iPhone 5 No Service?

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ed2020 Author

Level 1

69 points

iPhone 5 No Service?

I get little or no GSM signal within my house so "no service" is a common message when I'm at home. The majority of the time, when I step outside, my iPhone 5 promptly connects to the cellular network however occasionally it continues to say "no service" until I toggle Airplane Mode on and then off again.

I've tried resetting network settings however the problem persists. It's only occasional, so only a minor annoyance. Is anyone else seeing this? Is the consensus that this is a software problem?

Thanks,

Ed.

Posted on Sep 30, 2012 4:46 AM

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Answer 1

ed2020 Author

Level 1

69 points

Sep 30, 2012 4:54 AM in response to ed2020

Probably also worth mentioning that immediately outside my house has very good 3G coverage, so it's not failing to reconnect outside because of weak signal. The lack of signal indoors is because of the building structure.

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Answer 2

imobl

Level 7

20,664 points

Sep 30, 2012 5:45 AM in response to ed2020

If there is little or no GSM signal within the house, I would expect

a 'No Service' message. Or am I missing something? This would

seem to be a coverage problem to be rectified by your wireless

provider and not an iPhone defect or software problem. Contact

your wireless provider for assistance.

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Answer 3

ed2020 Author

Level 1

69 points

Sep 30, 2012 5:57 AM in response to imobl

It's the fact that it fails to reconnect when I leave my house that I'm querying. GSM signal immediately outside my house is very good and the phone usually reconnects promptly but occasionally it doesn't until I toggle airplane mode. This is fine if I remember to check, but if I forget then I miss incoming calls.

The problem seems to occur when the phone has been in an area of no coverage for an extended period of time. After a while it seems to stop checking for a GSM signal so continues to say "no service", even after I've moved into an area of very strong signal.

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Answer 4

ed2020 Author

Level 1

69 points

Sep 30, 2012 8:03 AM in response to ed2020

Anyone?

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Answer 5

sgutkin

Level 1

0 points

Sep 30, 2012 3:55 PM in response to ed2020

Having similar issue on Verizon with reacquiring cell signal when exiting area with poor coverage. I have to toggle into and out of Airplane mode. Bad radio maybe?

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Answer 6

ed2020 Author

Level 1

69 points

Sep 30, 2012 4:16 PM in response to sgutkin

If it was a hardware issue I don't think toggling air plane mode would resolve it. My guess is toggling airplane mode explicitly tells the phone to search for a cell signal. It should be doing so automatically but for some reason it isn't. Feels like a software issue to me but I'm not sure.

Does yours do it every time? Mine is only occasional and seems to happen more if the phone has been without signal for quite a while. Maybe it searches less frequently after being without signal for a certain period of time. A battery saving measure perhaps...?

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Answer 7

sgutkin

Level 1

0 points

Sep 30, 2012 5:14 PM in response to ed2020

Same issue with me.

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Answer 8

Oct 1, 2012 4:58 PM in response to ed2020

Just had the same issue today - contacted my service provider and was told that apparently a number of iPhone 5 users are experiencing this problem (software glitch I'm sure). Was told to do a soft reset to see if it resolved the problem. Happy to say it did. Will be really UNhappy if this continues to be an issue.

🙂

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Answer 9

stjs

Level 1

0 points

Oct 3, 2012 8:47 PM in response to ed2020

I am also having this same issue. I would also bet it is a software issue also. Sometimes it doesn't do this for a few days then it will happen two or three times on the same day. Very annoying.

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Answer 10

Oct 5, 2012 4:02 PM in response to ed2020

Same issue for me in the UK, on the Three network. Seems to occur after a prolonged period of no service. In every case toggling airplane mode resolves the issue.

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Answer 11

isheep99

Level 1

0 points

Oct 6, 2012 1:00 AM in response to ed2020

iPhone 5 no service regularly had this intermittent problem. I booked a Genius Bar appointment while staying over in the centre of Glasgow. For example phone showing No service from 13th floor of the Hilton hotel. I took a screen grab, photo of this then hit airplane mode on and off and normal four to five bar service resumed on Three network. This similar story happened often. Ok apple Genius Bar very helpful, useful to have evidence like pictures of the screen one minute apart. I also had screen grabs of similar forum posts. Ok here is the answer, and just resetting network settings , restore etc is NOT it. Apple confirmed it was a manufacturing fault and some handsets were affected. Changed for a new one there and then. I had purchased the phone via a three contract but apple happy to swap out. Secondary wifi slow issues are also real but not sure if this was software ios6 or hardware. My speedtest results could show 22mb down at home on my fibre optic cable broadband through my iPhone 5. However thus fault was intermittent too very low speeds encountered when my computer was showing much higher e.g 27mb down and phone showing about 3mb down. Anyway I never normally post but I hope this helps some folk out with iPhone 5 no service issue.

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Answer 12

ed2020 Author

Level 1

69 points

Oct 6, 2012 1:43 AM in response to isheep99

I'm far from convinced this is a hardware issue, regardless of the Genius Bar's claims. I haven't had the problem reoccur for a whole week now. It just seems to rare/irregular to be a hardware fault. I also still fail to see how toggling airplane mode can resolve a manufacturing fault, even temporarily. I still think that, after a prolonged period of no signal, the phone simply stops searching for one (or potentially just searches a lot less frequently).

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Answer 13

isheep99

Level 1

0 points

Oct 6, 2012 2:53 AM in response to ed2020

Have a look at these threads too, which show numerous iPhone 5 replacement phones issued at the apple store Genius Bar for the no service intermittent error. All toggling airplane mode or switching on and off to fix before replacement has been issued. http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1454682

Hope this helps.

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Answer 14

ed2020 Author

Level 1

69 points

Oct 6, 2012 5:27 AM in response to isheep99

That still doesn't mean it's a hardware fault. And at least some of the people in that thread are talking about their phone losing connection whilst in a strong signal area - not the same problem I'm having. My problem only occurs after being out of coverage for quite a while and then returning to an area with good coverage.

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Answer 15

isheep99

Level 1

0 points

Oct 6, 2012 9:19 AM in response to ed2020

My iPhone 5 was replaced at the Genius Bar in Glasgow 5th October due to no service issues. I had no service appear in low signal areas of one or two bars where previously my iPhone 4 worked without any trouble. The 5 would not regain the signal on its own except when airplane mode was toggled or the phone switched on and off. I had this no service by way of example for about 30 min in the centre of town, where signal was very strong. I toggled airplane to restore. I have had this fault almost daily in low and good signal areas when I suspect even moving between cells confused the device into holding a no service pattern when my wife's iPhone 4S showed strong signal. The new hardware replaced under warranty at the apple store had the same iPhone 5 iCloud backup placed onto it. I have today tested the phone thourghely moving from city to town low and strong signal areas ( 3 network) and have had no problems since apple replaced my iPhone 5 citing manufacturing defects. I had one brief drop out which came back within seconds and is perfectly normal, in a building in a one bar signal area. The phone regained the signal itself. I hope this post helps others having any similar problems. Whether hardware software or a combination and integration of the two, my new apple supplied iPhone 5 handset has worked flawlessly. Should anything happen to the contrary I shall report back. Good luck folks.

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