iPhones Transmit & Reception issues since June

[Sierra]

I thought this was an iOS 7 issue but now I think XLTE has compatibly issues with Verizon iPhone 4 4S 5 & 5S (and Samsung).

On my iPhone 4 I cannot hear neighbors using Verizon iPhones 4S 5 & 5S. My iPhone 4 suffered same issue on iOS 7.1.1, but after DFU Restore as new on 7.1.2 I can communicate to land lines and AT&T cell phones. I don't receive calls about 75% of the time because my phone detects 1x and 3G is rarely received.

This started happening in the middle of June. We have lots of tourists in town from the Bay Area which seems to exacerbate the issue. I was able to hear a neighbor clearly last night after midnight, whom I couldn't hear yesterday while I was in Reno and I had 5 bars.

Last year Lake Tahoe had lots of Tourist and we had no problems with voice calls (data is very low and always has been). I have read on VZW forums several people around the country having the same issue.

To top it off, I had house guests with Samsung Galaxy III this past weekend and they had no signal on either phone, so I had to have them use my landline. I switched to Verizon in 2007 when Cingular killed my AT&T PCS PHONE and my wife's Cingular phone would not work due to no signal.

What has VZ done to kill their reliable network? I have a lot of clients upset with me who I convinced to leave Sprint and AT&T to switch to VZ.

 

[xrayeyes]

I was just getting ready to post a new thread with this same issue. My Verizon cellular service has degraded to the point that I am considering jumping ship to another provider. But, my hands are tied with my phone being covered by my husband's business. Am getting really really frustrated. I think Verizon has gotten too big for it's britches! Not a fan of theirs anymore. Ever since the arrival of LTE, the service has gone downward. Heck, bring back good ole 3G...at least I had it most of the time.

 

[tlbaker]

I am sure my service is degraded as I refuse to give up my unlimited data plan and I am still on iPhone 4 LOL

 

[Sierra]

I have read many posts on Verizon Community Forum with owners of iPhone 4S and newer models, complaining about this very same issue. Verizon canned responses; "what is your ZIP CODE?" and tell users to "RESET NETWORK SETTINGS", just like the store I took a a client's iPhone 4s to. I asked about losing WiFi settings, and the young lady said the iPhone would retain previously defined PSK access to various WiFi accounts. Well that was a joke because, as I feared, I had to rejoin the WiFi at his location, and he still can't use his phone in the house (which has worked for 1-1/2 years until June 2014). This seems to be Verizon's fix for everything (or *228 Option 2 for all 3G & 1x phones).


Like @tlbaker I too have unlimited data, but since our data coverage is a joke (see map below) I use the iPhone 4 mostly for voice (which until recently has worked well), and connect to WiFi when possible. I use approximately 100 KBytes per month, due to the lack of a real data connection. I see no benefit to purchase a new iPhone 5s or the upcoming 6 since we have even less LTE (I turn off LTE on my clients' phones). One of my clients, switched to AT&T and paid early termination (at least I can hear him now, but no more M2M). When Verizon reviews my data usage they must laugh all the way to the bank.


What amazes me is how much money Verizon spends on TV commercials (AT&T too). They could transfer 1/2 of their advertising budget and could make the US MAP solid RED with LTE. I would like to vote with my $$$ but like many here, don't want to lose unlimited data (just in case VZ adds a desperately needed tower), and has historically put AT&T to shame here in Tahoe and Nevada. If I lose more calls I may be forced to switch back to AT&T which recently added a tower to Diamond Peak Ski Area, improving 'no' communications to 'some' communications. For the amount of money we pay for service, someone is benefiting but it's not us!


Thank you @xrayeyes and @tlbaker for confirming that our small area of the BIG RED MAP is not the only area suffering from degraded service. *228, "Power Cycle" LTE, & "Reset Network Settings" only goes so far to pacify what is becoming an epic scam. I hope VZ sees the light, before it crumbles under its own weight.

 

[spencerdl]

I have to agree with everyone else in this thread. The same degrading signal has happened to my Wife 5s and my 5s and my Note3 on the Verizon Network.....it is indeed annoying, especially since Verizon is more expensive than the other major carriers. I decided to go with Verizon a few years back even though they are more expensive due to their past history of having better signal quality, but not anymore. I'm seriously thinking about moving along to another carrier.

 

[Sierra]

It seems the iPhone 4 does better than iPhone 5 or 5s in our area. The 4s owner's phone has improved as well. One variable contributing to this issue is the number of subscribers using our 2 towers at the same time. Since school has started, the number of visitors have left Tahoe, so Verizon's simultaneous subscribers has decreased. I can now hear iPhone 4 & 4s subscribers better than a month ago. My one client who owned iPhone 5 left Verizon (frustrated) and I don't know any other Verizon iPhone 5 or 5s owners in our area, so I don't know if conditions have improved for 5 owners.

I see 1x less now, so more calls get through, although the weekends seem to cause 1x to occur more often, so again I think numbers play a big part of network reliability, however it's not the only factor, because this is the first summer we had this problem (XLTE???).

I'm curious to see how the iPhone 6 performs in fringe areas as compared to the 4. After witnessing network degradation for iPhones (and no signal in my house for visitors with Samsung) I would not buy an iPhone 5x model. So when iPhone 6 owners have used their phone for a while, I would like to hear how the 6 performs as compared to 4 and 5 models.


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[Satyrborn63]

If it's any consolation, I've been experiencing the same problem since June, in Western NC, on Android devices (including the new Moto X). I really don't think this is a device dependent issue - just a 'Verizon sucks' issue.

 

[Sierra]

@Satyrborn63 are people having difficulty hearing you during phone call or are you experiencing lack of CDMA signal to receive or make a call (or calls dropping)? I did mention Samsung Galaxy did not even receive a signal, which is interesting because I have an old Samsung Flip phone (ESN no longer registered) that when I turn it on still shows 1 or 2 Bars. Our signal strength has always deviated between 1-3 (depends on which of the two towers we are connected to) bars on iPhone but 1x prevailed since June causing reception issues. Our call quality on iPhones has returned (don't know about iPhone 5) and receiving calls reliability is about 90%. I think something changed on the network as detailed above but not 100% sure if the number of subscribers increased beyond capacity of 2 towers over 3 months. If this happen again next Summer (unless economy goes from bad to worse here keeping visitors home), then it shows something changed on the network that cannot handle tower over-crowding.


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[Satyrborn63]

Lack of CDMA signal to receive or make a call/calls dropping. What I find interesting is that on other forums around the web (and especially on Verizon), Verizon is quick to promote their Network Extender, regardless if the signal degradation is recent. If you aren't familiar, the Network Extender routes your calls (converted to IP) and data over your existing broadband internet connection. Coincidental, or strategic?

 

[Caesars]

T-Mobile does the test drive program,which is very useful.

 

[Sierra]

I purchased an iPhone 6 on Verizon (unsubsidized to keep unlimited data) and noticed I can talk just fine when driving in a fringe area that always challenged my iPhone 4 (4 didn't drop the call in this area but calls broke up and I would have to wait until I drove around the mountain affecting the signal). I'm not using "voice over LTE" because Lake Tahoe (NV) has very little data, but it's interesting to note call quality has improved on iPhone 6. It will be interesting to see what happens over the July 4th weekend when Incline Village has about 50,000 people here (most from the Bay Area) all w/ smart phones. Last year when this occurred I wrote this post. We shall see what happens, last Summer some of my clients left Verizon because of the tower congestion.