I spent several days over the last few weeks researching everything I could on this issue after it started impacting me and I've successfully resolved it and have had no further issues for the last week so I'm comfortable sharing this as a solution to others. Disclaimer: I'm not the guy who figured all this out, I just put it together and am sharing it here.
Problem:
iPhone's lock onto Band 66 from your nearest cell tower. My guess is nearly everyone posting here has a network extender because they get next to no cell phone signal where they are at. Your network extender by default broadcasts on band 13. Your iPhone will not connect to the network extender on band 13 if it is receiving ANY signal, no matter how garbage (including ZERO bars), from a macro tower. This solution will ONLY work if you are positive your LTE Network Extender is functional, i.e. it shows that it is "Open" and "In-Service".
Solution:
1. Go to Verizon support. I did it through the website and just chatted with an agent over text. Hope you get someone knowledgeable and helpful, the first person I had did not have a clue to what a network extender was or how they functioned and it took me well over an hour just to get the thing added to my account. If you get someone like that, I'm not going to lie, leave and come back. It's not worth the headache.
2. Have the customer service representative create an NRB ticket to change your LTE Network Extender to broadcast on Band 66 (preferred) or Band 4 if 66 is not available in your area. Band 4 is a subset of Band 66 and will work with your iPhone based on what I've read. They will need to validate the MAC address of your network extender, require the physical address the Network Extender is located at, and any other information required to validate your account.
3. It takes up to 24 hours for the NRB ticket to be executed. I was never contacted, and I won't lie I never called back to confirm the ticket was executed. I believe the ticket was executed about 6 hours after it was submitted, because that's when my phone went from 0-5 bars and has been working since.
Caveats:
1. I have had to reboot my phone once after leaving the house and coming back when it wouldn't let go of the garbage tower signal. Rebooting my phone immediately connected it back to the LTE Extender.
2. If they push an update to your LTE Extender, supposedly it will revert back to Band 13 and you will have to submit another NBR ticket. This hasn't happened to me yet, I've only read about it on other forums.
This issue was incredibly frustrating to deal with, to the point where I switched phone companies (from Xfinity because they ride Verizon's network and therefore couldn't troubleshoot the actual problem) and was at the point I was about to buy an Android out of anger at Apple. Honestly, I'm still considering buying an Android because this is blatantly an issue with Apple and iOS 14.x, which is where my multi-week fountain of signal issues began. Hopefully this helps someone.
Thanks, I continue to have problems with my iPhone after that update it’s working now but it stops frequently so I’ll keep this information just in case I need to use it down the road.
Thank you for letting us know. Please keep us updated.
Still working without any issues. What would be nice is if Verizon would set the LTE Network Extenders to Band 66 by default when they are activated, instead of Band 13, but candidly I have no idea how I would facilitate that conversation inside Verizon from where I sit.
That is definitely great feedback, Kontric. We will be sure to send that to the right team. For now, is there anything else we can assist you with?
AnnaG_VZW
AnnaG_VZW,
I'm good right now, everything is still working. My intent here was purely to share a working solution with people that had the same problem, not request help for anything. It took me weeks of scouring the internet to get to the solution and to fully understand the problem so I'm just trying to save others from that same headache.
FYI, I'm chatting with a Verizon rep via Facebook Messenger this afternoon on this exact issue with the iPhone 12/12Pro and the Samsung 4G LTE Network Extender. They've acknowledged it's a known issue and the engineering teams are working on a fix. "This is a compatibility issue between the iPhone 12 and the Network Extender. "
I know it's not a final solution, but being in tech I understand the value of the issue being officially on their radar to find a fix. I mentioned that I'd reach back out to check on the fix's status after the holidays and the rep was hopeful there would be a solution by then.
This is very helpful info. Unfortunately Tier2 support doesn't seem knowledgeable about Band changes, so I haven't had any luck and am stuck with my rebooting extender and wait 1-4 hours for the phones to connect to it.
sdjimbob, I am sad to hear you are still experiencing issues with your exrtender. I know how important reliability is to you. Have your devices connected yet?
I’m having the same problem with the same extender & iPhone. My extender take hours to come off of step 8e and bounces from 8e to 11. I’ve spent 4 hours today with Verizon tech and it’s still not resolved. Sending us a replacement extender might help the problem.
We know how important it is to stay connected. Have you already gone to the Admin Website to see if the server connectivity status is reachable or not? If not reachable, please check the LAN/firewall setting or contact your network administrator to make sure the connection isn't being blocked.
EllisandraC_VZW
I found a temporary solution - cover phone with a metal pie plate - cell coverage drops to zero - slowly lift it while next to extender and it hooks there first...
A great solution and a perfect reason to have pie.
Kontric, this is great information you have provided. I know how important it is to have a reliable signal at your home and I would be lost if I had sub par service. I am here to help if you have any questions or concerns. Can you please verify if you are a Verizon customer? We do have some great deals on our premium Android devices and you can view them here: https://www.verizon.com/deals/
I am a Verizon customer and have been for a few weeks now. Comcast (Xfinity Mobile) was unable to troubleshoot the issues with the Verizon network since they are just passengers on it, and they also had no offering of an LTE Network Extender, which is what drove my change to from them to Verizon. So far, so good.
I am also a Comcast customer but I had not done the cell phone Verizon/Comcast thing yet, sounds like you are saying you can’t use the extender if you are using Comcast even though Comcast is using Verizon, I wonder if the people here could confirm that for us.
Also does everyone else have to go through a two-step verification to sign into the community? Every single time?
I only have to put in a username and password to login. And I can 100% confirm you cannot purchase a Verizon LTE Network Extender while you are a Comcast customer. The workaround, and I used it, is if you have a friend that is a Verizon customer they can activate the LTE Network Extender and add it to their account and your phone will connect to it because it's on the appropriate network. You CANNOT activate it yourself since you are not a Verizon customer.
If support is watching, every time I use community here I have to have an email or text sent to get in, 2 step, which is fine for most stuff but community?
Can you tell me how to stop that please support?
randys12, the two factor authentication applies to certain activities via the Verizon Wireless website including the community forums to ensure security of your account and prevent fraud. Please see the link below for more information.
https://www.verizon.com/support/keeping-your-account-safe-faqs/
- Joshua
My iPhone 12 will not connect to my booster
The customer service has been horrible and highly incompetent
gentlespirit18-
It is very disheartening to hear that you have not received the customer service that you deserve. Please respond to my private note to better assist with your account concerns.
-Angie
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