iPhone 5 No Service Issue

I posted this in the ATT forums but haven’t heard back. Thought I would give it a shot here.


Short story – has anyone with an iPhone 5 had “No Service” issues with ATT and been able to fix it?


Long story – A couple of months ago they upgraded the towers to LTE and now the service is horrible. Whenever my phone switches between LTE, 4G, and E it goes No Service first. It is constantly switching so I cannot complete a phone call lasting longer than a minute. It will also sit in No Service for extended periods since the tower upgrade. I am the only one in the house with an iPhone 5. The other phones are not experiencing this issue.


Has anyone had a similar problem? How did you fix it?


I have called multiple times. I have emailed. I have chatted. I have received no help on this issue. A member of my family plan called them yesterday about this issue. They said they would call me back on her phone at 7 to troubleshoot my phone. They never did call.


Additionally, I have other problems since the “upgrades.” The data usage is way off. I have used a data counter and ATT is claiming I’m using considerably more than my counter shows. I have tried to get credits for this but they say we will give you credits after we fix the phone. They never fix the phone though so I never get the credits. It’s like some weird Kafkaesque Catch-22.


I am really so sick of the whole situation that I just want to switch to a different carrier. I don’t want the cancellation fees though and I want to port my numbers. I would think I wouldn’t be subjected to the fees because the service doesn’t work, but I’m sure there is some weird catch to that as well.


Thanks for any help

iPhone 5, iOS 6.1.4

Posted on Sep 13, 2013 11:00 AM

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Sep 13, 2013 11:13 AM in response to bradkris

Have you tried resetting you network settings? Settings>general>reset>network settings.


I have T-mobile and when there was a carrier patch introduced, I missed it. I wasn't recieving LTE until I did that. You check for carrier updates in the settings>general>about section. One will just pop up, but id still do a fresh reset on the network settings.


Thats my only guess

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Sep 13, 2013 11:18 AM in response to bradkris

Since you didn't tell what troubleshooting steps you took, if any, do the followning steps:


1. Reset phone (no data loss): press both home and power buttons for at least 10 seconds, releasing when the Apple logo appears.


2. Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings


3. Replace SIM card from AT&T


4. Restore phone in iTunes using a backup


5. Restore in iTunes as new, without using a backup.


6. Warranty service from Apple.


iPhone: Troubleshooting No Service


iTunes: Restoring iOS software

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Sep 13, 2013 11:23 AM in response to modular747

I’ve done all except number 6. I don’t think it’s a phone issue. I think it’s an ATT or tower issue. The phone works well away from home. It has just become useless at home. The other phones in the house do not experience this, but mine is the only iPhone 5. I’m hoping someone has had a similar experience and was able to fix it.

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Sep 13, 2013 11:34 AM in response to Laxman25

Yeah I'll give that a shot. That might help if it's not searching for it. One of the big problems caused by it switching between those is if someone tries to call during that time it doesn't go to voicemail. It just keeps ringing on their end. Then I never even know I had a call. Really frustrating because I missed some important calls.

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Sep 13, 2013 11:38 AM in response to bradkris

Yeah Id turn off LTE then when your home. Tower upgrades are happening all across T-Mobile and ATT so thats a good thing. Maybe it will improve in the near future. Make a habit of checking the about section for carrier upgrades. I do it now too since my experience. Goodluck

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Oct 12, 2013 11:07 PM in response to Laxman25

I have been facing similar problems with my Jan 2013 Iphone. I get into a lift, it goes to No Service. When I am out, it does not automatically reconnect. All kinds of resets and updates etc. were done to no avail. I have to switch on Airplane mode and then switch it off.....then it starts searching for the carrier and connects.


Only saving grace with IOS 7 is u can quickly access the Airplane mode settings.....

I believe many are having similar problems all over the world.


Hope Apple comes out with a quick solution.......I am hugely disappointed....

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Oct 13, 2013 9:07 AM in response to R.Gangadhar

Sorry. My iphone 5 didn't have any issue not connecting it just wouldn't be LTE. All I will say then is try resetting network settings or restore your phone and try again. The reason why I said it's not an apple issue, is because there would be more publicity on it. Here people come for issues out of the millions of iphone 5's sold. There's a few small threads on a similar thing, but that's it. Not many on other sites either. It's not a widespread issue. So I think you would have better luck talking to your carrier.


I'm not defending Apple either. I'm just suggesting what I would do. Remember the iphone 4 antenna problem? That was Apple :) Goodluck

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Oct 17, 2013 10:40 AM in response to R.Gangadhar

I agree it's not a carrier issue. I experience similar issues, but only when away from home. In our household we have two iPhone 5s and one iPad mini all with the same carrier (AT&T). When all of our devices are together, my phone is the only one that constantly switches from LTE to E to 4G to no service. It's to a point where I have to carry my iPad whenever I travel in my car because my phone is nearly useless for GPS.

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Oct 17, 2013 11:17 AM in response to sigmalady22

I have read about other people having two iPhones in the same house. One works great, and the other works very poorly. I am thinking that it might not completely be carrier either. Although, ATT is pretty questionable too. I think I am just going to switch to Verizon and get a new phone.

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Oct 22, 2013 7:02 AM in response to bradkris

So I finally took my phone to the the Genius Bar. Nothing came up on the diagnostic test and the techs were a little stumped. They surmised it was probably an antenna problem. Anyway, I have a replacement phone now and it's working beautifully. I think this confirms that it wasn't a carrier problem. I'm a very happy camper now.

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iPhone 5 No Service Issue

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