iPhone 14 Pro Cellular Connection Issues

Follow up:

I want to detail the solution that Verizon provided in hopes that it helps others.

I explained to the customer service rep. how I had already did all of the basics and informed them that it happens in multiple locations, etc.

Reboot phone, toggle air plane, Wi-Fi and reset the iPhone (without erasing the data) to no effect. They transferred me to a regular technician and that is how it was resolved.

Since I called Verizon on a different phone, we were able to resolve the problem faster.

The technician stated that my 14 Pro Max wasn’t provisioned properly on the Verizon service and that it was a problem on their end. Something to do with an older plan that I’m on.

He reset something on his end and I had to turn off my phone until he told me to turn it back on.

When I turned the phone on, I now had 5Guw (ultra wide-band).

The problems were gone.

hope this helps.

Be aware, that 5G can be spotty if you are in a location with spotty 5G service. To ensure you don't drop calls, it is advisable to open the Settings app on your iPhone > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data - Make sure you have 5G Auto as opposed to just 5G. If you are in an area with weak 5G service, the phone will back down to LTE to ensure you don't drop calls.

Otherwise, you should address your concern with AT&T.

I live in a large Metropolitan area, which very strong 5G coverage. My phone stays on 5G well. But if I go further from the metro area, my phone will drop down to LTE, which is just fine and keeps me connected when 5G is spotty at best.

Ok, I had this exact same issue...I called Apple & Verizon an infuriating amount of times...and of course...they were no help.

I found the solution on my own. If you have a VPN on your phone (even if it is NOT connected) do the following:

• In settings...select "General", then "Background App Refresh"...find the VPN app and toggle this OFF.
• In settings...select "Cellular", find the app again and toggle if OFF.

VPNs can be wonderful, but I had no idea how badly it messes with data connections, even in an idle state.

FYI: My experience and steps taken to solve my problem: 

1. Schedule a visit to Apple Store for HW and RF check. You might need to perform "erase install" your while at Apple Store, so be prepared to upgrade to the latest iOS version (e.g. 16.4.1) and perform backup to iCloud (or MacBook/PC).  
2. If you still have same problem, Contact your carrier, e.g. Verizon, to get support.  

My case: I provided info (as that to Apple Store or Apple Support) and was asked for the IMEI and carrier bundle and was told to reboot the device and data profile will be pushed and re-inited. 

After getting carrier's support to re-inited my (e)SUM data profile, I don't run into the same problem and I could not DUP this problem at places where I experienced the problem before.  

HTH

DreadieG wrote:

Lawrence..Disconnecting the VPN worked but why is this happening?

Good question! There are several possible answers.

• The quality of your VPN provider and the load on their network
• Where the endpoint of your VPN “tunnel” is located-if it is geographically far from your real location, or in another country your GPS location won’t match the location of your internet connected, and some providers will suspect fraud
• If you have just updated iOS or moved to a new phone your VPN may be “confused” about your network settings - you should really remove your VPN app and profile and reinstall them (after restarting) any time you transfer content to a new phone or install a major iOS update. When you install VPN it analyzes your network configuration and customizes its settings. A different phone, or even an iOS update can change the internal network configuration, and the VPN using the old configuration will no longer work correctly.

Now on to my VPN lecture:

VPN frequently creates more problems than it solves - Something to think about→Don't use VPN - GITHUB

There are two legitimate purposes for using VPN:

• To allow access to a private network such as a school or business when you are not on site. 
• To allow access outside of a country with a repressive government that has restricted Internet access.

Any other use is risky, and can lead to problems like the one discussed in this thread. VPN disguises your location by making you appear to be somewhere else in the world. But you usually can’t control that “somewhere else”, and if it is in a location that an app isn’t approved for the app won’t work. Plus the fact that the provider of the VPN knows everything about you and your location, as well as what sites you access through the VPN. So you are totally dependent on the VPN provider’s honesty. As a start, if the VPN is free, DON’T USE IT. The provider has to make money somehow, and if you aren’t paying them then they are selling your private data to make money. But even those that charge can’t necessarily be trusted. For example, a few years ago Avast was caught selling user browsing data. They claim they have stopped doing so. 

You don’t really need VPN when using public Wi-Fi, because all communications between your device and the servers it accesses are end-to-end encrypted.

If you want VPN for privacy about the sites you visit, that’s not a good choice as discussed; instead you should download and use the TOR browser.

