iPhone 11 Antenna Gain

[HeadphoneAddict]

Do you have good broadband? If so, there is a solution for you, especially on Verizon. You can purchase a 4G LTE Network Extender, which plugs into your router and is a true 4G mini cell tower right in your home. The network extender isn't one of the lame "repeaters" that tries to amplify far-away cell towers (which usually don't work). Nor is this a glorified router for terrible wifi calling. The Network Extender is true 4G LTE signal, which will give you full bars and excellent call quality, routing your LTE call through broadband and out to the network.

Further, the best thing you can do is turn wifi calling off, especially if you have this type of LTE network extender. Wifi calling generally is terrible. But 4G and LTE calling is usually pretty great. And I can confirm this particular device from Verizon is really excellent, full bars, crystal-clear call quality, no drops.

We have an old "free" 3G micro-cell from AT&T that we stopped using when we got WiFi calling, because we like how with WiFi calling we can make calls with our iPads or Macs even when our phones are either off, updating, or just unavailable.

Xfinity here is up to 983mbps max speed in our area, but I am at 439 mbps down/41 up right now. The problem with the old Micro-cell and/or WiFi calling now is when we leave the house and the call doesn't hand off to the cell towers consistently and we drop calls fairly often when that happens.

We have devices on AT&T and T-mobile and both are equally bad with barely 1 bar of LTE. haven't had Verizon since 2009 (get a 24% FAN discount through work with AT&T). I don't know if AT&T will offer a free LTE Micro-cell now, since we haven't had our old one plugged in for years once we got wifi calling.

Also, if we plug the old one back in, it only allows our 10 primary devices in "group 1" to connect, but not the 3 devices in group 2 (Apple Watch, iPad mini, and my mother-in-law's iPad when she visits). And, one of the 10 primary devices in group 1 is my brother who doesn't even live with us and can't use the Microcell, but needs access to international day pass which is only on devices in group 1.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I suppose that's possible, but...

The likelihood of a nearby neighbor (with ~50 feet of your apartment/home) meeting all 5 of these conditions is pretty slim:

1. Being a Verizon customer
2. Not having home WiFi themselves
3. Having an unlimited data plan
4. Deciding to tether their phone to provide WiFi to their other devices
5. Using enough of your ISP data to where it even matters towards your data cap. I've never come anywhere near my ISP's data cap and I work from home and use DirectTV Now streaming services in lieu of cable tv along with Netflix, Hulu, etc.

If the situation arises, deal with it at that time. In the mean time, why worry about it? It's not a super likely scenario.

My brother meets criteria 2, 3, and 4. He is on my unlimited AT&T family plan with no wifi at home (poor). Last month he used 80GB of data on our AT&T plan, but he connects his phone to his TV via lightning to HDMI, so he only used 5.5GB of tethering his MacBook and iPad via his iPhone 7+ hotspot feature.

He could easily cause a heavy data user to go over their cap if he's using 8-10% of their data via their micro-cell.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Seems like general consensus is it’s about the same as last years models. Sticking with my Qualcomm X for another year.

My Qualcomm X was just as bad as the Xs Max in poor signal areas (as are our Qualcomm 7, 7+, 8, and 8+). But, in good signal areas the Xs Max is over 2x faster than my other phones. I finally sold my 256GB iPhone X with 6 weeks of AppleCare+ remaining for $500 - didn't make sense to keep it.

Someone made an interesting point in another thread, that perhaps the carriers were being more aggressive now in switching your phone to the band they want, and not what makes the most effective sense for you.

I realized tonight that my dead zone problems on the new Pro 11 are easily solved if I turn the LTE off. (I get dead zones in my house, even with one to two bars of service showing.) Why doesn't the phone figure this out on its own, and switch to 3G automatically?

I have to do the same - I turn off LTE when I get within 1 mile of my home. I get 2-3 bars of 4G, but data speeds are not as fast as 1 bar of LTE - it's the calls dropping that are more of a problem.

So, I used to just turn off LTE for voice and leave it on for data only - but Apple took that option away from us in iOS 13

 

[Packers1958]

My Qualcomm X was just as bad as the Xs Max in poor signal areas (as are our Qualcomm 7, 7+, 8, and 8+). But, in good signal areas the Xs Max is over 2x faster than my other phones. I finally sold my 256GB iPhone X with 6 weeks of AppleCare+ remaining for $500 - didn't make sense to keep it.


