iPhone 5's dropping calls and unable to receive/send iMessages on one.
LittleLBC
Newbie

I recently upgraded 3 lines to iPhone 5 from iPhone 4.  All three of them are dropping calls where the iPhone 4's did not.  In one particular building, the iPhone 5 doesn't get a signal at all, where the iPhone 4 worked fine.  Also having an issue where iMessage occasionally works on one of them, but most of the time does not.  Is anyone else having these issues?  I've reset network connections, restarted the phones,  removed SIM cards.  I'm at a loss.  How can a phone with more antennas be worse?  Never had issues before.

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Re: iPhone 5's dropping calls and unable to receive/send iMessages on one.
robertgl
Newbie

In reference to the dropped, calls mine did that--worse than the previous iphone. The rep at the verizon store asked me to update the roaming (the dial code is *228) and it started working as good as the old one. I've now got a monthly reminder on the iphone calendar to update it. Hope this helps.

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Re: iPhone 5's dropping calls and unable to receive/send iMessages on one.
indyem
Newbie

Same problem.  Had the iphone 4 with very few dropped calls.  Now we have two iphone 5's which are completely unusable in our house due to constant dropped calls and poor reception.  Reception elsewhere can be sketchy.  Reset network, restored the phones, called Verizon twice, went to Verizon, they finally set up a "trouble ticket."  We'll see if that actually goes anywhere.  Only have a few days before we can back out, not sure what to do. 

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Re: iPhone 5's dropping calls and unable to receive/send iMessages on one.
diffchin
Newbie

I'm having the same issues in my house (and other areas) the iphone 4 worked fine.  The 5 does not.  I'm sure how robertgl dialed *228; when I try that my phone says "This number is not allowed" and a tech told me the LTE network doesn't use *228.   When I load a webpage in LTE it takes sometimes up to a minute to connect but once it does it flys.    Sometimes text messages take a minute to send on LTE also.    If the phone goes to sleep and then I unlock it, I have to start all over again. 

In addition I often see the "O" next to Verizon.   With my iphone 4 it almost always said 3G.   Something is definitely wrong.

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Re: iPhone 5's dropping calls and unable to receive/send iMessages on one.
stockboss
Newbie

Upgraded from another smart phone to iPhone5, endured a week of failed calls in my house, at the back of the grocery store, and other places where I'd never had a problem before.   Dialed *228, went to the store, got a trouble ticket.  No resolution.  Was lucky to get the ATT iPhone5 2 days ago (online at 10pm each night for Apple store pickup); it has flawless performance.  Verizon charged me the re-stock fee despite the fact I still have 3 lines (all within a month of end of contract) with them and have paid them thousands of dollars a year for more than 5 years.  Diffchin is right, something is wrong.  Buh-bye, Verizon.

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Re: iPhone 5's dropping calls and unable to receive/send iMessages on one.
FenderR
Newbie

I am also having call dropping and data issues on LTE. Here's a post I just made on Apple's forums:

I live in the Berkshires in far Western MA. I found out that Verizon implemented 4G LTE in most of my county. I don't care about having LTE at home, but it is important for me to have this at work. Verizon's CDMA network is half the speed of AT&T's HSPA+ around here. I was using Straight Talk with an unlocked 4S and it worked wonders! I am finding myself with the same LTE issues as many are experiencing. I'm about to call Verizon. If they don't solve this shortly I will cancel my contract (without fees) due to bad service in my home area...

I've noticed that sometimes after I make a call, data ceases to be uploaded until I restart my phone. That HAS to be a carrier settings issue!

This is disappointing as I have an iPad with LTE on AT&T and it works flawlessly compared to Verizon. They may not have as much LTE infrastructure, but it seems like AT&T is doing it right. My theory is that the switch from GSM LTE to CDMA when using a Verizon iPhone (combined with Carrier firmware / iOS software) is the issue here. Since AT&T already use GSM for their 3G HSPA network, the radios don't have to completely switch.

