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

[RamGuy]

You can thank intel for that. Crappy modems.

Why would he blame Intel? The WiFi SoC/chipset is provided by Murata in collaboration with Apple has it has for the past 2-3 years. Intel is providing the Cellular SoC/chipset and both chips are using the same antennas built into the frame of the phone. Murata is just a manufacturer producing chipset based on Broadcom design. Apple has been using Broadom design for like 5+ years now.

In regards to WiFi SoC/chipset Intel is actually on top of the game. Providing some of the best mobile and desktop 802.11ac SoC's/chipsets on the market. Intel and Qualcomm-Atheros are currently the two providing whats considered the best 802.1ac SoC/chipsets on the market.

When it comes to Cellular it seems like Qualcomm is battling at the top with Huawei, with Intel and Mediatek falling behind.

 

[Packers1958]

[doublepost=1538032230][/doublepost]

Why would he blame Intel? The WiFi SoC/chipset is provided by Murata in collaboration with Apple has it has for the past 2-3 years. Intel is providing the Cellular SoC/chipset and both chips are using the same antennas built into the frame of the phone. Murata is just a manufacturer producing chipset based on Broadcom design. Apple has been using Broadom design for like 5+ years now.

In regards to WiFi SoC/chipset Intel is actually on top of the game. Providing some of the best mobile and desktop 802.11ac SoC's/chipsets on the market. Intel and Qualcomm-Atheros are currently the two providing whats considered the best 802.1ac SoC/chipsets on the market.

When it comes to Cellular it seems like Qualcomm is battling at the top with Huawei, with Intel and Mediatek falling behind.

Qualcomm is years ahead of intel. Us Verizon owners knew that years ago, while the clueless AT&T owners accepted the sub par intel chips.

 

[joshlondon]

My wife and I both have the iPhone XS and we had most of the issues mentioned on this thread, yesterday I took both phones to an Apple Store in Regent Street here in London did explain them all about the issues we were having and they said that it was definitely not a hardware problem (obviously) they also suggested a fresh install of IOS 12 etc which I have done before and did not fix anything, I asked for a phone replacement and they refused at first so after some talk with the manager he ended up replacing both phones and you know what happened? The new phones are working very well without any problems about connectivity both WiFi and cellular and all the rest working perfectly. My advise to you all is to just go to an Apple Store for a phone replacement and keep fingers crossed to get a good one!

 

[recoil80]

My wife and I both have the iPhone XS and we had most of the issues mentioned on this thread, yesterday I took both phones to an Apple Store in Regent Street here in London did explain them all about the issues we were having and they said that it was definitely not a hardware problem (obviously) they also suggested a fresh install of IOS 12 etc which I have done before and did not fix anything, I asked for a phone replacement and they refused at first so after some talk with the manager he ended up replacing both phones and you know what happened? The new phones are working very well without any problems about connectivity both WiFi and cellular and all the rest working perfectly. My advise to you all is to just go to an Apple Store for a phone replacement and keep fingers crossed to get a good one!

Did you try to install iOS 12 from scratch without a backup and didn't solve?

 

[joshlondon]

Did you try to install iOS 12 from scratch without a backup and didn't solve?

Yes, fresh install in DFU mode and set up as a new iPhone did not fix anything.

 

[DCIFRTHS]

Wifi calling is not strictly used when your LTE/4G signal is too weak, I have full bars of LTE/4G right now and the carrier name on the top left of the screen is indicating Wifi calling.

I believe this is at the discretion of the carrier... certainly both Optus and Vodafone here in Australia utilise wifi even when the 4G/LTE signal is strong.

Btw - 4G/LTE is the same here in Australia, so I had to research to understand that your phones could show LTE or 4G and what the difference is! Our phones only ever show 4G here though it is LTE.

This is a change for me. I am in the US.

Sometimes, seemingly for no apparent reason, my iPhone 8 decides to display "VZW WiFi" next to the signal strength meter. I could have three, or even four bars. Normally, I am used to seeing "LTE" next to the signal strength meter, and the only time I see VZW WiFi is when I have low signal, and am actually on a WiFi network for calls.

This is change that makes no sense to me. If I'm on WiFi, for calling, then display it. If not, then display LTE (or 4G). The randomness of it makes me think this is a bug. My girlfriend is on the AT&T network, and her phone (a 7S) is doing the same thing.
[doublepost=1538037124][/doublepost]

Your brain will fry. XS already have 3 times SAR level than note9 (1.17 vs 0.27). Even at this high power level, the xs still have reception issue.

I haven't verified your numbers, but if this is true, it's a sad, embarrassing fact for a company the size of Apple

 

[Nhwhazup]

Had a chat session with Apple Support via app. Quickly got to the “I’ll have a Senior Advisor call you” stage. Callback scheduled for tomorrow morning. Speeds were as low as 0.5Mbps on Speedtest tonight.

