iPhone XS and XS Max Owners Complain of Wi-Fi and LTE Connectivity Issues

recoil80 said:
Just ran Speedtest on my 8+ and got 169Mbps down and 48 up so I'd say nothing changed since I updated to iOS 12.
I'll try again when I'll buy the Xs but they might have issued an update before I get my new phone.
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Both phones the iPhone 8 and Max have decent WiFi speeds same as the iPad. The cellular connectivity is what is drastically slower (3G) on both phones with the iOS 12, while the iPad on iOS 11.4 is testing at LTE.

Also, both phones had carrier updates after the iOS update.
 
killhippie said:
Not noticing any issues on EE here in the UK, signal seems the same where I live, speeds are great. As to WiFi I have by bands divided with different SSID's so it stays on 5Ghz 802.11ac Mimo and speeds are great.
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HI, EE too in London. Do you have issues with WiFi in your house?
 
RamGuy said:
The issue doesn't seem to be related to maximum throughput, its more about coverage/range. On my UniFi-controller the reported signal strength on my iPhone Xs Max when in the bedroom is reported as being noticeably lower compared to my iPhone X.

When located closer to the access point it doesn't have any noticeable issues. It connects to the 5.0GHz network and gets expected 802.11ac throughput. But the connection/signal drops off way earlier and it starts to struggle with the connection in areas where other devices don't seem to have similar issues at all.

Take my Apple TV 4K / 5.Gen also located in the living room, connected to the same access point is having significant better signal strength and is getting much better throughput as a result.

Seems like its much of the same on 4G/LTE as well. Throughput is great, but the signal strength in more challenging locations seems to be quite a bit worse compared to the iPhone X so it will drop the connection in areas and situations where the iPhone X simply didn't. During my daily commute on the train through tunnels where the iPhone X rarely dropped connection my iPhone Xs Max seems to drop consistently.

As the issues seems to be with both WiFi and cellular, which are two different chips from different suppliers (Intel for cellular and Murata in collaboration Apple for WiFi) it seems like it has more to do with the new antenna design and/or gain and not the chipsets themselves. Hopefully the antennas can be optimised and tuned through software and firmware updates-
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Sad. How can not have better. You connection is one of the most important parts of the iPhone.
 
0r30 said:
What service provider do you have?
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Verizon
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myrtlebee said:
You are not representative of all users. We get it, you never have any issues with any Apple product ever. I’ve been seeing your posts for years and you always relish in posting in any thread people have issues just to say “not me.”
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And? I thought people put up these posts to see if other people were seeing the same issues? At least that’s what they always claim. I think it’s fair to let people know that it’s not the same for everyone.
 
Complete opposite for me, on Telstra in Oz in Melbourne, useto drop out quite a bit on the train ride, now I have uninterrupted coverage on the train ride, pretty insanely good, I suspect depends on the carriers. Only thing I have been surprised about is the fact speed isn’t faster than my iPhone 7. This could be capacity within the 4G in my area
 
WatchFromAfar said:
So, let me get this straight, You want Apple to release to the public a faultly product; then fix it via software updates?
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This is obviously a software issue. I can tell because resetting things temporarily solves the problem. Ideally, there would be no serious bugs, but this is pretty common with new products.
 
dwsolberg said:
This is obviously a software issue. I can tell because resetting things temporarily solves the problem. Ideally, there would be no serious bugs, but this is pretty common with new products.
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This bug is much different and much more severe than past apple bugs. The only weird thing is that some are not effected or don't notice that they are . So do we have a bad batch of phone or not ? I am doing my part and apple has my logging info from 2 phones on 2 different providers along with dash cam footage of the screens showing the bars. Have you opened a ticket yet ?
 
I was at a friend's house on Sunday. His location is right between distant cell towers and a fair distance from a major interstate. He's had issues with cell phone connectivity for years as have all his guests. Really weak cell signal on all four major carriers.

With my iPhone 6 I was usually able to get 1 bar of LTE when in his garage. I'd lose LTE entirely if I went inside his house, the phone would drop to 3G. That 1 bar of LTE would be a bit more reliable in his front yard.