Speed test (ookla) 1: Pittsfield, MA 01201 10-4-12 2:20PM

Ping: 56ms

Download: 9.12mbps

Upload: 1.47mbps

Speed test (xtreme labs) 2: Pittsfield, MA 01201 10-4-12 2:27PM

Ping: 81ms

Download: 8.099mbps

Upload: 0.524mbps

For a comparison, my iPhone 4S on AT&T's MVNO network (using straight talk; basically same speeds as AT&T customers)

Ping: 321ms

Download 2.78mbps

Upload: 0.455mbps

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Re: iPhone 5's dropping calls and unable to receive/send iMessages on one.
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Hi LittleLBC,

Yay!!! Congratulations on your new IPhone 5's. The IPhone 5 is an awesome device, and I am sorry to hear that you are having reception issues. I know how important it is to have a working phone at all times. Let's get this resolved.  Are the devices losing signal in one particular location/address? How frequently does this occur? Try removing any case on the device that may be blocking the signal. I am here to help. Keep me posted!

Thanks,
Pamelaf_vzw
Twitter us @vzwsupport 

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Re: iPhone 5's dropping calls and unable to receive/send iMessages on one.
PeteBoston
Contributor - Level 1

Have you attempted a nano SIM swap?

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Re: iPhone 5's dropping calls and unable to receive/send iMessages on one.
indyem
Newbie

Hmm, Verizon's overzealous response seems a bit like pandering to me...Lots of talk but nothing ever seems to get fixed. They must have a company line because every time I call they say exactly the same thing.  So Verizon has finally decided that the signal strength in my neighborhood is just fine and therefore it must be a hardware issue.  They are replacing the phones but I have to wait until they send them out on 10/26.  Guess I should have just gone directly to the Apple store but it is an hour away.  I'm not very hopeful, as I have been following PeteBoston's saga on the Apple discussion forum and he has gone through at least three phones thus far.  I at least can survive with slower data speeds, but I really do need the phone to work as a phone.  I can't use it at all in my house and people have complained that at times they can't hear me in other areas of town that I have never in the past had a problem with.  Pete, very disappointed to hear about the poor coverage in NYC as I will be traveling there in a couple of months.  I have turned off the LTE because when I do so I get another bar in signal strength, hoping that helps around town.  Verizon doesn't seem all that concerned that I have been a customer for over fifteen years, so if the new phone doesn't fix the problem I will seriously consider AT&T.

Not too happy with Apple at this point, either. 

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Re: iPhone 5's dropping calls and unable to receive/send iMessages on one.
PeteBoston
Contributor - Level 1

indyem-  call Apple at 800-MY-APPLE and open a case.  Because my phone never worked right, they were willing to waive the $29 non-Apple Care swap fee and they overnighted me my replacement. (Unfortunately as you pointed out from my other feedback, the replacement phone was no better than my two original iPhone 5s on VZW)

Re: NYC, the good news is that the phone worked in almost every place I used it, so you won't be without service from my experience in NYC, the bad news is that the "LTE" performance was not that much better than 3G is most locations while my AT&T Galaxy S III was flying faster than my home internet connection in the same locations.

I have also been a customer for equally as long and have been disappointed (horrified) by a total lack of concern over my serious problem reports. If there is anything for VZW to learn from this experience, it is that creating a customer service "script" and having no escalation process when customers are not happy != good customer service. While my experience has been consistent among representatives, not one has taken a genuine interest in actually resolving my problem, instead their interest appears to be in reading the script on their screen.

I am convinced at this point that VZW has a serious LTE Network problem at least in Metro Boston or NYC. This may be lack of towers in sufficient locations, but this seems doubtful given how many towers VZW has out here.  Another logical conclusion is that their towers have a SW bug w/ LTE phones as my non-iPhone 5 phone performed just as poorly in the same locations (although it held LTE a little better and showed significantly improved upload speed in 1-2 LTE bar locations)

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