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

[indychris]

It seems a batch issue as this still hasn’t been addressed much in the media either

I think returning and seeing if it’s any different is the next route it seems at the moment

Did that last week after driving from Indiana to Arizona and experiencing far worse reception and call failures on my Max vs my 8+ sitting right next to it. Took the Max back and they suggested trying another Max, so I returned and repurchased. While driving 2500 miles over the last week, I was able to sonsistently run Maps and make calls with my 8+ and still had problems with tons of ‘no service’ areas and failed calls with my 2nd Max. Even driving across Interstates 40, 44, 70 and a number of US highways where my 8+ had at least some service, I’m guessing that at least 15-20% of my trip was under “no service” for my Max.

This second Max is going back; it’s simply far too expensive to be experiencing such poor performance compared to a previous model.

 

[dazz87]

If I had one that had this issue no way im keeping that phone past 14 days.....I would return it and just wait it out till apple get this fix....I pay way too much money for something like this to not work..........

 

[Nhwhazup]

I’ve fixed my LTE issues and wrote a post explaining how here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/fix-vzw-connectivity-charging-issues.2145835/

I wish that had worked for mine. The Genius did this in the store but it didn’t help.

 

[lugolo]

I returned my Xs last Thursday and get a new one. I have to say that for me the issue has gone. Now I have the same or better signal reception, both on Wifi and LTE, than my iPhone 6s. I have done several test and i’m happier than before, but i have no tested it in extreme bad signal conditions, so i’m not sure if this solve all the problems. But for now, it seems it does.

 

[rebretz000]

The people that are having issues with their new iPhones, did you purchase your phone in a store? Either your carrier store or Apple store? Or online from your carrier or online from Apple?
I assume the first batches completed in the factories were shipped to physical store locations or carriers for sale.

I ordered mine online from Apple but the serial number showed it was one of the first batches. Did anyone else check serial numbers to see when theirs rolled off the line.

 

[Nhwhazup]

The people that are having issues with their new iPhones, did you purchase your phone in a store? Either your carrier store or Apple store? Or online from your carrier or online from Apple?
I assume the first batches completed in the factories were shipped to physical store locations or carriers for sale.

I ordered mine online from Apple but the serial number showed it was one of the first batches. Did anyone else check serial numbers to see when theirs rolled off the line.

My Max was ordered online. Serial # F2LX9DN9KPHH. It was returned at the Apple store when the restore as new didn’t work. So was mine one of the early batches? Would it be more helpful for people that have good phones to also share? If it’s a batch or two of bad phones I’m sure Apple already knows this and what the issues are. World class manufacturing companies have traceability on all their parts and operations down to a science. They can usually pull this info within 30 minutes. If it’s a pull of bad components, they can isolate those phones very quickly.

 

[lancastor]

99,99% of the buyers accept the bad phones. Only 0,01% of Macrumos buyers send the phones back.

So there is no need for Apple to change anything.

 

[rebretz000]

My Max was ordered online. Serial # . It was returned at the Apple store when the restore as new didn’t work. So was mine one of the early batches? Would it be more helpful for people that have good phones to also share? If it’s a batch or two of bad phones I’m sure Apple already knows this and what the issues are. World class manufacturing companies have traceability on all their parts and operations down to a science. They can usually pull this info within 30 minutes. If it’s a pull of bad components, they can isolate those phones very quickly.

Based on that serial number and what I can find on line your phone was manufactured at

Foxconn – Zhengzhou, China

2nd Half 2018

8/26 – 9/01


Mine was
Foxxcon, Shenzhen, China

2nd Half 2018

8/19 – 8/25

I'd say both were fairly early builds.

 

[Nhwhazup]

99,99% of the buyers accept the bad phones. Only 0,01% of Macrumos buyers send the phones back.

So there is no need for Apple to change anything.

You are probably right. Just sad and a crappy way to do business. It works for Apple so far - not hurting their sales or stocks.

 

[Apple_Robert]

It is not a good idea to post your full serial number. For security reasons, any reference should be deleted.

 

[jtrue28]

Pretty sure @Nhwhazup already returned their phone.

 

[Wags]

It is not a good idea to post your full serial number. For security reasons, any reference should be deleted.

Exactly, but right after said it was returned.

 

[stevefo]

I live right next to a T-mobile tower and I’m a T-mobile customer. Can you decipher this and tell me what my signal strength is.

 

[rebretz000]

I live right next to a T-mobile tower and I’m a T-mobile customer. Can you decipher this and tell me what my signal strength is.

I'd say average.
-102 dbm is okay but not great.
-80 dbms is great
-90 dbms is good

 

[Otflyer]

I was in Southern California all last weeek and experienced weak and no cellular connection off and on. The cellular signal was strong with full bars but, speed tests were slow most of the time. I’m home now and will return my Max this morning. I have no choice but to exchange because, I don’t have a backup phone. Thinking of going back to the 8+ as the one I replaced with the Max was a super phone.

 

[stevefo]

I'd say average.
-102 dbm is okay but not great.
-80 dbms is great
-90 dbms is good

I realized that wifi was on. Decided to to turn it off and try again. no real difference.

 

[Messier77]

My AT&T signal strength is usually around -100dbm on my iPhone XS Max, which is roughly the same as my iPhone 8 Plus that I used to keep in field test mode all the time. I would easily get 40-60mbps on my LTE speed tests with that phone (same AT&T plan). I now seem to be hardcapped at LTE speeds of approximately 3mbps on my iPhone XS Max no matter the signal strength (even at -85dbm) or location (and I’ve tested it all over the state). This is now my second iPhone XS Max with the same “hard cap” of approximately 3mbps.

