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Verizon iPhone 7 Users Afflicted With LTE Connectivity Problems
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A senior adviser from AppleCare randomly reached out to me today because I posted something about this on the Apple Support Community. I hadn't contacted them at all. At least they are looking into it.
Has anyone just noticed crappier service in general with the 7? I have a 128gb jet black on AT&T. Places I have had service or just barely had it I don't anymore.
Have this issue in NYC with a Verizon 7+ 256G Matte Black. Temporary solution is to enable LTE only for data, this has practically eliminated the issue of dropping/not getting back on to LTE. I've logged this issue with AppleCare support and Verizon as well. Make your voices heard!
-EDIT-
Was problem free for a few days with LTE for data only but just disabled WiFi in an area where I normally have LTE and it's stuck at 3G again despite toggling "Enable LTE" to other options. RIP LTE.
-EDIT-
Was problem free for a few days with LTE for data only but just disabled WiFi in an area where I normally have LTE and it's stuck at 3G again despite toggling "Enable LTE" to other options. RIP LTE.
Bought Verizon 7+ at Apple store. Immediately put my T-Mobile SIM into it. Have noticed several occasions where WiFi doesn't connect to Internet but it seems to be "hidden" --- in that I don't see the WiFi icon. However, the bogus WiFi connection seems to prevent my iPhone from having any connection.
I'm unsure it's related but I've noticed it repeatedly. It is usually getting stuck on the iffy carrier WiFi like xfinitywifi or cablewifi.
I'm unsure it's related but I've noticed it repeatedly. It is usually getting stuck on the iffy carrier WiFi like xfinitywifi or cablewifi.
I posted that a little while ago in this thread, but I can't figure out if the phone is pulling lower signal or if they've just adjusted how the dots show signal (i.e. you're getting the same signal as before, but instead of showing 3 dots, it's only showing 1).
My 7 Plus seems to get great signal, even if it's showing only one dot (which is does most of the time while I'm at home and at my office). And it's yet to drop from LTE to 4G or 3G. So I'm a bit perplexed. But I know exactly what you're saying.
Denver is actually the worst market for VZW and ranked the worst market for coverage and capacity in the entire country. I wouldnt use that as a test for LTE-A after all it is just MiMo technology.
I think this was a bit extreme...
So they are stuck on 3G... at least they have connectivity that used to be the norm. It would be a serious issue if they lost connectivity altogether.
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3G may not be as fast or modern as LTE, but there's still many people using it, including myself with my trusted iPhone 4. Not that I would be affected if Verizon did this.
I do suspect that our carriers in Canada are prioritizing LTE over 3G, though. To me, 3G used to be very usable. Pages would load decently fast. My banking app would be responsive. Now, it's dog-slow, so now the only solution is to jump to LTE on a newer device. Shame that such things happen, but that's life in tech.
... complaining about a serious issue ...
So they are stuck on 3G... at least they have connectivity that used to be the norm. It would be a serious issue if they lost connectivity altogether.
[doublepost=1475176581][/doublepost]
3G may not be as fast or modern as LTE, but there's still many people using it, including myself with my trusted iPhone 4. Not that I would be affected if Verizon did this.
I do suspect that our carriers in Canada are prioritizing LTE over 3G, though. To me, 3G used to be very usable. Pages would load decently fast. My banking app would be responsive. Now, it's dog-slow, so now the only solution is to jump to LTE on a newer device. Shame that such things happen, but that's life in tech.
You're not alone. No issue so far on my JB 7+ 256 on TMO. More testing to be done, but hopeful.
Thank you MacRumors for finally making this a front page article and drawing attention to this problem!
For those that are not aware of the issue, many of us have been discussing it over in the following thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-7-plus-no-service-vzw.1997680/
Basically, the problem is this (these are the symptoms most of us see):
While moving around (driving, etc.), the phone does not seem to be handing off properly and acquiring an LTE signal (or any signal at all at times). If you stay stationary in an area with a good signal (home, work, etc.), you will probably not see this issue happen very much or at all.
If you drive around town with a navigation app like Waze or Google Maps running, you will eventually notice the phone drop from LTE to either 3G/1x or "No Service". At this point, it may take several minutes for the phone to eventually get an LTE signal again. When the signal drops out, toggling airplane mode will USUALLY (but not always) cause a strong LTE signal to return. Sometimes you need to reboot the phone however.
