Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

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

Could be related to Antennas and Cases

Not many folks have mentioned this, but have you all tested reception for LTE and WiFi without a case on?

I have been having horrible dropped calls and low WiFi connection strength from the start with an Verizon iPhone Xs Max 256.

I have a speck candy shell grip case on it. For the heck of it I removed the case and saw an immediate improvement in cell strength and speed tests from Oookla.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SactoGuy18
Wesgrimes said:
Could be related to Antennas and Cases

Not many folks have mentioned this, but have you all tested reception for LTE and WiFi without a case on?

I have been having horrible dropped calls and low WiFi connection strength from the start with an Verizon iPhone Xs Max 256.

I have a speck candy shell grip case on it. For the heck of it I removed the case and saw an immediate improvement in cell strength and speed tests from Oookla.
Click to expand...
Just tried it. No difference for LTE speed and connection.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wesgrimes
busdriverstu said:
I'm a newbie iphone user. Coming from android - the latest being an Essential phone with terrible signal issues. I thought I'd have killer lte with the new XS Max (max signal -boooom!)

Much to my chagrin, the lte signal is on par with my Essential phone :/ (though it absolutely smokes the essential when on good wifi)

I'm within the 14 day window, so I guess I'm going to bring it back. This is the ONLY thing that is making me bring it back too. ios12 is great, the hardware is outstanding (that screen - swooon). Software wise - apple has definitely closed the gap with android. (particularly android auto and carplay).

I did a very unscientific test with my wife's iphone 6s plus and the xs max side-by-side in our basement (a notorious dead zone). I could scroll through the internet on her phone, while the xs max got nuthin ... :(

Advice? Should I wait it out??
Click to expand...
Suggestion: Wait until the day before your return window closes. If it doesn’t resolve or Apple doesn’t issue a fix that truly fixes it, then return.
 
  • Like
Reactions: busdriverstu and decypher44
busdriverstu said:
I'm a newbie iphone user. Coming from android - the latest being an Essential phone with terrible signal issues. I thought I'd have killer lte with the new XS Max (max signal -boooom!)

Much to my chagrin, the lte signal is on par with my Essential phone :/ (though it absolutely smokes the essential when on good wifi)

I'm within the 14 day window, so I guess I'm going to bring it back. This is the ONLY thing that is making me bring it back too. ios12 is great, the hardware is outstanding (that screen - swooon). Software wise - apple has definitely closed the gap with android. (particularly android auto and carplay).

I did a very unscientific test with my wife's iphone 6s plus and the xs max side-by-side in our basement (a notorious dead zone). I could scroll through the internet on her phone, while the xs max got nuthin ... :(

Advice? Should I wait it out??
Click to expand...

If you want the best reception and cellular performance under challenging conditions try a Samsung. Even the better iPhone X is no match for an old Galaxy S8.

https://www.reddit.com/r/tmobile/comments/7xqtdg/iphone_slow_to_pick_up_service_on_the_nyc_subway/

So I ride the subway to work. I have an iPhone X, and a Galaxy S8. The iPhone X at most gets 4G service, and mostly NO service for the entire ride in, including on the bridge.

The Galaxy S8 has LTE service instantly at each stop and a functional data connection even in weak spots.

Am I doing something wrong with the iPhone? It's so frustrating that its barely functional on T-Mobile.
Click to expand...
 
Wasn't sue I was even having the problem but decided to reset all network setting. Once back up I gained a bar on my Verizon signal. Wifi here at the house has always been very good, connects to 5 GHz consistently and doesn't vary in the signal strength meter.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wesgrimes
princ2 said:
Guys do any of you have those WiFi/LTE issues in Europe?

