Pretty much always EDGE signal after unlocking

[chris4565]

Hi guys,

I noticed something strange on my iPhone X. Pretty much always after waking my iPhone up I only have an EDGE signal. This is also the case when I e. g. tap the screen when it’s locked to quickly check the time. When I unlock it and use my phone for a bit it goes up to LTE. Then, after a while when I lock the phone it’s back to EDGE.

Anyone else also having this issue?

 

[twx]

Hi guys,

I noticed something strange on my iPhone X. Pretty much always after waking my iPhone up I only have an EDGE signal. This is also the case when I e. g. tap the screen when it’s locked to quickly check the time. When I unlock it and use my phone for a bit it goes up to LTE. Then, after a while when I lock the phone it’s back to EDGE.

Anyone else also having this issue?

What carrier are you on and what is your general location?

 

[chris4565]

What carrier are you on and what is your general location?

I'm on T-Mobile in Germany. I live in a small city which I guess hasn't the best signal to begin with. But it's still a bit strange that I oftentimes have EDGE after unlocking and then after a few seconds it jumps to LTE and stays this way and then after it was locked some time it's on EDGE again. However, these are only some pretty brief observations because normally I'm on WiFi pretty much 100 % of the time. But because I have a WiFi issue right now I'm forced to use mobile data.

As I'm typing this, I'm in a different location as I was when I started the thread and here it seems like the LTE signal stays. Maybe the signal is just pretty weak in general where I'm at (however my mom's iPhone 7 Plus seems to have a better signal strength compared to my iPhone X).

 

[NoGood@Usernames]

In general, older cellular technologies (i.e. EDGE) have a longer range than newer ones (LTE), even on the same frequency, so likely the phone is receiving a slightly stronger EDGE signal that it is preferring while the phone is in standby. When you wake the phone and begin to use it, it then shifts to the faster, more usable (albeit maybe slightly weaker) LTE signal.

My guess is this band/technology preference is likely dictated by the carrier through settings downloaded to your SIM card.

As far as the signal strength difference between the iPhone 7 and X, the 7 uses a cellular modem made by Qualcomm, whereas the X uses a modem made by Intel, which is known for a bit weaker performance in low signal areas compared to Qualcomm’s modems.

 

[chris4565]

Thanks a lot the the explanation

 

[macsound1]

before I got my iPhone 12, I would have this issue often when taking my iPhone 6s,7 or 8 out of my pocket. Didn't matter where I was located, it was super consistent and I assumed it was because my body was absorbing the cell signal because it was so close to my leg.
Now that I have an iPhone 12 mini, with 5G disabled, I haven't had this issue once.
Not sure why this was a thing but isn't now but I feel your pain.
Also, this wasn't ever an issue when my iPhones were asleep but not in my pocket and I constantly tested it by placing it on my desk or in a shoulder bag instead of my pocket.