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starstreak

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 5, 2004
456
11
I'm trying to figure out if something is wrong with the iphone5 I have or if it's AT&T.

In Hawaii, AT&T switched alot over to LTE pretty much on the day I got my new iPhone5.
In areas that I know I could make calls on the 4s, people are now telling me my voice is breaking up on the 5.
I also noticed that my signal bars are worse than my old phone. Taking it for granted for the moment that the iPhone5 is supposed to have better reception than my old 4s, whats causing the signal change so much?
Is the signal bars showing the 4g/LTE signal strength or cellular voice signal? Or if LTE causes interference for voice calls.

Since I had my number swapped to the 5, I can't have both phones on to see a direct comparison.
 

siryne

macrumors newbie
Sep 15, 2012
6
0
My 5 is much better than my 4S in reception. Also in call quality. The speaker phone is also a huge improvement.
Peace!
 

starstreak

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 5, 2004
456
11
Hmm while a different topic, my speaker on the 5 seems to buzz when too loud. Although it doesn't sound any louder than my 4s. But it's been a while since I listened to the 4s speaker for hands free. But I know I didn't hear buzzing on the 4s. The kind of buzzing you hear when a speaker clips.

My 5 is much better than my 4S in reception. Also in call quality. The speaker phone is also a huge improvement.
Peace!
 

dontwalkhand

macrumors 603
Jul 5, 2007
6,368
2,863
Phoenix, AZ
Better than any 4 and 4S that I have ever had. It is actually about as good as the 3G and 3GS were. (I believe, in my opinion, the 4 and 4S had worse signal strength than the 3G and 3GS). I am just glad to have my signal back, the way it is supposed to be.
 

AndrewR23

Contributor
Jun 24, 2010
4,545
1,720
my 4S has 4-5 bars in my house, my 5 has 1. This is a huge problem. My previous 5 had 4 bars here.

My new 5 has no scuffs dents etc...

Im afraid I will have to replace.
 

starstreak

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 5, 2004
456
11
You thinking ink it could be the phone? Is there a way for apple to check b4 swapping at the store?
 

SVTVenom

macrumors member
Jun 8, 2012
32
1
my 4S has 4-5 bars in my house, my 5 has 1. This is a huge problem. My previous 5 had 4 bars here.

My new 5 has no scuffs dents etc...

Im afraid I will have to replace.

Mine is the same. My iPhone 4 had 4-5 bars in my house and 1-2 in my office. Now with the iPhone 5, I have No Service in my office and 1-3 bars in the house. It's pretty unreliable now.
 

starstreak

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 5, 2004
456
11
Try and turn off LTE and see if your bars get better. I notice if I keep the LTE turned off, my signal is generally better, but you can tell its nowhere near LTE speeds when you do.

Mine is the same. My iPhone 4 had 4-5 bars in my house and 1-2 in my office. Now with the iPhone 5, I have No Service in my office and 1-3 bars in the house. It's pretty unreliable now.
 

bunger

macrumors 6502
Mar 1, 2007
468
6
I am noticing same the same issue as the OP. In areas that I previously had a a strong signal, I now have no or degraded signal. It is quite a bit worse than the 4s...
 

russk

macrumors newbie
Dec 3, 2012
3
0
iPhone5 reception bad

Cell Reception from my house is weak, but worked about 95% of the time from the house using my iPhone4 or my wife's 3GS. now we both have iPhone5's, and we can neither receive, nor make cell phone calls from the house. Reception on the iPhone5 is much worse in areas where reception is already fairly weak.

Same is true for the wifi range. My old phone gets WIFI at a greater distance from our router than the iphone5 does. The difference is about 30 feet.
The iPhone5 has some nice features, but the weaker reception is VERY disappointing.

I am shocked that this deficit is not being noted all over the internet.
 

