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iPhone 4S "no service" problem

hello all,


Just got my iPhone 4S 18hrs ago and it wen to "no service" like 3 times (so far)!!

  • I have changed carrier setting to manual I can select my network but still "no service"
  • I turned on then off "airplane mode" it goes searching... then "no service"
  • it only work when I restart or reinsert the SIM


Is this common? do I have to worry ?


Appreciate your inputs.


Thanks,

Abdullah

iPhone 4S-OTHER, iOS 5, iMac, iPad

Posted on Oct 22, 2011 11:40 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 24, 2011 2:48 PM

I had the same problem today, once I put the phone on airplane mode then turned it off it showed service again. If this continues I will take it back to the store.

729 replies

Dec 20, 2011 12:01 AM in response to abds2000

Just bought my iphone4s 4 days ago. For the last 2 days I've been getting "no service" problems. Changed to a new micro sim, seems to work fine for a while but then problem came back. Phone cannot search for service provider after I come out from the basement carpark. It stays at "no service" until I toggle airplane mode. Sending SMS also takes no tries, after first it will show failure to send, then phone will start searching for carrier signal.

I suspect it could be because of the iOS 5.0.1 update.


Apple can you confirm this ? I will try to restore phone.

Dec 20, 2011 12:16 AM in response to wei kah

I have upgraded my iPhone 4S to the latest build of iOS 5.0.1(9A406), which is supposed to resolve the "no service" problem. However it didn't work for me, when I came out from the lift, the phone just stay at "no service" for at least 5 minutes, without even do the searching for networks. So I have to toggle Airplane mode on and off, then only my 4S able to get the service back. Obviously the new build of iOS 5.0.1 unable to resolve the "no service" problem, not to mention the battery draining problem.

Dec 20, 2011 4:17 PM in response to dannywonglh

As the person stated above...


It seems the new build has fixed the signal drop in a servicable area.


However when you are in a non servicable area like a subway and come out into a servicable area, the phone takes about 5 mins to receive a signal.


I have tested this with my coworker on the same network. He has an Android and has no issues. Anyone with iPhones have issues with getting reception when entering a servicable area. The phone says No Service and only way to get it is wait 5 mins or toggle Airplane mode - COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE!


Everyone please spread the word around... Bad PR for Apple will get them to fix this BUGGY iOS!


Tell everyone to contact apple.com/feedback


Call Applecare and get to the Apple store and make your voice heard!


Let's get the iPhone to work as an iPhone and not an iPod Touch S!

Dec 20, 2011 9:29 PM in response to abds2000

Not sure if this would help anyone, but I thought I might throw this idea out.


My iPhone 4s was having problems only the first few minutes of turning on. Mine would turn on say "searching..." for a minute or two. Then would say no service for about 5 seconds, then would say AT&T. After that, it would work fine.


I took the sim out for the first time and looked at the connector. I saw what looked like someone had put the sim card in with some food on their fingers. I wiped off the connectors and reinserted the sim card and everything is working properly.


It can't hurt to look at the connector of your sim and see if there is a problem there.

Dec 21, 2011 12:31 AM in response to rustyk123

Hi


problem not resolved yet have checked the sim also and changed it



the thing is that not all the 4s out there have the problem , there is a slight percentage of people like us with the same problem world over


what iam saying is -its not the software maybe , it could be the hardware in few of the phones , now apple cant be perfect in all the millions of phones , just like all producers they can make mistakes too , even nature makes malfunctioning humans


but the diff is apple can correct it by taking these malfucntioning phones back and replace with good ones -


come on apple , we are loosing time ,fix this quickly , and honour your end of the bargain .

Dec 21, 2011 5:58 AM in response to wei kah

It's amazing that it took only two (2) days for Google/Verizon to fix the signal issue on the Galaxy Nexus! It has taken Apple over 2+ months to try and fix the signal issue on iPhone! LOL Whoa! Apple call Google! They can help fix your issues within 1 week! Guaranteed. 🙂


Ps it seems Apple has fixed the signal strength. They need to fix the No Service / Searching when coming out of an underground parking lot, basement, subway etc into a servicable area... the phone hunts for reception for over 5 mins! Way too long. Completely unacceptable.

