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Iphone 5 signal loss

Anyone else having a problem where when you lose signal for a lengthy period time such as on the train the phone doesnt find signal again when you are clearly in a area that would have signal. Only way around this for it to stop saying "No service" is to reboot the phone.


It reboots and has signal again


Anyone else getting this problem?

iPhone 5, iOS 6

Posted on Sep 26, 2012 1:10 AM

Reply
371 replies

Jan 30, 2013 1:15 AM in response to gusgrave

This doesnt sound good... i was going to leave it a few days to test my phone out as it regularly kicks into no service at work. To be fair to 6.1 this looks like its cured the problem for me over the last couple of days, however before i conclude i will leave it a week or so.


My phone still drops out of signal at work as its in a poor area for EE, but whereas it stayed out of signal until i interveened it now sorts itself out. My only worry it its a masked effect like gusgrave said above. I wont be able to tell until i get some phone calls.


Im at work now and my phone says EE 3G with 2-3 bars of signal when previously (6.0) it either dropped into the solid circle or the hollow circle (not sure what theyre called but a very slow connection).


I also noted yesterday whilst at work my battery hasnt been dropping 10% per hour like it did before but let me have a few days with it to concllude.


I dont know if anyone else has noticed this before but when in a low signal area (at work) i sometimes play solitare on my iphone 5 and this app freezes for up to a minute sometimes because i can only assume its working hard trying to restore a signal. Again i havent seen this replicate with 6.1 but i'll keep testing.


Fingers crossed 😕

Jan 30, 2013 9:01 AM in response to gusgrave

Yeah...one of the reasons I've stuck with this thread is because although the error messages you've been getting are different (No signal vs. Searching...), the behavior of the phone and pattern of disconnecting/signal loss seems exactly the same as what I've been dealing with. So, here's my take on it...


Although the phone is indeed working, SOMETHING isn't delivering the information from the cell network to the phone the way it should. It's out of sync. Although I don't know a bunch about exactly how cell phones and networks work, there is an apparent series of events the phone goes through in order to go from recognizing the signal to actually being able to use/access it. Something in this series is out of whack for us. However, it seems like every once in a while things do line up the way they should in order to let us through. Right now, it looks likek your phone is able to recognize that a signal exists, but not actually get through all the necessary steps in order to use the signal. Mine, on the other hand, doesn't get to that point, which is why I am getting stuck on searching.


I don't think there is going to be a software fix for us, so the only option is to go through Apple. I anticipate Apple blaming the SIM card/cell network and sending me through a series of convoluted steps before finally replacing the phone, but I guess that's the way things work. Oh well?

Jan 30, 2013 9:37 AM in response to Gross Greg

In regards to going through apple, i had this problem and got an appointment at a Genius Bar (which was about an hour away on the train from where I live) and the guy did indeed try and blame it on the network provider after trying all the standard routines for trying to get signal back, I had already contacted the network provider (O2 uk in my case) who said it was a handset issue, but I thought I'd give it one more go before basically demanding a new phone, so I went to O2 and they put my sim into another iPhone and it worked fine (mine had been stuck on no signal for 3 days) so I went back to apple and explained this and the guy very reluctantly gave me a replacement and told me it would probably just happen again, there was no way I was leaving without one though! Anyway it's been about 2 weeks now and the problem hasn't came back... So I don't know if it's possible that it could just be some iPhone 5's that have this problem and others are fine.

Jan 30, 2013 2:03 PM in response to niw756

don't know what to think anymore…


Reset my network settings today, lost signal during the workout, got back upstairs.


Check some web-links, 3G network was working fine. Had my girlfriend call me before making any calls with the phone, she got through alright.


I really don't know what to think. If I conclude that it is now working flawlessly, my guess is I will find out that it's not working. If I remain skeptical, checking my phone every 15 minutes, keep turning airplane mode on and off, I guess it might just continue to work or I might not ever find out that it is not working.


It seems to have solved the issue, from time to time. Some say their problems are gone, some say that they never had these issues and they started after the update. So iOS 6.1 with LTE support fixed issues for some, ruined it for others and for some, just poses as a "false positive" since it seems to work, but really doesn't. So, now I can't trust the phone when it seems to be OK.


Talk about jumping the gun on pushing a new product, obviously Apple was no where in the vicinity of close to being able to release iPhone 5 and ensuring functionality, just as bad as providers pushing a product not supported by the service their selling, flaky SIM-cards… I guess extremely disappointed describes the situation well.

Jan 30, 2013 2:22 PM in response to carlo-q

If you are having issues with the "No Service" indicator staying on continuously then go into Settings -> General -> Reset and peform the "Reset Network Settings." It only takes a couple of minutes.


My iPhone5 (AT&T) had this issue (after updating to iOS 6.1) and resetting the network fixed the "No Service" indicator issue.

Jan 31, 2013 3:13 AM in response to Reginald Collins

I'm pretty much convinced now that my problem is different from what's generally being discussed here. I've never seen the indicator drop to "Searching..." or "No Service"; I always get the carrier ID and zero bars. And I haven't seen my problem recur in the past 36 hours, which gives me hope. Perhaps I should have cycled power after the 6.1 upgrade.

Jan 31, 2013 3:29 AM in response to jvanassen

The problem would certainly appear to have been resolved for me, i've not ahd any issues of the phone remaining on 'No Service' after dropping signal and not re-establishing it automatically. So seems iOS 6,1 did the trick.


What I have been reminded of during this issue however is how appalling the Customer Services at EE/Orange are. Why oh why did I extend my contract, their North East England call centre are the worst, they just make things up!

Feb 1, 2013 3:53 PM in response to jvanassen

I actually still have this issue on my iPhone 5. I'm on 6.1 and still even had it today. If I lose signal for more than a short period, i.e. when I'm at work, the most it will recover to is Edge. I spent my entire drive home driving through an area with LTE coverage areas with only Edge. My fix is that I have to toggle airplane mode. I spoke with apple and it seems that they don't see this as a widespread issue but would "look into it." I had a 4S and never had this issue. I'm not sure why it's happening now but it definitely seems to be a bigger issue than they want to admit. Oh and this is my 3rd phone and second sim card.

Iphone 5 signal loss

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