iPhone 4S Dropping Network?

[pk7]

Hello MacRumors,

My iPhone 4S has some really odd behavior that I never really thought much about until now, but recently it has started irritating me.

Every time I'm doing something on my phone that requires some kind of constant internet connection, the phone will drop the connection or the cellular network altogether.

I know that sounds confusing but here are a few examples:

-Whenever I'm streaming YouTube or browsing through an app that loads things over wi-fi (eg. a constantly refreshing comics app or a scroll-through wallpapers app), all of a sudden, I lose the wi-fi connection entirely. When I go back into Settings > Wi-Fi to try to reconnect, it magically reconnects to wi-fi without me doing anything. What's infuriating is that the phone will NEVER reconnect to wi-fi unless I specifically go into the wi-fi menu, and then it somehow reconnects.

-Sometimes, when I'm doing pretty much the same activities, I lose my cellular signal entirely, even when I'm on 4-5 bars. I'll get the "No Service" message for a good minute or more before the phone comes back online, with an instant 4-5 bars.

I have never noticed this behavior unless I'm making good use of the internet and constantly loading or streaming content.

Can anyone explain to me what's going on? Should I try for a replacement at the Apple Store?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[S.B.G]

You can try to do a restore of the OS. If that doesn't work, then I would take it to the Apple Store and see about a repair or replacement.

 

[pk7]

You can try to do a restore of the OS. If that doesn't work, then I would take it to the Apple Store and see about a repair or replacement.

Thanks for the reply,

I've restored twice but to no avail. Does this seem like a software or hardware problem?

Thanks!

 

[S.B.G]

Thanks for the reply,

I've restored twice but to no avail. Does this seem like a software or hardware problem?

Thanks!

I don't know for sure, but I think it's a hardware problem.

 

[sulpfiction]

Is it happening in and around the same general area? The reason I ask is because I had a similar problem at home. And when I'd go into settings to check my wifi, it would automatically reconnect and be fine. Mine turned out to be a problem with the network and not with the phone. And I never had cell signal problems..just my home wifi.

 

[pk7]

I don't know for sure, but I think it's a hardware problem.

Is it happening in and around the same general area? The reason I ask is because I had a similar problem at home. And when I'd go into settings to check my wifi, it would automatically reconnect and be fine. Mine turned out to be a problem with the network and not with the phone. And I never had cell signal problems..just my home wifi.

Thank you both for your replies.

As an update on this problem, I tested what you said, sulpfiction, and it does seem to happen only on my home network...it's odd because my iPad 2, parents' iPhone 4s, and even my old iPhone 3GS don't do this. And it seems to be worse on iOS 6 (granted, it is a beta).

Very odd.