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iPhone XS Max Xs Max - Subpar Wi-Fi Performance (Solved!!)

I guess a lot of people are experiencing slow speeds.

Is anyone experiencing my problem... It is connected to the network, shows a strong or full signal, but has zero connectivity? I turn wifi off, use LTE for a while, and later it will be fine for a bit. Then, I'll experience the same problem. This is all while other Apple devices have no problems on the same network.

I've upgraded the firmware and factory reset my router.

Toggling wifi off then on again doesn't help. I've now reset my network settings, then tried resetting the phone and setting up as a new phone. No change, apart from much better battery life.
 
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jtrue28 said:
Or so they think.
Click to expand...
Have you seen 1 comment in this thread ? What Im starting to notice also, if you forget the network and rejoin it, its basically same as resetting settings, performance returns for a bit then drops again, I do not have 2.4 enabled on that specific SSID. At work setting directly next to the AP I get pretty good performance with out any noticeable issues, but internet at work is maxed out at 10Mb
 
loybond said:
I guess a lot of people are experiencing slow speeds.

Is anyone experiencing my problem... It is connected to the network, shows a strong or full signal, but has zero connectivity? I turn wifi off, use LTE for a while, and later it will be fine for a bit. Then, I'll experience the same problem. This is all while other Apple devices have no problems on the same network.

I've upgraded the firmware and factory reset my router.

Toggling wifi off then on again doesn't help. I've now reset my network settings, then tried resetting the phone and setting up as a new phone. No change, apart from much better battery life.
Click to expand...
Exact same problem here. Only affects my Linksys EA3500 router. The WRT1900ACS is always fine.
 
Having the same issue and google search lead me here. My XS Max is connected to my Ubiquiti AP-AC-PRO network (2 APs) with 2.4 & 5 GHz using single SSID and band steering. The XS Max will connect on 5g (manually) but the minute you walk around it flips to the 2.4 Ghz channel and doesn’t ever go back to 5g.

No such issues on iphone8+ ios12, iPad Pro ios12.

I test actual Wi-Fi thoroughput, not internet speeds like most in this thread. 2.4 GHz yields 162.6 Mbps while 5 GHz yields 523.9 Mbps. So, pretty significant drop.

Reset network settings did not solve my issue.
 
loybond said:
I guess a lot of people are experiencing slow speeds.

Is anyone experiencing my problem... It is connected to the network, shows a strong or full signal, but has zero connectivity? I turn wifi off, use LTE for a while, and later it will be fine for a bit. Then, I'll experience the same problem. This is all while other Apple devices have no problems on the same network.

I've upgraded the firmware and factory reset my router.

Toggling wifi off then on again doesn't help. I've now reset my network settings, then tried resetting the phone and setting up as a new phone. No change, apart from much better battery life.
Click to expand...

Grrrrr same problem here. Toggling WiFi usually fixes the problem for me but only for 10-15 minutes. It seems to lose data transfer when switching apps or putting the phone down and coming back to it. Never actually disconnects from the router just loses and data transfer. Although sometimes in the middle of using safari or any other app using data. I spent two hours on chat with a senior advisor last night. He told me to see if this happens on another network and report back.
 
Before network settings reset I got this: 396C5096-F912-4B6A-AB8B-68254C3C8862.png

And after network reset:
2546E757-6E70-4974-B825-5F27F0EE9C1D.png

Both test is in my bedroom... I usually get double the first test in my living room... I’m satisfied for a 5GHz connection
 
Hazmat401 said:
Before network settings reset I got this:View attachment 790775

And after network reset:
View attachment 790776

Both test is in my bedroom... I usually get double the first test in my living room... I’m satisfied for a 5GHz connection
Click to expand...

My speeds are great as well. It just loses all connection every time I switch an app or put the phone down for 5 minutes and come back.
 
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It’s great that people can get great speeds while they’re on 5ghz. Everyone can. That’s not the issue here. #forchrissakes
 
jtrue28 said:
It’s great that people can get great speeds while they’re on 5ghz. Everyone can. That’s not the issue here. #forchrissakes
Click to expand...

I did just restore from backup and it seems to be working normal so far. This is probably a temporary fix. I’ll report back when it starts dropping connection again.
 
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I am only on 5 Gh. My iPad Pro gets 250-300 down but my Max gets 100-130. Sitting right next to each other. It’s antenna or software is not as good
 
Out of interest how many people have band steering turned on their AP's?

Either its a compatibility issue with Unifi AP's, or bug with band steering with either Ubiquiti or Apple, but since I disabled band steering on my nanoHD AP my iPhone Xs Max no longer prefers 2.4ghz.

