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iPhone 5S on T-Mobile LTE - Data Stops Working Randomly

D

djshack

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 11, 2010
216
25
Boston, MA
I have an iPhone 5S on T-Mobile in Boston, where the LTE network is fairly decent. On occasion, and at least once a day it seems, the data on my phone will just stop working despite having full signal. Usually a reset or turning airplane mode on then off fixes this.

My question is, does this sound like a T-Mobile issue or a hardware issue?
 
djshack said:
I have an iPhone 5S on T-Mobile in Boston, where the LTE network is fairly decent. On occasion, and at least once a day it seems, the data on my phone will just stop working despite having full signal. Usually a reset or turning airplane mode on then off fixes this.

My question is, does this sound like a T-Mobile issue or a hardware issue?
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I have the same issue on my 5, I assume it's a T-Mobile or iOS 7.1 issue.
 
Last edited:
It happened again today. I reached out to Apple for help. They're going to have me reset/restore the phone and talk to someone on the phone tonight. If that doesn't fix it, seems like I'll need to trade in/repair the phone.
 
djshack said:
Has it only done it since the 7.1 upgrade?
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It might have. It only happens to me in my office, where I have little signal. I think I go out of signal and data doesn't kick back in when I get back in range.
 
It didn't. It's actually gotten worse and Apple is going to replace/repair the phone due to them thinking it's a hardware issue. I sure hope it doesn't happen on a new phone.
 
Sounds like a carrier issue.
My old 3GS on AT&T used to do the same thing years ago.
I had to reboot the phone to get carrier data to work again.
After a while it started working fine without any type of reset, restore or having the phone replaced.
 
The other thing I've noticed is it always seems to happen when I'm using Rdio, and I haven't noticed it otherwise. However, I think that may just be because I constantly use data when streaming Rdio so I notice the drop right away. Given this is iOS, I'd find it hard to believe an app can cause a phone-wide data issue.
 
djshack said:
The other thing I've noticed is it always seems to happen when I'm using Rdio, and I haven't noticed it otherwise. However, I think that may just be because I constantly use data when streaming Rdio so I notice the drop right away. Given this is iOS, I'd find it hard to believe an app can cause a phone-wide data issue.
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So far I haven't experienced the issue once since updating to 7.1.1.
 
Fuchal said:
So far I haven't experienced the issue once since updating to 7.1.1.
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You're lucky. My new replacement phone has the same issue already, as expected. Now to play the Apple blame T-Mobile and vice versa game. This will be fun.
 
djshack said:
You're lucky. My new replacement phone has the same issue already, as expected. Now to play the Apple blame T-Mobile and vice versa game. This will be fun.
Click to expand...

Might help to note I'm also in the Boston area so it might be a Boston+T-Mobile issue. I also use Rdio on my 5, but my friend has a 5S and doesn't use Rdio and has the same issue so we can rule Rdio out.

I'm hoping something to do with 7.1.1 has actually fixed my phone and it hasn't been a fluke for the past few days. :rolleyes:
 
Interesting -- maybe it is a Boston area issue. Next time it happens I'm going to call T-Mobile technical support and report it. For me the 7.1.1 update did not fix it.
 
I'm not in Boston and I still had the issue. I've since gone back to AT&T, so I don't know if 7.1.1 fixed it. FWIW, the rest of my family is still on T-Mobile and never had the issue to begin with. It was just me. :confused:
 
djshack said:
Interesting -- maybe it is a Boston area issue. Next time it happens I'm going to call T-Mobile technical support and report it. For me the 7.1.1 update did not fix it.
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I'm in Providence,RI and I have the same issue since update 7.1 and on my third replacement from Apple store and still no fix.
 
I spoke to T Mobile last night. There was a carrier update to 16.1 in the last few days which I'll check out for a day or two to see if it fixed it. If not T Mobile said to call back for further troubleshooting. But yes, it's not the phone, it seems.
 
djshack said:
I spoke to T Mobile last night. There was a carrier update to 16.1 in the last few days which I'll check out for a day or two to see if it fixed it. If not T Mobile said to call back for further troubleshooting. But yes, it's not the phone, it seems.
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Just had the issue this morning, running 16.1 and 7.1.1. First time it's happened since 7.1.1 came out. I suppose I should get used to it again :(
 
I just got off the phone with another tech support guy at T Mobile (in Texas), and basically he thinks it's an issue with the LTE towers in congested areas. As such, his fix for the time being is to switch off LTE when in those areas (such as downtown Boston) during the day and use 4G HSPA+. While not the best solution, it does seem plausible, and he also mentioned being fairly certain it'll clear up once the tower conversion process moves along.

He's going to call me back on Saturday and see how it's working on just 4G.
 
The new tower updates are for 4x2 mimo and they should be completed by end of 2014 so that's a long time. For now I gave up on LTE and switched my cell to only 4g T-mobile
 
djshack said:
I just got off the phone with another tech support guy at T Mobile (in Texas), and basically he thinks it's an issue with the LTE towers in congested areas. As such, his fix for the time being is to switch off LTE when in those areas (such as downtown Boston) during the day and use 4G HSPA+. While not the best solution, it does seem plausible, and he also mentioned being fairly certain it'll clear up once the tower conversion process moves along.

He's going to call me back on Saturday and see how it's working on just 4G.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't that mean all phones are experiencing this issue and not just iPhones / some iPhones? I've had this issue out in Waltham and even on the highway driving to Canada, where I'm sure its not so congested.
 
Any new updates is everyone seeing the LTE dropouts more or less and how many GB has everyone used on the unlimited plan? >>Tmobile told me that they may just be dropping customers LTE if they are data hoggers like if you use a lot of data.
 
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