With iOS 15.2 and later for iOS/iPadOS and MacOS Monterey 12.2 and later Apple now has iCloud+ Private Relay, which is not VPN, but provides a safer browsing environment than VPN, and it doesn't spy on you→About iCloud Private Relay - Apple Support

So glad they were able to help you. T Mobile told me to turn off the VPN setting (that worked just fine with Verizon) and that solved the issue. Too bad it took me three weeks of phone calls and many support people to be told this simple thing

Update:

Had this issue with my iPhone 14 Pro max, posted about my experience earlier in this thread.

I upgraded to the iPhone 15 Pro Max a few months ago. The problem completely disappeared. The connection failures occurred during my daily commute, walking around certain areas around the metro area and occasionally work. Basically the connection would fail at any location near a cell tower that is in visible range. Its been months, and not a single connection drop.

On a side note, disabling VPN never resolved the connection failures with my iPhone 14 Pro. I use WireGuard VPN to connect to my home network. VPN is an absolute requirement for my use case, need it for work and I run a PI-Hole Ad Blocker at home that blocks 99% of advertisements. Otherwise internet use is pointless on a mobile device, drowning in ads and auto play videos.

I wish there was way to capture debug logs on an iPhone, much like Android, ADB and Logcat. A feature like this would help so much. Or a diagnostic app that can detect consistent network connection failures, notify the user about the connection failures and ask if the user wants to send diagnostics data to Apple. Might be a good A.I use case if anything.

What is your network selection in Settings/Cellular/Cellular Data Options/Voice & Data? For most situations the best option is 5G Auto.

Are you using VPN? If you are, delete the VPN profile and app and check again.

Whether you are or are not using VPN Reset Network Settings.

Basspro22 wrote:

It is obvious to me that i had better non-Wi-Fi phone service with less dropped calls with my 7Plus 4G phone. Apple states that there are little changes mechanically speaking with the Simm-less 5G phones, it says to me that T-Mobile 5G service is lacking capacity which may (in my non-technical mind) may present problems for the phone to manage switching between 5G & 4G service in order for the phone to stay connected. (Just a thought i had to share!

Wirecutter says that T-Mobile is currently the best 5G service of all of the US carriers, and my experience in Northern New Jersey certainly is. I have a solid connection, usually 5Guc, with data speeds of up to 500 mbps. But 5G rollout is not complete for any carriers. Have you tried switching to LTE where your connection is spotty?

personally, i feel it's a T-Mobile issue, as soon as i started putting pressure on T-Mobile, the issue started to become less of an issue, I am still experiencing dropped calls and low bars in the same areas i did with my iPhone 7 Plus. If you purchased, it thru T-Mobile they can work with you on a phone replacement or work with you on extending the full replacement period until the issue is resolve to your satisfaction.

Update: On Verizon with iPhone 14 Pro Max, iOS 16.1.1.

Although I can now see on my screen 5Guw, my phone will disconnect from data completely, despite having Full signal strength. The workaround that I use is to toggle the phone into airplane mode and then right back out. This is much faster than a reboot (which was tried)and has always worked… but it’s a hassle for a phone that “just works”

I was simply stating that cellular connectivity problems with the iPhone 14 can frequently be solved by disconnecting VPN. You did a great job of explaining the problems with VPN.

Danibananinha wrote:

Same here. What to do? Old iPhone worked 100% better on calls and FaceTime etc. what to do. I want to return this.

Delete whatever VPN you are using.

Something to think about→Don't use VPN - GITHUB

There are two legitimate purposes for using VPN:

• To allow access to a private network such as a school or business when you are not on site. 
• To allow access outside of a country with a repressive government that has restricted Internet access. (This has suddenly become more important)

Any other use is risky, and can lead to problems like the one you encountered. VPN disguises your location by making you appear to be somewhere else in the world. But you usually can’t control that “somewhere else”, and if it is in a location that an app isn’t approved for the app won’t work. Plus the fact that the provider of the VPN knows everything about you and your location, as well as what sites you access through the VPN. So you are totally dependent on the VPN provider’s honesty. As a start, if the VPN is free, DON’T USE IT. The provider has to make money somehow, and if you aren’t paying them then they are selling your private data to make money. But even those that charge can’t necessarily be trusted. For example, a few years ago Avast was caught selling user browsing data. They claim they have stopped doing so. 

You don’t really need VPN when using public Wi-Fi, because all communications between your device and the servers it accesses are end-to-end encrypted.

If you want VPN for privacy about the sites you visit, that’s not a good choice as discussed; instead you should download and use the TOR browser.

With iOS 15.2 and later for iOS/iPadOS and MacOS Monterey 12.2 and later Apple now has iCloud+ Private Relay, which is not VPN, but provides a safer browsing environment than VPN, and it doesn't spy on you→About iCloud Private Relay - Apple Support