Provided it's in range of the AP it's always preferring 5ghz otherwise it'll start on 2.4ghz and move to 5ghz, which is usually the point of band steering but anyway.
 
raab said:
Out of interest how many people have band steering turned on their AP's?

Either its a compatibility issue with Unifi AP's, or bug with band steering with either Ubiquiti or Apple, but since I disabled band steering on my nanoHD AP my iPhone Xs Max no longer prefers 2.4ghz.

Provided it's in range of the AP it's always preferring 5ghz otherwise it'll start on 2.4ghz and move to 5ghz, which is usually the point of band steering but anyway.
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1538352281][/doublepost]I too have a UniFi AP , AP HD, how do I disable band steering in the controller interface?
 
joeybuckets said:
[doublepost=1538352281][/doublepost]
I too have a UniFi AP , AP HD, how do I disable band steering in the controller interface?
Click to expand...

If you don't have advance features enabled, then band steering won't be visible or enabled as its disabled by default.

However if you do have it enabled, then logon to the Unifi controller -> devices -> click on the AP -> Click Config and scroll down to Band Steering. Expand Band Steering -> Off -> Queue changes then apply them



As you can see I have it off now, previously I had it on Prefer 5G - no other devices had a problem with it being enabled including my iPhone X before the Xs Max.

But yeah, what works for me might not work for others and not really something we should have to work around.
 
Last edited:
This appears to be a problem with band steering in the iPhone XS and Max with multiple routers (staying on 2.4ghz vs switching to 5ghz). I have read the same issue with Google Wifi, Eero and Ubiquiti.

REALLY hoping Apple is listening!!!
 
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I still have the slow wifi issue since day 1. I upgraded from my iphone 7. Iphone 7 was consistently strong in the wifi connection, and it was fast as well. I was looking forward to this phone since I skipped the 2017 iphone X. To be honest, this wifi issue has left a sour taste in my mouth with a bad first impression. I don't know if the issue can be fixed by software updates.
 
ashishb said:
eero 2nd gen
Click to expand...
Eero 1st gen for me and issues staying on 5 GHz. I have sent an email to eero Support. Please do the same if you are on eero.
[doublepost=1538447719][/doublepost]
Stuart6 said:
I still have the slow wifi issue since day 1. I upgraded from my iphone 7. Iphone 7 was consistently strong in the wifi connection, and it was fast as well. I was looking forward to this phone since I skipped the 2017 iphone X. To be honest, this wifi issue has left a sour taste in my mouth with a bad first impression. I don't know if the issue can be fixed by software updates.
Click to expand...
My wife got my X when I got the XS. The X with iOS 12 is rock solid on 5 GHz. The XS is basically crap. It’s my 2nd one (1st one returned due to nick in glass out of box) but both phones have had same issue with WiFi. The LTE down speed is better than the X right next to it but the LTE upload is half of what the X can do. I spoke with Apple Senior Advisor and they want to “capture” it and send me another one but frankly don’t think it’s worth the time at this point to try a 3rd one. Seems like given that many people seem to be having this issue that it may be a combo of software and hardware.
[doublepost=1538447838][/doublepost]
Colonel Badger said:
This appears to be a problem with band steering in the iPhone XS and Max with multiple routers (staying on 2.4ghz vs switching to 5ghz). I have read the same issue with Google Wifi, Eero and Ubiquiti.

REALLY hoping Apple is listening!!!
Click to expand...
I have eero but I even tried my 6th gen AirPort Extreme after I got it out of the closet and set separate 5 GHz network and the XS has range issues with the AirPort Extreme on 5 GHz.
[doublepost=1538447992][/doublepost]
raab said:
Out of interest how many people have band steering turned on their AP's?

Either its a compatibility issue with Unifi AP's, or bug with band steering with either Ubiquiti or Apple, but since I disabled band steering on my nanoHD AP my iPhone Xs Max no longer prefers 2.4ghz.

Provided it's in range of the AP it's always preferring 5ghz otherwise it'll start on 2.4ghz and move to 5ghz, which is usually the point of band steering but anyway.
Click to expand...
I started with band steering off on my eeros and was having problems connecting to and staying connected to WiFi with the XS so turned on Band steering. Still having issues. So on the eero at least it doesn’t seem to matter one way or the other.
 
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12.0.1 just released.

iOS 12.0.1 includes bug fixes and improvements for your iPhone or iPad. This update:
- Resolves an issue that could cause iPhone XS devices to rejoin a Wi-Fi network at 2.4 GHz instead of 5 GHz
Click to expand...

Nice that Apple publically stated it was an issue.

So, reports of it working? For me it has seemed to have helped. In my short time since installing I have managed to stay on the 5GHz band in places where before it would go to 2.4.
 
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