iPhone 5, drops signal, No Service...

Hoping to get some information on this problem - iPhone 5 on Three network. About once or twice a day the signal drops out to "No Service". Happens at work (1 bar reception) and home (4 bars reception)

Annoyingly it just sits there with "No Service" for hours if I leave it. Airplane mode ON/OFF doesn't seem to fix it, but reboot (OFF, ON) always sorts it out and the network resumes. Tried resetting Network settings but no difference.

Not sure if it's a software issue (iOS6), or hardware fault. Means I'm missing calls and texts.

One thing of note, when I boot the phone, it ALWAYS displays "No Service" for a second before showing "3 3G" ... anyone's iPhone 5 do the same??

I would book appointment with the Genius Bar, does not seem right there.

I can't remember if mine shows no service for a second when booting.

Edit: just tried, mine come up searching, then flashes to no service then after a few seconds comes up with O2.

Thanks for the update. Looks like that's normal on boot then.

Searching forums, it seems like there's a commonish problem with the iPhone 5 not reconnecting to a 3G signal. Some claim it's software, some claim swapping phones solves the issues. May be more prevalent with 3 network as there's no reliable 2G to fall back on - hence No Service... maybe?

My last 2 iPhones (3G and 4) were all swapped 3 or 4 times due to lemons. I'm dreading the inevitable :-/

I've had this problem with both the iPhone 4S and now the iPhone 5. Difficult to tell if its software or whether its a 'feature' of the Qualcomm modems that both now phones use. Never had this issue with my old 4 which I'm pretty sure used a Broadcom modem.

Yeah, I've upgraded from a 4. Last night it was fine though... will keep an eye on things... I've found a good number of similar issues, and I can't see it being a hardware fault (seeing as a reboot sorts it every time), so hopefully something gets patched in the near future. If not I'll just get it swapped in store.

Ive had this problem as well, thought it was just me as I couldnt find anything on the Apple forums...

I had a 3GS before, on Orange as my current 5, and never had this issue. Some places I get no service where I used to get full reception, other places I get the opposite. But usually when I get off the tube, I have no service until i switch airplane mode on and off.

stealthgeek said:

Ive had this problem as well, thought it was just me as I couldnt find anything on the Apple forums...

I had a 3GS before, on Orange as my current 5, and never had this issue. Some places I get no service where I used to get full reception, other places I get the opposite. But usually when I get off the tube, I have no service until i switch airplane mode on and off.

Click to expand...

was about to say the same. getting off the tube it just sits on no service unless i switch airplane mode on and off.

i have had a couple of other times where its just sat on no service and had to do the above?

I've got this issue, i never had it for the first week, but now i see it probs once or twice a day. My phone does reconnect to the network though, so most of the time i don't notice it.

At first i thought it was because 3 doesn't have a 2g network to fall back, But i get full signal at my house... So im not sure if its a network issue, hardware, or software issue. Im going to wait until the next iOS update to see if they fix it. If not i might send it back for a replacement.

I get this exact same thing with a 4s. It was there with ios 5 as well as ios 6 and i'm on the 3 network also.

I think it's a problem with the phone, but such an intermittent problem I've learned to live with it. Also on the 3 network by the way.

Glad to hear others are having similar issues, only because it means I'm not alone! Phone has been fine for a couple days now, so I'm putting it down to network drop-outs and the phone not searching for signal quick enough... for now.

Just took my iphone 5 64gb back, its being dropping signal for a couple of days now on o2. It also refuses to open texts . I got a replacement so ill see how it goes

Interestingly I have this on 3 as well, exacerbated by getting no signal at home/work, so when I leave it seems to take an age to reconnect, if I force it (via airplane mode) it will reconnect instantly.

Same problem here, and im on 3 also, least its a common problem, thought it was my luck to be the only one!!!


RTJ

I turned off WiFI and it solved my issue for a limited time, was fine for a day. But today ive had the issue again but its definitely less frequent for me with wifi off.

Sometimes i still have full signal but i can't send texts or make phone calls but i can use data.

Getting the same problem here, walk through town and it will drop to no signal and won't reconnect until it gets a reboot.

Edit. Should say that I'm on three too

Ive been messing about with the phone for the last few days to try and figure out what the issue is.

This is what ive come up with.

1. My phone is reporting a higher signal in areas than what it actually gets. If i make a phone call at my house i get full signal, but people on the other end report i sound terrible and must have a low signal. I can't fully confirm this until a nano sim adapter to normal sim arrives, and i can test it in a different phone.

2. When in sleep mode for an extended period of time, WiFi and 3g, and i presume 4G and LTE are shutting off. This sounds like a power saving mode. 2G is still running to allow calls. However this is a problem for three, as many areas don't have 2G.

3. Theres a bug in iOS which is not reconnecting to 3G etc after they have been powered off.

I was in a different area for the last few days, and i had no issues at all, not one loss of network.

These are my finding on my phone... so it could be different for everyone else.

The one thing i can't explain is when i lose network and it reconnects i sometimes cannot make / receive calls or send texts... However i can send and receive data.

Happens for me on EE as well...

Same here on O2, about to try a reinstall.

GF is having the same problem with her iPhone5 on Virgin (So EE). Drops signal, only a reboot brings it back..

There are lots of other threads about this; here is one: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1462982

My phone has been good for a few days now, but I'm hoping it's a fixable bug... Could be an internal driver issue? Can't see it being hardware failure as a reboot always fixes things, and the issue seems too wide-spread. I imagine plenty of people are putting up with it, without much thought.