Is there a chance that simply resetting network settings resolves them?
Click to expand...
Mine is fine in the rural area I live in get 109Mbps down and 36Mbps up. Better than my iPhone 7 And if I’m out and about and the signal is one or two bars I can still watch YouTube videos, which I couldn’t do on my iPhone 7. No issues with Wi-Fi at home because my phone is connected directly to 5 GHz anyway on a 4x4 mu-mimo router. I’m getting what I pay for which in the UK for myself is 56Mbps down and 17Mbps up on VDSL 2 this Phone is working fine on my sim from EE too. The phone was bought unlocked from Apple in the UK.
 
rdillon2008 said:
We need a poll to vote whether this issue is with sim free or carrier phones
Click to expand...

Or we could just read (hell randomly scan would suffice) the 30 pages of replies here and very quickly see that there are many people on carriers having the issue and also people with sim free too. Hint:- I'm on Sim Free and don't have poor download speeds but am seeing a lower signal reception.

This disappoints me that after spending £1k on a phone I am back to iPhone 6 shenanigans but in every other respect the phone is lightyears ahead. I reported my issues at an Apple Store yesterday.
 
  • Like
Reactions: roncron
Gudd said:
Or we could just read (hell randomly scan would suffice) the 30 pages of replies here and very quickly see that there are many people on carriers having the issue and also people with sim free too. Hint:- I'm on Sim Free and don't have poor download speeds but am seeing a lower signal reception.
Click to expand...

I’m on sim free as well and don’t have issues
 
So there you go. Some are OK, some are not. Both on carrier and sim free. Pretty much the same as any other iPhone launch. I was an idiot for not waiting until February like I normally do but I was driven by the resale value of my 8+. Never again.
 
Gudd said:
So there you go. Some are OK, some are not. Both on carrier and sim free. Pretty much the same as any other iPhone launch. I was an idiot for not waiting until February like I normally do but I was driven by the resale value of my 8+. Never again.
Click to expand...

We have to sit and wait for software updates now
 
rdillon2008 said:
I’m on sim free as well and don’t have issues
Click to expand...
I think many people don’t realize they may be having issues. Primarily because many people have a single SSID for both their 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks and Speedtests may appear to be slower but not crazy out of the ordinary (for me I get about 117 Mbps down usually on 5 GHz and when my XS connects to the 2.4 GHz I get around 60 to 70 Mbps). So most times it will still be passing traffic generally well. Additionally, there is no easy way in iOS to see what band you are connected on unless your network has separate SSIDs for each band (mesh networks like mine do not). However, I can see on my router what bands clients are connecting on. The XS is the ONLY iOS device in my household of a half dozen that won’t readily connect to 5 GHz. I can force it and then after a few minutes it will fall back to lower throughput 2.4 GHz. It will also have a second or two of no connection when that happens. It actually looks to me like the 5 GHz radio just stops as for a few seconds after it won’t even see my neighbors 5 GHz networks either. Using WiFi scanning in the Airport utility and comparing with other older iPhones in the house the RSSI at least looks comparable, so to me at least the WiFi antennas don’t look to be a culprit.
 
GDMcG said:
I think many people don’t realize they may be having issues. Primarily because many people have a single SSID for both their 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks and Speedtests may appear to be slower but not crazy out of the ordinary (for me I get about 117 Mbps down usually on 5 GHz and when my XS connects to the 2.4 GHz I get around 60 to 70 Mbps). So most times it will still be passing traffic generally well. Additionally, there is no easy way in iOS to see what band you are connected on unless your network has separate SSIDs for each band (mesh networks like mine do not). However, I can see on my router what bands clients are connecting on. The XS is the ONLY iOS device in my household of a half dozen that won’t readily connect to 5 GHz. I can force it and then after a few minutes it will fall back to lower throughput 2.4 GHz. It will also have a second or two of no connection when that happens. It actually looks to me like the 5 GHz radio just stops as for a few seconds after it won’t even see my neighbors 5 GHz networks either. Using WiFi scanning in the Airport utility and comparing with other older iPhones in the house the RSSI at least looks comparable, so to me at least the WiFi antennas don’t look to be a culprit.
Click to expand...

For me, I have both of them but it automatically connects to my 5g network every time i get home.
 
