iPhone 11 Pro The Moment of Truth: Cell Reception in the 11 Pro for Low-Signal Strength Areas

[Bignotsmall]

Why did they whitelist the iPhone 8 with Intel modems? There is a Qualcomm version of the 8.

They did as a bring your own Device to Verizon. So , if someone from AT&T or T-Mobile with an unlocked Intel iPhone 8/+ or X wanted to join Verizon , they could. The prior year , the intel iPhone 7/+ although with all the bands that Verizon needed for VOLTE and LTE ,wasn’t whitelisted by Verizon . That’s why I ended up buying a factory unlocked 7 plus from Apple to try Verizon.

Intel iPhone 8 and X ARE compatible with Verizon!

I just ran a AT&T iPhone X IMEI and a AT&T iPhone 8 IMEI on Verizon's website and both came back as compatible. It would appear that despite the lack of CDMA radios, Verizon is allowing GSM iPhones to activate on their network as LTE only devices. https://imgur.com/a/MxU84 Can anyone with an...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Bohnbraj]

I purchased an XR around the beginning of September after close to 3 years with the IPhone 8. I have lived in the exact same location for the last two years which is a moderately populated college town with a population of around 100k but over 90 miles to Sacramento which is the next largest town.

I will preface this by saying that I 100% had connectivity issues on my 8. The difference is these only occurred in obviously BFE locations and my iPhone would let me know I had a 3g or less than LTE connection. Or maybe 1 bar or some sort of indicator. More or less, the location I was in typically made sense to not have service.

The XR and now the 11 I waited for both have TERRIBLE antenna issues. I have no clue what the correlation is or why it only occurs for certain people but let me say I used both of those phones in places I ALWAYS had exceptional service with my 8.

It’s not that I’m receiving slow or less than optimal service. My iPhone LITERALLY can not locate a cellular signal, it does the same when trying to connect to WiFi. Moving miles away from the location seems to reset whatever is going on.

No it is not high traffic areas as I have used my 8 at these bars, restaurants, etc countless times.

With both the XR and the 11 I will have 4 bars and LTE and if I search in Safari it’s not a long loading bar, I literally get the error message “safari cannot open the webpage because your iPhone is not connected to the internet” WHILE MY PHONE TELLS ME I HAVE 5 BARS AND LTE.

I just paid over 1k for this damn phone and to have this garbage even be an issue because apple wants to skimp Qualcomm on what they deserve for a well made antenna, is ridiculous. I’m taking my phone back and unfortunately switching to something other than apple until they put non garbage antennas in their phone.

I’m on my phone maybe 2 hours a day, I don’t need an infinite battery life or three ****ing cameras, I just need my
Phone to get reception for 5 secs the few times a day I need to receive, send or locate vital information.

Acknowledge your issues Apple, this ***** as bad as the death grip Iphone 4.
Included is a pic of the safari error message with my cell reception. This is 4 to 5 times a day as well as when trying to connect to certain wifi’s.

 

[DCIFRTHS]

I purchased an XR around the beginning of September after close to 3 years with the IPhone 8. I have lived in the exact same location for the last two years which is a moderately populated college town with a population of around 100k but over 90 miles to Sacramento which is the next largest town.

I will preface this by saying that I 100% had connectivity issues on my 8. The difference is these only occurred in obviously BFE locations and my iPhone would let me know I had a 3g or less than LTE connection. Or maybe 1 bar or some sort of indicator. More or less, the location I was in typically made sense to not have service.

The XR and now the 11 I waited for both have TERRIBLE antenna issues. I have no clue what the correlation is or why it only occurs for certain people but let me say I used both of those phones in places I ALWAYS had exceptional service with my 8.

It’s not that I’m receiving slow or less than optimal service. My iPhone LITERALLY can not locate a cellular signal, it does the same when trying to connect to WiFi. Moving miles away from the location seems to reset whatever is going on.

No it is not high traffic areas as I have used my 8 at these bars, restaurants, etc countless times.

With both the XR and the 11 I will have 4 bars and LTE and if I search in Safari it’s not a long loading bar, I literally get the error message “safari cannot open the webpage because your iPhone is not connected to the internet” WHILE MY PHONE TELLS ME I HAVE 5 BARS AND LTE.

