iPhone XS Max Weak 5GHz WIFI Reception

Just like someone else posted earlier, it would make sense that if it works once and then signal degrades again after resetting network settings, that a software update should be able to fix this. If resetting network settings didn’t fix the issue or nothing changed, then I would think it is definitely a hardware issue. The fact that there has been limited success and then back to poor signal again, leads me to believe that this can be fixed through a software update.

I have the same problem with my new IPhone Max. Wifi reception is poor than my other phone which is IPhone 8. This is ridiculous.

I hope they can fix this ASAP.

If u reset the router and start it again, i think it helps a little bit. At least it worked for me.

What I am seeing is that in high strength cell areas my Xs screams. But at my house no good AT&T towers near so my cell signal is marginal (I am still on old unlimited which is still cheaper than “new” unlimited plans FYI). So with all my iPhones I have relied on WiFi to deal with the weak cell in my neighborhood.

What I have always seen with most of my phones is that they all want to drop to my 2.4 band when I move far enough from the Airport extreme i still use. If I come back to my house in front yard the phone grabs this band first and I cannot see the 5ghz til I am in the house. So I have always noticed a problem outside when I am using data intensive apps to upload data with my iPhones and normally I either kill the wifi and my 1-2 cell bars of LTE will let me work, or I will turn wifi on and off and get it working outside.

I never really tested signal strength much with my earlier iphones thru the X. Upload speeds yes and I am getting same with my 2.4 and 5 on my Xs as I did with X and earlier.

But now playing with things for past 24 hours as I have observed issues with my WIFI and cell— especially outside and weak cell of one-two bars I get with all iPhones—- are two fold:

1) When my Wifi (both 2.4 and 5) get weak outside with most of house in way just turning WiFi off and doing the data intensive app upload with the weak cell is failing a lot compared with my X and older iPhones. Again this issue I have had with all phones somewhat (a bit worse yes with Xx), For now, until AT&T forces me off the old unlimited plan by continual price upgrades I will stay with them.

I have thought about another carrier with more towers (verizon for example). But my kids who are on Verizon do not get much better cell either and I am only half mile form towers and interstate so something is not good about my location no matter the iphone or carriers. In most areas the Xs is fine and i know the weak areas in town anyway and deal with them as I need to. So again not much of a change is needed with the Xs for me personally.

2) My WiFi is now part of the time— radomly I can sometimes get as good results (depending on how close to room with WiFi and just randomness as well) other times the weaker area where I sit in front yard with my chair i cannot get Wifi to work either in 2.4 or 5ghz bands. It shows one or sometimes 2 with 5 and up to 3 with 2.4 but my apps and speed test apps will fail saying internet gone/sever cannot be gone. So there is a subtle drop in how weak cell and WiFi work in my yard compared to earlier iPhones. this is a minor issue as I can just go in house and then WiFi works.

Did a WiFI test on my AirPort Extreme setup with Xs. All the connections in house work and never fail and I am on 5ghz.One in my office is right next to the router FYI.

But look how weak the outside connection is very poor worse than ever. This is one area of weakness of the Xs for me with WifI rest are same/similar to X and earlier iPhones.

I also find the weak cell signal of my area (why I use Wifi with all my iPhones at home) is also reduced a bit and it does not work well with data intensive apps (voice/text works ok)

Our 2 Xs max are doing this also. They remain on the 2.4 band wont go to 5ghz, only with resetting network settings or turning off wifi on and off. But as soon as we leave the router room, it revert to 2.4. It stays on 2.4 even if we go right next to the router. They wont switch to 5ghz. Our 6s plus stays on the 5ghz throughout the whole house, even on our patio.

I’m definitely having this issue. Not staying connected to 5GHz and failing over to 2.4GHz.

I know there’s a lot here, but people might benefit more by reading all comments on this thread. Lots of people having different, but sorta related issues. Just because YOU’RE not having problems doesn’t mean some others aren’t. At some point in the next week or so, there’ll be an iOS 12.0.1 update released and a fix will hopefully be included. Historically, there’s always been issues with an initial update like this, and an X.0.1 update always comes out within 1-3 weeks to address issues. iOS 12 has been great, but everyone’s been using hardware that’s been out in the wild around the world.

Been on the phone with Apple Support. Spoke with a Senior Advisor who stated that they haven’t had reports of these issues. I am on my second XS with an issue staying on the 5 GHz network in my house. Applied all firmware updates to my network, even tried turning on band steering to keep the iPhone XS on 5 GHz. Went so far as to pull out my older AirPort Extreme and set a 5 GHz SSID so I could force the iPhone XS to stay on 5 GHz. It is still dropping the 5 GHz connection and seems to prefer the 2.4 GHz. Throughput on the 2.4 GHz is about 50 Mbps lower than on the 5 GHz. It’s almost like the 5 GHz radio just turns itself off after a while. I still have an open case with Apple but my impression with the WiFI performance of this expensive iPhone leaves a lot to be desired. I’ve had the new iPhone every year for 10 years and this is the one I’ve had the most problems with. Hopefully they can fix via software.

Oddly the two Apple guys I spoke to were well aware of the complaints. They were reaching out to those who posted here or on Twitter. They called me after seeing my posts. As to the difference in download speeds between the 2.4 network and the 5, that’s normal. I am in the Baltimore area with a heavy concentration of 2.4 networks around me. On my 5 band my speeds are consistently 150/150 over WiFi on Fios, which is the service tier I’m subscribed to. If I intentionally connect to my 2.4 band I generally see results around 40. It’s always been that way, previously on Exfinity and now on Fios. Interference from surrounding 2.4 networks will always drop those speeds unless you live in a sparsely populated area.

For this reason we have made our ios devices forget our 2.4 band. We have pretty good coverage throughout our home on the 5. But I have noticed that my Max Phone seems to have a weaker connection compared to my iPhone 7 in one or two spots where that signal is diminished. But it doesn’t affect any function.

This is also happening to me with Bell in Canada. I noticed if I turn disable LTE then my phone won't have these issues. I do have calls going straight to voicemail and dropped calls constantly. I've reached out to Apple Support multiple times and they keep blaming it on the carrier, but when I call the carrier they say its a known issue with Apple.

Really, call your Network Provider. They have people who speak English and honestly, they'll be able to guide you on how to determine which is the 2.4ghz and 5ghz networks. The reason I know is I have access to two networks via my provider. Both names for the network are the same, but one actually has 5G at the end and the other one doesn't.

They look like this XYDF3456F7-5G and the other looks like XYDF3456F7 (without 5G at the end).

Please reach out to Apple Support. Twitter or chat via the Apple Support app is the easiest. At least get your device added to the open cases. My Senior Advisor said he hadn't heard of this issue. The more people that open support cases the quicker hopefully they will address this issue. I even tweeted Tim Cook about it this morning, thanking him for the awesome camera on the XS but asking him to get Apple to focus on the WiFi issues some users are seeing.

Please contact Apple Support directly using the link "Contact Support" at the top of this page and let them know. It is important that they get as much data about this issue as possible to help them identify exactly what is causing the issue.

MidwayFlux wrote:

"In a good and relatively close proximity to a 5ghz signal, the phone should do well."

Key Word here being "Should"... And it's not. using my iPhone XS Max right next to my iPhone X, and speeds are much slower, some web pages aren't loading at all..

Out of curiosity, did you get yours on Launch Day or after? Preorder? I'm still wondering if the initial preorder phones had issues in assembly or manufacturing that were worked out.. Might explain why some people are having issues and most are not. Also might explain why restores and resets don't work but some saying they've received replacements DO work..

My phone is a launch day delivered phone.

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 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.