iPhone 7, Model A1660, Recalled?

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iPhone 7, Model A1660, Recalled?

I have an iPhone 7, model A1660, which is supposed to be recalled because the phone says No Service. I have this same issue on my iPhone with the No Service, but I assumed it was because I lived in a very rural area and that’s why I only get 1 bar and dropped calls unless I use it by my front door. I thought of buying an expensive cellphone antenna. Is it my iPhone or my service area that’s doing this? I want to know because I have Dish satellite tv bundled with internet, an iPhone 7 bought at Walmart using StraightTalk that uses Tracfone as its carrier and a Dish modem and a new Mesh router which is supposed to give me extended WiFi connection, yet after spending all this money, I still have very bad reception. Any ideas for me living in a very rural area for what would help the most, i.e. cellphone carrier services, ISP’s, cellphone antennas, different routers, different phones, etc.? Thanks in advance for any help!

iPhone 7, iOS 14

Posted on Aug 22, 2021 4:04 PM

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MrHoffman

Community+ 2024

Level 10

118,423 points

Aug 22, 2021 4:27 PM in response to barbarafromconrath

The Apple program is for a device that cannot connect to any service:

iPhone 7 Repair Program for "No Service" Issues - Apple Support

This does not seem to be the issue here.

Rural cellular coverage and rural broadband coverage tends to be poor in the US, and costs high.

Your case seems one of marginal coverage and a fairly old and comparatively less-sensitive iPhone, in an area with marginal cellular signal coverage.

Wi-Fi calling can provide better coverage when cellular signals are weaker and Wi-Fi coverage and bandwidth is better.

Make a call with Wi-Fi Calling - Apple Support

TracFone / Straight Talk does support Wi-Fi calling. What their coverage in your area might be, or their coverage upgrade plans might be, no one here knows.

Wi-Fi assist does not change cellular coverage, it provides a second path for calls when within range of a Wi-Fi network, when the Wi-Fi is problematic and the cellular coverage is better.

About Wi-Fi Assist - Apple Support

Geostationary satellite networking has about a second or so latency on the call, due to the transmission distances involved. It’s not going to be good for calls. (Latency? About a third of second one way, ~72,000 km up to,the satellite and back down, and another third of a second back with the response plus whatever added latencies between the satellite provider ground station and the website or service host being accessed, such as your cellular provider for Wi-Fi calling.)

In the absence of terrestrial broadband, StarLink might be an option here (satellites in low earth orbit, with correspondingly lower latencies), but I have no experience with that.

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iPhone 7, Model A1660, Recalled?

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