I just paid over 1k for this damn phone and to have this garbage even be an issue because apple wants to skimp Qualcomm on what they deserve for a well made antenna, is ridiculous. I’m taking my phone back and unfortunately switching to something other than apple until they put non garbage antennas in their phone.

I’m on my phone maybe 2 hours a day, I don’t need an infinite battery life or three ****ing cameras, I just need my
Phone to get reception for 5 secs the few times a day I need to receive, send or locate vital information.

Acknowledge your issues Apple, this ***** as bad as the death grip Iphone 4.
Included is a pic of the safari error message with my cell reception. This is 4 to 5 times a day as well as when trying to connect to certain wifi’s.
View attachment 867820

have you tried contacting your carrier to make sure the pnone is provisioned properly? I know it’s a long shot, but you never know... Did you use the SIM from the iPhone 8, or a new one?

For the record: What carrier are you using? Also, you said you have the iPhone 11, but mentioned a price over 1K. Do you have the iPhone 11, or the iPhone 11 Pro?

 

[jkozlow3]

have you tried contacting your carrier to make sure the pnone is provisioned properly? I know it’s a long shot, but you never know... Did you use the SIM from the iPhone 8, or a new one?

For the record: What carrier are you using? Also, you said you have the iPhone 11, but mentioned a price over 1K. Do you have the iPhone 11, or the iPhone 11 Pro?

Agreed. Something doesn't sound right and I don't think the 5% difference in antenna gain between any of those various iPhone models accounts for what is going on with Bohnbraj.

 

[Bignotsmall]

So, I don’t have the iPhone XS anymore. I currently have a 11 pro max.
1) I have better reception than the XS , in both cellular and WiFi
2) the iPhone Pro max doesn’t overheat like my XS was , specially when struggling to get service

3) the recovery is much faster ( coming from a dead zone or HSPA(+) back to LTE.)

in my personal experience ,reception wise, the XS was the worst phone I’ve ever had, even worse than the so call antenna gate because back then on the iPhone 4 , because a nice case fixed the issues , but the XS had no remedy.

sometimes I wonder if it is because it was the first modem intel made for Apple without any comparable model from Qualcomm , where they could get some inspiration or something.

 

[apolloa]

I purchased an XR around the beginning of September after close to 3 years with the IPhone 8. I have lived in the exact same location for the last two years which is a moderately populated college town with a population of around 100k but over 90 miles to Sacramento which is the next largest town.

I will preface this by saying that I 100% had connectivity issues on my 8. The difference is these only occurred in obviously BFE locations and my iPhone would let me know I had a 3g or less than LTE connection. Or maybe 1 bar or some sort of indicator. More or less, the location I was in typically made sense to not have service.

The XR and now the 11 I waited for both have TERRIBLE antenna issues. I have no clue what the correlation is or why it only occurs for certain people but let me say I used both of those phones in places I ALWAYS had exceptional service with my 8.

It’s not that I’m receiving slow or less than optimal service. My iPhone LITERALLY can not locate a cellular signal, it does the same when trying to connect to WiFi. Moving miles away from the location seems to reset whatever is going on.

No it is not high traffic areas as I have used my 8 at these bars, restaurants, etc countless times.

With both the XR and the 11 I will have 4 bars and LTE and if I search in Safari it’s not a long loading bar, I literally get the error message “safari cannot open the webpage because your iPhone is not connected to the internet” WHILE MY PHONE TELLS ME I HAVE 5 BARS AND LTE.

I just paid over 1k for this damn phone and to have this garbage even be an issue because apple wants to skimp Qualcomm on what they deserve for a well made antenna, is ridiculous. I’m taking my phone back and unfortunately switching to something other than apple until they put non garbage antennas in their phone.

I’m on my phone maybe 2 hours a day, I don’t need an infinite battery life or three ****ing cameras, I just need my
Phone to get reception for 5 secs the few times a day I need to receive, send or locate vital information.