My cellular speeds were between .12 and .14 for downloading.
[doublepost=1538040320][/doublepost]Just another interesting tidbit. My Max with the cellular connectivity issues had no issues with WiFi connectivity to the 5 MHz. at my house. However, after they did the restore to new at Apple, the WiFi bars kept jumping back and forth from 3 to 2.

 

[Eagle1337]

Just tested 4G speed on my Xs Max:

Download: 2,46 Mbit
Upload: 0,12 Mbit

My company iPhone 6 also on 4G (different carrier, same location):

Download: 59,3 Mbit
Upload: 5,05 Mbit

it used to be way faster on same carrier with both my former Android and my former iPhone (6 plus).

Xs Max wifi on 5GHz is (500/500 connection)

Download: 240 Mbit
Upload: 312 Mbit

something is wrong with the carrier reception

 

[Nhwhazup]

Yes, fresh install in DFU mode and set up as a new iPhone did not fix anything.

I had the same experience at the Apple store.
[doublepost=1538041361][/doublepost]

HA ha! YOU GO GIRL!

The haha was on me, the Genius at Apple didn’t even look at any of my testing. He just did the restore as new which didn’t fix the problem.

 

[recoil80]

Yes, fresh install in DFU mode and set up as a new iPhone did not fix anything.

And the new phone was of course new so had a fresh install as well.
I read some people solved by reinstalling iOS 12 so it seemed like a software problem, but you had your iPhone replaced so it is not clear whether the problem is software or hardware related.

 

[Septembersrain]

I've been talking about this Intel issue for so long now it's just sad.

I moved on to a V30+ as my daily driver and use my 7 Plus on Wi-Fi only.

This thread does not surprise me.

 

[dominikm]

As long I read this forum and few others I have no doubt that is hardware problem. So I canceled my Xs Max order and suggest everybody to return yours to Apple. Of course you can use it in airplane mode. There is great display to watch movies from internal memory.

 

[RamGuy]

I've been talking about this Intel issue for so long now it's just sad.

I moved on to a V30+ as my daily driver and use my 7 Plus on Wi-Fi only.

This thread does not surprise me.

Have you even read the thread and the issue? This has nothing to do with the chipsets themselves but the antennas.... Doesn't matter what cellular and WiFi chipsets you have if you have antennas that doesn't give the right output..

 

[Chacocliff]

My only problem with the cellular service is that it is really hit or miss. When it is good, it is really good, but other times it seems to go really slow. This test is about two and a half times faster from the same spot I tested last week.

 

[JustMe2018]

My only problem with the cellular service is that it is really hit or miss. When it is good, it is really good, but other times it seems to go really slow. This test is about two and a half times faster from the same spot I tested last week.

Mine is hit or miss as well... [Edit for spelling]

 

[02275629]

[doublepost=1538032230][/doublepost]
Qualcomm is years ahead of intel. Us Verizon owners knew that years ago, while the clueless AT&T owners accepted the sub par intel chips.

https://www.wiwavelength.com/2018/09/antennagate-2018-youre-getting-my.html


Read and educate yourself. Antena design problem. Not at all related to intel / Qualcomm.

 

[DCIFRTHS]

FWIW, I was getting 4 Mbps on cellular a couple of days ago on speedtest and fast.com.

Yesterday speedtest showed 128 Mbps (!!!) and fast.com still showed 4. I tested a different service and got about 70 Mbps. So who knows what’a right...

See below...

Fast shows your video is being throttled are you with Verizon ?

Agreed. Verizon throttles fast.com Using WiFi, I get over 100 Mbps, but on Verizon LTE, I get a little over 3 Mbps.

EDIT: I'm not on an unlimited plan, so NONE of my data is supposed to be throttled or prioritized. I'm going to have to call them on this...

 

[recoil80]

https://www.wiwavelength.com/2018/09/antennagate-2018-youre-getting-my.html


Read and educate yourself. Antena design problem. Not at all related to intel / Qualcomm.

Interesting, thanks for sharing. It doesn't fully explain the problem though. Even if the new antenna design could be responsible for a worse coverage in certain scenario the low speed seems related to something else, maybe a software issue.
Let's say we can't expect a better coverage with the new iPhones, that's what your link is about. Not a great news, but it shouldn't change a lot for the average user

 

[joshlondon]

And the new phone was of course new so had a fresh install as well.
I read some people solved by reinstalling iOS 12 so it seemed like a software problem, but you had your iPhone replaced so it is not clear whether the problem is software or hardware related.

I’m happy to hear that some people fixed it by reinstalling iOS 12 however that wasn’t my case so the replacement was the only way to go to get the matter resolved for once and for good.

 

[DVD Plaza]

Well, I wouldn’t get the XS/XR until this works out, if ever. But before getting an 8, put its picture next to an X, an XS series, a Galaxy S8 or S9. Look at them. Compared to those phones the 8 looks like an out of date 1974 toy. It’s ugly and I would be embarrassed if anyone saw me carrying it.

Now that's just total nonsense

Actually he's right. I've been persevering with an iPhone 6 for years. When the iPhone X came out I was dead against the loss of the home button - and aside from occasionally seeing a single person with an iPhone X I've thought nothing more of it.

