iPhone 12 losing service

My iPhone 12 Pro Max on Verizon (Orlando, Florida) had connectivity issues, dropped and failed calls. Spoke with Verizon support earlier today and they were able to help me resolve the issue:

• Settings
• Cellular
• Cellular data options
• Voice & Data - select > LTE

5G is very weak in Orlando and my iPhone used to disconnect because it was on > 5G AUTO (it was trying to connect to 5G network which was almost absent and then trying to switch back to LTE). If 5G is bad in your area, there is no point to try connecting to it. Just use LTE network only and you should have no issues with dropped calls (I hope it helps).

There was a change to my plan when I ordered my phone and AT&T put a code on my account. It wasn’t clear why or what the code was only that it was an accident. To fix it they changed my plan and resent it which made my phone work. Then they changed it back and now I’m good.

Apple did send me a new phone. However, at the same time, Verizon also gave me a new SIM card since the new phone Apple sent was unlock phone, so without Verizon,s SIM card, could not work.

when I was setting up the new SIM card, I let Verizon know my phone,s problem of connection, then they set up my phone differently. It has primary and 2ndary. I have not have problem since.

So, try the new SIM card first and let them know your problem also. If still does not work, ask Apple to replace your phone.

I still seen the wireles sign without any bar, but my phone is still working.

It’s the phones. My 12 did same thing replaced it with another new 12 everything has worked perfect ever since. It’s not the service. Take your phone back and tell them to give you a new one if they refuse go to apple store they will run diagnostics on it and test it. Even if it passes and shows that it’s losing service they have to replace it. Replace the phone for a new one. Everyone has been saying it’s the service or it’s apple. It’s neither. Millions of these phones were manufactured. A lot have defects replace until you get a good one. Good luck

Hi guys,

I had the same issue ever since I brought the new phone. It was very frustrating but

IT IS FIXED !

long strong short, after tried everything, i got an apple genius bar appointment.

it was HARDWARE issue, which I believe is the same reason for most cases here.

They replaced it for free, as all iphone 12 is within the 2 years warranty, despite where you purchased it from.

I'm not happy with the fact that my brand new phone was malfunctioning.

But at least I can use it now, hope you all get it resolved.

Return it,

i got the Iphone pro max three days ago i lost service the minute i stepped out of the stores LTE towers range,i had the phone for about 24 hours and in that time had service for about 30 minutes total. i tryed every trick people have posted even swapping the sim into another phone and all that the only thing that worked for me was like every 4-5 restarted it would get service for about 5 minutes then drop.

Mine seemed to be plagued with all the issues,Service Drops,No wireless charging,and would crash and restart itself half the time i opened the camera or sometimes even just unlocking it and super fast battery draining.

about the only issue i did have that others talked about was the greenish screen mine was perfect.

I Brought it back and had them swap it for a new 12 Max and this is second day with it, Has not lost service once,has not rebooted or crashed once,phones been running all day and im at 83% battery still after tons of texts and several short calls,and wireless charging works. if you are able to Exchange your device as it has to be a hardware issue not software at least it was for mine,the store said they had not had a single one of the Maxs come back with any issues so far besides mine,millions of people using them with 0 issues, exchange it if you can or demand they replace it if you cant.

Dunhill421 wrote:

Next time you lose service look to see if your ICCID is there under Settings>General>About — Scroll down to Primary and you will see network, carrier, IMEI, ICCID

When your phone is working the ICCID should be there and display the number that is printed on your SIM card itself. This is the ID of your SIM card. When you lose service you will notice your ICCID may be missing or display NO SIM.

This indicates that there may be a hardware issue with the phone.

Losing service because of bad coverage or problems switching bands like everyone is saying would never cause your phone to not physically see your SIM card. You would just lose service......

While that is a theoretically accurate summary, I have reached out to Apple Support to have them investigate whether there are steps in negotiation with a cellular base transceiver station that can indeed cause this field to read "NO SIM" as it would be useful to find out if this is a cause or symptom.

Thanks to those who have found this.

A manager from Verizon called to suggest a fix - and fingers crossed it seems to be working - if you live in an area that does not yet offer 5G service.

Go to - settings - cellular - cellular data options - select LTE; and then under Voice & Data (where you selected LTE) Data Mode - select Standard. Instant bars!

This makes sense to me; hopefully my signal doesn’t fall off - it stayed constant at 3 bars while I typed this!

I hope this works and helps you.

Update on this long Saga it seems the 14.3 update today changed the modem version and the carrier version. I now have full functionality of 5G service and it fluctuates when not in 5G areas. So there is a light at the end of the tunnel.....

They told me the same thing but WiFi calling and 5G auto made it worse. Mine is set to LTE only with no WiFi calling on and it’s been flawless since the 14.3 update. I did try it on 5G auto once just to see and when I hit a 5G area the person I was talking to couldn’t hear me but I could hear them. I put it back on LTE and it’s been fine ever since. I don’t think they have the 5G system worked out yet and it’s spotty service as well. I’ll leave it on LTE for a while until a few more updates come out and try it again. At least the phone works now!

