Poll: ** The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Thread **

Which colour iPhone 7 or 7 Plus are you going for?

  • Jet Black (gloss)

    Votes: 84 12.9%
  • Black

    Votes: 207 31.8%
  • Silver

    Votes: 30 4.6%
  • Gold

    Votes: 11 1.7%
  • Rose Gold

    Votes: 7 1.1%
  • I wanted one, but the lack of headphone jack is a deal breaker

    Votes: 76 11.7%
  • I'm not buying one

    Votes: 236 36.3%

  • Total voters
    651
Soldato
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The back of my jet black 7 is scratched to hell. But I don't care cause I know in a years time I'll be buying a better model.

I suggest if you're very OCD about things getting damaged, don't get a jet black 7. As it WILL get scratched at some point. Mine has only ever been in my pocket, or lay flat on my desk at work. And somehow still managed to get scuffs / scratches. :D
 
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I ended up buying a 7 Plus, Black. First Plus model I've had and I was definitely ready to return it due to the size. After just 1 week I'm used to it though. I still have a 6s work phone which feels small now.

As for cases, I love my 7 Plus without the case but it's very slippy in your hand. Out and about in London I feel safer with it in a case so I have an Apple Leather one. It adds some extra bulk but probably the best bulk-to-protection ratio you'd find.

The battery life and camera are the most remarkable things about this phone.
 
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The back of my jet black 7 is scratched to hell. But I don't care cause I know in a years time I'll be buying a better model.

I suggest if you're very OCD about things getting damaged, don't get a jet black 7. As it WILL get scratched at some point. Mine has only ever been in my pocket, or lay flat on my desk at work. And somehow still managed to get scuffs / scratches. :D
I'm guessing that the silver one is probably the most forgiving regarding visibility of scuffs.
 
Soldato
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Just restored my data to my new iPhone 7 and spent an hour letting it install all the apps.

Only getting 2 or 3 bars 3G at home, occasionally dropping off 3G all together. Whereas on my 6S I'd be getting a solid 2 bars of 4G.

Not impressed. Will give it a day or two to settle down and see if it's just hot or indexing.

Not sure if I need to do anything with my vodafone settings, they seem to all have detected just fine.

It's the A1660 version, model MN8M2LL/A

EDIT: Now no service half the time. WTF! :(
 
Last edited:
Associate
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Just restored my data to my new iPhone 7 and spent an hour letting it install all the apps.

Only getting 2 or 3 bars 3G at home, occasionally dropping off 3G all together. Whereas on my 6S I'd be getting a solid 2 bars of 4G.

Not impressed. Will give it a day or two to settle down and see if it's just hot or indexing.

Not sure if I need to do anything with my vodafone settings, they seem to all have detected just fine.

It's the A1660 version, model MN8M2LL/A

EDIT: Now no service half the time. WTF! :(

https://www.techwalls.com/iphone-7-plus-model-differences/

2. A1778: The iPhone A1778 has a very similar cellular connectivity as the A1660, except that there is no support for TD-SCDMA and CDMA EV-DO Rev. A bands. Therefore, the phone won’t work properly on CDMA networks like Sprint or Verizon although you still can make phone calls via Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE). In the US, you can purchase the version at T-Mobile and AT&T. This can also be found in many European and Asian countries like the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Spain, Singapore, and Australia.

I'm thinking your phone is not the best for Europe. You should have gotten A1778 instead...
 
Soldato
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Just restored my data to my new iPhone 7 and spent an hour letting it install all the apps.

Only getting 2 or 3 bars 3G at home, occasionally dropping off 3G all together. Whereas on my 6S I'd be getting a solid 2 bars of 4G.

Not impressed. Will give it a day or two to settle down and see if it's just hot or indexing.

Not sure if I need to do anything with my vodafone settings, they seem to all have detected just fine.

It's the A1660 version, model MN8M2LL/A

EDIT: Now no service half the time. WTF! :(

I'm almost certain it's because you've not got the global variant, have you tried resetting carrier settings etc?
 
Soldato
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It should be the global variant, it's what I asked for in the shop and the chap said that's what it was.

On the Apple site it has both versions listed along with the cellular specs. The 1660 has exactly the same as the 1778, but with the added CDMA bands by the looks of it.

So seems odd that having the extra capability would cripple the signal strength when connecting to an unrelated band.

Cellular and Wireless
Model A1660* / Model A1661*
FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
TD-LTE (Bands 38, 39, 40, 41)
TD-SCDMA 1900 (F), 2000 (A)
CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900, 2100 MHz)
UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

Model A1778* / Model A1784*
FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
TD-LTE (Bands 38, 39, 40, 41)
UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

Models A1778 and A1784 do not support CDMA networks, such as those used by Verizon and Sprint.
All models
802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi‑Fi with MIMO
Bluetooth 4.2 wireless technology
NFC

I found that same article as you before posting dlite and it seems to talk about the Qualcomm vs the Intel modem and even shows the Qualcom one (which is in my phone) coming out on top of the Intel one in terms of bandwidth.

The model number will tell you which modem hardware you have on your new phone. If you have the iPhone 7 A1660 or 7 Plus A1661, it is equipped with Qualcomm MDM9645M modem. If you have the iPhone 7 A1778 or 7 Plus A1784, you have the Intel XMM7360 modem.