My WiFi, on the other hand, is blazing fast with this phone at 350mbps every time.

 

[Otflyer]

Please educate me. What does all this -dbm mean? What is good and what is bad reading? I’m sure there are other technically challenged people here. Thanks

 

[jkozlow3]

Please educate me. What does all this -dbm mean? What is good and what is bad reading? I’m sure there are other technically challenged people here. Thanks

dbm is the signal strength. The lower the number, the stronger the signal.

I don't know what the current LTE scale is, but a few years ago I saw an article that said the following (I wrote the numbers down upon reading the article):

-90 or lower = great
-90 to -105 = good
-106 to -120 = fair
-121+ = poor

Other factors such as signal quality (RSRQ) also matter - similar to the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) used by many electronics devices (i.e. your modem, etc.)

 

[Nhwhazup]

It is not a good idea to post your full serial number. For security reasons, any reference should be deleted.

I don’t have the phone anymore - returned it. If I still had it, I wouldn’t have provided the full number.

 

[Otflyer]

dbm is the signal strength. The lower the number, the stronger the signal.

I don't know what the current LTE scale is, but a few years ago I saw an article that said the following (I wrote the numbers down upon reading the article):

-90 or lower = great
-90 to -105 = good
-106 to -120 = fair
-121+ = poor

Other factors such as signal quality (RSRQ) also matter - similar to the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) used by many electronics devices (i.e. your modem, etc.)

Thank you. Much appreciated.

 

[Nhwhazup]

Okay - so here’s some more qinteresting info. I’ve been noticing in the last week that my 6S Plus is getting poorer connectivity than before. Nothing that causes a problem but just not as good. I’ve been more fine tuned into this since the whole Max return debacle.

Today I went on the same walk I do every day. My phone was showing 3 bars and LTE but I could not connect to my radio station at all. I rebooted my phone, reset networks and nothing. I walked about a mile trying to get any data connectivity but literally nothing.

So then I’m thinking maybe it’s my SIM card. I called my local ATT store to see if they had any in stock and the woman told me that they have had many complaints from customers with new and old iPhones alike since the iOS 12 update. She said they would gladly replace my SIM card but it most likely would not correct the problem. Hmmmmm.

So, question for the group, how likely is it that SIM cards go bad?

 

[Rayfire]

Okay - so here’s some more qinteresting info. I’ve been noticing in the last week that my 6S Plus is getting poorer connectivity than before. Nothing that causes a problem but just not as good. I’ve been more fine tuned into this since the whole Max return debacle.

Today I went on the same walk I do every day. My phone was showing 3 bars and LTE but I could not connect to my radio station at all. I rebooted my phone, reset networks and nothing. I walked about a mile trying to get any data connectivity but literally nothing.

So then I’m thinking maybe it’s my SIM card. I called my local ATT store to see if they had any in stock and the woman told me that they have had many complaints from customers with new and old iPhones alike since the iOS 12 update. She said they would gladly replace my SIM card but it most likely would not correct the problem. Hmmmmm.

So, question for the group, how likely is it that SIM cards go bad?

I haven't experienced any problems with my SIM card; I've used it since 3yrs ago.

 

[stevefo]

Okay - so here’s some more qinteresting info. I’ve been noticing in the last week that my 6S Plus is getting poorer connectivity than before. Nothing that causes a problem but just not as good. I’ve been more fine tuned into this since the whole Max return debacle.

Today I went on the same walk I do every day. My phone was showing 3 bars and LTE but I could not connect to my radio station at all. I rebooted my phone, reset networks and nothing. I walked about a mile trying to get any data connectivity but literally nothing.

So then I’m thinking maybe it’s my SIM card. I called my local ATT store to see if they had any in stock and the woman told me that they have had many complaints from customers with new and old iPhones alike since the iOS 12 update. She said they would gladly replace my SIM card but it most likely would not correct the problem. Hmmmmm.

So, question for the group, how likely is it that SIM cards go bad?

Not likely, I changed my SIM thinking it would help, and same speeds. I'm starting to wonder if its ios12

 

[Nhwhazup]

I haven't experienced any problems with my SIM card; I've used it since 3yrs ago.

But do they just work totally or just don’t work? I’m just curious if just possibly the connection issue I’m having could be my SIM. If not maybe the decline is truly related to a software issue.
[doublepost=1538838531][/doublepost]

Not likely, I changed my SIM thinking it would help, and same speeds. I'm starting to wonder if its ios12

I’m just about totally convinced now that it’s an iOS 12 issue.

Just ran the Speedtest app on cellular at home. My 6S Plus and husband’s 8 were both only downloading at .12 and .11, while the iPad is downloading at 5 which is normal for our rural area. Only difference being the iPad is still on the last 11 something iOS.
[doublepost=1538838710][/doublepost]

But do they just work totally or just don’t work? I’m just curious if just possibly the connection issue I’m having could be my SIM. If not maybe the decline is truly related to a software issue.
[doublepost=1538838531][/doublepost]
I’m just about totally convinced now that it’s an iOS 12 issue.

Just ran the Speedtest app on cellular at home. My 6S Plus and husband’s 8 were both only downloading at .12 and .11, while the iPad is downloading at 5 which is normal for our rural area. Only difference being the iPad is still on the last 11 something iOS.

And I suppose there’s no way to go back to 11.4 at this point, is there?