iPhone 11 Antenna Gain

[archer75]

I haven't had any issues whatsoever with my Xs Max. We do a lot of camping and are often in fringe areas. My reception is no worse than any of my friends with android phones.
And my girls have a iphone 7 and 8+ and their reception is worse than my Xs Max but not by much.

The friends i'm referring to have a galaxy 9, note 9, pixel 2 and an LG (don't know model).

 

[PlainEnvelopes]

I haven't had any issues whatsoever with my Xs Max.

My xs max has been terrible with service. I cant wait for my pro to come in. My iphone X had really good service.

 

[MvdM]

That colour is bound to ensure better network connectivity.

Only if the provider is Orange.

 

[Sappharad]

Graph for comparison between different iPhone models:

Disclaimer: I'm not knowledgeable in antenna technology, so I don't know if comparing them this way is fair or not. The graphs linked earlier in this thread show all antennas, but since the phones have the ability to use whichever antenna gets the best signal on the fly, I just took the best value for each frequency to simplify the graph. Putting them side-by-side like this shows how much of an improvement there is on bands 2, 4, 25 and 66. (The ones starting near the middle)

You'll notice I have data here that wasn't in the previous graphs, like iPhone X. That is because I went out to the FCC filings and grabbed the numbers myself. Note that some FCC filings provide the data in frequencies, while others listed LTE bands and ranges. I took the median frequency of the bands supported on all devices for the graph data and used values closest to what data was provided. In short, this data should not be considered exact but it might provide a rough comparison between devices.

I assume that the gain on lower frequencies is less important because lower frequencies travel better through walls, which might be why they prioritize better gain at higher frequencies.

 

[tekchic]

My XS Max is the worst for signal. Being on T-Mobile doesn't help -- I'm in the middle of Phoenix and it's a ridiculously congested network, but it sucked just as bad on AT&T, which seemed fine on my older iPhones.

Looking forward to (hopefully) a Qualcomm modem next year. Holding out this year.

 

[Ngamtns706]

Qualcom/Intel is irrelevant when it comes to the antenna and antenna gain.

 

[madKIR]

Qualcom/Intel is irrelevant when it comes to the antenna and antenna gain.

Not necessarily true! The previous generations of Intel chips were notorious for being slow in re-acquiring the signal when compared to Qualcomm. In my situation when I use the subway in NYC daily it plays a huge role. Qualcomm was reconnecting and holding the signal way better than Intel. I tested both in the iPhone X (models 1901 with Intel and 1865 with Qualcomm, which I eventually kept). The XS was plagued with the bad antenna design, so paired with that Intel chip it was a total disaster for some people in low signal areas. I will be testing an 11 Pro on Friday. If it’s worse than my Qualcomm X, it’s going back.

 

[Ngamtns706]

Not necessarily true! The previous generations of Intel chips were notorious for being slow in re-acquiring the signal when compared to Qualcomm. In my situation when I use the subway in NYC daily it plays a huge role. Qualcomm was reconnecting and holding the signal way better than Intel. I tested both in the iPhone X (models 1901 with Intel and 1865 with Qualcomm, which I eventually kept). The XS was plagued with the bad antenna design, so paired with that Intel chip it was a total disaster for some people in low signal areas. I will be testing an 11 Pro on Friday. If it’s worse than my Qualcomm X, it’s going back.

Yes. That may be true, in relation to the antenna gain/tweets and in context of the original discussion is what I was speaking of.

 

[ab2c4]

Graph for comparison between different iPhone models:
View attachment 859494
Disclaimer: I'm not knowledgeable in antenna technology, so I don't know if comparing them this way is fair or not. The graphs linked earlier in this thread show all antennas, but since the phones have the ability to use whichever antenna gets the best signal on the fly, I just took the best value for each frequency to simplify the graph. Putting them side-by-side like this shows how much of an improvement there is on bands 2, 4, 25 and 66. (The ones starting near the middle)

You'll notice I have data here that wasn't in the previous graphs, like iPhone X. That is because I went out to the FCC filings and grabbed the numbers myself. Note that some FCC filings provide the data in frequencies, while others listed LTE bands and ranges. I took the median frequency of the bands supported on all devices for the graph data and used values closest to what data was provided. In short, this data should not be considered exact but it might provide a rough comparison between devices.

I assume that the gain on lower frequencies is less important because lower frequencies travel better through walls, which might be why they prioritize better gain at higher frequencies.

I don't understand these things but by that graph for the newest phones wouldn't the iPhone 11 perform better than the 11 Pro in this regard?

 

[madKIR]

I don't understand these things but by that graph for the newest phones wouldn't the iPhone 11 perform better than the 11 Pro in this regard?

Yes, that’s correct. Just like last year the XR had better reception than the XS/XS Max. The XR and the 11 both use a simpler design, they have only 2 antennas, as opposed to 4 in the more expensive models. That negatively impacts their data speeds, but in return both XR and 11 have stronger antennas.

 

[ab2c4]

Yes, that’s correct. Just like last year the XR had better reception than the XS/XS Max. The XR and the 11 both use a simpler design, they have only 2 antennas, as opposed to 4 in the more expensive models. That negatively impacts their data speeds, but in return both XR and 11 have stronger antennas.

If it does turn out that way then it just made my decision between the 11 and 11 Pro a lot easier. Thank you for your input.

