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iPhone 12 Pro Max low or no signal - unable to use phone unless I'm at home on my wifi

I just purchased a brand new iPhone 12 Pro Max on August 12th. The only way to use this phone is inside my home while connected to my wifi. I've been on the phone with Verizon several times and tried all of the following:

(1) Restart phone

(2) Hard restart phone

(3) Turn off wifi (call will drop immediately)

(4) Update Carrier Settings

(5) Turn on airplane mode & turn off

(6) Reset Network Settings

(7) Turn off Cellular Data Roaming

(8) Switch Cellular to use LTE only

(9) Set Data mode to Standard or Low Data Mode

(10) Remove & re-insert sim card

(11) Remove protective case

(12) Factory reset

(13) Get a replacement phone from Verizon (exact same Iphone 12 Pro Max - Blue) & repeat all previous steps

I am still unable to use my phone outside of my home. Very disappointed!! I've spent $1200 for a cellular phone that I cannot use. My next step is to take this new phone into the Verizon store in hopes that someone (in-person) will be able to correct this issue. If this issue cannot be fixed I expect Verizon to provide a full refund so that I can go back to a more reliable device. I previously had a Samsung S10+ with ZERO issues. Unfortunately I turned it in to Verizon so I can't even switch back to my old phone.

Comments

vzw_customer_support

We are dedicated to keeping you connected when and where you need it! I appreciate you taking the steps to troubleshoot so far. Please send a Private Note here and we can offer you more personalized support. -Yale

slogeson

Sent private message asking for assistance.

slogeson

First try to contact rep via private link failed due to the error: HTTP header value exceeds the configured limit of 8192 characters.

My second attempt worked (9/26) and I texted with a very nice rep. He had me install the latest iOS 15. I made a 2 minute phone call which seemed to work great.

Unfortunately this morning, talking to the same person, the phone call was garbled AGAIN. I am so upset that I spent $1200 converting from a fabulous Samsung Galaxy S10+ to my first iPhone 12 Pro Max and the call quality is sub-par at best.

I've been a Verizon customer for over 20 years mostly using Android devices. This was my very first switch to an Apple phone. I wish someone would figure out what is causing this issue. If you search the internet there are thousands of people experiencing the same issue.

Is it the 5G service (yes, I've turned that off on this phone). Is it a defective part of the iPhone?

For those of you suffering like me, I have found that if you perform the following steps you can make an intelligible phone call. (1) Once you phone call reception declines & becomes garbled, end your call. (2) Switch to airplane mode and wait 1 minute. (3) Turn off airplane mode and wait for phone to obtain a signal. (4) Call your party again.

This has been my go-to for the last few weeks so I can at least use the phone. Hope this help others.

Will continue to work with Verizon in hopes of finding a resolution to the issue.

vzw_customer_support

We want you to enjoy your new phone and to have an excellent wireless experience with it, slogeson. You mention that your service experience improves when you are connected to WiFi at home. Do you experience this service issue mainly at home?

Any issues with signal or service in other locations?

Do you experience improvement if you power your phone off for 2 full minutes? Please try this as this will reset the connection to the nearest tower.

-Antonio

slogeson

@vzw_customer_support
wrote:
We want you to enjoy your new phone and to have an excellent wireless experience with it, slogeson. You mention that your service experience improves when you are connected to WiFi at home. Do you experience this service issue mainly at home?
Any issues with signal or service in other locations?
Do you experience improvement if you power your phone off for 2 full minutes? Please try this as this will reset the connection to the nearest tower.
-Antonio

Hello Antonio,

I have powered off my phone for a full 2mins as you requested. I've turned my phone off previously for 5 mins and the issue continues to reappear. If I turn off wifi, my phone call drops almost immediately. That is the only reason I use wifi to make a phone call. All of my previous Android devices had no problem calling from my home, which I've lived in for several years. It is either the Verizon network or this brand new iPhone. Please let me know what actions I may take to either fix this issue or replace this defective phone with a phone that I can actually use while in my home.

vzw_customer_support

@slogeson

Thanks for confirming all of the troubleshooting steps you've tried so far. I can only imagine the frustration this has caused you. I want to ensure we do everything we can to get your device working as expected.

Do you have a screen protector, case or cover on your iPhone? If so, can you please remove the accessories, and test your calls? Please keep me posted on your results.

-Tony

slogeson

Hello Tony,

Yes, I've tried removing my case and screen protector. My phone calls are still garbled 50% of the time. I still continue to tell my party that I will call them back in a few mins. I put my phone in airplane mode for 30 seconds, then switch back to cellular service. I usually have 3 bars of service after I do this work around to the issue. I am then able to call my party and have an intelligible conversation.

I've also gone to the Verizon store and they input a new sim card, thinking my old sim car was defective. The issue has once again reappeared. I went to the Apple store and they changed a few settings on my phone, but once again, the issue reappears once I leave the Apple store.

I do not know what else to try, other than another phone. I feel ripped off, as I'm paying for a $1200 phone that does not work half the time. Will Verizon switch me to an iPhone 11 or iPhone 13?

vzw_customer_support

We appreciate the details, slogeson.

At the same time we want you to see value in your purchase. Are you having the concerns everywhere, or at specific locations? Are the concerns with all calls or does it vary?

-Arya

slogeson

Hello Arya,

My call quality is hard to pinpoint any one bad location as most of my calls are made while I'm at home.

I was able to dial into the Field Test screen, *3001#12345#*, which shows my signal while at home is the following:

5G cell_rsrp = -101

5G cell_rsrp = -11

LTE rsrp = -117

RSRP is defined as by www.waveform.com.

Signal strength (RSRP) is a measure of the strength of the cellular signal when it reaches your phone (measured in dBm).

As I understand it an RSRP of -80 or higher is generally considered a strong signal. Since my readings are above <=-100, my signal is considered fair to poor.

RSRQ is defined as the quality of the received signal and it's range is typically -19.5dB(bad) to -3dB(good)

I still can't understand why my Samsung S10+ had no problem with phones call from my house for many years and this brand new out of the box iPhone 12 Pro Max ($1200) phone is poor signal. Any suggestions on how to fix this issue would be greatly appreciated.

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