-cents ;)
It’s a wait another year to upgrade if I return or wait 2 if I don’t lol.
 

balaplus

macrumors 6502
Oct 23, 2017
384
277
I doubt they will really change the antennas hardware wise. They never did it on the iPhone 4 that had severe issues back then... They will "fix" it via software, optimize as much as they can and that's it.
Real hardware changes won't happen until next year's iPhone.

just my two €-cents ;)
Did they not change the iPhone 6 casing after bend gate - this for the later versions of iPhone 6 itself ?
 

NickYanakiev

macrumors 6502
Sep 12, 2016
426
295
Just spoke with Apple Support UK and reported the big difference in WiFi and cellular speeds I’m seeing when compared to my former iPhone X.

I was advised to ask EE for an exchange within 5 minutes. The rep ran some diagnostics- all in order, supposedly.

I have to admit that I’m not seeing any real world issues like dropped calls or slow speeds and only started looking into this after reading this thread.
 

Mercenary

macrumors 65816
Sep 17, 2012
1,243
627
My issue: My phone would show connected to wifi but not actually have in internet connection. This only affected one of the routers in my house. To get my internet back I would either need to manually choose another network or toggle the wifi off and on.

Solution: Although not ideal, I changed the SSID of my second router to be different. I have a long house so have a router at each end. I have seperate SSID's for the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz but on both routers the SSID for each frequency is the same. When connected to my main router all is well but the secondary 'booster' would show this problem.

So, i've now given each SSID its own name and let the iphone connect to whichever one it can reach. This seems to have fixed my issue for now. It seems to have problems when moving around the house from one network to the other with the same name it just loses all internet. Not a problem ANY of the other devices I have or have ever had ever exhibited.
 

brosenz

macrumors 6502
Apr 26, 2011
344
90
Using http://maps.t-mobile.com/ the coverage map at my office location doesn’t change whether or not I enabled the “view with extended range LTE” toggle. In both cases it’s listed as “Good” coverage only and the pop up on the pin says the below

View attachment 790948
From the map is not really clear when 600 Mhz is enabled, it doesn't change to me at zip 55446, where can I find accurate information is 600 Mhz is enabled? Thanks
 
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