Poor signal with iPhone 12 Pro Max

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.

My IPhone Pro Max 12 does the same thing. My husband and I travel a lot and his older Samsung has more bars, can receive calls and texts and my new Apple phone has none! I waited over ten years to buy a new phone and I am so disappointed! My local Verizon told me basically they are sorry, they know this phone is a dud, and that I should try to sell it Facebook market and get something else. My 20 year old trac phone got better service than this phone!

You answered your own question.

I offered another vantage point. That included comparing other phones to the 12. As I stated I hated to hear of the problems and was offering some hope that maybe it wasn’t the phone. Maybe it was. There’s a lot more going on with respect to band selections (carrier) and signal propagation and antenna characteristics that people don’t understand (and shouldn’t have to). In the end one has to be satisfied and if they aren’t do something about it. And Apple should help.

One person I work with didn’t understand that part of the year his iPhone would pick up band 13 or 66 switching back and forth on VZW due to green up and deteriorated propagation characteristics (lower bars) that primarily affected band 66 (higher frequency). He did not know the actual cause because he doesn’t get into the phone diagnostics and ***** signal strength or band type. Just an example. It wasn’t the phone.

I was an Android phone user. never wanted to switch to iphone. This is the first time buying iphone 12pro max and totally disappointed. The signal reception is very bad. My old phone used to connect well to the wifi even outside the house. But the iphone is not able to connect when upstairs or at the kitchen. The WhatsApp call is flickering and the caller was telling my voice was breaking through out the call.

and the charging takes a lot of time.

I tried Bell Telus and my son’s SIM card with Roger in my phone. All same issues on the iPhone Pro Max. When I’m in my car speaking to customer I drop the call so it tells me poor antenna in my phone. Consider yourself luck to have a phone that works. You can’t tell me it is true when I have tried all three major networks in my area. Why do I have no problem with reception with my old Samsung android phone. Tells me I have one of the duds or defective phone.

Bell and Telus shares network towers. Reason why I tried my son’s SIM card in my phone and had same problem he is in Rogers. My friend lives in Quebec many provinces away different network same phone same issues as I have. She finally gave up and purchased a completely different phone. I can only wifi call at home but it is useless on the road. I’m trying to work with Apple to replace. So please don’t say COMPLETELY UNTRUE. I wish I was one of the fortunate ones that receive a good one. There are lots of lemons for all products.

Since SIM cards only provide you access to a network, it’s no surprise they did nothing.

Did those other people with no issues have the same carrier you do?

I know there are areas near me where AT&T users have a full signal but Verizon users have no signal, and vice-versa.

How would you expect this to work?

AT&T is ready to roll.

Verizon says they are ready to roll.

Apple introduces their product.

The vast majority of AT&T customers have no issues whatsoever.

Many Verizon customers have issues but Verizon blames Apple.

Apple did nothing wrong, but Verizon gets to shift blame and make their stockholders happy by not sending crews out to towers.

Further, not all Verizon customers have issues, which absolves them of direct blame.

Issues with carriers are between their customers and the carrier and Apple isn’t going to get in the middle of that relationship.

Meanwhile the only thing Apple can do is make sure there are no hardware or software issues and tell people to… contact their carrier.

Poor reception on my new iPhone 12 Pro Max. I previously had a Samsung S7 Edge which was the best phone ever and never had issues other than running out of storage space. After years of being an android user I made the switch to an iPhone as other family members have. This however was a big mistake as the iPhone 12 Pro Max has very poor reception with one bar on LTE and where other family members have three or four bars on LTE. It also continually switches back and forth from 5G to LTE when in a 5G coverage area. I have always loved my iPad but regret making the jump from android. Definitely not worth the price paid for this phone!

Yet they still keep on advertising and selling them! Crazy isn’t it? My IPhone 12 Max Pro only works through the wifi at my house. So, when the electricity goes off so does the wifi, and I am left without any way to call anyone during these horrible fire storms ( it was off for eight hours a few days ago). We live rural on a farm. BTW, my husband’s Samsung still works if the power and wifi go out, so if he is home he can call for help. If he is gone…I just hope for the best.

You have 14 days to return it for a full refund, so you can do that and buy your preferred Android.

Meanwhile multiple millions of people around the world use their iPhone 12 every day without issues like those you describe.

Most everything you describe is indicative of cellular carrier issues with a tower and network signal issues in your area (especially the switch between 5G and LTE.)

but if that's the case and it is all the carriers fault, shouldn't android owners with 5g phones be complaining about poor reception as well? I mean maybe they have but I haven't seen it.. I have a few friends with 5g android Samsung phones and I haven't heard them complain once about terrible reception. With me at work i get 2 bars of 5g on my iPhone 12 pro max and suddenly it switches to two bars LTE if I move an inch at my desk. When it gets to 2 bars on LTE, forget about loading a website or starting a podcast, playing a youtube video etc.

I agree with you, friend on android 5G on same provider as me has full reception with no issues. I need to use wifi calling in my house with my iPhone 12 Pro Max. I was hoping Apple would of address with the latest software update but same problem exits.

WiFi Calling is a cellular carrier feature and Apple has no control over it.

If you really feel that away about your purchase if it was 14 days ago or less you can return your phone for a full refund, otherwise you could sell your 12 Pro Max on eBay and buy a used iPhone 8 Plus on the same site or try to find a carrier that still has some in stock.