iPhone XS Max Weak 5GHz WIFI Reception

You're absolutely correct that comparing iPad Pro to iPhone is not a reasonable comparison. The Wifi chip in the iPad is larger than it is in the iPhone. For the issues people are reporting, it should be a phone to phone comparison.

I also had my iPhone 7+ in my basement (next to my iPad Pro and XS Max) and the 7+ easily received the 5ghz signal (although the download speeds were only 75% of the iPad Pro).

If the XS equalled my 7+ 5ghz reception ability in all my home locations I would be very satisfied - it does not.

Looks like posting about today's iOS 12.1 beta update is a no no. Getting Unauthorized when trying to view those messages from the Emails I've received about this post. A shame. I'd love to know. I'm not going to beta update route right now in case I need to restore from a Backup to a new or replacement phone. That phone would come with the release software, and would need to be updated and THEN restore from a backup... It'd be great if the Apple Tech that reached out to me had any updates on this.

I am in Australia.

Got a XS Max 512GB on launch day - Returned for a refund due to wifi connectivity issues

Then got a XS 512GB returned after 2 days of use due to Bluetooth connectivity issues.

Lucky I kept my 7 Plus and it works perfectly.

Going to wait a while before purchasing another iPhone.

Today I turned off my 2.4GHz band on my router, leaving just 5GHz, and even in the same room as my router, my Wi-Fi connection is dropping off to LTE. I’m able to select it again and reconnect, but after picking my phone back up and unlocking it, it’s dropped the Wi-Fi connection completely and failed over to LTE. Terrible.

Yeah I agree. I’m on my 3rd replacement and same thing..... I strongly believe it’s an antenna issue that can’t be fixed through software updates. I drop wifi 30-50 feet from my router. My 8 and X stay connected. LTE is 70-80 mbps on all my iPhones except the XS (10-15 mbps)..... I hate to send it back and stick with my X but I’m also not waiting for a “fix”...... according to everyone I know, including Verizon, issue is known, but kept a secret.

This is happening to me while in the same room as my wireless router/modem. About 4-5 feet away, actually. I set my phone down to charge it, and pick it up minutes later and it’s dropped the Wi-Fi connection to LTE. I think this is software related. It’s like waking from sleep but not connecting again?

I didn’t have that issue from such a close range. I’m seeing drops from 50-100 feet away, meanwhile, iPhone 6,7,8 and x stay connected. A few feet away is fine for me. Switching to 2.4 is a fix for now. But again, back to my x

I finally went to an apple store and have mine exchanged! It works ok now I have to test it more I just got it! The worst thing is that the sellers always say that they never heard of this problem but when you talk to some technicians, they know that the WiFi and network problem is real! I guess they try to hide it so it won’t become official! Also I told them that for $1,600, they could have put a better charger (12W instead of 6W) and the jack adapter in the box! Apple got me this time but this will probably be my very last iPhone! Sad to see that greed is more important than customer’s satisfaction...

New 256 iPhone XS on Verizon purchased from the Apple Store yesterday. Same issue as everyone else. The XS has problems connecting to my 5 GHz network and when it does it gets 2 bars in the spots that my 10.5 in iPad is getting 5 bars. The XS gets 5 bars on the 2 GHz network pretty much everywhere in the house. I am also getting really poor LTE performance with Verizon and pretty much never get to 4 bars. Seems to hover around 2 and on my commute Siri was unable to establish a network connection even though the phone indicated it had 2 bars of LTE. Very frustrating. Seems like taking it back for a new phone isn’t going to guarantee a fix.

Well I tried to wait it out but my return date (as many others) is tomorrow.

I returned the IPhone and not wanting to downgrade to an older model, I just went with a Note 9.

My previous Notes (I've had most of them) gave me no glaring issues.

My signal is much better but that is expected. This was my first IPhone and I would like to try again next year but I wont be preordering. I'll give it a month or two to see how everyone else is enjoying it.

The Note 9 is currently fast with all my speeds, and my signal is fairly better. Where the IPhone Xs Max routinely gave me around -112 dbm, the Note is giving me around -95.

Oh well, I wish everyone luck and that Apple pulls through on this one sooner or later.

Yes. Same as everyone else. Right now, it’s 50/50. 50% software/firmware and 50% hardware. From what I’m hearing, it’s a software problem affecting primarily the XS and Max. Hopefully it’s not hardware, as I’m also hearing. I decided to hang on to my Xs and use my X for the time being. Unfortunately, for now, it’s a waiting game for a “fix” or something we all have to live with until iPhone 11.....

Swapping it won’t help. I’m on my 3rd replacement and no difference. I advise either go back to a previous phone or hold tight until apple decides to fix this which is unknown as of now. Im back on my x for now

If it won’t connect at all, it may be a router firmware issue. I have encountered this before at relatives houses where they had not updated their router firmware in years and newer devices using newer WiFi protocols couldn’t connect.

Try updating your home WiFi router firmware from a computer.

That’s crazy cuz I’m having the same exact problem with my iPhone Xs max. The iPhone I had before this one was the 7 plus and never had a issue with connection. It’s sad. Smh. I hope apple fixes this issue soon.