Verizon iPhone Losing Data Connection

I've been noticing this over the past day or so- Every few hours, my iPhone will "drop" the data connection. Voice calls work fine, but I'm unable to use any data (surfing the web, using apps that access the internet, etc). Has anyone else experienced this? I need to turn off and turn it back on in order to make it work...

Intel iMac 20", Mac OS X (10.5.6), iPhone 3G

Posted on Mar 2, 2011 1:55 PM

27 replies

Mar 24, 2011 6:25 AM in response to KaeBFly

Thanks for your response... I probably should have been more clear when outlining what I consider dangerous.

I am not randomly checking to see if I have a data connection while I am driving. I am using the device for what it was intended to do such as turn by turn directions, streaming music, 2 way walkie talkie apps etc. Without a data connection many of the turn by turn services do not work and when your turn by turn goes down in an area that you are not familiar with one could have unintended consequences.

Stopping on the side of the highway in Chicagoland to restart my phone and data connection is dangerous. Which I have had to do several times in the last couple weeks.

Regardless, having a constant data connection in an urban environment or having the expectation of a constant connection is a reality. That is what we pay good money for.

My assumption from asking around is that this is more prevalent than one would expect. Every person that I have met with a Verizon (5 people) iPhone has had data outages but none of them would come to an Apple forum for help or call Verizon about it. They just figured it was normal.

Mar 24, 2011 11:44 AM in response to MrShickadance9

I had this problem ONE DAY last week. It began in the morning as an intermittent problem, and by about 6pm I had nada, zip, zilch. No data... no ability to make calls either. I was prepared to take the phone back the following day, but when I woke up the next morning the phone was fine--and has been ever since.

I'll be within warranty period for another 2 weeks, so I'll keep my eye on it. Sounds like I'm not the only person having these issues.

bestowed

Level 1

5 points

Apr 3, 2011 5:34 PM in response to MatthewHaak

Same problem in TX with new phone. Reset got data back for a while, can't be doing that on a daily basis... Taking back to BestBuy tomorrow!

Apr 5, 2011 7:31 AM in response to MrShickadance9

I live in Dallas, TX and I am having this same issue. About once a day for an hour or so I lose data connectivity even though I have a 3G connection. Also the phone switches from 3G to 1x a lot for no apparent reason. I contacted Verizon and they don't seem to know what the issue is.

tomma01

Level 1

8 points

Apr 7, 2011 11:01 AM in response to michelsen99

I'm in Chicago right now and for some reason of all the states it's the worst here for 3g, my phone is constantly going in and out. It happens to me in LA but not as severe. I think it's a network/potential iphone software issue. In NY the phone was fine too, with slight in and out of 3G

Apr 8, 2011 12:58 PM in response to MrShickadance9

Just a thought/question...is wi-fi turned on while you are having the 3G coverage issue...not that you would be in range of a wi-fi network, but I've seen issues with VZW phones before where they don't do a great job of handing off from say, wi-fi coverage to cellular data coverage...In our organization we tell people ( we are in an area with great VZW coverage, and we have in-building solutions on our various campuses) just to leave wi-fi off and use cellular data only..this might be something to try, just for testing to see what happens...

Apr 10, 2011 10:45 AM in response to KaeBFly

@KaeBFly

You said that the running theme was Chicago users. I'm in the Salt Lake Valley (Utah), and I have this exact issue. Luckily, I'm still in warranty (Well, I believe so. I bought the phone on 2/13/11.), at least through Apple. By now they'll have refurbs, so I'm probably not going to return unless I'm guaranteed a new phone, not a refurb. Would the "Genii" give me a refurb if I went to the Apple Store with this issue?

Thanks for any reply,
--CS

jwiggs23

Level 1

8 points

Apr 13, 2011 12:05 PM in response to MatthewHaak

I have had this problem ever since I got the phone in February, and am on my third phone now, still having the problem. It must be something with Verizon. Also I live in South Dakota so its just not you guys from Chicago.

May 20, 2011 11:46 AM in response to MrShickadance9

I live in southern california - orange county & have had this issue w/ mine as well. I exchanged for new one last Thursday. Worked perfect for about 2 days, and then started breaking connection...this time i kept track of times & dates. Seems to happen daily, always between 11am - 1pm. Usually reset works, today, have reset, network reset and nothing is working -- been out of connection for about an hour. Have appt w/ Genius Bar tonight to hopefully find out problem, or at least push the problem up to find a solution.

May 28, 2011 11:40 PM in response to MrShickadance9

I had the same problem. Just turn off the wifi when you leave the area of the signal. It searchs for it if you don't

wyldfaux

Level 1

0 points

Jun 22, 2011 5:39 PM in response to MrShickadance9

I just bought my iPhone June 19th after a long debate of the iPhone vs the HTC Thunderbolt. I wanted the iPhone in February when it released but kept holding out for the kinks to be fixed.

Sunday night my phone toggled between Verizon 3G, Verizon o, Verizon, No Service, No Data Connection, _____ Verizon. After 3 nights of 1 hour calls with Verizon they told me to bring the phone in and get a new one. I just brought my new iPhone home tonight and it's doing the same exact thing.

I live in St Augustine FL, there are 3 towers all less than 2 miles away, the closest is 1.3 miles away. I understand this is a 3G phone but we also have 4g in this area as our WIFI has a constant 4g signal. One would think if the 4G signal is that strong the 3g would be stronger. My 2 + year old Blackberry always had at least 4 bars and was faster loading web pages than my iPhone, this should not be the case.

Everybody at the Verizon store thought I was crazy. Just today it took 4 minutes to load 2 emails and I was in a 5 bar Verizon 3G area. Strong signal weak reception - now there is an oxymoron. I wish somebody would report this to Apple and they could do some sort of software patch. I was told last night by Verizon Tier 2 Tech support the issue is the anteanna. I am not sure this is truly the case as the phone is just randomly switching between roaming, 3G and no service at it's own will when it's sitting stationary on a desk.

Sadly if this continues I will go back to my old and outdated Blackberry until the iPhone 5 is released. Or at least until iOS 5 is released maybe that will fix the problem!

Oct 23, 2011 7:43 AM in response to wyldfaux

I am experiencing the problem on iOS5 on an iPhone 4s, what has worked so far is to turn off Voice Roaming (Settings-->General-->Network-->) then it works perfectly. I turn voice roaming back on and within a few minutes the problem returns. I don't know if this will work for anyone else but for 5 hours now it seems to be holding up on mine.

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Verizon iPhone Losing Data Connection