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iPhone 14 pro has poor signal.

I have an iPhone 14Pro and the signal is not as good as my iPhone 12 that I use for another line. I have noticed this in several states and almost all locations. Any suggestions?

iPhone 14 Pro, iOS 16

Posted on Oct 14, 2022 9:12 AM

Reply
96 replies

Nov 1, 2022 7:15 PM in response to Kurtosis12

It’s not 4G-5G, both phones have 5G capability. The signal was better on my old phone with less/few dropped calls while with this phone it is a regular thing.

This seems to be a common problem and the suggested fix(on line) is to place cellular on LTE. This does help, but the phone should work and is designed for 5G. I’m hoping it is something Apple can/will fix with software.

Question marked as Helpful

Nov 1, 2022 7:32 PM in response to JCZmac

This same issue comes up every time a new iPhone is released, and it occurs for the same reason:


Cellular carriers need to properly optimize their towers and antennas for the latest cellular frequencies.


When it comes to 5G, the iPhone 12 supports the following frequency bands:


  • 5G NR (Bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n77, n78, n79)
  • 5G NR mmWave (Bands n260, n261)


The iPhone 14 Pro supports the following frequency bands (differences from iPhone 12 in bold):


  • 5G NR (Bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n14, n20, n25, n26, n28, n29, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n53, n66, n70, n71, n77, n78 n79)
  • 5G NR mmWave (Bands n258, n260, n261)


When a cell phone connects to a cell tower, it tells the tower "Hi, I'm this kind of phone, and I support these frequency bands."


The tower says "Great, let's see what's least congested… OK, use frequency band (as an example) n48."


If the cellular tower isn't properly adjusted/optimized for the assigned frequency band (again as an example) n48, your iPhone 14 Pro may see little to no signal where your iPhone 12 on frequency band n28 sees full bars.


If the tower assigned your iPhone 14 Pro to use band n28 as well, everything would work as it did before, but because the newer frequencies are most likely to be less crowded, that probably won't happen.


Long story short, contact your cellular provider, only they can fix this.

Nov 15, 2022 5:52 PM in response to Jetmech84

There is nothing for Apple to fix, it’s your cellular carrier.


It’s explained in my post at the top of this thread.


Your Android has more range on the specific frequency it was assigned; if it were assigned to the same frequency band as your iPhone you’d see the same results.


Only proper configuration/tuning of the cell tower antennas and base station controller can change any of that.

Nov 16, 2022 4:41 AM in response to JCZmac

No, I'm suggesting if you have an issue your carrier needs to correct it at the cell tower at which you are having difficulty.


All carriers have this same problem, and sometimes it's something as simple as the antennas were configured in winter and in spring tree leaves interfere with the frequencies involved; other times the inverse is true and snow interferes with the signal.


Sadly, Apple can't make any of the cell carriers spend money to correctly optimize their antennas; they've tried for years, but for the most part the cell carriers do things on their own schedule and one phone vendor isn't going to make them pay for the cost to send out a crew.


It can't be helped what people who don't take the time to understand an issue think about a device due to their own misconceptions, and if you do an Internet search you will find people with the same complaints about the latest Google and Samsung devices in various areas.


But as always, if you think there is something wrong with your phone, make an appointment to have it examined.


Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple


or contact Apple Support directly:


Contact - Official Apple Support


Nov 27, 2022 2:21 PM in response to JCZmac

My iPhone 14 max pro has virtually no reception in my house. We have 3 other 5g iPhones in the house (12, 13 pro, and 13 pro max) all of which have a strong signal and no dropped call issues.

I

The 14 also seems to have issues with Wi-Fi calls too, so I’ve had to revert to zoom calls on my laptop. My cellular provider is Verizon

Nov 27, 2022 6:44 PM in response to JCZmac

Here is a summary of what we have been seeing and doing. It supports Dogcow-Moof’s explanation, but also the frustration we are having. The iPhone 14 is looking pretty bad to many of the Verizon customers and I would hope a phone maker would talk with the carriers to make sure the phones work as best they can.

https://www.phoneswiki.com/iphone-14-connectivity-issue-fix/

iPhone 14 pro has poor signal.

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