iPhone XS Max Weak 5GHz WIFI Reception

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 New Devices that won’t connect AT ALL can indeed be due to outdated firmware on the WiFi access point in addition to incorrect passwords.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And even with WiFi systems that auto update, mine included (eero), they can still be out of date. Mine was out of date when I checked it when I got my XS and saw the issues with 5 GHz.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.

Agreed. I returned my first Xs purchase due to connectivity issues after submitting logs, waited a few days and bought another Xs. This one seems to be working to expectations. I have no doubt that Apple will put a fix out.

AppleCare support has been great. Granted the chat app folks weren’t but the person who called me was. I do believe they are taking this very seriously. And are working to figure out what the bug is and how to fix

I have heard rumors on the inter webs that there may be a carrier update coming soon.

With that said when Apple did troubleshooting with me over the phone they had me remove the Sim Card from the XS Max and my wife’s XS and put them in our 8plus units. After testing there we put the SIM cards back in the XS units and I have to say signal has actually gotten better.

So weird.

But we shall see. Hang in there everyone

If these issues were a random event for a few people that might have been caused by a corrupted restore process then going to such an extreme measure might be reasonable. But when Apple themselves have reached out to people on this forum and on Twitter and had them install a logging profile, it’s not a random event. Just the fact that they’ve reached out directly is extremely rare. My guess, and it seems to be supported by the guy above who mentions the software we’re not supposed to talk about even though all major sites have articles about it, is that it’s software related. And going to such extreme measures including swapping the phones will almost never be successful. I really wish people would exercise common sense and patience.

If the performance of the phone is intolerable then I understand returning it and using something more reliable for now. That’s reasonable. But most of the posts don’t seem to indicate that the phones are just not functioning well enough to be useable. Oh, I would expect the post above to be deleted. Mine were, and all I did was post a link to an AppleInsder article about the software that shall not be named. Anyway if that person was correct in the post then a little patience is all that is required. Not some voodoo ritual of wipe, restore, rinse and repeat.

You may want to connect your phone to your computer and open iTunes. I typically see carrier updates directly on my phone. I am on AT&T, but just about 2 days ago, I was syncing something to my phone via iTunes, when a carrier update popped up and the update downloaded via iTunes. What it did I don't know as I wasn't having Wifi or LTE issues, but it did download a carrier update via iTunes.

If that was 33.2 on att that one has been out for a while. Normally all you have to do is launch Settings/General/About and if there’s an update it will pop up. I never go through iTunes anymore. If there’s a newer one than 33.2 it will roll out gradually.

All these couch engineers don't seem to understand that while 5ghz is fast, it's also only good in close proximity. Whereas 2.4ghz is slower, but goes much further out. It wouldn't be unusual that as one moves further from their router when connected to 5ghz, their phone switches over to 2.4ghz.

No. If you have this problem just return the phone. Don’t wait. My modem overheated and I had to return my XS Max. Performance was miserable.

Just say you are dissatisfied with the performance. Don’t try to get a replacement or it’s just going to be a phone that was returned and ‘refurbished’

Wait a month or two then try again. A bad batch of chips will process through then likely get better.

I had an XS Max, upgraded from a 6s. When I upgraded to 12.0 both phones had the LTE big. Switching LTE off helped, and restricting to the 2.4GHz WiFi also helped. But the modem overheated so I returned the XS Max and went back to my 6s.

Having said that - the 12.0.1 update seems to have fixed my LTE issues (tested today), on the 6s, and I’m seriously considering getting the XS Max again now.

The wife has an XS that also had the problem. But it seems to be gone now, as well. We are both with T-mobile.

Actually we don’t need to explain why your phone is perfect. We need to figure why ours can’t even match the performance of our previous iPhones in identical locations. I am so glad I didn’t trade in my iPhone 7. I‘ll keep using it until Apple either sells me an XS that has similar 5K WiFi and LTE performance or ships an iphone XI next year that fixes the weak antenna gain that they seem to have designed in to this years phone. It’s too bad because I really wanted the new camera capabilities, form factor etc.

