iPhone 13 Does anyone have data on signal strength comparison between iPhone 13 models?

[watchmainspring]

I was curious if there was evidence to suggest one model might have superior signal strength relative to others. Has someone compared them side by side and obtained the decibel data? My iPhone 13 mini is getting terrible service lately during my commute. It typically drops calls 4-5 times in a 30-minute commute/call. This is on AT&T. I have dual sim and Verizon is even worse during the same commute.

 

[blueeyes2die4]

They have the same radios and modems.

 

[Andeddu]

The signal strength for 3G/4G is weaker on my 12 Mini than the SE1 I have. When I go to my parents I have to connect to their WiFi as 4G becomes completely unusable. The same is true at my sister’s rural address 200 miles away — the signal becomes intermittent and I often cannot connect to any web servers. Everything appears to be perfect on my SE though… I can stream videos and load web-pages with no issue at either location.

Signal strength is generally much stronger on the SE. I would say the 12 Mini has BY FAR the worst signal reception out of all my phones. I had no problems using 4G on my old 6S/8 either when I used to stay with my parents.

For your note, I’ve been using the same SIM card for 6 years with the same carrier.

 

[watchmainspring]

They have the same radios and modems.

There could be more variables though. Like power or orientation.

The signal strength for 3G/4G is weaker on my 12 Mini than the SE1 I have. When I go to my parents I have to connect to their WiFi as 4G becomes completely unusable. The same is true at my sister’s rural address 200 miles away — the signal becomes intermittent and I often cannot connect to any web servers. Everything appears to be perfect on my SE though… I can stream videos and load web-pages with no issue at either location.

Signal strength is generally much stronger on the SE. I would say the 12 Mini has BY FAR the worst signal reception out of all my phones. I had no problems using 4G on my old 6S/8 either when I used to stay with my parents.

For your note, I’ve been using the same SIM card for 6 years with the same carrier.

I used to have the iphone SE (1st gen) and it was not great compared to the 11 Pro. The 13 mini is pretty lousy though in my area.

 

[Andeddu]

There could be more variables though. Like power or orientation.

I used to have the iphone SE (1st gen) and it was not great compared to the 11 Pro. The 13 mini is pretty lousy though in my area.

The 12 is perfectly fine in my city but struggles in rural areas compared to older phones. Never had an 11 but I am unhappy Apple have cheaped out on radios & modems since then. If your 13’s reception is noticeably poor it’ll likely be the same components as the 12 which is also dreadful.

 

[watchmainspring]

The 12 is perfectly fine in my city but struggles in rural areas compared to older phones. Never had an 11 but I am unhappy Apple have cheaped out on radios & modems since then. If your 13’s reception is noticeably poor it’ll likely be the same components as the 12 which is also dreadful.

Yeah I will keep my 13 mini for imessage but I am going to get an Android for my second line. At this point I am convinced that Apple antennae are not great in rural areas.

 

[cynics]

Yeah I will keep my 13 mini for imessage but I am going to get an Android for my second line. At this point I am convinced that Apple antennae are not great in rural areas.

Definitely hold on to it. Carriers that are rapidly adopting 5G are having all sorts of growing pains. Congestion, interference causing a reduction in range, 5G not moving between towers. Goto settings, general, about and tap on carrier version a few times as sometimes that will for an update if its available. Also turn off 5G just to test out connection stability.

Cellular connections aren't like FM radio. Your iPhones reception to a cell tower is determined by data the cell tower is sending it. Your iPhone will initially connect and sends its reception strength and quality (noise level), the cell tower sends back adjustments for the for an optimal connection.

Too much power reduces the quality because the connection gets too noisy from interference plus it kills the battery. However cell carrier want to use the least possible because its frees up room for more connection on their network hence the ever degrading standby signal reception.

Matter of fact anymore as you near a cell towers boundary even without a another tower to hop to the connected tower will let the connection drop instead of increasing power to prevent interference outside of their boundary. So if you noticed small gaps between towers occasionally, now you know why.

The iPhone 13 Mini has 4x4 MIMO so 4 antenna for LTE and 5G and like the iPhones before it the RF has been reduced to get to Apples standard 1.2 and 1 Specific Absorption Rate.

Apple Regulatory Information

www.apple.com

So even a "not as good" design like a shell that isn't as RF transparent makes little difference, its output power is just reduced slightly less to account for it. Things do happen though, maybe your holding it wrong? 😅

 

[watchmainspring]

Definitely hold on to it. Carriers that are rapidly adopting 5G are having all sorts of growing pains. Congestion, interference causing a reduction in range, 5G not moving between towers. Goto settings, general, about and tap on carrier version a few times as sometimes that will for an update if its available. Also turn off 5G just to test out connection stability.