For example, while driving around and using Waze for navigation, I may periodically see my phone say "No Service" in an area which has a strong LTE signal. If I stop the car in this "no service" area and reboot the phone while in the same location, I'll have 4-5 bars of LTE upon rebooting. This is obviously a problem with the phone's ability to pick up a signal and/or transition between different towers while driving/moving since a strong LTE signal returns upon rebooting.
The same thing happens on my wife's iPhone 7 as well. If we're in the car together, we each get "no service" dropouts at different times. She can have 4 bars of LTE while mine says "no service" and then several minutes later, my phone is fine and hers has lost the signal!
Please join us on the thread mentioned above if you are experiencing these issues!
For those that are not aware of the issue, many of us have been discussing it over in the following thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-7-plus-no-service-vzw.1997680/
Basically, the problem is this (these are the symptoms most of us see):
While moving around (driving, etc.), the phone does not seem to be handing off properly and acquiring an LTE signal (or any signal at all at times). If you stay stationary in an area with a good signal (home, work, etc.), you will probably not see this issue happen very much or at all.
If you drive around town with a navigation app like Waze or Google Maps running, you will eventually notice the phone drop from LTE to either 3G/1x or "No Service". At this point, it may take several minutes for the phone to eventually get an LTE signal again. When the signal drops out, toggling airplane mode will USUALLY (but not always) cause a strong LTE signal to return. Sometimes you need to reboot the phone however.
For example, while driving around and using Waze for navigation, I may periodically see my phone say "No Service" in an area which has a strong LTE signal. If I stop the car in this "no service" area and reboot the phone while in the same location, I'll have 4-5 bars of LTE upon rebooting. This is obviously a problem with the phone's ability to pick up a signal and/or transition between different towers while driving/moving since a strong LTE signal returns upon rebooting.
The same thing happens on my wife's iPhone 7 as well. If we're in the car together, we each get "no service" dropouts at different times. She can have 4 bars of LTE while mine says "no service" and then several minutes later, my phone is fine and hers has lost the signal!
Please join us on the thread mentioned above if you are experiencing these issues!
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Same for me. I'm on VZW 256gb 7plus. I've called vzw so many times. Glad to see this article/forum post
Can MacRumours please update the article to state this is also affecting the 3 network in the U.K.
There is a thread over 10 pages from three customers like myself who have experienced these issues.
There is a thread over 10 pages from three customers like myself who have experienced these issues.
AT&T iPhone 7, 128GB
I get 'Cannot Activate Cellular Network' pop-ups when I hit AT&T dead zones. Previously, I would just suffer from low connectivity temporarily.
Also, iMessages (and other functionality requiring connection) won't work randomly because my iPhone 7 doesn't have cell service despite me having signal bars. Gotta reset the signal sometimes when I'm out with Airplane Mode.
Hope they fix it soon with a carrier update
I get 'Cannot Activate Cellular Network' pop-ups when I hit AT&T dead zones. Previously, I would just suffer from low connectivity temporarily.
Also, iMessages (and other functionality requiring connection) won't work randomly because my iPhone 7 doesn't have cell service despite me having signal bars. Gotta reset the signal sometimes when I'm out with Airplane Mode.
Hope they fix it soon with a carrier update
I'm seeing the exact same thing using the speed test. The 6S Plus has very good download speeds but the 7 Plus is horrible.
I live in the Harrisburg, Pa., area, which has pretty good AT&T LTE coverage, but I've noticed since I got my 128GB matte black 7 that it often only displays "4G" instead of LTE. I haven't noticed huge drops in speed, but I always find myself thinking, "huh, I used to have LTE here with my 6."
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It's a bit more serious than you are making it sound. The signal will frequently go to "no service" for anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes before the signal returns. Sometimes it only drops down to 3G or 1x (instead of a full loss of signal) however. Either way, it's typically awhile before the LTE signal returns and the phone often has to be rebooted or you must toggle airplane mode on/off at a minimum.
With Verizon, it's a serious issue, because:
1. 3G on Verizon is virtually unusable (literally, it's BEYOND slow - almost nothing loads)
2. Verizon has been switching everyone to VoLTE (phone calls on LTE), yet they do not have the ability to handoff calls between LTE and 3G/1x. So when the signal drops down to 3G/1x (or even a complete loss of signal which yields "no service") in an area which truly has LTE, the call will drop since Verizon cannot hand off calls from LTE to 3G/1x.
So, it's a bigger deal than just having "slower" 3G data. It seriously affects the usability of the phone. Driving around while using your phone to navigate and then randomly getting "no service" for several minutes and losing all ability to do anything on your phone is a pretty big deal.