I have to do the same - I turn off LTE when I get within 1 mile of my home. I get 2-3 bars of 4G, but data speeds are not as fast as 1 bar of LTE - it's the calls dropping that are more of a problem.

So, I used to just turn off LTE for voice and leave it on for data only - but Apple took that option away from us in iOS 13

That's because the carriers no longer want to users to use 1x for voice anymore.

 

[BiggAW]

If you really want good reception, get an Android phone. That's one of the main drivers as to why I've got a Note 9 and not an iPhone. The Qualcomm X20 radio in that thing is beyond tenacious. The nice part is I can still do iOS things (a bit of reading and Facetime) on my iPad. If you absolutely must have an iPhone, get an 8+ Qualcomm, but then again you lose 4x4 MIMO, and if you're on T, B14. And forget about TMUS since there's no B71.

He could easily cause a heavy data user to go over their cap if he's using 8-10% of their data via their micro-cell.

Which is why it should be an option, not forced to be open or forced to be closed. Some people either don't have a cap, or, in most cases, live in exurban areas with bigger houses where no one else could connect without trespassing anyway. Those things just don't have a lot of range.

That's because the carriers no longer want to users to use 1x for voice anymore.

But HeadphoneAddict has T, so what VZ wants is irrelevant.

 

[Merks]

I have an 11 pro, wife has an 11. My field test from the same location shows -101 for the pro, -99 for the 11.

Did a google speed test at the same time to. My pro's download speed was 75 mbps, hers was 50 mbps. My upload speed was 5 mbps while hers was 10 mbps.

So im getting faster downloads with the pro, but slower uploads than the regular 11.... anyone care to comment on that?

This is with the T-mobile post-paid network in Milwaukee, WI.

 

[jkozlow3]

I have an 11 pro, wife has an 11. My field test from the same location shows -101 for the pro, -99 for the 11.

Did a google speed test at the same time to. My pro's download speed was 75 mbps, hers was 50 mbps. My upload speed was 5 mbps while hers was 10 mbps.

So im getting faster downloads with the pro, but slower uploads than the regular 11.... anyone care to comment on that?

This is with the T-mobile post-paid network in Milwaukee, WI.

I’m guessing you could repeat the speed tests a dozen times and your results would be all over the place. You need way more data points in different areas and times of the day before you can draw any real conclusions.

 

[Kung]

Just got my 11 yesterday; I upgraded from an XS.

I've not done specific speed tests yet. With that said, the 11, so far as reception goes, is a DEFINITE improvement over the XS.

I live in a house with 6" walls, steel siding; and we built a new extension on our house 3 years ago. The wall between the main part of our house and our extension is 14" (you read that right - our bedroom is our old carport, and we found it'd be tons cheaper to simply build a wall on the side of the old outside of the house). Any signals from that part of the house to our extension have to go through a 6" wall, steel siding, and another 6" wall; and any cellular reception has to go through 6" walls with steel siding.

If I was LUCKY, I'd be able to maintain wifi with my XS. I'm not talking high speed or max wifi reception, I'm talking simply maintaining even one 'bar' of wifi. So far as cellular reception, making a call was pretty much impossible.

Fast forward to my new phone. I had some issue with iTunes Match so I called the Apple rep from my new phone. It was only after I'd gotten off the phone that I realized that not only had I been able to make the call at all, but it had never dropped out, not once. Cellular reception is easily 3 bars, and wifi is one notch below max reception; my XS got 1 bar if I was lucky, and maintained wifi if I was lucky.

I'm now @ work, which is in a brick-sided steel building. Previously, I was lucky if I got 2 bars, and if a webpage loaded eventually. Now? They load in about 2 to 3 seconds; reception is at least 1 to 2 bars better.

Anecdotal, yes, I'm sure; but all I know is that this phone is a huge improvement over my XS, in terms of reception.

 

[Kimmie92592]

Just got my 11 yesterday; I upgraded from an XS.

I've not done specific speed tests yet. With that said, the 11, so far as reception goes, is a DEFINITE improvement over the XS.

