iPhone 11 loses signal

[irusty]

My wife and I have iPhone 11 phones that we purchased in 2020.  They've been working fine until recently.  They intermittently lose signal entirely.  The bars go from two or three to zero and calls can't be received or made.  Switching to airplane mode and then back reestablishes the connection.  

I contacted Verizon about this and they sent two new SIM cards last week.  We had them installed and activated at a Verizon store, but that hasn't fixed the issue.  I've googled many different sites and found other people with similar problems but none of the solutions suggested work. 

We're both on IOS 17.2.1 which has been the latest release.  I just checked as I'm typing this and it looks like 17.3 is now available.  I'll update our phones tonight, but that doesn't seem to be the cause. Please help!

[vzw_customer_support]

Irusty, we're terribly sorry for the issues you're experiencing with your device. Pleae keep us posted to see if the software updated was able to help you with your issue. 

~Ivone

[SynthpopAddict]

I've read elsewhere that iPhones have a lifespan of up to 6 years, but that depends on how much you've been using the devices and the environmental conditions they've been stored in.  Your phones may be on their last legs and time to get new ones.

[irusty]

I'm already a reluctant Apple customer and Verizon is meh.  If a four year old phone is now non-functional because it's just too old, that would be a major disappointment.  We paid a lot for the devices 4 years ago and all of the other functions -- except cell connectivity -- seem to be working fine.  Somehow 6 years seems acceptable, but these are both still good phones. 

I know it's possible, however.  My theory is there's something weird going on between whatever protocol is used by the cell towers and the hardware of these somewhat older phones.  My guess is we could spend hours at Verizon and/or Apple stores and we probably wouldn't come up with a definitive answer.  But I'm going to at least try a few places before giving in to the easier path of an upgrade. 

[vzw_customer_support]

Hello, irusty. Help is here as we always want you to have a working phone. Please tell me more. Are there any available software updates for the phones? Any damage? 

-Natasha

[irusty]

> Please tell me more. Are there any available software updates for the phones? Any damage? 

I provided all of that info in this thread and in the chat with Jessie.  It's two phones and they both have the same issue. They're both on the latest version of iOS and there's not damage.  They both have new SIM cards (provided by Verizon) and Jesse had me reset the Network Settings and then all settings.  None of these actions have improved things. 

[Walks4Rocks]

@SynthpopAddict, I do agree with your statement. I have just recently heard the same but with adding that an AppleID has a usage life. Does that make any sense? I haven’t had the same AppleID throughout my Apple product use; my choice, so I cannot agree or deny if that could be a possibility. Plus, I am not too incredibly tech savvy. 

Anyway my story facts are as follows — I have an Iphone12ProMAX, and my daughter has an Iphone12 mini.

My phone, iphone12ProMAX,  drops all inbound and outbound calls after a few seconds; not always the same amount of seconds. My phone constantly is jumping around network connectivity; LTE-5G-SOS-4bars-2bars-0bars. I’ll receive text messages multiple times, not just a few, like 10+; and not one after another but could be hours or days. When I question the sender of the messages being sent many times I always get the same response,  a screenshot that their phone only shows the message sent once. 

My daughter’s phone, iPhone12 mini, not even one of those issues. 

The only difference between them other than the obvious “ProMAX and mini”  is I had my iPhone eight months longer, and she has a eSIM while I have a sim card installed. Both were originally purchased through USCellular, but have been transferred appropriately to Verizon. 

I have not had any luck with Verizon customer support/service. I have gone through Apple support. I have totally reset my iPhone, removed all apps, updated iOS. I have not been even offered a new SIM card or to use an eSIM. I didn’t even realize they could be damaged I guess if they never leave your phone… I suppose dropping your phone or possible moisture or heat and cold would obviously damage them or an extent while installed… 

Gah— I am just so frustrated. I guess I needed this venting session. 🫣 Thank you for listening— well reading. 😏

⁉️👉🏼I  do have one question relating to your statement though; Would jailbreaking your iPhone possibly allow a “longer life”? (Besides the fact of relinquishing any warranty, which I’m not worried about with my phone being a few years old) — Or have absolutely nothing to do with the “6year” lifespan you’ve spoke of. 🤔 

[vzw_customer_support]

Hello, Walks4Rocks, I'm sorry to hear you're running into such issues with your phone. I understand you have reached out for support and the issue still persists. Can you tell us more about what happened after contacting Apple support? Was your phone ever working as expected after transferring your service to Verizon? 