Cellular connections aren't like FM radio. Your iPhones reception to a cell tower is determined by data the cell tower is sending it. Your iPhone will initially connect and sends its reception strength and quality (noise level), the cell tower sends back adjustments for the for an optimal connection.

Too much power reduces the quality because the connection gets too noisy from interference plus it kills the battery. However cell carrier want to use the least possible because its frees up room for more connection on their network hence the ever degrading standby signal reception.

Matter of fact anymore as you near a cell towers boundary even without a another tower to hop to the connected tower will let the connection drop instead of increasing power to prevent interference outside of their boundary. So if you noticed small gaps between towers occasionally, now you know why.

The iPhone 13 Mini has 4x4 MIMO so 4 antenna for LTE and 5G and like the iPhones before it the RF has been reduced to get to Apples standard 1.2 and 1 Specific Absorption Rate.

Apple Regulatory Information

www.apple.com

So even a "not as good" design like a shell that isn't as RF transparent makes little difference, its output power is just reduced slightly less to account for it. Things do happen though, maybe your holding it wrong? 😅

I am not an expert in this field, but what you are saying sounds legit. I bought a Galaxy S22 Ultra and it hasn't dropped one call. I tested it during two commutes, and the iPhone 13 mini would drop calls up to 5 times during the same commute. The S22 ultra dropped zero. Based on all the reports I've read online, the iPhone 13 has an inferior antenna.

 

[jav6454]

There shouldn't be any differences between models given the same radios, software and antenna system is used.

 

[Fatus_Asticus]

13 pm vs 13 mini

The 13pm rsrp is consistently 2 to 3 dBm better, higher.

13pm -100
13 mini - 102

Band 2
15mhz

 

[watchmainspring]

13 pm vs 13 mini

The 13pm rsrp is consistently 2 to 3 dBm better, higher.

13pm -100
13 mini - 102

Band 2
15mhz

Does that mean it is 1.5848931925 times "stronger" or more powerful?

 

[Fatus_Asticus]

Does that mean it is 1.5848931925 times "stronger" or more powerful?

No. It really depends on your carrier what you can do with what signal. I have att and tmobile here and att is unusable at -115dBm while T-Mobile is in bad signal but pretty useable at that level. T-Mobile starts to have issues at -120 and lower. 2 dBm between phones isn’t massive but it’s worth noting. I’d argue it’s about half way to a big difference.

 

[taneff]

I also do get worse signal then before on my 13 Mini ... and today I had evidence. A collegue and me were in an area with not so good signal. He had a normal 13 and had normal good 3 bars of LTE when I had 2 bars of edge all the time (no 3G in my country). And both of us have the same carrier. I know that it depends where you are logged in etc. But this amazed me. Esp as I have seen worse and worse reception over the last few months (and updates). And more and more dropped calls. Very annoying.

Thinking about going the iOS 16 and compared it... Not happy at all when I never experienced masisve problems with 13 Mini before.

 

[watchmainspring]

A few weeks ago I was out running in the rural south. I was bitten by an escaped dog. The iPhone 13 could not connect my 911 call with like 7-8 attempts. I'm done with this phone.

 

[jedics]

Bought a 13 mini as an "upgrade" to my old S7 only to discover it has noticeably worse reception than a phone 6 years older than it. This is a bigger problem for me than most as I use my phone to control my shutter to enter my house, the S7 connected to my network at the end of the driveway but the iphone won't do it until Im right outside the house. Also my roof is steel and in the same location the S7 could watch 1080p/60 inside, the iphone is constantly buffering until I go outside. I can only describe this as pathetic for such an expensive "latest and greatest" phone.

 

[heyyitssusan]

When I had the 13 and 13 mini I had no issues with signal strength. On the 14 Pro now and no issues either.

 

[Quasselstripper]

I was curious if there was evidence to suggest one model might have superior signal strength relative to others. Has someone compared them side by side and obtained the decibel data? My iPhone 13 mini is getting terrible service lately during my commute. It typically drops calls 4-5 times in a 30-minute commute/call. This is on AT&T. I have dual sim and Verizon is even worse during the same commute.

Same here!
13 mini reception only really works on 3+ bars.
2 bars or 1 bar is almost unusable.

Specs might be the same compared to the 13 pro, but I suspect that the size of the frame / bezel and possible antenna length will definitely have a huge impact on reception quality.