6S [Plus], Signal Issues since 10.3.2

I was traveling for work when I noticed that iOS 10.3.2 was available.

My MacBook Air was connected to the hotel's WiFi and I had plugged my phone (iPhone 6S Plus) in to the MBA to charge while I was working. iTunes launched and it showed me that I could update from 10.3.2 from 10.3.1. I opted to let it download and do the update and I performed a full backup with iTunes before doing so.

I also carry an iPhone 6S for work, so I opted to plug that one in and do the same (full backup plus iOS upgrade).

That night, we went to a Cubs home game and I was having a very difficult time getting an LTE signal to send and receive email or texts. What was odd was that I was able to put the work phone into hotspot mode and attach to -it- and could access the LTE data that way. What's -really- odd is that the 6S has suffered degraded signal strength issues as well, but they don't seem to be quite as bad.

I've had ongoing issues ever since where my phone can't seem to "lock" signal like it used to and loses network connection in places where I never had issues before. I went to the Apple store and they re-loaded iOS on both phones for me just to be sure that it wasn't because of a corrupted download or anything, and that has made zero difference. It's now a good 4-6 weeks later and things are still equally poor. Apple is out of ideas.

My phone is originally a Verizon based phone that I have been using on the AT&T network without issue for almost 18 months. The 6S is an AT&T - based phone and is about six months old. I called AT&T. They claim that there were a lot of issues, but closed the ticket since they wrote it off as being related to Apple's iOS update.

I have been diligently searching the Internet for other folks having a similar issue and really haven't found anything that seems to correctly match up to mine. Has anyone here experienced anything at all similar? Does anyone have any thoughts on how to get it corrected?

- iOS has been completely reloaded
- Network settings have been reset
- I have not done a full phone reset, and I really don't want to unless there's a known good chance that it will help

No suggestions here other than to maybe go back and use an older iOS version if you can.

I guess you've already checked out most of the hits with a search on 'iPhone iOS 10.3.2 connection problem' etc:

Like:
https://www.google.ca/search?client...&oe=UTF-8&gfe_rd=cr&ei=7cFVWaaqF_Te8AeUyYLgBg

I do seem to recall reading about a lot of various iOS connections issues but didn't bother reading what if any fixes there might be. Sorry.






- Patrick
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No suggestions here other than to maybe go back and use an older iOS version if you can.

Click to expand...

Normally, worth a try, however, Apple stopped signing 10.3.1 so he can no longer go back unless he jailbreaks the phone.

pm-r said:

No suggestions here other than to maybe go back and use an older iOS version if you can.

I guess you've already checked out most of the hits with a search on 'iPhone iOS 10.3.2 connection problem' etc:

Like:
https://www.google.ca/search?client...&oe=UTF-8&gfe_rd=cr&ei=7cFVWaaqF_Te8AeUyYLgBg

I do seem to recall reading about a lot of various iOS connections issues but didn't bother reading what if any fixes there might be. Sorry.






- Patrick
======

Click to expand...

I had been digging around looking for things and came across much of the same type of content as that search. Problem is, it isn't WiFi - it's cellular.

I had considered downgrading, but it was just too far after the upgrade and I would lose too much "historical" data. What stinks is that this is the first time in a long time that I actually purposefully made full backups of my phones before the upgrades. So, I -COULD- have gone back easily if I had done so right away.

I thought I would post an update to this...

I had subsequently upgraded to 10.3.3 and that didn't help. I had been having issues with Apple Pay, and drew the possible conclusion that maybe I've just dropped the phone one too many times and the radios (they're all clustered together) were damaged. I had Apple do full diags on the phone, and pointedly execute a test of the NFC radio for Apple Pay, and everything passed. They offered me the option of swapping the phone for a refurb for something ridiculous like $350. Uh.. no.

I found and fixed the issue with Apple Pay, so I had new hope (the "Wallet" app was prevented from using Cellular Data so I enabled it - no idea why this is required since my watch never faltered and THAT wasn't using cellular data).

I've been continuing to dig and have learned the following:

- There are two versions of the 6S models - one for AT&T and one for everyone else. The AT&T one actually works everywhere (including Verizon, apparently) and so does the other model. The difference is that the designed-for-AT&T version of the phone supports LTE Band 30 and the other model does not. That's it. That's the only difference.
- Band 30 is actually starting to roll out in a lot of areas
- AT&T is rolling Band 30 out even in my rural neck of the woods (where I'm dropping calls like they're going out of style) and apparently also tinkering with the other bands at the same time.

Since even my designed-for-AT&T 6S is having service issues, swapping my VZW based phone to an AT&T one isn't going to fix anything. So, it looks like I'm kicking AT&T to the curb and moving my service to Verizon, except I'll do it via Straight Talk since there's NO WAY I'm actually signing up directly with Verizon due to their prices and (what I consider to be) terrible customer service.

If anyone needs a nice shape, 128G 6S+ in Space Gray (original box, screen protector, OEM charger), let me know. I ended up buying another phone for testing purposes, so I have one to sell.