Fudd

macrumors member
Nov 23, 2011
87
7
My 4S gets reception in our basement cafeteria while the 5, nexus and a razr maxx in my lunch group don't get a signal at all. :)
 

Kaikoa7073

macrumors newbie
Jan 21, 2013
1
0
Experiencing Same Problem.. No service with Iphone5

I'm trying to figure out if something is wrong with the iphone5 I have or if it's AT&T.

In Hawaii, AT&T switched alot over to LTE pretty much on the day I got my new iPhone5.
In areas that I know I could make calls on the 4s, people are now telling me my voice is breaking up on the 5.
I also noticed that my signal bars are worse than my old phone. Taking it for granted for the moment that the iPhone5 is supposed to have better reception than my old 4s, whats causing the signal change so much?
Is the signal bars showing the 4g/LTE signal strength or cellular voice signal? Or if LTE causes interference for voice calls.

Since I had my number swapped to the 5, I can't have both phones on to see a direct comparison.

I am having a bad experience with this IPhone 5. I had prepaid $40 boost for maybe two years but was always fascinated with the I Phones. Due to the cost of the phones and plans.... I stuck with Boost. Never had problems like Im experiencing with this IPhone 5. My husband and daughters all have IPhone 4's that they love. They bought me a IPhone 5 and being excited I switched to their family plan. I have no service at home and internet connection sucks.. Is there any help out there?? I approached in person both at&t and Apple (taking time out to schedule appointment and travelling all the way to Ala Moana) with little help to my situation. Soo.. I came on the internet to see if anyone else is experiencing the same bad service. If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to inform me.. thank you
 

maxosx

macrumors 68020
Dec 13, 2012
2,385
1
Southern California
My AT&T iPhone 5 has good connectivity and very clear calls. Too bad the screen is so little. It'd be my favorite smartphone if the display was 4.8" - 5.0".
 

Usehername

macrumors member
Oct 19, 2012
92
0
My 5's reception is fine, and I live in Hawaii also. I have 2-3 bars with LTE and 4-5 bars in 4G.
 

Nautilus007

macrumors 68030
Jul 13, 2007
2,636
1,288
U.S
The iPhone 5 definitely gives me more problems than my 4s and I have two iPhone 5's so I know it's not a defect.
 

neutrino23

macrumors 68000
Feb 14, 2003
1,881
391
SF Bay area
Reception on my iPhone 5 is as good or better than it was on the 4 or 4s. The sound is much clearer. I also have a company provided iPhone 4. Sometimes I'll start a call on the 4 and have to switch to the 5 to finish clearly.

For the OP:
The problem might not be the phone. In the process of changing to LTE they might have distributed the emitted power differently.

I do notice that LTE seems to take longer to connect. In one restaurant I go the 4 shows signal as soon as I turn it on. The 5 shows no service for a while then suddenly LTE appears.
 

koigirl

macrumors 6502a
Jul 29, 2011
846
401
Raleigh, NC
My ATT iPhone 5 has better reception than my 4S did in my town, Raleigh, NC. Don't know if the improvement is due to better antennae or LTE but I have improved signal and way fewer dropped calls no matter where I am, at home or traveling. Call quality seems improved as well, at least on my end.
 

starstreak

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 5, 2004
456
11
I would guess its your phone. If your family has iPhones and connect at home where yours cannot, it's probably your phone. See if apple can switch it out for you?
As far as reception from when I first posted this, it's still a little worse than the 4s I had. But I've gotten used to it and no drop calls.

I am having a bad experience with this IPhone 5. I had prepaid $40 boost for maybe two years but was always fascinated with the I Phones. Due to the cost of the phones and plans.... I stuck with Boost. Never had problems like Im experiencing with this IPhone 5. My husband and daughters all have IPhone 4's that they love. They bought me a IPhone 5 and being excited I switched to their family plan. I have no service at home and internet connection sucks.. Is there any help out there?? I approached in person both at&t and Apple (taking time out to schedule appointment and travelling all the way to Ala Moana) with little help to my situation. Soo.. I came on the internet to see if anyone else is experiencing the same bad service. If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to inform me.. thank you
 
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