I live in a house with 6" walls, steel siding; and we built a new extension on our house 3 years ago. The wall between the main part of our house and our extension is 14" (you read that right - our bedroom is our old carport, and we found it'd be tons cheaper to simply build a wall on the side of the old outside of the house). Any signals from that part of the house to our extension have to go through a 6" wall, steel siding, and another 6" wall; and any cellular reception has to go through 6" walls with steel siding.

If I was LUCKY, I'd be able to maintain wifi with my XS. I'm not talking high speed or max wifi reception, I'm talking simply maintaining even one 'bar' of wifi. So far as cellular reception, making a call was pretty much impossible.

Fast forward to my new phone. I had some issue with iTunes Match so I called the Apple rep from my new phone. It was only after I'd gotten off the phone that I realized that not only had I been able to make the call at all, but it had never dropped out, not once. Cellular reception is easily 3 bars, and wifi is one notch below max reception; my XS got 1 bar if I was lucky, and maintained wifi if I was lucky.

I'm now @ work, which is in a brick-sided steel building. Previously, I was lucky if I got 2 bars, and if a webpage loaded eventually. Now? They load in about 2 to 3 seconds; reception is at least 1 to 2 bars better.

Anecdotal, yes, I'm sure; but all I know is that this phone is a huge improvement over my XS, in terms of reception.

Thank you for this information. I might give the 11 a try.

 

[Kung]

No problem. One side note - and I'm not even sure if this is a big deal or not.

My wife got the AT&T 'version' of the phone from Apple; I went with the unlocked version. While both of our phones have better reception than the previous phones, mine is a shade better than hers is.

 

[VineRider]

No problem. One side note - and I'm not even sure if this is a big deal or not.

My wife got the AT&T 'version' of the phone from Apple; I went with the unlocked version. While both of our phones have better reception than the previous phones, mine is a shade better than hers is.

Is there really any difference in the AT&T version versus the unlocked? I got the unlocked and the model number is A2160 (MWCM2LL/A). What is the AT&T version model number (settings/about -touch model number to get the A model number) of your wife's phone? According to Apple support page https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201296 there is only one model for the US and its the A2160.

 

[BiggAW]

Is there really any difference in the AT&T version versus the unlocked? I got the unlocked and the model number is A2160 (MWCM2LL/A). What is the AT&T version model number (settings/about -touch model number to get the A model number) of your wife's phone? According to Apple support page https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201296 there is only one model for the US and its the A2160.

There is only one US model each of the Xr, Xs, Xs Max, 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max.

 

[MCKLMT]

Any news with 13.2 beta 1?

 

[Kung]

Is there really any difference in the AT&T version versus the unlocked? I got the unlocked and the model number is A2160 (MWCM2LL/A). What is the AT&T version model number (settings/about -touch model number to get the A model number) of your wife's phone? According to Apple support page https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201296 there is only one model for the US and its the A2160.

I'm not disagreeing with you at all; but with that said, for some odd reason, it sure seems like my phone (not locked to AT&T's network) is quicker to acquire and holds on to a cellular signal a bit better than hers. It could just be my perception, though.

 

[jkozlow3]

Any news with 13.2 beta 1?

What kind of news are you looking for? There are no real-world issues with the 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max. Several on this thread have indicated that they've gotten better performance vs. their previous devices (namely the XS models) in areas where they previously struggled.

 

[kirk.vino]

What kind of news are you looking for? There are no real-world issues with the 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max. Several on this thread have indicated that they've gotten better performance vs. their previous devices (namely the XS models) in areas where they previously struggled.

And even better than the Qualcomm X. At least, in my case.

 

[jkozlow3]

And even better than the Qualcomm X. At least, in my case.

I did not own the Qualcomm X, but I *did* have the iPhone 8 Qualcomm which was released the same year as the X and had the same modem. And I agree - the 11 Pro with the Intel modem is better (Verizon user).

I had all kinds of issues with the Qualcomm iPhone 8 as well as the Intel XS. Needed to frequently toggle airplane mode to get data working, etc. I no longer have to do that with the 11 Pro.