However, a month ago I changed jobs and all my staff have an iPhone X. In a matter of weeks I have gotten used to seeing them all the time, and when I pull out my iPhone 6 to do something I have to completely agree with Dave FL - as much as I initially thought the iPhone X wasn't attractive, I find the iPhone 6 to now look as ancient as an iPhone 4 or even an iPhone 3GS. I'm really surprised by that to be honest, but even right now I'm looking at my iPhone 6 and it's looks so dated and outright embarrassing.

So after all these years I've now ordered an iPhone Xs. It's ready for pickup, but I am worried about these wireless issues so haven't yet picked it up...

 

[ROLLTIDE1]

See below...



Agreed. Verizon throttles fast.com Using WiFi, I get over 100 Mbps, but on Verizon LTE, I get a little over 3 Mbps.

EDIT: I'm not on an unlimited plan, so NONE of my data is supposed to be throttled or prioritized. I'm going to have to call them on this...

Verizon throttles all video streaming for all customers. Fast.com is netflixes server and will clearly show if your video is being throttled. Most Verizon customers don't even know this . For A&T customers you can at least turn the video throttle off by turning off stream saver.

 

[izamorano1908]

+1 on throttling for Tmo as well

 

[rjjacobson]

For me after lots of experimentation last two days I find that cell in strong areas for me is much faster than earlier iphones including my X. At my house I have typically one bar but never measured the strength of signal before (did not know about that test you can do with the phone to open test mode). Occasionally I have two bars. I am AT&T with old grandfathered unlimited and still cheaper than new so called unlimited plans. But my kids Verizon also gets similar signal here on this side of town half mile from interstate so it is just the lack of good towers near us. Anyway with all other phones and this Xs now I still get good phone calls at this level and with texting no problems. I always used my Wifi to locally enhance my internet use with data intensive apps though, the Xs is same

The only place I have issues with my Wifi especially the 5ghz is outside of my house— especially with my office to the farther away from where I am (more outside wall, and internal rooms between me and wifi router). But that has always been the case. And when I come home and reconnect before going in door my iphones (all of them including X) would grab the 2.4 ghz band and stay on it until I went and choose the band (I have them separated so I can do that).

What has gotten worse however is that in the outside area with all my previous iphones before the Xs the weak Wifi and or cell (I am in weak cell area so I rely on wifi a lot) I could still do data intensive apps with out them failing do to internet connections or never making connections like I am finding with my Xs. Calls always worked on the weak one to two bar cell signal (never tested it before what strenght was) and they still do find with myXs. But now if I want to do a data intensive app it is hard to do in this spot in front yard — cell does not help and I usually was connecting thru the Wifi - even though it showed 1-2 bars no problem with previous phones.

It thus for me just requires a different spot in yard with in house even at farthest distance (and lowest bars of Wifi — one bar maybe two) my Wifi speeds are as good as ever. I am unfortunately on next to lowest service with ISP and get about 75-80 mb down and 8-10 up so my limit has been that and it still works fine at that. However I did a test with a new app to me called Wi-Fi sweet spots. Rather than uploading to the AirPort Extreme and going out through my comcast cable modem it is testing speeds to the airport. In the test next to the router vs farthest in house I was getting from 1200 to 200-300 MB’s so there is a decline with distance probably though would have been similar but til this issue never tested with this app so was only looking at the speeds that my ISP plan allows in/out house for down/uploads. And testing outside in bad spot of front yard I am getting 10 or under mbs so its very weak now. Wondering if the aluminum siding on my house is causing issues with the sensitivity of my antenna on my Xs to my Wifi based on some discussions I had with someone about being able to bounce the Wifi outside if I put a foil covered board behind behind my airport? I may be all wet with this idea but that discussion with guy got me thinking about the one issue I have.

 

[elitypes]

My cellular speeds were between .12 and .14 for downloading.
[doublepost=1538040320][/doublepost]Just another interesting tidbit. My Max with the cellular connectivity issues had no issues with WiFi connectivity to the 5 MHz. at my house. However, after they did the restore to new at Apple, the WiFi bars kept jumping back and forth from 3 to 2.

I've posted a few times earlier in the thread, but yea I am having the same LTE speeds. Averaging ~1-3mbps on AT&T iPhone XS Max. Wifi speeds averaging ~10mbps. It's horrendous to say the least. My lowest speed on record is 0.6mbps and many times Ookla Speedtest fails to work and tells me to ensure I have an internet connection.

Ultimately I am in holding mode. I had already opened an Apple support ticket and went to the genius bar. From what I was told and what others on this forum were told, it seems Apple is aware of the issue and hearing more people with the problem. I was told to sit tight and wait for word/update from Apple. I am really hoping this can be addressed with a software update but I am not a tech expert and those posts about the antenna design have me concerned (albeit confused as well).

Good luck to all.

 

[princ2]

Guys do any of you have those WiFi/LTE issues in Europe?

Is there a chance that simply resetting network settings resolves them?