Poor signal with iPhone 12 Pro Max

Is this happening with the 5G on or does it happen if even if you turn the 5G off? Could be poor 5G in your area if that’s the case so you might for the time being want to opt to use the LTE signal only. Not a great thing to have to do when you wanted the benefits of 5G but there seems to still be a lot of inconsistency in 5G service in a lot of areas unfortunately. I haven’t had any issues with either of the 12 Pro Max devices in my home but service is pretty strong here. Since you mentioned the signal was never all that great even on your wife’s phone (but at least better than you are experiencing) it might be a good idea for you both to utilize WiFi calling when possible too so your signal is more reliable.

I have the same issue - no change in home and no change in mobile carrier. My XS worked great - my new 12 pro has poor quality and dropped calls. Also difficulty in connecting to some internet sites........I have called Apple twice for help but still no fix.

I have the same issue. Here is a quote from my wife this morning;

"My iPhone 7 has all four bars.

iPhone 12 Pro Max is sitting right next to it and his two bars."

I had been a very loyal business customer of Sprint for 12 years. I have spent the last 3 solid days talking to 3 different countries and I can't tell you how may people trying to activate my iPhone 12 pro Max. After being told by 4 tech reps the SIM card from T-mobile, that came with our 2 brand new phones, was wrong and we needed a Sprint SIM card which they then ordered and sent out. Went out regular mail and took 4 days. While waiting after 3 days, I spoke to another senior tech at T-Mobile in the Philippines that was able to activate phone with the original SIM card from T-Mobile.

Day four... Took a drive in $65,000 car with Car Play and was unable to connect. Called T-Mobile Tech-PHD line and phone dropped the call 4 times trying to get help. After 5 calls to five different people the last one referred me to Apple and said it appeared to be an issue with the Apple phone or software. Apple tried numerous times with me and had me reset phone which was completed last night at 12:30. Had to re-enter passwords, previously set up, next morning. Apple scheduled a call at 8:00 am and someone from Apple called at 8:06 on my Apple cell#. I gave her my land line and she said she would call me right back. It is now 8:25 and still no call back.

To sum things up I gave T-Mobile a 10/10 on ease of ordering the new iPhone 12 Pro Max. Service from T-Moble trying to get phone activated and addressing technical issues I would rate a 1/10. VERY POOR SERVICE

It is now 8:30 and still no call back from Apple.

I have used iPhone since the 3. I have loved iPhone—until now. I just purchased the darn iPhone 12 (pro/max) it does not make or receive calls/texts from any phone other than an iPhone. I have two bars that look like exclamation points rather than the solid bars of FOUR I am used to in my iPhone 11 XR. I have been in chat with Verizon for 6 & 1/2 hours today, two different agents. Nothing they tried worked. I am exasperated I won’t call again. I have ten days to return and I am definitely taking this phone back!

1) If you don't get messages from other than iPhones, your cellular account is not set up properly to receive SMS messages. Contact your cellular carrier.

2) Exclamation points for signal bars are seen only on dual SIM iPhones; are you sure you were using the correct SIM?

Note also that signal bars are only a relative signal strength for the device. Four bars from one model of phone does not directly translate to four bars on another, especially between brands.

I am sure glad you replied. I have been in contact with carrier twice to no avail. I have an appointment to go in to the Verizon store but not until February 4th! If I was not waiting to hear from potential employers I could wait.

The sim is the new be that came with the phone. I assume it’s correct.

When is Apple going to take these issues seriously and do some thing about them? I to have had Apple phones for the past seven or eight years after reluctantly giving up my BlackBerry. I have never had such poor poor phone performance in my life.

I’ve called Apple several times and while they’re very helpful and take me through various procedures, nothing has worked. I also noticed several of the people posting on this board have T-Mobile or Sprint. I wonder if it is a connectivity issue between the phone and the carrier? I started out with a T-Mobile sim card and had terrible service because there’s very Poor 5G service around Naples Florida. I then went back to the store and got a sprint Sim card which everyone said was going to be better. When there was no improvement, I contacted Sprint and the guy there did everything possible to remove any kind of T-Mobile software from my phone. That too did not work! I had spectacular sprint service prior to changing my phone from the 10 to the 12 pro! So Disappointed. My son wants me to change to Samsung and I’m seriously considering it.

Thank you Dogcow-Moof! You are exactly right. Finally my issue has been resolved— Verizon activated my phone utilizing the E-SIM. As a result, they said, “the phone/SIM cards/network could not communicate.”

what a mess.

Good Luck to all.

I traded in my old iPhone for the 12 Max and reception at home is terrible. Need to be by a window and only works in one room of the house. Drops calls as well as my kids can not call me from another state.

I have spent hours with various techs without success. But did get an amazing tech yesterday who tried his best to increase the signal in my house. It was better yesterday, but today, not working again. Now cannot use the phone in my car. Apple is sending me a new phone next week and is providing a return for my old phone.

Really sorry for getting rid of my old phone now.

same Issues here. I took my 2016 Yukon SLT two GMC dealership so they could update the firmware on CarPlay because my phone wasn’t connecting to CarPlay either. Hopefully that will resolve the CarPlay issue. Still getting a lot of dropped calls. Very frustrating. Old service with old phone was much better.

Try turning off wifi momentarily and look at the signal indicator at top right corner of the screen and see if you're really not receiving any 5G signal. If you see 5G, it is just the phone prioritizing wifi over cellular to save battery and cellular data. You can change this in settings.

You guys in the US aren't alone - here I am in the UK with my new(wish) iPhone12 (OS14.4) and I am getting terrible calls using WiFi. We are in the lee of a hill and so don't get great cell mast coverage (EE - a BT company).

My old iPhone6s (OS14.3) worked just fine on WiFi, and connected with a new Blaupunkt Skaggen 370DAB BT radio just fine.

Not the same happy story with the iPhone12, which admittedly connected with the radio in another car OK.

So was/ is it the OS, the radio or the iPhone? I updated the OS on the iPhone6s to OS14.4 and it still connects via BT to the Blaupunkt 370 just fine ..... so the only problem I have is solely common with the iPhone12 ...... come on Apple! What have you done the degrade this fine product, which can no longer be called "fit for purpose" .... give me back connectivity and reception I can use!

My job requires me to depend on my phone. The constant drops and inability to even make a call is just a no go. As a “tablet” it’s great but I think Apple forgot that it’s primary function is a PHONE!!

Its been months and just lots of people being told to jump through hoops with no fix. Personally, while I hate to give up the Apple ecosystem, I may have no choice.

Have you raised your concerns with your cellular carrier?

I've mentioned previously that I have a 12 Pro Max with AT&T and have not dropped a single call since I received it in November. Not one.

That doesn't help your situation any, but if it was the phone itself, that wouldn't be the case.

YUP. Never had on problem, as others have said over and over again, with previous iPhones. Just this one. Whether it be with my eSim with Verizon or my ATT account, the "song remains the same". With or without WiFi calling enabled.

I am assuming you have read the countless other complaints regarding just what I am complaining about as well as the countless other NET claims by others like me.

Yes, it is most likely a problem with poor reception, likely a combination of the phone and provider and the problem may be the sum of both amplifies the end result, but, the end result is unacceptable to those of us (happy you are not one of them) having to deal with this mess.