iPhone XS Max Weak 5GHz WIFI Reception

I don’t think it’s the router. Everyone else in my house connect just fine; ring cameras, doorbell, PS4, TVs etc... My router is set on auto firmware update. My Pixel 2 XL and Samsung S8 plus connect just fine. It’s the phone for sure.

Understood - but if it won’t connnect at all then I would suggest you check the router firmware is up to date. All I am saying is that I saw this a few years back with new devices (iPhone 5) that wouldn’t connect at all to a relatives router and it was because the router firmware wasn’t running the latest firmware and this the latest WiFi specs.

Checking that the firmware is up to date on the router, especially if you have your own router (and not the cable or phone company’s WiFi router) is an easy and recommended thing to do, if nothing else than just for making sure it is patched for security purposes.

The chances that everyone in this forum having these problems due to out of date firmware on their modems is slim to none. I had an Xfinity issued modem and in the last couple days have purchased a new Motorola modem, and I’m not seeing any improvement. Modems issues by ISP’s usually lock down any firmware updates anyway.

I never suggested that what everyone is experiencing in this forum is due to WiFI access point firmware. I was responding to a specific “can’t connect at all” scenario and giving a suggestion. Again, not connecting at all vs what the rest of us, myself included, are seeing with slow connections and not connecting reliably to 5 GHz on our XS phones is quite a bit different. And you will note I specifically excluded cable company and telco equipment (WiFi routers and Modems) for the reasons you mention in my response. New Devices that won’t connect AT ALL can indeed be due to outdated firmware on the WiFi access point in addition to incorrect passwords. Firmware and passwords are two basic steps to check on WiFi access points.

And even with WiFi systems that auto update, mine included (eero), they can still be out of date. Mine was out of date when I checked it when I got my XS and saw the issues with 5 GHz. Updating did not fix my issues but it was worth as shot. It was a simple suggestion and a common troubleshooting step. And it is imperative that anyone having problems not just mention it here but actually contact Apple Support and open a ticket.

Well I've tried disabling my 2.4GHz band so that only 5GHz is available, and in places at my home where I'd never had any problems in the past, my wifi is cutting out and failing over to a very weak LTE signal, which eventually fails over to a strong 4G signal.

Also, a number of us have been contacted by Apple Support because we have in fact open up cases with them, they've gather logs and more info, etc..

My husband has an iPhone 7. Same carrier - Verizon. His signal seems to be much better than mine (in the same room). With no app crashes, no freezing. Especially Pokémongo. Spent $1500 to go from experiencing lagging on my 5s for more problems. What’s up Apple?

I have since returned mine and my husbands XS Max he stayed with his 7 Plus and I’m with my 8Plus which I never had a problem. A very strange thing happened don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not when I returned my XS Max they took out the SIM card and gave it to me when I went to Verizon and happened to mentioned I had the SIM card they just removed, he said great I’ll pop that one in. So now since they replaced my SIM card with the one that was in the XS Max I have been dropping calls and having call fail on my 8 Plus so I’m wondering did it have something to do with the SIM card or purely by coincidence. Curious what anyone thinks but I am going to go to Verizon today and ask them to replace the SIM card in my 8 Plus.

Sinthea1013 wrote:

I have since returned mine and my husbands XS Max he stayed with his 7 Plus and I’m with my 8Plus which I never had a problem. A very strange thing happened don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not when I returned my XS Max they took out the SIM card and gave it to me when I went to Verizon and happened to mentioned I had the SIM card they just removed, he said great I’ll pop that one in. So now since they replaced my SIM card with the one that was in the XS Max I have been dropping calls and having call fail on my 8 Plus so I’m wondering did it have something to do with the SIM card or purely by coincidence. Curious what anyone thinks but I am going to go to Verizon today and ask them to replace the SIM card in my 8 Plus.

While the issue you experienced is not isolated to Verizon, it's been widely reported by reputable sources, iDrop News, Cult of Max, etc., that Verizon users are more affected than other users. It could have been something with your Sim to begin with on the XS Max.

Same problem with my XS. The phone goes through long stretches (5mins+ at a time) where it can't see my 5g network at all while all my other devices (ipad, MacBook, wife's iPhone 8) are still on the 5g network. Eventually will find it again, but then drops it mins later. This is the only device in my entire house having this problem.

I can say that I'm experience much of the same issues with my iPhone XS. From a WiFi performance standpoint, this has been the worst phone I have ever had. Dropped signal in my home practically every day, then sometimes will refuse to connect to my home network when every other device works just fine. I hope this is just software-related and Apple can fix it with an update, but this is just terrible. It's honestly making me want to get rid of the phone.

jerryknows wrote:

Unfortunately, there’s too much evidence that this is hardware and cannot be fixed with updates or carrier updates. Some say it’s fixable but a lot more “prove” it’s unfixable.

And what are your qualifications to make such a statement? 99.9% of the operation of iPhone is controlled by software. Unless you're an Apple Engineer and you can validate what you're saying, you're just adding to the hysteria here.

There's very little Apple can't solve with software. And this too will be resolved.

Please contact Apple and get a support ticket open. The more information they have about how many this is affecting the better the data they will have and the more incentive they will have to address. I have a support ticket open and they are still actively working the issue.

I’m no professional. I’m just saying that I’ve been digging hard for 2 weeks to find what is the culprit for this behavior on the latest iPhones. I’m hearing 50/50 by others and even professionals that deal with technology on a daily basis. Piecing things together to figure out what exactly is the cause of these widespread issues, only leaves me and others completely mind boggled. Honestly, I hope this isn’t hardware and the last thing anyone wants to hear is a recall. iPhone 4, unfixable. Hopefully not the same for XS and XS Max

I understand being mind boggled, but unless you're qualified to make the assertion this is hardware and can't be fixed by software update, you're not helping anyone. I don't believe for one second this can't be solved between Apple and the cellular providers by software updates. You and everyone just need to be patient. And stop running inaccurate App speed tests every few minutes and wringing your hands and fussing. Give Apple the time it needs and this too shall pass.

It’s not about being qualified. My statement was just an opinion because of the constant threads I’m coming across. I’m hoping this will be fixed soon and apple takes this seriously this time. As an ex marine, my days were hit or miss. Never knew where we’d go and end up. We just depended on our leaders. Well, same for this. Time will tell and our issues are in the hands of our leaders. Let’s see what happens in the future. Semper Fi to my bros