Should my iPad be getting better signal than my iPhone?

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Level 1

9 points

Should my iPad be getting better signal than my iPhone?

I have 2 iPhones and 1 iPad in my household. I feel like it is a little odd that the iPad gets significantly better signal in the house. For some reason my phone will have no service whereas my iPad will have 2 or 3 bars of LTE. Is there a reason for this? Maybe a bigger receiver in the iPad.

I'm not sure if I should contact my service provider and see if a new SIM card will help or if I should look at a bigger phone.

Thanks for all the help.

iPhone SE, iOS 9.3.3

Posted on Jul 28, 2016 6:50 AM

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Answer 1

KiltedTim

Level 10

228,024 points

Jul 28, 2016 11:17 AM in response to daboy86

The iPad does have a substantially bigger antenna.

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Answer 2

daboy86 Author

Level 1

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Jul 28, 2016 11:16 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

That is a good point. I can walk around with my iPad and have LTE service throughout the house. Sometimes when I am sitting in my living room I will have no service on my iPhone. Unable to make calls or check anything online, etc.

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Answer 3

Jul 28, 2016 11:19 AM in response to daboy86

Ok, that's good information. You can try resetting your network settings. Settings>General>Reset>Reset Network Settings. It will delete any saved WiFI passwords but nothing else. If that doesn't help, yes, checking with your provider would be the next step.

By the way, do you have the same cellular provider for both devices?

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Answer 4

daboy86 Author

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Jul 29, 2016 12:27 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

Both of the devices have the same cellular provider. I already do the network reset, it is just kind of a pain doing that every time I walk into my house. I was hoping that there was some other issue that I could fix. Thanks for all of your help.

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Answer 5

daboy86 Author

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9 points

Jul 29, 2016 12:29 PM in response to KiltedTim

This is the answer I was looking for I believe. I do have one other question for you then. I have an SE and my wife has the iPhone 6S. Should she be getting better signal than me? Should we look at getting a larger phone like the 6S Plus?

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Answer 6

KiltedTim

Level 10

228,024 points

Jul 29, 2016 12:32 PM in response to daboy86

If the signal in your home is that poor, you may want to contact your carrier about the possibility of getting a femtocell (micro-cell). It acts as a small cellular tower that connects to your broadband internet service to provide a cellular signal in areas where the signal is poor due to coverage or construction materials.

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Answer 7

Jul 28, 2016 6:55 AM in response to daboy86

The bars are, shall we say, something of an approximation. The more relevant question is whether or not your iPhones perform properly.

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Answer 8

daboy86 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 29, 2016 12:35 PM in response to KiltedTim

Unfortunately I don't have any broadband service, but I do appreciate the advice.

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