In a very poor cellular connection area where I usually had 1-2 bars in the X but always managed to get thru. With the Max I’m seeing slower speeds and just an overall difficulty to hold on to LTE. Fishy indeed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 02275629
I have to ask a couple of questions:

1. Are you running the latest version of the cellphone carrier's own software?
2. What type of case are you using?

#2 is particularly important since it's possible some of the thicker iPhone cases may be reducing the reception quality of the iPhone XS/XS Max antennas.

Since the modem has its own firmware, is it possible that Apple could fix the problem with a firmware update that's part of a future version of iOS 12.x?
 
rdillon2008 said:
For me, I have both of them but it automatically connects to my 5g network every time i get home.
Click to expand...

Are you simultaneously broadcasting under one ssid or separate dual broadcasting under two ssid ? I think the simultaneous routers are the issue here.
 
Last edited:
Wesgrimes said:
Could be related to Antennas and Cases

Not many folks have mentioned this, but have you all tested reception for LTE and WiFi without a case on?

I have been having horrible dropped calls and low WiFi connection strength from the start with an Verizon iPhone Xs Max 256.

I have a speck candy shell grip case on it. For the heck of it I removed the case and saw an immediate improvement in cell strength and speed tests from Oookla.
Click to expand...

I think they learned the lesson with iPhone 4 and since then I didn't read about antenna problems without a case

SactoGuy18 said:
I have to ask a couple of questions:

1. Are you running the latest version of the cellphone carrier's own software?
2. What type of case are you using?

#2 is particularly important since it's possible some of the thicker iPhone cases may be reducing the reception quality of the iPhone XS/XS Max antennas.

Since the modem has its own firmware, is it possible that Apple could fix the problem with a firmware update that's part of a future version of iOS 12.x?
Click to expand...

Some cases can lead to connectivity issues if they're built with metal, but leather and silicon cases should just be fine no matter how thick they are. Apple's silicon cases aren't thin at all but I never had a problem with them.

I suppose the issue can be solved, or mitigated, via software. If I'm right we'll see a software update before 12.1 as they can't wait too long to release the fix. As they did in the past they could release a 12.0.x version for the Xs only.
 
I have two sim free XS max 256. One used on AT&T and one on Verizon. Both suffer from the connectivity issue especially on WiFi 2.4. The one on Verizon is consistently much slower than the AT&T purposed phone. Swapping SIM cards makes no difference. To try and get better performance, I did two network resets and one full DFU restore with absolutely no difference. 5 gig so far has been pretty reliable on both phones.
Very low sig cell where my 8+ did ok, the xs max both tend to choke.
I have 11 days till the return window closes and I have an Apple case (with a senior advisor) open on both. They are supposed to call me back Tuesday.
BTW, phone case or no phone case = no difference.

On edit. Where my iPhone 8 had marginal signal in my local Costco, the xs max was totally cel signal dead. Got return label printed and it’s going back.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 02275629 and roncron
Picked up the XS Max yesterday and I am also affected with this problem.
In my apartment I have no longer WIFI in my bath- or bedroom, whereas all other devices (previously iPhone 7+) had no problems whatsoever.

But LTE is even worse. Driving through Munich city center (no not at the Oktoberfest), I happened to have no signal at all in some streets (while in my car). Using T-Mobile as provider which is supposed to be the best network in Germany. Maximum I could get was 3 bars LTE, whereas my previous iPhone 7 had it maxed out.

I don't believe it to be a software issue because I am already running iOS 12.1 beta. I wanted to eSIM functionality - but that one also does not work correctly. It no longer shows LTE signal at all and the data plan does not work, so no internet. However receiving calls and calling other numbers works absolutely fine with no physical SIM present.

So far I am extremely disappointed. Should have waited for the Xr or even bought a regular X. Maybe I will return it next week if there is no word from Apple about the signal issue.

Edit: Oh and I have no case! Have ordered one, but I bought the iPhone very spontaneously yesterday. Just went into the store and picked one up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back