Had to return two 12 pros. Apple recommend that return these to be replaced because the PRL number was a 1. It is supposed to be a string of numbers. Usually five numbers. A PRL that is 1 is a disconnect number meaning the phone want look to reconnect because it thinks it doesn’t have a SIM card. Toggle the the airplane mode switch to force it search was the only way to reconnect. Check your PRL number. If it is 1 then you have the same problem I had. Good luck and Merry Christmas.

Yes, I have to believe there is a problem with the Modem Chipsets in the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max. Or the problem is the modem chipsets and the 5G Cell Towers. As I know people using the regular iPhone 12's on AT&T saying there are not experiencing these same problems as I am with the 12 Pro's. Now in the meantime I Disabled 5G on both our new cell phones and not having any issues with dropped phone calls, loss of audio while driving or stationary or someone complaining they can't hear me and hang up on me.

So it seems my iPhone 12 Pro issues are something to do with the 5G cell towers, my Qualcomm Modem Chipset or a combination of both. Apple & Verizon need to get their act together and stop touting all these 5G Network Technician commercials you see on TV like everything is in perfect harmony. They have some very serious technical issues to resolve.

I am Verizon. They need it ship you a physical SIM card plus Apple digital sim. They active both. When I told Verizon my issue, they activists SIM cards differently. It seems been working so far, 2 weeks so far.

I think I figured out how to fix my intermittent no signal/no sim iPhone 12 Pro on Verizon issue. TLDR: Erase iPhone and Setup as New. 

I was a long time AT&T customer who just switched to Verizon since I can see a Verizon 5Guwb cell site outside my window, plus there was nice trade-in value for my iPhone XS. 

Last week I convinced Apple to send me a replacement iPhone 12 Pro to help fix my no signal /no sim issue. I backed up my first iPhone 12 Pro, then had to update the new iPhone to 14.3, so I could restore the backup image on to the second 12 Pro. Using my original Verizon 5G sim, the new iPhone worked well for about five hours and then I started to see the no signal/no sim issue on the new phone. Bummer. 

Since I had two identical blue iPhone 12 Pro 512GB models, I decided to run a test on my first iPhone 12 Pro. I used iTunes to restore a clean copy of 14.3 on my first iPhone, inserted the Verizon 5G sim and manually setup the iPhone without using the backup image. 

Normally I could repro the no signal issue pretty much at will by turning off the phone and then turning it on again and watch it struggle to lock in on a cell signal, or by installing/uninstalling apps and seeing the signal start searching after the install/uninstall. 

With the first 12 Pro, now setup as new and on cellular only, the signal was solid when I turned the phone on and when installing/uninstalling apps. So far so good. 

To test overnight, I kept WiFi off and streamed a Twitch stream all night over cellular. When I woke up the stream was still going. Great. 

Since I had a replacement phone from Apple, my AppleCare switched automatically from the first 12 Pro to the second 12 Pro. So I need to setup as new on the second 12 Pro. So I proceeded to do the following:

1. Backup 2nd 12 Pro
2. Restore new backup on 1st 12 Pro, so we can view settings and apps when setting up 2nd 12 Pro from new. 
3. Erase 2nd 12 Pro
4. Insert Verizon 5G sim in 2nd 12 Pro and setup phone as new. I kept WiFi off during this step and the following steps to test out the cellular connection. 
5. Change settings and install apps as needed. 

So it’s been 24 hours since I setup my 2nd 12 Pro as new and I haven’t seen the no signal/no sim issue so far. I’ve been on cellular only most of the time. 

Apple can probably fix this in a future release. There’s some setting that gets transferred during the backup/restore process, that makes the no signal/no sim issue pop-up, that the following processes don’t clear as of 14.3.

1. Reset Network Settings
2. Reset All Settings 
3. Backup iPhone, Erase All Content and Settings, Restore from Backup

I previously tried the above three work-arounds and none of them worked.  But the following did work for me. YMMV

1. Erase All Content and Settings
2. Setup iPhone as new

I know it’s a PITA to setup as new, but it’s better than dealing with the no signal issue. 

To share logic and facts.

”Phones replaced multiple times with the same problem” - that’s a carrier issue.

I’ve stated several times, the issue is probably due to the use of a particular brand of cellular phone equipment that has errors in their firmware that cause this issue to manifest. AT&T apparently doesn’t commonly use that brand where Verizon and other carriers around the world do. Having worked in telecom in the past I am very aware of how such issues propagate.

For example, classic AT&T step by step and 5ESs switchgear would allow you to wait a minute or more between entering touch tone codes and the call would still complete.

One common vendor’s switchgear today will not complete the call if the delay between successive digits is more than a second.

The fun part is you never know which type of switch your phone line will be assigned to, but it doesn’t occur because your home phone is broken.

You state you are a VZW customer; visit an AT&T store and ask to pop a demo SIM into your phone and do nothing more than see if you get a “no signal” error over say 30 minutes in the store.

If nothing else, it would be another data point.