Acknowledge your issues Apple, this ***** as bad as the death grip Iphone 4.
Included is a pic of the safari error message with my cell reception. This is 4 to 5 times a day as well as when trying to connect to certain wifi’s.
View attachment 867820

My XR has very obviously worst reception then my 6S did. It drops signals all the time then quickly brings them back, or not at all sometimes and I have to put it into airplane mode and back again to get it to pick the signal up. It is by far the worst phone for reception I’ve ever owned.

 

[robrobrobro]

Just gonna pop in to say that so far, I am extremely satisfied with my iPhone 11 cell reception. I had been a disgruntled iPhone user for quite a bit now, and was so close to purchasing the upcoming OnePlus 7t to replace my Qualcomm 8 which I hated (had a few other issues along the way that I won't bother delving into). Basically, the only reasons I stayed were for iMessage, and the fact that I own a factory refurbished 6 year-old Macbook pro which still runs flawlessly.

My 11 has had great reception so far. Work takes me to a few different sites each week, and my 11 is able to load websites on LTE in the exact locations that an 8+, 8, and XR never could. Sadly can't offer more technical insight than that, but any of the weird connectivity/reception frustrations that plagued my previous phones seem to be absent. For what it's worth, WiFi also seems speedier and more stable, but haven't paid enough attention to that yet to be sure.

 

[mrt.plt]

I had connection issues with my iPhone X. Sometimes I would have no reception at places where others do; and sometimes I would show 2 bars of LTE but I still wouldn't be able to connect to Internet.
It also had an issue where it would drop connection out of the blue and wouldn't reconnect unless I toggled Airplane mode off and back on.
So far I don't have any problems with the Pro yet; they seemed to have improved the cell reception significantly.

 

[archer75]

The reception on my 11 pro max is no different than my Xs Max. Of course I didn't have a problem with my Xs either.

 

[VineRider]

Almost 3 weeks now with my 11 Pro. Reception is just as good as it was with my X. No connection problems whatsoever.

 

[ymarker]

Was really hoping this reception issue in fringe area would be resolved by now. Perhaps next year, particularly with qualcomm modems making a comeback, hopefully the reception goes back to iphone 8 levels (or better).

 

[JoeyD74]

Was really hoping this reception issue in fringe area would be resolved by now. Perhaps next year, particularly with qualcomm modems making a comeback, hopefully the reception goes back to iphone 8 levels (or better).

Its not a modem issue, over the last few days I’ve been in Red Rock canyon and Zion National Park and my 11pro performed the same as my wife’s X that has the Qualcomm modem. some parts had zero service but that’s expected. My buddy has ATT and had no service more than we did, he has an new 11 and his wife has an X.

 

[Manda]

Any iPhone 11 users having issues whilst making calls on Vodafone? I’m constantly having the other person saying they can’t here me on that the line is really distorted despite the phone showing at least 3 bars of 4G signal. I switched on WhatsApp audio earlier when my sister could barely here me and that was instantly better (I was still on 4G not WiFi for the WhatsApp call).

i never had these issues on the 8 plus, all the problems have been since I got the iphone 11 last Friday. I also ordered through very with 10% off for new customers & from what I gather there returns process is going to be far from straight forward.

Really frustrating as I like the phone otherwise & have sold my 8 plus already so don’t even know what I would do if I return it

No issues here using 11 max pro on Vodafone with signal or VOTLE or 4g. In fact I am finding it an improvement over the XR I had.

 

[m0sher]

I went Up north camping this weekend in bad reception area normally.

I had my 11 Pro Max, wife’s XR and my old X which my son now carries.

I kept checking through the trip what each phone was doing. All 3 phones got same reception. When I couldn’t get any with my 11 Pro Max neither did the other two. The other phones never had reception when I didn’t either.

I had been concerned when reading two threads like this here on the forum but I’m not worried anymore. I feel confident at least in Arizona on Sprint the antenna gain is the same for me.

This years Intel antennas in the Pro’s are not better than Qualcomm’s in the XS of last year; but it’s not worse, they are the same.

