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Verizon iPad 3 constantly dropping LTE

M

mlody

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 11, 2012
1,592
1,220
Windy City
I have 3rd gen Verizon iPad 16GB and lately I noticed that my iPad keeps loosing LTE connection - once that happens it typically switches to 3G. Switching LTE toggle most of the time does not help to bring back the LTE connection, same with the airplane mode. Usually I have to reboot as turning on and off cellular connection also rarely helps.
If I let it sit for ~ 10 minutes, on some occasions the LTE will come back for 1-2 minutes (if that) before it vanishes again and this continues on and off.
I can definitely rule out Verizon or tower problems cause during the same time my iPhone 5 isn’t experiencing such issue as LTE sticks on it all the time.
Both iPhone and iPad are on the same iOS and Carrier versions.

Does anyone have any ideas what to do with this issue?
 
B

BlueRaider

macrumors regular
Mar 2, 2012
102
0
I am having the EXACT same issue. I think it has something to do with the latest carrier update. If you find an answer please let me know!
 
B

BlueRaider

macrumors regular
Mar 2, 2012
102
0
sshams95 said:
Same issue here...and it def started after updating carrier settings.
Click to expand...

Restore 6.1 and see if it gives you the prompt to update carrier settings again. I restored and chose cancel when it gave me the option of updating carrier settings.

My LTE works perfectly again, so it definitely has something to do with the new carrier settings.
 
S

sshams95

macrumors member
Jul 12, 2009
62
0
BlueRaider said:
Restore 6.1 and see if it gives you the prompt to update carrier settings again. I restored and chose cancel when it gave me the option of updating carrier settings.

My LTE works perfectly again, so it definitely has something to do with the new carrier settings.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that was my plan tonight and good to hear it's working fine.
 
R

RexTraverse

macrumors 6502
Feb 10, 2008
259
0
I can also attest that a backup and restore will work (so long as you don't re-update carrier settings)

I'm guessing because there are just so few of us (relatively) that use the Verizon iPad 3, that this hasn't been a major issue. Is there any way to report this to Apple? I don't want this issue ignored going forward, but I can't find discussion of this problem anywhere else.
 
L

laestrella

macrumors member
Mar 9, 2012
74
72
i'm also having this issue and i'm jailbroken.

do i just do a restore via itunes to 6.1?

i don't remember doing a carrier update but i'm guessing i did.
 
T

TPadden

macrumors 6502a
Oct 28, 2010
745
417
I think Verizon is forcing the update. When I now restore, it asks me about update, I say no, everything's fine for a couple hours. All of a sudden it reverts to 3G when phone and android tablet have no problem maintaining LTE.
 
J

j1500

macrumors newbie
Feb 17, 2013
2
0
Same issue here. Immediately started happening after update to iOS 6.1. Ive already done a reset of network services and reprovision of account via the subscriber services reset within the ipad reset menu. I called technical support at Verizon however their account system is currently down and they will return my call later today.
 
J

j1500

macrumors newbie
Feb 17, 2013
2
0
Fixed with update to iOS 6.1.2

I just recieved an update on my Verizon iPad to iOS 6.1.2 and it has solved my LTE/3G connection issue.
 
M

mlody

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 11, 2012
1,592
1,220
Windy City
j1500 said:
I just recieved an update on my Verizon iPad to iOS 6.1.2 and it has solved my LTE/3G connection issue.
Click to expand...

I was hoping for the same post upgrade results, but mine problem still exists unfortunately.
Has anyone tried and perhaps was succesful to get the ipad replaced at apple store due to this issue? Is this too much to ask? It is kind of pointless to get ipad with LTE but forced to use it on 3g most of the time? I also really doubt if this is related to the latest Carrier version as my phone has the same version and it is rock solid on LTE
 
S

sshams95

macrumors member
Jul 12, 2009
62
0
I called Verizon. Go to General. Then Reset. Click Subscriber Services and then Reprovision Account. Reboot iPad. So far...I am on solid LTE.
 
charlituna

charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA
mlody said:
I also really doubt if this is related to the latest Carrier version as my phone has the same version and it is rock solid on LTE
Click to expand...

Just because its the same version doesn't mean it's 100% the same software. That 1% that might not be identical could be the issue. Or it could be something else in your iPad that is out of wack that gets out back on if you restore a backup. Etc.
 
M

mlody

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 11, 2012
1,592
1,220
Windy City
sshams95 said:
I called Verizon. Go to General. Then Reset. Click Subscriber Services and then Reprovision Account. Reboot iPad. So far...I am on solid LTE.
Click to expand...


I didnt call Verizon, but I tried that last night with no luck.

Today, I decided to completely wipe out my iPad and suprisingly (i do not want to jinx myself yet) things are also rock solid - over 2 hours of constant LTE connectivity.
 
T

TPadden

macrumors 6502a
Oct 28, 2010
745
417
Mine is worse, now I get No Service on 3G. Phone and Android tablet fine on both LTE and 3G so it isn't on the Verizon service side.

Anyone else turn their LTE off and get "No Service"? :)
 
T

TPadden

macrumors 6502a
Oct 28, 2010
745
417
mlody said:
I didnt call Verizon, but I tried that last night with no luck.