 

[VineRider]

I'm not disagreeing with you at all; but with that said, for some odd reason, it sure seems like my phone (not locked to AT&T's network) is quicker to acquire and holds on to a cellular signal a bit better than hers. It could just be my perception, though.

Yes, no telling what's going on under the hood 😀

 

[robrobrobro]

I did not own the Qualcomm X, but I *did* have the iPhone 8 Qualcomm which was released the same year as the X and had the same modem. And I agree - the 11 Pro with the Intel modem is better (Verizon user).

I had all kinds of issues with the Qualcomm iPhone 8 as well as the Intel XS. Needed to frequently toggle airplane mode to get data working, etc. I no longer have to do that with the 11 Pro.

I’m glad someone said this! I don’t get why the 8 and it’s modem are so venerated around here. Mine has pretty lousy signal strength and frequently drops connection (also Verizon).

 

[ZipZap]

I'm not disagreeing with you at all; but with that said, for some odd reason, it sure seems like my phone (not locked to AT&T's network) is quicker to acquire and holds on to a cellular signal a bit better than hers. It could just be my perception, though.

I think this is accurate and something is different in those phones despite what the experts here keep posting. That said, my 11 Pro Max is not better in my home (ATT) as I basically have no signal but at the office MUCH improved.

 

[Packers1958]

We have to stop comparing modems. Has nothing to do with modems. Has everything to do with antenna design. XS, XS Max and Xr all used the same modem, but the Xr had better reception because of a different antenna design. Hopefully Apple tweaked the antenna design of the 11 Pro and Pro Max to be more in line with the 11.

 

[kirk.vino]

We have to stop comparing modems. Has nothing to do with modems. Has everything to do with antenna design. XS, XS Max and Xr all used the same modem, but the Xr had better reception because of a different antenna design. Hopefully Apple tweaked the antenna design of the 11 Pro and Pro Max to be more in line with the 11.

I have to disagree here. As someone who owned iPhone 10's with both Intel and Qualcomm modems, they showed a big difference in signal re-acquisition and data speeds in low-signal areas. It all matters at the end of the day. Now, of course, just like last year's iPhones they all are equipped with Intel. However, this year the modem is a newer chip from Intel. Intel modems for the past 2 years have shown bad results at holding or acquiring signal in congested areas or areas with unstable/low signal. This year it seems to have been improved. Coupled with better antenna gain this year it all results in better phones as well.

 

[The Oak]

I did not own the Qualcomm X, but I *did* have the iPhone 8 Qualcomm which was released the same year as the X and had the same modem. And I agree - the 11 Pro with the Intel modem is better (Verizon user).

I had all kinds of issues with the Qualcomm iPhone 8 as well as the Intel XS. Needed to frequently toggle airplane mode to get data working, etc. I no longer have to do that with the 11 Pro.

It is my understanding that the Pro modems opened up a few more bands that the XS/R modems did not have. In addition, these few extra bands it is my understanding were beneficial to Verizon users.

Hence it is a little challenging to really compare XS/R and Pro as band selection could be different.

 

[jkozlow3]

It is my understanding that the Pro modems opened up a few more bands that the XS/R modems did not have. In addition, these few extra bands it is my understanding were beneficial to Verizon users.

Hence it is a little challenging to really compare XS/R and Pro as band selection could be different.

Do you have a link to anything discussing this? With Verizon, my phones have been using the same bands for years. Band 4/66 primarily according to field test mode. Band 66 support was added with the iPhone X and 8 models in 2017. So I'm just wondering what you heard/read re: the Pro and additional Verizon benefits.

Thanks!

 

[The Oak]

Do you have a link to anything discussing this? With Verizon, my phones have been using the same bands for years. Band 4/66 primarily according to field test mode. Band 66 support was added with the iPhone X and 8 models in 2017. So I'm just wondering what you heard/read re: the Pro and additional Verizon benefits.

Thanks!

Here is the link:

Because of T-Mobile and Verizon, the iPhone 11 supports an LTE band record

the North American A2161 version has to support the exclusive FirstNet band for government employees and emergencey services, AT&T's band 14, as well as T-Mobile's vaunted band 71, the long-range 600MHz. Add to these Verizon's new CBRS bands meant for offloading some traffic in crowded areas...

www.phonearena.com