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iPhone 12 Pro Better reception with Qualcomm modem in iPhone 12 Pro
- Thread starter Packers1958
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Bumping this for better or worse. I currently have a 12 Pro and 11 Pro (on Verizon). I also had a 12 Mini for a week or so before exchanging it. I live in a highly populated area with decent cell service from most carriers.
While I have noticed some improvement on speeds on the 12 Mini and 12 Pro (on LTE, not 5G), I've also had complete signal drops on both 12 phones, and that doesn't happen on my 11 Pro. On both the 12 Pro and 12 Mini we have one spot that is notoriously weak, but my wife's 11 held a signal and was still usable, and both the 12 Pro and 12 Mini dropped service completely. Toggling airplane mode helped get something back on the 12 Mini, but it took almost 10 minutes and leaving that area before the 12 Pro got anything back.
I'm a bit torn... faster speeds and 5G are nice, but losing service completely seems like a more important issue altogether. That behavior also goes against everything I'm reading about Qualcomm vs Intel as well.
Edit: I guess my concern is whether or not this is some software-fixable issue or something that's just a result of being a first generation 5G antenna user on iPhones... like how the first LTE antenna combos back in 2011 were a complete nightmare on Verizon.
While I have noticed some improvement on speeds on the 12 Mini and 12 Pro (on LTE, not 5G), I've also had complete signal drops on both 12 phones, and that doesn't happen on my 11 Pro. On both the 12 Pro and 12 Mini we have one spot that is notoriously weak, but my wife's 11 held a signal and was still usable, and both the 12 Pro and 12 Mini dropped service completely. Toggling airplane mode helped get something back on the 12 Mini, but it took almost 10 minutes and leaving that area before the 12 Pro got anything back.
I'm a bit torn... faster speeds and 5G are nice, but losing service completely seems like a more important issue altogether. That behavior also goes against everything I'm reading about Qualcomm vs Intel as well.
Edit: I guess my concern is whether or not this is some software-fixable issue or something that's just a result of being a first generation 5G antenna user on iPhones... like how the first LTE antenna combos back in 2011 were a complete nightmare on Verizon.
Older than the 11 had models with Intel, but if someone was on Verizon they likely had the Qualcomm model.
That's almost correct. The Xs and and Xr only had one model for all carriers, and it was Intel (same as the 11 line). The X, 8, and 7 lines all follow what you're stating though - Qualcomm on Verizon and Sprint (and any other CDMA carriers), and Intel on the others.
I am seeing the same thing. Was expecting the 12Pro with the Qualcomm and 4x4 to definitely outperform my Xr with Intel modem and 2x2. But with initial use it seemed like the 12 would drop service a tad sooner than the Xr. Haven't been able to confirm actual rsrp numbers as I cannot get the 12's service mode to actually refresh for the life of me.
But last night I drove the same stretch of road twice where there is very weak signal. The Xr held the call both ways, while the 12Pro dropped it in both directions. Was a disappointment for sure. That, along with the ridiculously yellow tinted screen, solidified my decision to return the device and just use my Xr for another year.
I will give the 12Pro props on it's ability to eek out more DL/UL speed with a weaker signal, although that probably has more to do with the 4x4 capabilities than the modem that's in it.
But last night I drove the same stretch of road twice where there is very weak signal. The Xr held the call both ways, while the 12Pro dropped it in both directions. Was a disappointment for sure. That, along with the ridiculously yellow tinted screen, solidified my decision to return the device and just use my Xr for another year.
I will give the 12Pro props on it's ability to eek out more DL/UL speed with a weaker signal, although that probably has more to do with the 4x4 capabilities than the modem that's in it.
This is my dilemma exactly. I'd rather have slower speeds and maintain service... which is ironic, because if I remember right, when they came out with the Intel models, the biggest complaint was slower speeds in fringe areas than the Qualcomm models. But now that I think about it, and maybe I'm remembering wrong, maybe it wasn't a service drop issue but just speed issue... 🤷♂️
I think people were complaining about both. I remember one of the tech magazines did a whole write up with technical graphs and a good amount of details.
I upgraded to the Xr from the 6s back then and didn’t really notice any loss of RF performance.
That does seem to be the case at this point, at least sometimes. I have seen videos of people claiming the 12 line holds signal for them in areas where they've never gotten signal before. But my experience on Verizon has been the opposite. I'm sure it could be tweaked a bit to improve things, but I definitely don't like losing service completely on Verizon for the first time (well, multiple times now) in years.
