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iPhone 4S - Why 5 Bar 4G (HSPA+) But Can't Connect

T

Tones2

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 8, 2009
1,471
0
In the last 3 or 4 months or so I often times have a full 5 bar signal showing with 4G but I cannot connect to the internet at all using any app. I'm on AT&T and in Chicago USA.

If the phone won't connect with a 5 bar signal, what does the 5 bar signal actually mean?

Tony
 
The cellular strength indicator just tells you how good of a connection your phone has with the tower. It's also dependent on the tower's connection to the network. It sounds as if the tower your phone is connected to is not connected to the Internet at the moment.
 
w00t951 said:
The cellular strength indicator just tells you how good of a connection your phone has with the tower. It's also dependent on the tower's connection to the network. It sounds as if the tower your phone is connected to is not connected to the Internet at the moment.
Click to expand...

Or like 50% of the time over the last 3 months. What would make the tower not be connected that often? I'm talking all over the city, not just one area.

Tony
 
Tones2 said:
Or like 50% of the time over the last 3 months. What would make the tower not be connected that often? I'm talking all over the city, not just one area.

Tony
Click to expand...

This may sound silly, but do you have Cellular Data turned OFF in settings?
 
This happens in a lot of metropolitan cities during business hours. It's usually the result of too many devices connected to the same tower at the same time. Usually voice and text messaging will still work but the data network grinds to a halt due to the congestion.
 
El3ctronics said:
This happens in a lot of metropolitan cities during business hours. It's usually the result of too many devices connected to the same tower at the same time. Usually voice and text messaging will still work but the data network grinds to a halt due to the congestion.
Click to expand...

Got it. Thanks.

Tony

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VSMacOne said:
This may sound silly, but do you have Cellular Data turned OFF in settings?
Click to expand...

Nope. :)
 
Tones2 said:
In the last 3 or 4 months or so I often times have a full 5 bar signal showing with 4G but I cannot connect to the internet at all using any app. I'm on AT&T and in Chicago USA.

If the phone won't connect with a 5 bar signal, what does the 5 bar signal actually mean?

Tony
Click to expand...

There are definitely major capacity issues in downtown Chicago which explains why many people (including myself) have experienced exactly what you've described. AT&T is aware of the issue and will even credit your account if you call to complain, however, there doesn't seem to be any ETA for when these issues will be fixed. The following thread on AT&T's support communities is specific to this issue (and may be good to mention if you call and complain as many other users are experiencing the same issue which no troubleshooting will resolve):

http://forums.att.com/t5/Network-Co...-Data-and-Coverage-Issues-Thread/td-p/2995829

This thread was over 7 pages long a couple days ago and mysteriously is only 3 pages now (although the posts at the end haven't changed). Hopefully this gets resolved soon as it is very frustrating!
 
People still don't get that your signal bars are only relative to calls? It has nothing to do with your data you could have full bars on your call indicator and no data but one bar and perfect data. Signal strength meter is for voice, not data.
 
mrbutters said:
People still don't get that your signal bars are only relative to calls? It has nothing to do with your data you could have full bars on your call indicator and no data but one bar and perfect data. Signal strength meter is for voice, not data.
Click to expand...

Yep. I certainly didn't get that until now. :D So when you are on WiFi, does the bar meter still show cell strength or WiFi (data) strength? I always thought it was the latter which would be data strength.

I wonder why there isn't a seperate signal bar for data? Is there an app for this - or is it even possible to monitor?

Tony
 
Tones2 said:
Yep. I certainly didn't get that until now. :D So when you are on WiFi, does the bar meter still show cell strength or WiFi (data) strength? I always thought it was the latter which would be data strength.

I wonder why there isn't a seperate signal bar for data? Is there an app for this - or is it even possible to monitor?

Tony
Click to expand...

Its just shows signal strength.
Like if you have full wifi bars then you must be pretty close to the router and a good connection. But the router can have a 1mpbs connection or be extra slow if others are connected and pulling data. Signal strength has nothing to do with data speed. There is no such thing as "data strength", you're talking about data download and upload speed?
 
Applejuiced said:
Its just shows signal strength.
Like if you have full wifi bars then you must be pretty close to the router and a good connection. But the router can have a 1mpbs connection or be extra slow if others are connected and pulling data. Signal strength has nothing to do with data speed. There is no such thing as "data strength", you're talking about data download and upload speed?
Click to expand...

It would be nice if a bar meter would reflect actual data usage criteria in some way. Having a 5 bar signal strength in and of itself means very little for data access and downloading. I'd love to see another meter that shows data capacity in some way - connection and speed - using some practical criteria and formula that reflects better / worse data usage availability. Speed certainly can be measured - not sure about signal strength as it relates to data, especially over the cellular network.

Tony
 
Tones2 said:
It would be nice if a bar meter would reflect actual data usage criteria in some way. Having a 5 bar signal strength in and of itself means very little for data access and downloading. I'd love to see another meter that shows data capacity in some way - connection and speed - using some practical criteria and formula that reflects better / worse data usage availability. Speed certainly can be measured - not sure about signal strength as it relates to data, especially over the cellular network.

Tony
Click to expand...

It would be hard to display download speed with a 5 bar signal type.
It would be easier to display a number such as down and upload speed but that would mean every time you connect to a particular router or different carrier tower it would need to keep doing speed tests to determine the average connected speed. Imagine doing that while in a car driving and you're switching carrier towers every few minutes. It would eat up resources and lots of battery and would be kinda pointless IMO.
 
So this must also apply to when I see my data icon switch from 3G to "o" (1X)? It's telling me I dropped out of 3G coverage and has nothing to deal with the bars next to the carriers name?

Never knew that.
 
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I'm in downtown Chicago during work hours also and it is terrible. I know exactly what you mean. I fortunately have iPhone 4 so I still have the "Turn off 3G" toggle so I can go to the Edge network and have crawling data speeds. It sucks but it's sometimes better than nothing.
 
This is a shot in the dark but have you tried resetting all network settings?
Settings -> General -> (scroll to the bottom) -> reset network settings.

Do note, you will need to reconnect to wifi networks that are protected because it clears out the wifi networks that you have connected to in the past!
 
Tones2 said:
In the last 3 or 4 months or so I often times have a full 5 bar signal showing with 4G but I cannot connect to the internet at all using any app. I'm on AT&T and in Chicago USA.

If the phone won't connect with a 5 bar signal, what does the 5 bar signal actually mean?

Tony
Click to expand...

It probably means you didn't pay your bill on time :D
 
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