iPhone 8 Plus Poor Reception

Question

Level 1

16 points

iPhone 8 Plus Poor Reception

I purchased an iPhone 8 Plus on October 27, 2017. After just a day or two I was informed that my voice sounded muffled or that the call was going in and out. I did not experience these issues on my end. By day 4 and 5 it was so bad that I just stopped talking to people all together because the call would drop or I could not be heard. By day 7 calls were dropping and I reached out to Verizon. They did some troubleshooting (network reset, remove sim card, etc) and the issue continued. By this point and time my reception is fluctuating between 1 and 2 bars no matter where I go. I was advised by Verizon to return the phone to Apple because there were no known network errors. On day 7 I return the phone to Apple and they swap it out for a new one. On the 25 minute drive home from Apple this "new" iPhone 8 Plus dropped two phone calls and I was informed that I sounded muffled and the call was going in and out. By the time I got home I was back down to 1 to 2 bars of reception. Today is day 8, I contacted Verizon and they did troubleshooting for this new phone. Once again I was advised that it is a phone issue and not a network issue. Apparently there was a similar situation with the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus which eventually was resolved after an iOS update. I'm just wandering if its worth waiting out for an update or should I just return the phone for a iPhone 7 Plus? At this point in time the X is sold out so that isn't even an option because I need a phone for work. Suggestions???

Posted on Nov 3, 2017 8:38 AM

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Answer 1

clutes71

Level 1

9 points

Nov 19, 2017 4:40 AM in response to MiqueLee

I'm also a Verizon customer and also have issues with my 8 Plus.

I ended up exchanging my first 8 Plus due to several issues with the phone, the replacement fixed all the issues other than the cell reception. Before I had a 7 Plus and I would get 3 bars inside and full outside, now I get 1 bar in and outside and unless I use wifi calling my calls constantly disconnect and sound horrible. Friends also on Verizon with the 6s models they get good cell service.

I decided to give the iOS beta a try to see if that would resolve the problem and I did get 3 bars inside for a day but now it's back to 1 bar.

I wish I had kept my 7 Plus, I am tempted to just saw screw it pay the difference and get the X but I worry I will be in the same boat.

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Answer 2

madra31

Level 6

9,946 points

Nov 3, 2017 9:38 AM in response to MiqueLee

It is hard to say what the problem is. I know someone who bought the 8 Plus around the same time and is also on Verizon and has had no issues whatsoever. Call quality is very good and so far there have been no dropped calls.

If Apple gave you a replacement device the chances of both being defective is rather low.

One thing that might be worth trying since it is a Verizon phone would be to borrow a GSM sim from a friend or family member and see how it behaves on a different network. If the issue remains, then it is almost certainly the phone. If it goes away, the odds are there is a Verizon network issue in your area that probably will get resolved.

Unfortunately, there probably is no "optimal" way to determine whether you should keep the phone or move to the 7 Plus.

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Answer 3

ktolba

Level 1

9 points

Nov 9, 2017 4:51 PM in response to MiqueLee

I'm experiencing something very similar. I got an iPhone 8 Plus, 3 days ago (running iOS 11.1) and haven't been able to finish a single call that I made on the new phone, all calls I made during these 3 days have dropped within 1-2 minutes. I use Verizon and live in a large city, all my calls were made at home so the wifi-calling should have been available as a backup even if the cellular tower was having issues.

Until I got the new 8 plus phone, I was using an iPhone 6s on the same network (and lived in the same house) and it worked flawlessly, never had any issues. I didn't contact either Apple nor Verizon but I might if these troubles persist.

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