It wouldn't surprise me. They had a nightmare of a time dealing with handoffs and baseband issues back when LTE was released as well. Bringing in a new network technology could absolutely be causing these bumps. I just wonder how long we'll have to wait for that to be worked out.
So after owning the iphone 12 for 3 weeks now and having done many signal strength tests comparing it to Android phones, I can honestly say it's the first iphone I have ever owned that does compare in receiving signal strength to an Android. I am getting dBm readings pretty much comparable to the Androids I own (Pixel 3a and Galaxy S20 FE 5G). In the past (iphone 5c, Xr, Xs and most recently the 12 mini), I've always seen differences of between 5 and 8dBm (5dBm is significant) and sometimes up to almost a 15dBm difference (iphone 12 mini, which made me decide to return it and try the 12).
The 12 has been a pleasant surprise. It also holds onto a 5G signal in marginal areas better than my S20 FE 5G does).
I am on T-Mobile. It's obvious that by far, the biggest reason for the connection issues that many have has to do with Verizon. No question. In 3 weeks, I have yet to have a dropped call nor any related issues.
The 12 has been a pleasant surprise. It also holds onto a 5G signal in marginal areas better than my S20 FE 5G does).
I am on T-Mobile. It's obvious that by far, the biggest reason for the connection issues that many have has to do with Verizon. No question. In 3 weeks, I have yet to have a dropped call nor any related issues.
That's good to know. Gives me some hope that Apple/Verizon can tweak whatever bugs they have to make it stronger.
I have the 12 Pro Max on AT&T. I had the 11 Pro Max before and have definitely noticed signal strength improvements.
At my kids school I was rarely able to pull down data enough to watch a video or listen to a podcast while waiting in the car line to pick them up from school with the 11 Pro Max, with the 12 Pro Max signal strength and data speeds are much more consistent.
At my kids school I was rarely able to pull down data enough to watch a video or listen to a podcast while waiting in the car line to pick them up from school with the 11 Pro Max, with the 12 Pro Max signal strength and data speeds are much more consistent.
I’ve had my 12 Pro Max since launch, and I have to say I have better reception than on my XS Max. I haven’t had a dropped call, no signal in the status bar nor slow speeds. This Qualcomm modem has proved its worth on Verizon compared to when I had T-Mobile 5 months ago.
I have Sprint/T-Mobile on my iPhone 12 PM. In other words I still have sprint for everything but 5G - or that is what the Sprint rep told me. Either way I have much better service with the Qualcomm modem on the 12 versus my Xs Max Intel modem. I have not dropped a call since I got the 12PM. I can not say that with the Xs Max. Signal strength is great.
I did have an interesting thing happen yesterday. I live in Ohio (US) in a rural area and I used apple maps to route me into Cincinnati, Ohio to do some shopping. When I got ready to go home I selected home in apple maps but the route indicator kept spinning and not pulling up any suggestions. I finally shut off 5G and set it to LTE only. The routing came right up. I wish I could have figured out who's tower my iphone was trying to access as I had it set to allow roaming. I have not had any 5G issues up until yesterday. Just curious.
I did have an interesting thing happen yesterday. I live in Ohio (US) in a rural area and I used apple maps to route me into Cincinnati, Ohio to do some shopping. When I got ready to go home I selected home in apple maps but the route indicator kept spinning and not pulling up any suggestions. I finally shut off 5G and set it to LTE only. The routing came right up. I wish I could have figured out who's tower my iphone was trying to access as I had it set to allow roaming. I have not had any 5G issues up until yesterday. Just curious.
I have the same exact issue on both my 12 mini and 12 pro. I’m on T-Mobile also. If I have 5G enabled there are times where data just stops working while it’s connected to 5G. When I turn off 5G and it connects to LTE it’s fine. For the time being I’ve just disabled 5G.
Well where I live I know we have T-Mobile 5G towers and I have no 5G issues but I suspect I was roaming on Verizon or possibly AT&T towers. At least it can be worked around. I have noticed it is only a problem with apps like maps or a browser. Calls seem to be fine.
Yeah it just seems to affect only data. Calls still work when the problem happens. What is strange is that in areas where I’ve found it happens, there are other times in that same area that it doesn’t happen. I figure I’ll give 5G another try next time there is an iOS update that includes a carrier update and see if it addresses the issue.