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4g LTE signal issues

escalade6103

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Well I've only had my iPhone 5 for a day but the LTE signal NEVER changes from 2 bars. Is anyone else having this problem? 3G signal is normal compared to what my iPhone 4 was. And this is no matter where I go.
 
Where is your LTE coverage? And... have you contacted your wireless provider regarding this issue?
 
No I haven't had the chance to contact them. Coverage area is sw Oklahoma. We have had 4g for over a year now. I had a Motorola razr Maxx that had 4 to 5 bars in the same places I'm carrying this iPhone 5.
 
No I haven't had the chance to contact them. Coverage area is sw Oklahoma. We have had 4g for over a year now. I had a Motorola razr Maxx that had 4 to 5 bars in the same places I'm carrying this iPhone 5.
So, are you saying that your Razr Maxx had 4-5 bars of 4G or LTE?
 
Here many and I included are having problems with LTE in the sense that it is draining the battery like crazy. 3 nights in a row my battery was dead in the morning after a 100% charge and listening some streaming radio at night. On Sunday night I turned LTE off and had the phone play streaming radio all night for nearly 9 hours and in the morning, 68% of battery left. I have found the iphone 5 battery to be very good but only when LTE is turned off. On iPhone Whirlpool forum many posters have experienced the same issue.
 
Well I've only had my iPhone 5 for a day but the LTE signal NEVER changes from 2 bars. Is anyone else having this problem? 3G signal is normal compared to what my iPhone 4 was. And this is no matter where I go.

No I haven't had the chance to contact them. Coverage area is sw Oklahoma. We have had 4g for over a year now. I had a Motorola razr Maxx that had 4 to 5 bars in the same places I'm carrying this iPhone 5.

Since you didn't state a critical piece of data directly, I will have to do some assuming. You never stated your cellular provider. But since you list the Motorola Razr Maxx and the LTE time frame of one year, that pretty much narrows this down to Verizon Wireless being the provider. With that assumption in mind, I think you are pretty much worrying about nothing until you actually do LTE speed tests of the iPhone 5 compared to the Razr Maxx in the same locations. The reason for that statement is actually based on your direct observation of the 3G signal. So lets discuss the theory and observational.

The Motorola Razr Maxx has two cellular radios and antennas in it. The LTE radio is for data only. The 3G radio is for voice and data. It would not shock me if the Razr Maxx only showed the 3G signal for its primary display. That is the most important single since it carries the voice call and is the largest battery drainer as your signal deteriorates.

The iPhone 5 also has the dual radio band setup. But from my direct observation it actually shows the signal level for the band that is showing next to it. The reason for doing it that way? Late 2013 thru 2014 VZW will be rolling out voice over LTE. And the iPhone 5 should only need a minor update to the cellular radio code without an update to the primary iOS installed.

So until you do the speed tests to actually see what is going on, the numbers of bars is pretty useless as a comparison.
 
Yes I left a few things out. No I'm didn't know the razr Maxx showed the reception for 3G and 4g together. Yes I have Verizon. Here is he results of my speed tests.
 

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I can't add much to the discussion but I will say that your speeds are similar to mine when my 4G LTE (VZW) has 4 bars showing (Columbus, OH). I've had the speeds go to double that (and approaching triple that), but yours are very close to mine on a consistent basis, and most of the time when I've tested I've had at least 4 and sometimes 5 bars.

I'm not sure how much of an effect the number of bars has on actual DL and UL speeds, though. I've always assumed that the more bars showing, the better the reception and hence the better the speeds. However, while doing some rooting around on the interwebz I've read some things that lead me to question my initial assumption. I'm sure there are some people on this forum who can shed some light on the relationship between signal strength and speeds.
 
Bars? The bars have nothing to do with LTE. That shows your cellular signal, ie, what strength you have for sending text and calls. If you have 2 bars and your calls aren't dropping then you are fine. If the phone shows LTE you are also fine. It's when you constantly see 3G that you're either having bad reception or having a tower issue.
 
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