I have spent over a month trying to get my iPhone7 (model A1660) to have coverage in remote areas. I work with a guy who has a Verizon phone – Samsung Galaxy – and he can make/receive calls in remote areas where we work. In those same locations I have no service. My phone worked great in urban areas – where I had full strength signals. I have worked with the helpful folks on the Tech Coach app and have tried re- setting network settings, and a host of other things – to no avail. On about my 4th call to the Tech Coaches on this issue I was advised that there is a known issue with that model of iPhone7 and that I should take it into a Corporate Verizon Store – which I did. The advice was to have the SIM card replaced to see if that would fix the problem. At the Verizon Store the staff replaced the SIM card (4x) and could not get the phone to receive any service. Then they told me that my phone must have been broken before I brought it in. because I had not purchased my phone from Verizon they would not replace my phone at no cost – even though they broke it. I had purchased certified refurbished/unlocked phone from a third party – so the manager at the store said he would not provide me with a free replacement. After 1.5 hours in the store – they charged me $149 to get a CLNR phone – that would take a week or so to get to me. They loaned me an iPhone4 with a completely dead battery and told me I’d be all set up with it when I charged it at home. After an hour or so of charging – I tried to log in to the phone – but it was locked with a pass code. I tried calling the corporate store and it rang through to the Tech Coach – who after hearing my experience was apologetic and informed me that Apple was fixing that known issue for free. She then connected us to the corporate store and they did not have the pass code for my loaner phone (so I was without a phone for a week). They also would not cancel the order for the CLNR. After disconnecting with the rude and unhelpful people at the corporate store – the Tech Coach told me that I should refuse delivery of the CLNR from Verizon and instead send my phone to Apple for the free repair. So- I sent the phone in to Apple – who replaced the logic board and battery at no charge – and I refused the delivery of the CLNR phone. Then Verizon said they received the defective phone and kept the $149 charge on my bill. Even with the updated phone from Apple – I still have much less coverage in remote areas – when compared to the guy I work with who has a Samsung. I also spoke with Apple tech support - and they were not able to address the issue - even though they tried very hard.
Take home messages:
- Don’t ever take a phone to a Verizon Corporate store and ask them to make it work better.
- Tech Coaches are helpful, but still can’t fix issues related (possibly?) to hardware.
- iPhone 7s may have worse reception in remote areas than Samsung phones?
- I really wish we had stayed with AT&T.
