Internet randomly drops from IPhone 4S requiring reboot.

I've been having the same internet issues described here. 4S/AT&T/5.1.1. Phone shows full signal strength, but Safari and any internet-dependent apps don't work and just "hang." Only fix is to turn phone on/off, and even that didn't work at least once. Wi-fi works fine. Seems to happen if I'm leaving a wi-fi connection or coming back online after Airport mode was on, at which point there's a problem connecting to the data network. Really frustrating.

First noticed it on 5/26/12 and now it's been occurring once a day since. I was already on 5.1.1 prior to that for weeks (with no internet issues), so I'm not sure if it's the software or the hardware. And I'd hate to go through the trouble of getting a new 4S only to have this happen again with the new one.

Anyone come across a solution or have any new news re: this problem?

Similarly, the internet not working problem started a few days ago. The only thing that has worked is: Settings, General, Reset, Reset Network Settings. After a minute or two, the internet works again. After doing this, I eventually turned the phone off and turned it back on the next morning, internet not working. Did reset and internet working again. So, I left the phone on all the time and it was good for a couple of days but then the internet went out again. Did reset again and it works again.

Don't know what's causing the problem. Fortunately, the Reset Network Settings has been working.

I'm also having a similar issue of the Internet not working when not on Wi-Fi and am on the ATT network. Rebooting the phone has no effect. I have 5 bars of signal strength and even a Microcell at home. Using Wi-Fi, everything works great. Switching Wi-Fi off so I go through the microcell's network and nothing. I have spent time at ATT as well as gotten my phone replaced at the Genius Bar.

I believe it has something to do with iCloud.

When I left the genius bar with a new unrestored phone, the internet and everything was working fine. However, the next day after restoring from the Cloud, my phone wouldn't get on the internet. I had to 'Reset all settings' and that fixed the problem. I noticed also that my phone backed up to the iCloud the morning I couldn't get on. After turning off iCloud backup, my phone worked fine for a week!

Then I decided to enable Photo Stream and now it's messed up again (I've taken pictures recently as well with this service enabled).

I'm going to reset all my network settings again and disable iCloud Backup and Photo Stream services until I can sort this out (everything else still on). I'll give an update if this actually does work or not..

I have been having this exact problem for a few months now, 4G looses data/internet connection regularly. And while wifi does work just fine (like at home), after leaving it that is when the 4G issue begins. A restart allways corrects the outage until the next time.

I did have some stability for a few weeks but that just ended. I am going to leave it off of any wifi to see how the 4G data acts when permanently on.

My 4S setup was also a new phone and restored from a previous iPhone 4 backup. I am on AT&T. However, I do not use icloud at all so would say that is not the real cause of this issue.

Okay, you're right. Maybe I was just lucky.

Current Software version 5.1.1 on ATT network. Newly replaced iphone 4s 64GB last weekend ( 5/27/12 )

I've tried "Reset Network Settings" and no luck.

I've tried "Reset All Settings" and still no luck.

I'm on the verge of Erasing all content and starting from scratch. 😢

This is really annoying. Is anyone else experiencing this issue on other networks? Maybe AT&T is having an issue themselves and is throttling random people? It seems I can get some data to pass through like text messaging, the occasional email and using apps like wells fargo and ATT but using safary, speed test or any bandwidth intensive app fails to start.

For me the one time I tried reset the network settings I experienced similar very low/slow 4G data connections (email fine but safari a no no) that you describe.

The only thing that works to get back a correctly functioning iPhone for me is turn it off and back on again.

Agree, it is pretty frustrating.

I am 1+ day with no wifi and 4G data working well. (I need to move around and test other cell towers next).

Add me to the list with this problem on an iPhone 4S on AT&T.

History:

- For me, it started about two weeks ago -- seemingly right after I upgraded to 5.1.1. Prior to that upgrade I had never experienced any problems at all.

- I've been on iCloud and PhotoStream on the same iPhone 4S on AT&T since they were released last October. Zero issues until now.

- We have two other iPhone 4 units in the house, also on AT&T, also upgraded to 5.1.1, but they only pull down a 3G connection rather than AT&T's infamous "4G" connection. They have no problems whatsoever switching back and forth.