Dec 21, 2011 7:04 AM in response to abds2000

Hi guys,


I had the same issue out of the sudden yesterday. When i got home i saw the operator name, but no signal lines. What was curios about it is that 3G internet was working just fine ! Lot of restarts, turning on and off wirelessm etc. I followed Apple's instructions and restored the firmware from iOS5.0.1(9A405) to iOS5.0.1(9A406).


When everything finished i had exactly the same problem. I turned off the phone and went to bed. The next morning when i woke up, turned it on and ta naaa: it worked !


The only thing i have noticed now is that the battery drains extremely fast with 9A406. But at least i can use my iPhone 4S as an phone and not like an iPod ...


P.S. This happened after being out in a pub for 5-6 hours. I think this triggered the problem. The phone didn't manage anymore to get back the signal. Hopefully i don;t need to do this restore after each night out ......

Dec 21, 2011 7:17 AM in response to abds2000

I can surely say that problem is not solved with the new patch. After having 9A406 patch installed on my 4S, its not better even after that. Mine is a vodafone connection here in Germany and it shows 0 signals at my work and home too :-(


But when I transfer the sim to my nokia E7, it shows me 100% signals all the time. This is the simple proof to say that something has gone wrong with the Iphone4s s/w or h/w.


I wonder why dont these guys do the basic testing?? having 2 receivers for new Iphone 4s doesn't improve anything. APPLE, PLEASE TEST IT BEFORE YOU RELEASE... We CANNOT LIVE in a NOSERVICE WORLD...

DO SOMETHING....

Dec 21, 2011 9:41 AM in response to abds2000

I am fortunate enough to have both a carrier store and an apple store in my area. I am not a cell phone engineer nor a software engineer but I do repair electronics to the component level for a living. After updating my iPhone 4S to iOS 5.0.1, the phone started getting "No Service" after phone went idle for about 15-30 minutes in multiple different locations that I have had perfect service in since iPhone launch. To get service back I would have to turn phone off/on or airplane mode on/off. Then, until phone went idle again, I had full bars of service. At times, when the phone displayed "No Service", I could make and receive calls. I contacted Apple about this problem, they said it was the SIM card. I got a new SIM card, and the problem was still there. I contacted Apple again, and this time Apple claimed it was a carrier tower problem so I had AT&T issue a service ticket in my area to check the towers. AT&T said the towers are good, it must be an Apple problem. Apple says it is because I restored phone from a backup and I have corrupted data on my computer. I did DFU restore on phone and set up as brand new phone. Problem still there. Long story short is that AT&T says that it is Apple's problem, Apple says it's carrier problem etc. I had 3 new SIM cards and 3 4S's is this 3 week period. Finally, with nobody acknowledging a problem and no solution in sight, I switched back to my old iPhone that had worked perfectly for years. Now this phone was getting a "No Service" message as well. I could turn 3G off and the phone was fine. The iPhone 4S doesn't have the option to turn off 3G. So it was more of a carrier problem than an iPhone problem in my opinion, from the steps that I had to take on my own to troubleshoot the issue because Apple nor AT&T would acknowledge an issue. This was very annoying. My question is this though: Why won't the phone automatically switch to the 2G network if 3G is not available? It seems to me, my problem was more with the carrier 3G network but I would think that the phone would go to 2G if 3G wasn't available. In my opinion, Apple also has an issue. Nobody will say anything though. People all over the world are having this problem on multiple carriers. There is one thing in common: the iPhone. I am very disappointed in the way Apple has handled all of the issues with iPhone 4S. Apple seems more concerned about the bottom line now than customer care. This will probably be my last iPhone.

User uploaded file

Dec 22, 2011 12:12 PM in response to Community User

Apple got into our blood because it was easy and simple. Why should we bear all the truoble of looking for alternative and searching for ways to get it in working condition. Its absolute APPLE's responsiblity to make it staright and simple

The point of all these complains and misries is.. this is the same company and people we have been trusting for a couple of years now. We update the softwares for the latest technolgy thats helps all in one or the other No matter where ever on earth we are did not have any kind of troubles untill 5.0.1.

Apple should resolve this. Atleast i cant think of going to another company


would any one beleive we buy the phone in pakistan as high is US$1200-1500 in pakistan. and it is as popular as any where in the world

iPhone 4S "no service" problem

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