-Lauren

[Walks4Rocks]

Hello Lauren, @vzw_customer_support 

My phone and service was totally fine before I switched to Verizon and totally fine after switching to Verizon, I only have had these issues since October. 

I have been able to keep a connected call when using FaceTime, which extremely limits my contact list to iPhone users. 

I haven’t received any real  help in trouble shooting, it’s always the same list of steps to try; all of which I previously attempted before even reaching out for support. 

Paying a $120+ cellphone bill each month when not being able to even use the service is super irritating. I do not know how much longer i will be able to stand the inconvenience and to afford to pay that price with primarily a text only service. 

[vzw_customer_support]

Walks4Rocks, we're really sorry to hear about the service issues you've been experiencing, and would love to help. To clarify, is the issue only with FaceTime calls disconnecting? How are your other data, voice and text services working? Are regular voice calls also affected?

~Izzy

[SynthpopAddict]

@Walks4Rocks, I'm actually an Android phone user and have never owned an iPhone, but from what I've found on the internet, an AppleID sounds like a Google account and it's used to login to Apple services?  I'm surprised that such an account could expire, unless maybe Apple disables or deletes the account if you don't use it after some period of time.  Google does the same thing if you don't login to the account for a long time.  Anyway, even if you changed your AppleID, it seems like your phone would be using it only for accessing the Apple Store or to login to apps.

You mentioned doing a complete reset on the phone; was that a network reset or a factory reset (literally deleting everything and "starting over")?

SIM cards can go bad somehow; I used to be with another carrier a couple years ago and one day my phone plain quit working showing "SIM card error" and the SIM had to be replaced to get it going again.

As for jailbreaking your phone, hacking the phone's operating system software is unrelated to how long the hardware of the phone will last.

[vzw_customer_support]

irusty, thank you for the information you shared. To clarify, have the devices been updated to the latest iOS yet? If so, have you noticed a difference in connectivity? Do you experience this issue only in certain locations?

~Izzy

[irusty]

HI Izzy.  Thanks for your response.  I upgraded yesterday to IOS 17.3 -- the most recent release -- and we're still having the problem. 

It seems to do better when we're out running errands and in other locations, but my wife has the issue when she's at work.  So, one theory is it can't "hold" a signal with a specific cell tower for more than a limited period.  But you guys are. the tech experts so hopefully you can help.  It's very frustrating. 

[vzw_customer_support]

We appreciate the additional details for your wife's phone. Let's work together to review troubleshooting and diagnostics to understand the cause of her connection issues. We do not want you or her to be frustrated when we can assist with answers and options. Please reply to the private message that will follow to get started.

-Deb

[vzw_customer_support]

irusty, we appreciate you trying, and we definitely want to make sure you and your wife have the connection you need to keep your phones working. We're going to send you a Private Message so we can gather more details and better help.

~Jesse

[irusty]

Hi Jesse. Thanks for your help in chat on Friday.  Unfortunately the two procedures that we did -- reset Network Settings and Reset All -- didn't work.  Please text or email so we can figure out next steps. 

[2many2count]

Unfortunately it's been helping with my phone and I have a brand new iPhone 14 goes one bar two bars  to SOS and then it goes from 5G to LT to. We can't connect at all to anything and this is all been in the last month or so. I feel your pain

[vzw_customer_support]

Hello, being on top of your account is crucial, especially if you are encountering equipment/service issues. Verizon is here to help.

If you encounter any tech issues in the future, do not hesitate to use our Troubleshooting Assistant for further support: https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/troubleshooting/.

We sent you a Private Message. Please review at your earliest convenience.

~Gilbert

[nik19]

I’m having the same issue and none of Verizon’s troubleshooting worked, so if you figure it out, let me know!

[vzw_customer_support]

nik19 We're sorry to read that you are having issues with your device not connecting to the network. Is your phone's software up to date? ~Peter

[meb009]

Same exact issue and nothing worked they sent a new SIM card but I’m nervous it will not work or make it worse. I don’t know what to do. How terrible! And when I saw exact same issue I meant everything irusty has said is exactly the same with me. But yet no one can figure it out.