iPhone 7 Cellular Strength

[austriak]

I don't know if it is due to the change in antenna lines or the Intel chipset but I feel like my cellular strength is not as good as it was with my 6s.

I'm on at&t in a strong area. Anyone else noticing this or just me?

 

[Sparky2012]

I'm in the UK but while I was out and about with my 7 today, I noticed that the phone kept falling back to 3G instead of 4G which was available. Had to force the phone to search for 4G by toggling it on and off. Eventually it held the 4G connection and when it was on it the speeds were excellent so idk, maybe a software update either from Apple or carriers might improve cellular functionality.

 

[solodogg]

Verizon A1660 here with T-Mobile service...dots mostly show the same as my old 6S, very rarely one dot less than the old phone. Actual signal strength is identical, lose signal while on calls in the exact same spots I did previously, and service is great where it was great before.

If anything, the signal dots appear to be steadier than the old, but that could be my imagination too. Qualcomm chip has been good to me so far, and field test mode still somewhat works (since it locks up on the intel models).

 

[donkeykong88]

This is probably what I'm most interested in and something no reviewers, except for maybe Anandtech, will cover. Traditionally iPhones have had worse RF performance than other phones. I was really hoping it improved with the 7, but these posts make it sound like there's been a degradation compared to the 6/6s' already subpar performance...

 

[edlex]

You're holding it wrong

Sorry couldn't help it

 

[unglued]

I don't know if it is due to the change in antenna lines or the Intel chipset.

I would give it sometime. It's possible AT&T's network bandwidth is being heavily utilized the first couple weeks after launch day. My phone (6S Plus) recently dropped down to 3G in some areas that it never did before.

 

[realeric]

This issue isn't as simple as we hope. It can become a huge gate, ModemGate! Apple use either Intel or Qualcomm modem in iPhone 7. The issue is Intel
modem supporting LTE Cat 10 is inferior to Qualcomm modem supporting LTE Cat 12; 28nm vs 14nm manufacturing process.