Want some evidence on Apple designing sub par antenna performance in this years phones?

take a moment to check Apples very own submission to the American FCC outlining the radio performance in the new iPhones.

https://www.wiwavelength.com/2018/09/iphone-xs-and-xs-max-mostly-fail-to.html

and what they can do about it at this stage of iPhone release

https://www.wiwavelength.com/2018/09/antennagate-reduxs-if-so-what-can-apple.htm l

I’m wondering if the XR to be released soon will show a higher priority for antenna gain design.

I have the A2101 model and have bad 5Gz wifi outside the room where I have my router. My 7plus reach 100Mbit/s where the XS max at same spot barely reach 45Mbits.

So I got contacted by Apple via this forum, and we ran some test plus I got diagnostic profile so they got plenty of diagnostic info from both phones. They are investigating and I should get an answer back next week.

The issue is that after 12.0.1 my phone keeps on 5Ghz where sometime it would have faster connection on 2.4Ghz....

No issues on A1921 here. You may just drive yourself insane trying to determine where the phone was manufactured, what date it was made, what time of day, what the weather was like when it was made, what the astrology sign of the employees was, etc. There is no pattern other than the software. If 12.1 when it’s relesed doesn’t remedy your issues and you’re having real, not imaginary problems get rid of it.

In my case using the 2.4 band of my network would dramatically slow down my perception of the phone’s function. Because of this I made it forget that band and only use the 5 band. In my apartment it can pick up that band pretty much everywhere. That might not work for some. My guess is that the phone’s software was set to cause the new phones to more quickly drop a weaker signal and revert to the 2.4 band or the cell network. That doesn’t seem to be working so well for some. I was having a few cell network issues when I first got my Max on release day but there were 2 carrier updates over that weekend that seem to have fixed that on my device.

But again if the phone isnt functionally useable for you dump it. I’m very happy with mine so I’m keeping it. I find that it functions significantly faster than my 8 plus that it replaced. And don’t compare your iPads to the phones. My iPad Pro could pull a WiFi signal out of solid rock. It makes all phones look like toys in regards to WiFi reception.

Hello to all,

I have the same problem with Wi-Fi and 4 LTE.

The signal is excellent, the problem is in the iPhone XS max itself, it cannot quickly receive and process data. I did an experiment; Next, he put the iPhone 7 and iPhone XS max and started downloading the GARAGE BAND program from the app store. IPhone 7 loaded quickly, iPhone XS max is still loading

For cleanliness, I will write that the Internet comes to my home through an optical fiber cable.

Modem AirPort Time Capsule

Contact customer support;

Make it as if for the first time I see an iPhone (((

I do not know what to do....

I’ve been on the 12.1 betas for a couple weeks now and am not seeing any change. I’ve since changed the names of my 2.4GHz & 5GHz Wi-Fi bands at home and although I’m still finding my connection is weaker than it should be, because the SSID names are different, it’s not failing over from 5 to 2.4. I was really hoping for better, but nope.

I would hold on. So many, myself included, are having no problem that I believe the variability lies in the specific local cell network and router/WiFi network. Many have also reported that they’re experiencing the same thing on the new XR so a hardware issue is highly unlikely. Software probably plays a huge part in this. I know I wouldn’t give up my Max for any reason unless it wasn’t functional at all. But with my specific router and my cell network location I’ve not run into any problems. So far on most public WiFi networks I’ve had no problems. But the majority of them will be 2.4 networks with greater reach. If your issues are preventing you from using the device then you should dump it, however we should just be around the corner from iOS 12.1 so I would wait at least until then. But I do understand, if I couldn’t use my phone in and around my own house and if I weren’t heavily invested in Apple products I’d probably be looking at the Samsung store.