Today, I decided to completely wipe out my iPad and suprisingly (i do not want to jinx myself yet) things are also rock solid - over 2 hours of constant LTE connectivity.
Click to expand...

Mine always returns to sucking service. My phone and Samsung Tab always show 3-4 bars Verizon LTE and iPad No Service until I return to a really strong signal area :mad:.

I find I no longer even take the iPad when I leave the house.
 
A

aristobrat

macrumors G5
Oct 14, 2005
12,292
1,403
Man, I thought I was the only one with this problem!

I did a "Reset Network Settings" yesterday (before finding this thread) and it helped a lot. I wouldn't say it's 100% like it was before this issue, but it's definitely an improvement on my iPad.
 
M

mlody

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 11, 2012
1,592
1,220
Windy City
A quick update on my issue: a full restore didn't help - my LTE only worked till first hard reboot unfortunately. I ended up going to a local Apple store and replaced my ipad with a new one under warranty. So far my LTE is working fine.
 
T

TPadden

macrumors 6502a
Oct 28, 2010
745
417
mlody said:
A quick update on my issue: a full restore didn't help - my LTE only worked till first hard reboot unfortunately. I ended up going to a local Apple store and replaced my ipad with a new one under warranty. So far my LTE is working fine.
Click to expand...
Let us know after it updates the system how it goes. My LTE is fine ONLY with a strong signal, a little while after all the tricks and resets :(.
 
H

HouseOfCards

macrumors newbie
Mar 14, 2013
20
0
I also have the problem of my iPad dropping LTE and I believe for myself and many of you it is an issue of an outdated PRL. Unlike other LTE networks that fall back to GSM/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA, Verizon's fallback is CDMA which requires a PRL for network selection. My understanding is that the way Verizon's CDMA/LTE hybrid network is implemented requires a PRL, even for LTE network selection. So if you live in an area recently upgraded to LTE or with additional coverage added, you may not be able to connect to these new stations until you get an updated PRL. Therefore, you may find that your connection drops because your device is trying to maintain a connection to a far away tower when there is a much closer one that it ignores.

I've drawn this conclusion from a little research and also because someone I know with the same model iPad and prepaid plan is getting perfect LTE reception in the same location. Upon inspection, the only difference we could find was that he had a newer PRL version than mine which is 15166.

These PRLs are now stored on the SIM and can no longer be updated from a device by dialing *228 or any other means at the user end (such as SIM removal, device resets, or reprovisioning). As far as I can tell, you can only get an updated PRL one of the following ways:

1) A new SIM - upon initial provisioning, the latest PRL is pushed to your SIM
2) Contacting customer service and requesting that they push you the latest PRL - many reps either don't know how to do this or don't want to do it so you have to be persistent and you still may get nowhere, especially with prepaid customer service
3) Waiting for Verizon to push you a scheduled PRL update - it appears that Verizon pushes out new LTE PRLs somewhere between every 90-180 days and you must have an active plan and be connected to their home network during the window of time that new LTE PRLs are being pushed

Of course, there could be other things going on as well. Out of curiosity, what are your PRL versions?
 
V

vzwusr

macrumors newbie
Mar 15, 2013
2
0
I registered just for this thread.

EXACT same issue here, and I have an iPad 3 64GB VZW with iOS 6.1.2. This happened all of a sudden. LTE signal just drops, and reverts to 3G after a few minutes. I noticed it yesterday at work (since I'm on wireless at home), and the signal here is strong. I work for VZ(!) and we've had 4G LTE here at work for a long time, so it isn't new coverage or anything.

I tried turning airplane mode on/off, shutting off wireless, turning cellular data on/off, hard reset, hard shutdown and reboot, resetting network settings to factory default. All of these things would work for a few minutes, then eventually drop LTE with a "could not activate cellular data network" message, reverting to 3G again. I hate 3G.

I just tried the "account reprovision" tip above and hopefully that will work. So far, it has been about 5 minutes without reverting to 3G, so that's a new record. We'll see if it holds out all day.
 
C

CrankyGreg

macrumors newbie
Mar 15, 2013
1
0
Same Problem! LTE drops.....

This is a very irritating problem. I have also had problems with WIFI on this iPad in the past (iPad 3) after an iOS update. and I took it to the Genius Bar after trying everything else. It works better now, but some days it's still a little skittish on WIFI when all my other devices work well.

This LTE problem is really irritating, since I got the Verizon model because of the LTE coverage. My problems started I think with the last update.
 
H

HouseOfCards

macrumors newbie
Mar 14, 2013
20
0
I noticed there are several complaints on various discussion boards about the Verizon iPad 3 and LTE, particularly after the 6.1 update. My area only got LTE in late January so I can't say for sure that a problem didn't exist before that update.

Reprovisions, resetting the A-key, resetting all network settings, and even a full restore never helped me. Although I think for me the PRL thing is still a plausible explanation (and CS won't help with that), there could be other explanations for the issue.

The baseband was updated with iOS 6.0 (mid-September) to 2.0.02 and again with 6.1 (late January) to 2.3.03. Apple has definitely pushed out buggy baseband updates in the past for other devices.

A lot of people have mentioned the mandatory 14.1 carrier settings update. I looked at the differences in the 14.0 and 14.1 bundles and there are no changes other than enhanced status bar images.

Hopefully Apple and/or Verizon will take notice and resolve the problem.
 
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