Q: iPhone 5 lte signal/reception problem
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Oct 2, 2012 3:30 PMby ces911,Anyone having an issue where if you have wifi and you are in an LTE area and when you leave a wifi area and connected to LTE the IMessage will not send, this only happens if connected to wifi then leave wifi and on LTE then send message. I have to turn LTE off and on again for it to send iMessage or wait awhile. Anyone have this ?
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Oct 2, 2012 4:27 PMby Beisarius,Calling Apple yelds no results.
Essentially, Apple Sr support told me it is the carrier's fault. In addition, the tech told me that he suspects the combined chip in the iPhone5 self-interferes@ :OOO Anyhow, Bells' is not a true LTE so we should not expect actual LTE signal (it being a sooped up HSPA). What is annoying is that I remember reading about this 2-3 yrs ago when Bell was deploying, and a tech world warning that when LTE phones arrive, they will not work with Bell. Same maybe for other carrier. Ideally, dedicated LTE networks work. But I should have paid more attention. Even store staff, after sale, told me "yes, we know LTE does not really work." OR turn it on but your phone will drain at warp speed.
Another theory he had is that my plan and number is part of a select few that get rerouted so badly that signal is messed up. That would explain, in my view, why two Bell iphone 5s were working perfectly near me but not mine. The solution would be to reopen my plan as new... Oh well..
What happened to 'LTE, Canada's fastest network?"
As everyone lese knows, i replaced both SIM and phone, no difference.
Where I froze the Apple Rep is when I asked. Hey, did not Mr Cook tell in front of the world that "We worked with all these carriers " to deploy this magical phone? Bell was listed right there!!! She had nothing to say so passed me immediately to Sr Support where was told that carrier is at fault.
Needless to add, even in 3G overall cal signal strength in Gloucester ON, Dtwon Ottawa-for me- is abyssimal. Calls chop or drop as well.
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Oct 2, 2012 5:12 PMby Pete boston,I can't speak to your LTE service in Canada since we have strong true-LTE (no HSPA/+) service here on VZW in Massachusetts. I suggest going to a Bell store where there is strong LTE service and comparing how another LTE phone (i.e. Galaxy S III) performs next to your iPhone 5 and see if there is a difference. The only time i see half decent LTE behavior on my iPhone 5 is when I am next-to a cell site, and even then, it's not always stable.
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Oct 2, 2012 6:17 PMby Pete boston,Thanks BWSLT, I am totally bummed that the iPhone 5 radio is not functioning correctly on the 3 iPhone 5 VZWs any that I have received (whether this is due to a HW or SW problem, I have no idea since the HW swap on one device + replacement SIM did nothing to correct the problem with weak signal strength).
I am really hoping that Apple and VZW (seemingly more Apple than VZW since this problem does not appear to be VZW-specific) can get its act together and fix this. I paid $200 more than a Galaxy S III for the iPhone 5 64G, I expect the network connectivity to VZW's network to actually work. Unfortunately, the iPhone 5 is not useful to me without properly functioning network connectivty to VZW's LTE network.
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Oct 2, 2012 7:35 PMby EZ-Dude,(I have AT&T, iPhone 5 32GB) LTE doesn't seem to want to stay connected where I'm at. I live in the San Jose / Cupertino area. All I need to do to get it to go to LTE again is to toggle 'Enable LTE' off and on again. I expect for my LTE connection to stay LTE if its at some nominal strength.
If its a battery optimization thing Apple is doing, I expect iOS to notice that I'm about to load a big web page or load a YouTube video and attempt to get me on LTE automatically so that I get the optimal loading experience. Instead, it stays on 4G/3G until i explicitly turn LTE off then on again. Not cool.
We should be aware, however, that when on a phone call or about to receive a phone call, iOS HAS to turn off LTE due to technical limitations of the carrier. So I don't blame them for this scenario, but the overall experience when NOT on the phone is not great. PLEASE FIX IT!
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Oct 2, 2012 7:52 PMby jmcjr1,Thanks for all the footwork Pete. Same issue here. 32gb iPhone 5 on Vz. If I have a strong LTE signal, no issue. If not the phone switches from LTE to 3G to nothing (little circle) and back and forth. Something not mentioned much here is the effect on battery this has. The more antenna juice, more heat, and faster battery drain. Honestly these data connection issues along with battery drain are **** poor. Come on Apple! Take me to happy iPhone 5 LTE land!!!!
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Oct 2, 2012 8:53 PMby crimedog73,I think that this is a software issue. A coworker has a HTC OneX on ATT and stays on LTE no matter where you go in the building. My ATT iPhone 5 bounces between LTE and 4G randomly. Also, when I'm at home with wifi connection, my phone bounces between wifi, LTE, and 4G somewhat randomly. All 5 previous iPhone iterations would stay on wifi within my home. I have noticed a couple other issues, which I think are software bugs, as well. I've learned to live with some software issues with a new iPhone and/or ios version. Seems like they are always releasing stuff that is rushed and not really ready. I'm just happy that I got a phone the first time with no issues out of the box this time, other than software issues (presumably) and that crappy purple flare on photos.
Even with these issues, Apple still makes the best cellphone, imho. I got 3 defective 4S phones in a row last year. I felt quality control was slipping and decided to try an Android phone. I went through 2 of the top/latest models at that time and went right back to the 4S (thankfully, the fourth one was good).
