iPhone 4 suddenly started going in and out of recpetion all the time.

NTR119 · Feb 10, 2012

I have an iPhone 4 on AT&T. Its worked flawlessly for almost a year, but starting yesterday afternoon, it started going in and out of reception constantly. I was at home when it started, and even drove out of the area and it still does it.

Its like clockwork. It goes from having FULL bars for about 20 seconds, to "searching...", then to "No Service" for about a minute. Then goes right back to full bars, and starts the cycle all over again.

I checked with my local AT&T, and they said there are no issues with any of the towers in my area. My friends who have AT&T do not have any problems either. So far I have tried restarting the network settings and removing and reinserting the sim card. Neither worked and the problems is still happening.

I called apple, and of course my care needs extended, so they wont even help me unless I update my care or pay them $30 over the phone to offer tech help. And my nearest apple store is almost 2 hours away.

Primetime · Feb 10, 2012

Try restoring the phone from your last back up on iTunes.

EWyatt · Feb 10, 2012

This is really stramge, NTR.... As Primetime suggested, restore from your previous backup, but I don't think that will help. I doubt that it's a tower issue, but you can check that out by driving around and connecting with other towers. I also don't think that Apple can help with this, but if I were you, I'd LIVE at that ATT store of yours and replicate the problem to them. When it occurs, I'd shove it in their faces and ask them what's up. Really. And.......... get back with us when/if you find a solution!

NTR119 · Feb 16, 2012

Just to update those who were interested.....

Apple informed me over the phone that this could not be an antenna issue, as it would simply have no reception ever, or would not be going in and out on a constant basis.

I had to argue with AT&T several times in person, over the phone and online. They kept insisting it was a device issue and said "Im sorry but since you have an iPhone, I am required to tell you to contact Apple". I kept telling them that I had, and Apple said it wasn't the device and they just kept saying "I assure you it is. Please ask to speak to an Apple supervisor if you are told it is an AT&T issue.

I ended up driving 30 miles away from my area, and...surprise surprise....I had full reception the entire time. Never once did it lose recpetion when I was out of the area. But once I returned back to my house, same thing started again. I called AT&T again and explained that it has to be the tower because it worked fine out of my area. Again, they insisted there was no issues with the tower and to call Apple, because it was "most definitely a problem with the device". Needless to say, I freaked out on them about. In not so nice words I essentially said "How can it possibly be my device when it works FLAWLESSLY when Im away from the tower in my area?". Then they told me to replace the SIM card. I said it cant be the sim, or it wouldnt work anywhere. It works everywhere but my area. Dead end. Told me to call Apple.....

Miracuously that night, all the sudden the phone started working in my area again. That was days ago and it hasn't done it sense. I called AT&T again and made sure to tell them thanks for fixing the tower that wasnt broke. They said no repairs or troubleshooting to the tower was done, because there was nothing wrong with it in the first place. They then said "But we are happy to hear your device is working again". I laughed and said "Yeah.....it wasnt the tower huh? Funny then, I guess we are to believe that my iPhone just fixed itself right?". They just said "Is there anything else we can help you with?"

Needless to say, I cannot wait for my contract with ATT to be up....