Exclusive: On LTE Performance, iPhone 11 Pro Ties iPhone XS

PCMag's exclusive testing shows that LTE performance on the iPhone 11 Pro is a lot faster than on the iPhone 11, but not much different than the iPhone XS.

www.google.com

On a side note related to antennas, depending on carrier it seems 11 Pro is faster at downloads due to taking advantage of certain technology it uses.

On Sprint and Verizon, upgrading is about speed rather than coverage. The new iPhones introduce HPUE (high power user equipment) for Sprint's band 41, which is the band you need to go from really slow to pretty fast. HPUE, which turns up the phone's transmit power, extends fast coverage by 24 percent, according to Sprint. No previous iPhone has this technology, although Android phones have had it for two years.

Perhaps for some, there’s faulty antennas in the early manufactured phones that are experiencing issues.

 

[Precursor]

My iPhone 11 Pro Max has slightly better, if not the same signal reception as my iPhone X, from the same spot in my office.

 

[newellj]

The reception on my 11 pro max is no different than my Xs Max. Of course I didn't have a problem with my Xs either.

Same here. Unfortunately I did, and still do.

 

[MCKLMT]

Not bad for me neither

 

[curtissh]

I commute through rural western Oregon on Verizon. Upgraded from iPhone 8 to an 11 Pro. Same drive every day and frequently on my phone. Tons of dropped calls on the new phone. Super bummed.

 

[robrobrobro]

I commute through rural western Oregon on Verizon. Upgraded from iPhone 8 to an 11 Pro. Same drive every day and frequently on my phone. Tons of dropped calls on the new phone. Super bummed.

do we know if it’s only the pros that are dropping calls? My standard 11 hasn’t dropped one, and signal is stronger than my 8. Sorry you’re having a bad experience.

 

[jkingrph]

I just upgraded to the 11 pro from a 7. So far around our small town it's good. Next week I will give it a true test when I will be driving south to Lufkin, Tx. There has been an area for about 20-25 miles where the 7 has always shown no service, so will see.

 

[stylinexpat]

I commute through rural western Oregon on Verizon. Upgraded from iPhone 8 to an 11 Pro. Same drive every day and frequently on my phone. Tons of dropped calls on the new phone. Super bummed.

Do you have a smartphone cover on it?

 

[I7guy]

My XR has very obviously worst reception then my 6S did. It drops signals all the time then quickly brings them back, or not at all sometimes and I have to put it into airplane mode and back again to get it to pick the signal up. It is by far the worst phone for reception I’ve ever owned.

I have the exact opposite situation. I live in a dead zone. My 6s got miserable results using Speedtest. I traded the 6s for the Xs max which got decent performance using Speedtest. Our xr didn’t do as well as the max, but better than the 6s.

 

[Janeilfen]

I completely agree my friend. What's troublesome is that this wasn't an issue with the 8+. That's where my frustration lies. I will readily admit that this doesn't affect most people, but for a small percentage, it does.

edit: more than anything, this is an antenna issue.

Only just stopped this thread. I posted elsewhere about my issue with 4G connection on a new iPhone 11.
Sitting next to my wife in a coffee shop, her iPhone 6s gets a steady 4G connection and my iPhone 11 got none. We are both on the same mobile plan with the same supplier.

 

[curtissh]

Do you have a smartphone cover on it?

Yes. The leather Apple case.

 

[Psychicbob]

I have an ongoing issue with my 11 Pro dropping calls. I kept my iPhone 8+ and that maintains a signal in a low signal area. I am on Sky but have tried an EE sim as well, which hasn’t made a difference. I can sit there and watch the 11 Pro cycle between 1 bar 4G, 1 bar 3G, and Edge repeatedly. Switching sims, or comparing with EE sim, the 8+ is solid.

this has been going on since I got the phone on release day. Plenty of diagnostics exchanged but no resolution so far. i am handing phone back today for a replacement, which I hope fixes the issue. If it doesn’t, I will draw the conclusion that the 11 Pro has a weaker modem/antenna than my 8+. If that proves to be the case then it will be a matter for Trading Standards to get involved as I will not accept an upgrade that is worse than my old phone, and is in fact not fit for purpose.

i will keep you posted. It will take them 7 to 10 days to send me a new phone.