iPhone 5 antenna strength weaker than 4S?

[Ammo]

Has anyone tested their iPhone 5's cellular antenna strength compared to the 4S? My 4S was rock solid inside my parents' house despite being limited to 1 to 2 bars, while my 5 either has 1 bar or No Service. Also, I can't connect to the Wi-Fi in their house when I'm in another level of the house with my 5, while I could with my 4S.

I've also noticed bouts of "No Service" or lower service inside buildings with my 5 that were non-issues with my 4S, so I know it's not a carrier issue.

Anyone else experience this or is this a design flaw in my iPhone 5?

 

[jlake02]

My antenna is almost exactly the same as my 4 and 4S (at least in locations where I have checked).

 

[AAPLinc]

Most people with a 5 are going to come in here and say...

"My signal strength on my 5 is better than my 4S"

If it's really bad, I would take it in.

 

[aristobrat]

At my house, my iPhone 5 shows 1-2 bars, where my iPhone 4s showed 4-5 bars.

But my iPhone 5 is showing me the signal of Verizon's LTE network, whereas my iPhone 4s was showing me Verizon's non-LTE network, which is much more robust.

 

[Ammo]

At my house, my iPhone 5 shows 1-2 bars, where my iPhone 4s showed 4-5 bars.

But my iPhone 5 is showing me the signal of Verizon's LTE network, whereas my iPhone 4s was showing me Verizon's non-LTE network, which is much more robust.

I'll lose LTE in certain buildings and sometimes I'll lose data completely, which doesn't make sense because AT&T's LTE network in this market runs on a lower frequency for better building coverage than the HSPA network.

 

[aristobrat]

I'll lose LTE in certain buildings and sometimes I'll lose data completely, which doesn't make sense because AT&T's LTE network in this market runs on a lower frequency for better building coverage than the HSPA network.

Verizon's LTE network also runs on a lower frequency where I live, but they haven't put LTE antennas on all of their cell sites here yet.

My house is very close to a Verizon non-LTE tower, but the closest Verizon tower with LTE is a few miles further away.

 

[whoathere]

This is definitely something I've noticed. Now, typically I get 2 bars LTE in my office, which is fine. But should it switch over to 3G, I will still only have 2 bars and it is dreadful. I always had full 3G service on my 4 from my office. With wifi, it's pretty much the same. I've got a 3 story house with my router on the middle level. My iPhone 5 only gets full bars on wifi if I'm on the middle level, or near either set of stairs. With my iPhone 4, I could even be outside and still get full wifi. Fortunately, LTE is blazing fast and I have UDP so I don't so much care about wifi anymore.