We’ve already known that the Qualcomm modem is more comprehensive because it will work on any carrier in the US including T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. The modem supports all the available networks like GSM/CDMA/WCDMA/TD-SCDMA/LTE. You can also easily use it overseas as it is sold as the unlocked sim-free version on Apple Store now. However, that’s not all the benefit of this modem.

So it seems like it is the one meant for international use?

I'm due to have the battery replaced on my 6S as it's part of the replacement scheme, so I can ask them at the UK store what they think. Very frustrating though, I hope I can get it sorted, as I really want to be able to keep it for the better camera.

I redownloaded my Vodafone data settings, they looked correct though, just the usual wap.* addresses and login.
 
Soldato
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Well it definitely isn't the one for international use as Apple sell the A1778 for that but I take your point that it seems to cover pretty much everything you'd need.

That said Vodafone might not recognise that model or modem so you might have non optimal settings, sounds plausible to me, I've had international phones refuse to do certain things in the past.

Also the settings I was suggesting you reset are in the delete/reset area I think, I'm not talking about the 4g settings. Google it as I'm doing this from memory but there's definitely a carrier settings bit that isn't the wap settings.
 
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It should be the global variant
I agree. I only skimmed the article I posted and assuming the data you post is correct, then the Qualcomm baseband modem supports more bands than the Intel version.

However:
Couple of explanations could be at play things that should be noted here.

Maybe european version could have different tuning for the antennas (antenna coupling), which might make it work better with the frequencies european LTE-networks use?
"American" CDMA version could have the opposite and it could just have worse reseption in european bands and better reception in american bands.

It is also possible that your carrier might provide wrong carrier settings for your phone because they don't know your model as it is not sold here.

Last one might be possible to rectify by your operator, first one is a physical difference. Antenna coupling might be done by different SME caps / coils with slightly different inductance / capacitance compared to european variant, so that could be a physical difference between handsets. Or it might be firmware tunable thing.

Either way, sounds like a pain to get sorted. Best case you contact your operator and they are like "oh, I know this, send this special *#makeyouriphonegreatagain# SMS for free to number 1337 and it'll be ok"

And worst case you'll end up swapping your handset...

Good luck
 
Soldato
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I have the 7 Plus 128GB Jet black.

Love the phone, but then again I do love Apple Phones in general, apart from the first iphone, that was ****.

I tend to upgrade every year as well. I really wanted the Matt Black but it seems impossible to get that model in the plus range out here. So I went with Jet.

I am OCD when it comes to my stuff in general, and this has had a spigen case on from day one. It still has a few mini scratches (visible to the eye only and not to touch) on the back. I dont see them because of the case but I know they are there :(
 
Soldato
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Either way, sounds like a pain to get sorted. Best case you contact your operator and they are like "oh, I know this, send this special *#makeyouriphonegreatagain# SMS for free to number 1337 and it'll be ok"

Lol :D

All good points, will try Vodafone and talk to apple when I bring in my 6S
 
Soldato
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Lol :D

All good points, will try Vodafone and talk to apple when I bring in my 6S

Settings > general > reset >reset network settings

Give it a shot, you never know.. or maybe try putting a non VF sim in it, reset the network settings then put the VF sim back in as that'll prompt it to update.
 
Soldato
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Yeah, tried that last night, no good.

Called Vodafone, she recommended getting a new sim card, didn't even try to talk through any more advanced carrier settings. She seemed pretty convinced that it wouldn't be carrier related. I'm not convinced she was really technical, I get the impression it was her obligation to get a new sim card out and get me to test that first before escalating it :rolleyes:

She seemed to think it was might be voltage related if the sim is old. But I got a new sim card from them in August.

Ahh well, will talk the Apple tomorrow as I've got an appointment. Maybe they'll have a UK model I can use to test and swap it if it makes a difference.
 
Soldato
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Already getting annoyed with not being able to unplug my lightning headphones and plug them into my laptop without having to find the dongle first.

Plus I just went to charge my phone when on the call to vodafone and had to unplug the headphones I was using to talk to the girl, so I could use a charging cable.

Bah. I'm sure I'll get used to it. But getting rid of the headphone jack does seem to be a case of form over function, just like the silly port situation on the macs.
 
Soldato
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I'm not a fan of the dongle either as the jack on my custom IEMs is a right-angled one which makes the whole thing a bit cumbersome but they're my CIEMs and replacing them isn't really an option. I saw on Head-Fi a couple of companies are making these tiny bluetooth DAC type things you plug your phones into which bypasses any physical connection to the phone but I can't remember who made them and when they're coming out... (or if they're aptx).
 
Soldato
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Ohh, that's a pretty cool idea.

Quite impressed with the cameras low light capability. Not had a proper play yet, but took a few quick test shots on my way to the train station just now.

https://imgur.com/a/aSts5

They look really good! Did you have flash on or no?

I must admit I'm amazed by the quality of the camera on the 7 plus having come from a 5. It's worlds better!
 
Soldato
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I think the lack of headphone jack is rediculous personally. Does anyone else find the head phones way too quiet too? That's on sky go。
 
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