 

[Kimmie92592]

Thank you for posting this. I stupidly thought that there was no way the new iPhones would have the antenna problems of the xs max of last year. I’ve been through so much hell with my xs max and it’s replacement. I was actually thinking of getting an 11 or 11 pro. I’m going to hold out for another year.

 

[tonyy]

Thank you for posting this. I stupidly thought that there was no way the new iPhones would have the antenna problems of the xs max of last year. I’ve been through so much hell with my xs max and it’s replacement. I was actually thinking of getting an 11 or 11 pro. I’m going to hold out for another year.

Same here. My XS Max has been terrible the past year. Just went back to an X. It’s been 2 days and connectivity has been 1000% better. Hoping next years iPhones will be better.

 

[kty39]

This is a dealbreaker. So sad the iPhone has so much advanced technology and they can't get the most basic function of a phone right.

 

[madKIR]

Thank you for posting this. I stupidly thought that there was no way the new iPhones would have the antenna problems of the xs max of last year. I’ve been through so much hell with my xs max and it’s replacement. I was actually thinking of getting an 11 or 11 pro. I’m going to hold out for another year.

But the 11 Pro Max antenna is better this time, not by a lot but better, so that might mitigate the issues that people had with the XS Max. Hopefully, the new Intel modem is better in that regard as well.

 

[Kimmie92592]

I will keep checking this thread to see if things have gotten better with the 11 but after seeing this I’m not hopeful.

 

[FlyingTexan]

What’s the real world use like? I made phone calls from base camp of Kilimanjaro. Over 15k feet in Tanzania from my iPhone X. At what point does it not matter?

 

[madKIR]

What’s the real world use like? I made phone calls from base camp of Kilimanjaro. Over 15k feet in Tanzania from my iPhone X. At what point does it not matter?

The X has a different antenna design, which has better stronger reception overall. Paired with the Qualcomm modem chip it’s a very solid phone as a phone (pun intended). The XS has the worst of both worlds, bad antenna and bad Intel chip, which turned it into a bad phone for calls/data in low signal areas.

 

[bsmr]

Ok. But we’re talking about the 11 and not old X/Xs.

Is it true, that 11 is better than 11Pro?

Thought the pro does have the better chip?

 

[madKIR]

Ok. But we’re talking about the 11 and not old X/Xs.

Is it true, that 11 is better than 11Pro?

Thought the pro does have the better chip?

They have the same chip, but they have different antenna designs: the 11 Pro is 4x4 MIMO (4 antennas), the 11 is 2x2 MIMO (2 antennas). The Pro would have way faster data speeds in good signal areas. The 11 has stronger antennas though. It might have to do with the fact that Apple couldn’t implement a better solution for 4 antennas in this X/XS/11Pro chassis. They basically took the X chassis that had only 2 antennas and redesigned it into 4 antennas, hence crippled the overall reception. If low signal performance is important to you, the X/XR/11 will be better in that regard.

 

[bsmr]

Thx.

You’re talking about way faster data speeds.
Could you give an example. If it’s some like 20mbit/s more ore less or something else...

 

[Packers1958]

Graph for comparison between different iPhone models:
View attachment 859494
Disclaimer: I'm not knowledgeable in antenna technology, so I don't know if comparing them this way is fair or not. The graphs linked earlier in this thread show all antennas, but since the phones have the ability to use whichever antenna gets the best signal on the fly, I just took the best value for each frequency to simplify the graph. Putting them side-by-side like this shows how much of an improvement there is on bands 2, 4, 25 and 66. (The ones starting near the middle)

You'll notice I have data here that wasn't in the previous graphs, like iPhone X. That is because I went out to the FCC filings and grabbed the numbers myself. Note that some FCC filings provide the data in frequencies, while others listed LTE bands and ranges. I took the median frequency of the bands supported on all devices for the graph data and used values closest to what data was provided. In short, this data should not be considered exact but it might provide a rough comparison between devices.

I assume that the gain on lower frequencies is less important because lower frequencies travel better through walls, which might be why they prioritize better gain at higher frequencies.

Pretty much proves the iPhone X is still best over all. I wonder what modem it has?

 

[borntrouble]

Not necessarily true! The previous generations of Intel chips were notorious for being slow in re-acquiring the signal when compared to Qualcomm. In my situation when I use the subway in NYC daily it plays a huge role. Qualcomm was reconnecting and holding the signal way better than Intel. I tested both in the iPhone X (models 1901 with Intel and 1865 with Qualcomm, which I eventually kept). The XS was plagued with the bad antenna design, so paired with that Intel chip it was a total disaster for some people in low signal areas. I will be testing an 11 Pro on Friday. If it’s worse than my Qualcomm X, it’s going back.

I would really appreciate you coming back on friday to tell us about your results, if that is possible for you?

 

[eulslix]

When can we expect the first tests with regards to reception? I'm not really optimistic about it, but maybe these phones will perform better than on sheet. Otherwise my trust in Apple went back to zero (after being slightly restored with the iPad Pro reveal last year).

When the Pro tag got rumored, I defended the choice of naming given a scenario where this phone had an outstanding reception. I mean, picture that: The first "Pro" iPhone, that is worse at calling/transferring data than basically every other iPhone AND it's Android competition.

I wish Apple would reap the consequences of their greed for once. Unfortunately I cant help you guys out, since skipping this year is out of question for me... my SE is basically done.

 

[madKIR]

I would really appreciate you coming back on friday to tell us about your results, if that is possible for you?

You can count on it!