4S vs 5 antenna

dgr874 · Nov 25, 2012, 08:21 PM

I had to move to a rural part of California for my job. I had been with ATT with an iphone 4 but decided to upgrade to a 5 to see if my reception was any better. I didn't notice any improvement, so I went and purchased an iphone 5 from verizon. The verizon does get better reception and seems much more consistent with its data although its slower than my ATT iphone 5 when it finally connects.

My question is, would I be better served by going to a verizon iphone 4s rather than a verizon iphone 5? There is no LTE service here (although their online coverage map claims I live right in the middle of LTE service.) How much worse is the iphone 4s antenna compared to the iphone 5's antenna?

Thanks in advance for any help.

greenchiliman · Nov 25, 2012, 08:24 PM

I think you will be more impacted by Verizon vs ATT coverage, than 4S vs 5. That being said, I have lived in rural areas and verizon was by far, much much better.

tymaster50 · Nov 25, 2012, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgr874

I had to move to a rural part of California for my job. I had been with ATT with an iphone 4 but decided to upgrade to a 5 to see if my reception was any better. I didn't notice any improvement, so I went and purchased an iphone 5 from verizon. The verizon does get better reception and seems much more consistent with its data although its slower than my ATT iphone 5 when it finally connects.

My question is, would I be better served by going to a verizon iphone 4s rather than a verizon iphone 5? There is no LTE service here (although their online coverage map claims I live right in the middle of LTE service.) How much worse is the iphone 4s antenna compared to the iphone 5's antenna?

Thanks in advance for any help.

You have no LTE it's gonna be the same thing man lol you can't change antenna reception unless your phone is defective.

sectime · Nov 25, 2012, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgr874

I had to move to a rural part of California for my job. I had been with ATT with an iphone 4 but decided to upgrade to a 5 to see if my reception was any better. I didn't notice any improvement, so I went and purchased an iphone 5 from verizon. The verizon does get better reception and seems much more consistent with its data although its slower than my ATT iphone 5 when it finally connects.

My question is, would I be better served by going to a verizon iphone 4s rather than a verizon iphone 5? There is no LTE service here (although their online coverage map claims I live right in the middle of LTE service.) How much worse is the iphone 4s antenna compared to the iphone 5's antenna?

Thanks in advance for any help.

if Verizon shows LTE coverage call support and find out why.

dgr874 · Nov 25, 2012, 11:01 PM

im not trying to change the reception. Im asking if the iphone 5 has better non LTE reception than the 4s. Sorry if i wasnt clear.

scaredpoet · Nov 25, 2012, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgr874

im not trying to change the reception. Im asking if the iphone 5 has better non LTE reception than the 4s. Sorry if i wasnt clear.

So your question isn't about reception, but it IS about reception?

And no, you will probably see no change in reception.

The slower 3G speed on Verizon is also normal. Throughput on a 3G CDMA network is just going to be slower than HSPA+ like on the AT&T network.

dgr874 · Nov 26, 2012, 12:36 AM

Alright, I will try to word it differently. Does the iphone 5 antenna work better than the 4s antenna in non-LTE environments? I don't know if i'm just wasting my money by buying an iphone 5 when there is no LTE service where I work and live.

cyclotron451 · Nov 26, 2012, 01:28 AM

I'm sure the 5 antenna is slightly better than the 4S antenna, I do happen to have an Anechoic chamber which could reliably do the measurements - but I haven't got my 5's yet.