With my new iPhone XS I couldn't even get 1 bar of LTE in his garage. It was just 3G. Moving to the front yard resulted in 1 bar of LTE but it was quite unreliable.

So, compared to my iPhone 6, it sure appears to me that my iPhone XS is struggling for that LTE signal.

Mark
 
Frankfurt said:
2. In my house the XS will hang onto the 2.4GHz network and refuse to connect to the 5Ghz network (Apple Extreme router). I do not want to separate the two via SSID as I have areas the 5gHz will not reach
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I've not had the apple router for ages, but I can tell you that router configuration isn't always straightforward.

In my house I have Ubiquiti Unifi access points in every room, the garage and even the backyard. You'd think that cranking the signal on 2.4 and 5ghz to Max would solve all wifi issues, but the reality is more complex.

In my house, I set 2.4ghz to low power or off depending on the room. I set 5ghz to high (outside access point) or medium depending on the room. I carefully select channels to avoid interference and I need to enable "5G band steering."

Even with all this control, it is often hard to keep devices (not just iPhones) from wanting to glom onto the 2.4ghz. Just something to be aware of.
 
If the modem is better than last year's intel modems, why on earth would they design weak antennas? Surely not worth the battery savings...
Just beggars belief!
 
Wifi issues for me. Started yesterday. Coincidentally, it was after my carrier settings updated to 33.1 on Verizon. It happens at both work and home, so I know it's not the router....gotta be the device. 64gb, unlocked version, space grey on Verizon.
 
Lerxt said:
Half the people posting on this thread are posting for the Chinese and Korea opposition without a doubt.

For the rest of you... when has Apple not fixed issues with their phones? They always do. So please spare us the gnashing of teeth and desperation, Apple always comes through, if there actually is a problem.
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You mean the time they released a software update to slow our phones down (my 6S to less than half the clock speed, one year after purchase) without telling anyone?
 
Diamond Dog said:
My XS Max is defaulting to and getting stuck on 2.4GHz. Had to actually MAC blacklist it on the 2.4GHz network for it to utilize 5GHz.
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Updating my experience here. Also having cellular issues.

At my office desk, I normally only get 1-2 bars of LTE because the signal is admittedly not great. Even still, I could reliably normally expect 5-10Mbps on my personal iPhone 7+, my personal iPhone X, and my work iPhone 8 (all on the same carrier). On my XS Max, I'm barely pulling 1Mbps in speed tests, and, in actual use, many things simply aren't loading at all (as if I'm operating at even less than the 1Mbps the speed tests are showing).

Not very happy about this!
 
issues issues issues ...ugg. I guess there is only so much testing they can do inside the Apple campus.
 
A lot of people are posting about the number of signal bars they have. I think it's been stated how that is not a good indicator. It would be better if people would be able to post speed test results as that's more data to look at vs bars which aren't really representative?

I've posted a few times on this thread already but I'll lay it out so maybe it'll help others corroborate their experience. Again if you are not having issues then that's awesome and I'm jealous. But it does seem like this is more than a "oh hey look at these guys complaining about nothing"

My issue details:
  • iPhone Xs Max on AT&T - activated in apple store with a new SIM
  • located in NYC
  • previous phone was the 7+ on AT&T
  • LTE/cell service - averaging ~1-3 mbps in ALL locations where I have had ~30+ mbps prior
  • wifi - averaging ~10 mbps on known networks where I have had ~100+ mbps prior
  • All speed tests done with Ookla
  • Wife's iPhone 6s, iPad Air 2, MBP (~2015), and all other devices are performing normally on the same network
What I have tried with no results:
  • Updated carrier settings: AT&T v33.2
  • Reset network settings
  • Reset modem/router (using Airport Extreme)
  • Airplane mode on/off
  • Power on/off
Conclusions:
  • I know people are doubting the veracity of these posts, but I am definitely confirming my problems
  • Some people think this is only affecting those in rural/fringe areas. That's not true as I am in NYC
  • I have raised an Apple support ticket and tried speaking with support via chat - they were unhelpful
  • I have an appointment in store this afternoon and will post if I receive any more information
 
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