iOS 8.1 always in extended coverage

It means your area does not have any of its own towers, e.g. you have Verizon as your carrier and there are not any Verizon towers in your area. It could also mean roaming, but do not use your phone's cell signal unless you absolutely have to just for good measure.

I have the same exact problem since ios 8.1 update phil1992. Iphone 5s on "extended" coverage no matter where I am in the city now.

I would like to get an answer as well.

Go to Settings > General > About, to see if a carrier settings update is available.

No carrier updates showing in the phone

Agreed, no carrier update option exists in settings.

I'm in the same position. Don't get me wrong I'm excited about having the camera roll back and everything, but is there a reason for me to be on extended?

After doing some research online it's looking like extended doesn't really matter, it's ust that Verizon can say "not our fault" if stuff acts weird... but I've had Verizon coverage for the last four years without it ever saying extended.

I tried resetting my network settings, restarting the phone multiple times, throwing the sim card in my backup Moto X and then back in the iPhone but nothing has fixed the Extended service. Found two more threads on the same issue, with a combined 49 "I have this problem too." I really hope that Apple and/or Verizon takes a serious look at this.

Vzw iPhone 6 (8.1) Stuck on "Extended"

8.1 update and cell service issues

Here's the fix:

I had the same issues when I upgraded my iphone 6 to ios 8.1, I was able to chat with someone from Apple and they told me to do this: Go to settings-->Cellular-->Enable LTE--> choose Voice and Data

After doing that it switched from "Extended" back to "Verizon", here's his explanation:

"Okay, so in the process of Verizon activating their new LTE network, they’re retiring some towers, upgrading some towers, and transitioning others. It’s possible that they may have recently made changes in your area, or we’ve just tweaked the settings so that Verizon’s network looks primarily for LTE versus the CDMA network you had been on."

Hope that helps, it worked for me

Thank you Maurice! This worked for me as well. However, setting this back to Data Only did revert from Verizon back to Extended FYI. Not sure if this will be a problem or not in the future. If so, I guess I'll harass Verizon. Thanks again!

I tried the fix listed but it did not work on my iPhone 5. Also when I toggled on/off LTE it then stuck in 3G it went away after a restart but this is frustrating.

Sorry it didn't work for you, hopefully there will be a permanent fix soon. Did a quick search and found that according to Verizon, only the 6 and 6+ are VoLTE compatible which may be why this didn't fix things for you. Has anyone talked to Verizon by chance? I can't stand dealing with them, maybe somebody has more patience than me.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/support/faqs/FeaturesandOptionalServices/apple-ad vanced-calling.html

I own an older model iPhone. Will it ever receive a software update to support Advanced Calling 1.0?

No. The only Apple devices that support Advanced Calling 1.0 are iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

The fix worked for me on iPhone 6

I have the same problem, just adding another voice. iPhone 5s 16GB. Verizon. OTA update to iOS 8.1 > I'm showing "Extended" (instead of "Verizon") as carrier/network ever since. My home and office are within a 3 mile radius, in the middle of town, in which I always have "Verizon LTE" next to my signal indicator. I have not left this same radius during or since the update. I have a colleague whose Verizon Wireless iPhone 5s, updated to iOS 8.1, correctly shows "Verizon".

Steps I've taken to troubleshoot (all unsuccessful): Turn WiFi off. Turn Bluetooth off. Turn LTE off. Turn Cellular off. All combinations of roaming settings enabled/disabled. Turn Airplane mode on. Soft reset (power cycle). Hard reset (Lock button+Home button power cycle). Pulled SIM card. "Reset Network Settings". Again, none of these things resolved the issue.

Chat session with Verizon Wireless Technical Support was futile and a nonsensical rabbit hole. I was immediately advised to backup > restore, "but I wouldn't reinstall iOS 8 until a new update comes out". I pointed out that those two statements were contradictory but that did not seem to phase the rep. Furthermore, I was told I would lose my text messages -- when I quoted the iTunes prompt that says "This will restore only the contacts, calendars, notes, text messages, and settings, not the iPhone firmware", the rep confidently replied, "Right. You are protected by the network." Wut.

Fix from mauricefromtampa did not work for me. iPhone 5s. But thanks for the info, mauricefromtampa , it seems to have worked for those with iPhone 6!

I have contacted Verizon Wireless. Can confirm: patience required; issue not resolved!

The fix didnt work on my 5s either, but at least we've got some trouble shooting going on! Thanks for the help so far guys.