An alternative is to install at home a 3G/UMTS "Home NodeB" or a "nanoBTS" which will give you a cloud of connectivity for around 20 designated phones. Your non-LTE calls will then be routed through your home broadband internet instead of the Telco backhaul. Home NodeB's are available from free to around a hundred dollars here in Europe, and there are now more of the small domestic basestations installed than the large Telco cellular basestations.

alphaod · Nov 26, 2012, 02:21 AM

It's seemed about the same between the 4S and 5 with AT&T when I didn't have LTE.

xlost6 · Nov 26, 2012, 05:19 AM

I find it a neat feature that the Verizon iPhone 5 antenna is a lot better than the Verizon iPhone 4. I'm in the locker room in the basement of the hospital (I work here) and usually on the Verizon iPhone 4 I would just drop straight to one bar and the little "o" which is Verizon's 2G network 1X. Now for some reason I have 4 to 5 bars with 3G coverage in the locker room in the basement using the Verizon iPhone 5. I never use to get this. I would have to hurry and revert to the hospital's Wi-Fi network to use data. It's way better now. Not sure if its the new chipset inside or the new antenna band that allowed this but man is this nice. I'm actually typing this right now in the locker room in the basemen. And I got 3G coverage.

Nov 25, 2012, 08:21 PM	#1
dgr874 macrumors newbie Join Date: Aug 2012	4S vs 5 antenna I had to move to a rural part of California for my job. I had been with ATT with an iphone 4 but decided to upgrade to a 5 to see if my reception was any better. I didn't notice any improvement, so I went and purchased an iphone 5 from verizon. The verizon does get better reception and seems much more consistent with its data although its slower than my ATT iphone 5 when it finally connects. My question is, would I be better served by going to a verizon iphone 4s rather than a verizon iphone 5? There is no LTE service here (although their online coverage map claims I live right in the middle of LTE service.) How much worse is the iphone 4s antenna compared to the iphone 5's antenna? Thanks in advance for any help.
	0

Nov 26, 2012, 02:21 AM	#9
alphaod macrumors P6 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: NYC	It's seemed about the same between the 4S and 5 with AT&T when I didn't have LTE. __________________ Mac Pro \| 27" iMac \| 15" MacBook Pro with Retina display \| iPhone 5 \| iPad 3 \| iPad mini
	0

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Nov 25, 2012, 08:24 PM	#2
greenchiliman macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Chicago	I think you will be more impacted by Verizon vs ATT coverage, than 4S vs 5. That being said, I have lived in rural areas and verizon was by far, much much better.
	1

Nov 25, 2012, 11:01 PM	#5
dgr874 Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Aug 2012	im not trying to change the reception. Im asking if the iphone 5 has better non LTE reception than the 4s. Sorry if i wasnt clear.
	0

Nov 26, 2012, 12:36 AM	#7
dgr874 Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Aug 2012	Alright, I will try to word it differently. Does the iphone 5 antenna work better than the 4s antenna in non-LTE environments? I don't know if i'm just wasting my money by buying an iphone 5 when there is no LTE service where I work and live.
	0

Nov 26, 2012, 01:28 AM	#8
cyclotron451 macrumors regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Europe	I'm sure the 5 antenna is slightly better than the 4S antenna, I do happen to have an Anechoic chamber which could reliably do the measurements - but I haven't got my 5's yet. An alternative is to install at home a 3G/UMTS "Home NodeB" or a "nanoBTS" which will give you a cloud of connectivity for around 20 designated phones. Your non-LTE calls will then be routed through your home broadband internet instead of the Telco backhaul. Home NodeB's are available from free to around a hundred dollars here in Europe, and there are now more of the small domestic basestations installed than the large Telco cellular basestations.
	0

Nov 26, 2012, 05:19 AM	#10
xlost6 macrumors regular Join Date: Feb 2011	I find it a neat feature that the Verizon iPhone 5 antenna is a lot better than the Verizon iPhone 4. I'm in the locker room in the basement of the hospital (I work here) and usually on the Verizon iPhone 4 I would just drop straight to one bar and the little "o" which is Verizon's 2G network 1X. Now for some reason I have 4 to 5 bars with 3G coverage in the locker room in the basement using the Verizon iPhone 5. I never use to get this. I would have to hurry and revert to the hospital's Wi-Fi network to use data. It's way better now. Not sure if its the new chipset inside or the new antenna band that allowed this but man is this nice. I'm actually typing this right now in the locker room in the basemen. And I got 3G coverage.
	0