IOS5 and Phone Signal Issues

Same problem, started a discussion about it myself but so far found nothing to solve the issue.

Restored the phone to factory settings and that seemed to help for a few days (signal went off once or twice but was generally OK though I didnt get 3G in places where it is normally available). It is back to the same problem now though, will probably have to do another restore as it is unusable. Location services turned off and everything, still no joy.

Has anyone been into an Apple store or had any other luck?

I have the same problem as well, Iphone 3GS, upgraded to OS5 and my Bluetooth signal is down to 3 foot and the wifw signal is lost in the next room, WHAT IS GOING ON??????

Ok, I think I have a temporary solution. It seems that doing a "Reset All Settings" from Settings->General->Reset Tab might fix the issue (one time I had to do it twice). The phone should no longer drops calls when 3G is enabled.

BUT if the phone is REBOOTED it will go back into the signal loss loop. I noticed there were many hundreds, possibly thousands, of Diag entries in the Diags logs (Settings->General->About->Diagnostic & Usage) It seems that the signal loss is being logged as a crash of CommCenterClassic and a log entry is created every time the signal drops.

Also, turning OFF 3G keeps the signal from dropping (or whatever is crashing in the background).

So now I have little doubt this is an apple code defect. On Sunday I upgraded my wife's 3GS to iOS5. The install smoothly without any problems. Wednesday afternoon she started complaining that she couldn't send a text because the signal kept dropping. I took a look at it and her phone was going through the same signal drop loop I originally reported. Further evidence that this is an apple software defect is this phone was upgraded on a completely different computer than mine. Mine is synched with a Windows 7 machine and my wife's is synched with a Mac OSX Lion machine. These items point to a common software defect in the install package from apple. Oddly my wife experienced the same timeline as I did, device worked fine for first couple of days then on the 3rd day got itself caught in the signal loss loop. I used the same restore procedure through iTunes and it appears to have solved her problem too.

I'm also happy to report that I continue to be problem free with my iPhone 4 since I did the restore last Sunday.

I have the same problem with an iPhone 3GS and iOS 5.

But it seems to happen only when I use apps that demands my current location, includding Maps! And this is really annoying me. Besides this, all my signals (3G, bluetooth and wi-fi) works properly.

I tried to "Reset Networking Settings" and it didn't work.
I tried to "Reset All Settings" and I had the same disappointment.

Tomorow, I'l try to restore my device. Let's see...

After several calls back and forth with ATT they called me back and said that Apple has a fix that can be applied remotely you need to contact their customer support (or call ATT, ask to speak to level 2 support, and ask them for the Apple number).

I, however, fixed the issue with a default restore, but it was a nightmare and initially I couldn't get my latest backup to restore. I had to use time machine to go to a backup from a few months ago (all backups somehow dissappeared when I went to itunes 10.5), and then go to my latest backup. So I suggest backing up and calling ATT/Apple first before trying a restore.

I can only add my frustration to this thread. Very similar experience to others. ios 4.3.3 running fantastically on ip4. Since upgrade to ios5 (which looks to have some excellent features) I have only 1-3 bars at home and no service sometimes. I used to have 5 bars permanently. Yesterday I had dropped calls with my wife using same phones and locations that have always been fine. Need a solution to this soon please apple. Love the product, but signal is core issue.

The only advice I can give is that I restored to factory settings twice, in the meantime resetting settings and everything, and after the second restore I turned 3G off. Haven't had a problem since, not great not getting 3G but it's worth it so that phone calls aren't dropping until, hopefully, a fix in the next update.

Hi thought i would add my 2 cents.

Same exact problem here. After iOS5 update about 3 days ago, phone had been running great, then yesterday i would get this no signal; searching problem, only way i was able to fix is was restarting the phone, then it would work for about 3-4 minutes, then get stuck in the no signal/searching loop. HELP! the phone has rendered itself usless, ill have to go back to my motorola startac, that thing still works after 300 years.

I have having the same "service drop loop" that you are describing. I had been running smoothly on iOS5 for a week when it started; I added a friend to the "Find My Friends" app that apple released for iOS5 (which seems to make sense with it's usage of location services). I wonder if the install and usage of a location service app is causing a corruption of the OS.

It seems like a restore is the way to go, so I'll try that tonight and report back.

Connect your phone to your computer and in iTunes, select the restore function for the phone. You will not lose any data but the process will reinstall the firmware. It is a lengthy process, plan for about an hour since everything has to be recopied back to the device. This has worked for me twice, once on my iPhone 4 and again on my wife's 3GS.

What surprises me the most is the fact that there is no acknowledgement from AT&T or Apple that this is a problem. Obviously there is some sort of issue here that needs to be addressed.

It seems that turning off the location services slows down the 'signal loss' loop that eventually kills your battery. I am now trying a restore.. Hoping it works. 😠

I'm restoring my phone for the nth time. Phone will work fine for about a week then the same problem comes back. This issue is so frustrating. 😠

I have an iphone 4 which I updated to 5. I am having exactly the same problem as you. I followed what you suggested last week and reinstalled the software. It worked fine till last night.

Its rather frustrating that everytime I lose signal I cant get it again unless I shut off my phone or rest network settings. Any suggestion of a fix?

I dont know could the problem be that in one of the later syncs I ticked the sync iphone wirelessly? My problems started after that.

I have the same issue with my brand new 4S and my daughter's 3GS upgraded to the new operating system. I actually had Apple replace the phone thinking something was wrong with the hardware. Now I know the issue is the new operating system and there is nothing that can be done that's a permanent fix. Until this is fixed, you can turn off the data service and your phone and text message will work as normal. Don't bother restoring or anything else until Apple fioxes it. This is very maddening for a new product and I would have thought Apple would catch this before releasing. I'm on ATT.