- As others have stated, moving from WiFi to cellular coverage almost always results in failure. I'd guess it's about a 75%-80% failure rate for me.

- I've tried turning WiFi off completely, and while this does shorten the time between failures, eventually the cellular data connection goes down -- sometimes it will last a few days though.

- I have not tried a network settings reset since I don't want to re-enter all of my network passwords.

- Restarting has cleared up the problem for me with 100% reliabilty, but it always comes back.

It's very frustrating indeed. When it first started happening I had no idea the network was down and I ended up missing emails and iMessages all over the place for a few days. Now I'm having to constantly check the network to make sure it's functional throughout the day, and restart multiple times some days.

I hope we see a patch for this soon.

I had this issue back in December of last yr (dec 2011). I had switched from a droid bionic on Verizon to iphone 4s from AT&T. The reason is i have alot of phones with AT&T and it would be cost effective. I had dropped so many calls because the data would drop constantly. I would have ALL bars but no 3g (before the ios fix). If i connected to my verizon MiFi, i would use imessage and email.. the second i left the range of the MiFi, no more data. iPhone would not switch back to 3g. After about 3 days of AT&T i went back to Verizon and got a iphone 4s from them... sam problem with the wifi. BUT their data/voice network was alot better than AT&T and i never used wifi when i went to client sites. Was this the fix? NO!! it was a patch just to get to use this **** phone. I have had EVERY iphone made and 5 or 6 macbooks, and spent way over 1500.00 in the past 5-6 yrs on itunes and apps so i could have the best with apple. This is garbage... I went Back to IPhone with AT&T because my wife has one and she said she stopped having that issue. the issue did NOT stop. She just doesnt notice it because she really only uses her phone for email and pinterest. I tried the following:

clean install from scratch NO restore (even deleted backups from cloud to make sure nothing came over)

reset network settings

upgraded to 5.1

after 5.1 (another clean install WITH fresh apps not restore)

reset network settings

none of these worked.. so i figure apple must know about the issue and i assumed they would have a fix in the newest beta. I am a developer and downloaded the ios 6 beta 1 and beta 2... again they still dont work (i know its a beta and not fully functional) but you would think they would fix this first.

the only patch that seemed to work for me was to disable wifi and bluetooth before i left a wifi spot, that helped. but as of about an hr ago.. the no data still happens, and siri just stands there staring at you when you try to ask it for something. even though you have the bars.

i would really like to keep troubleshooting this, but i think apple has dropped the ball. Its kind of like when your pc blue screens and microsoft tells you just to restart your computer. I didnt go to school in hogwarts and I dont use magic to fix my electronics.. this is not a fix, but a ploy to push away and temporarily pacify us. I cant wait till June 28th when the new Samsung Galaxy S III comes out.. im going back to a droid.. i love siri, but what good is it if it doesnt ever keep data active.

i hope so... but i do know the beta 1 and 2 of ios 6 the issue wasnt resolved

quick update.

I have been running solely on 4G for nearly 4 weeks (wifi off). Only once have I had an issue and that was flying to Chicago, AT&T was painfully slow on the data side and required a restart to get back to normal when home. I am also using bluetooth.

Seems like the real issue is when you use wifi, it goes off or you move from wifi to 4g data.

I posted a few weeks ago with the same problem, but in the past week everything has started working perfectly again. Wifi to 3G/"4G" and back again, no issues. I haven't made any updates to iOS at all since 5.1.1. I've updated a few apps, but nothing else has changed. It seems like this is either an AT&T issue or some specific app that was conflicting and is now patched. Either way, it's working flawlessy. Hope others find a solution soon.

I have this problem on my unlocked iPhone 4S which I use on T-Mobile's network. I first noticed the problem in France with a 3G network there. It also happens (although less frequently) with Wifi networks here in the U.S. I've tried deleting network settings, but that only helps for a while; the easiest workaround I've found is simply to toggle Airplane mode on and off. It's a pain, though, and it shouldn't be happening.

If you're running the beta, have you filed a bug report?