Plenty of 4G signal but no internet connection iPhone 6s

We have 2 iPhone 6s's in the family and both have this issue. When leaving our home wi-fi, the iPhones seem unable to connect to the internet via 4G. Everything is fine indoors (EE network, UK) but as soon as we go outside and pick up 4G instead, every app says ' you are not connected to the internet).


This state persists indefinitely and the only solution is to do a hard reset - this works every time. There is plenty of 4G signal showing on the screen. it's as if the phone continues trying to connect via wifi even though it shows the 4G signal.


I have tested on some older phones we have lying around (4, 5S, SE) and the problem cannot be replicated - seems to be unique to the iPhone 6s - perhaps only with iOS12 (all versions)


I have seen threads on similar issues elsewhere but without resolution. Have spoken to Apple Support and their only solution thus far is the hard reset / network reset - but this is obviously not what you expect to have to do every time you go out.

iPhone 6s

Posted on Feb 4, 2019 3:43 AM

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7 replies

Feb 4, 2019 5:45 AM in response to Dogcow-Moof

Yes - there are problems with some local masts but this issue with the 6s phones has been going on for a while - longer than the mast issues. They have nevertheless tried the following:


  • Network refresh from their end
  • We have turned off auto select in mobile data>network selection
  • We have selected another supplier then reverted to EE
  • We have turned Automatic back on
  • We switch off wi-fi to see if 4G working then switched back on


This procedure has worked but we need to test for a few days to see if the problem recurs. The main reason for this is that the problem seems to occur when we have been using wi-fi at home for a few hours. Popping indoors and then back out again has not always triggered the issue.


It also doesn't explain why the iPhone 5S and SE don't appear to have this issue.


I will update is this is successful.

Feb 18, 2019 3:10 AM in response to Dogcow-Moof

I should explain it is not Android and iOS on EE currently having this issue. I am saying that looking at forums over the past few years others have had the problem on both phones using a variety of carriers.


What is also relevant is that if the phone can't find 4G because there is no 4G, Safari and apps using mobile data spend time looking for a connection and only time out after say 30 seconds. This problem is quite different - the phone immediately says cannot connect to mobile date once I have left the indoor WiFi signal. It's like the phone is failing to make the switch from wifi to 4G.

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Plenty of 4G signal but no internet connection iPhone 6s

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