Thousands of iPhone 12 owners report persistently dropped cellular signal

Cal Jeffrey

Posts: 4,140   +1,406
Staff member
Stuff happens: With the release of any new device, users are bound to stumble upon a few bugs missed during testing. Most of the time, glitches are not much more than an annoyance, but they can be a deal-breaker on rare occasions. Now is one of those occasions for the iPhone 12.

Hundreds of users have reported to Apple's support forum that their new iPhone 12s (all models) are unexpectedly dropping cellular signal. Thousands more have posted similar complaints on the Verizon, AT&T, and iPhone subreddits.

The problem is not one that just suddenly appeared. The earliest reports date back to late October, although there has been a wave of complaints filed in the last 72 hours. Apple is surely aware of the issue, but it has not commented on it, so it is hard to know if and when a fix is coming.

At first glance, the bug seems to have something to do with switching cellular towers as a user travels. Several people have reported they can replicate the dropped-signal glitch by finding the point where signals switch from one antenna to another. However, a significant number of owners have said they have lost reception when not moving at all. It does not seem to matter whether the iPhone is on an LTE or 5G network.

Some have reported that the signal returns on its own after a few minutes, but others cannot wait around, especially those using their phones for business. As far as workarounds go, users have had sporadic success restarting the phone, toggling Airplane Mode on and off, or removing then replacing the sim card. These solutions are limited at best since they do not fix the issue permanently.

This cellular bug is not the only hiccup the iPhone 12 has experienced since launch. Users have also reported problems with the MagSafe feature, the display, and messaging.

Image credit: Dedi Grigoroiu

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I have the Pro Max 12 and I hope it's not an issue like the iPhone 4 had with grounding of the antennae bands.
 
NEVER be "the first" on a new product launch most of the time. For one, distribution may be limited, two, who knows what bugs will develop. Three, wait a couple months, the price may come down, supply will increase, and most of the bugs will be killed.
 
NEVER be "the first" on a new product launch most of the time. For one, distribution may be limited, two, who knows what bugs will develop. Three, wait a couple months, the price may come down, supply will increase, and most of the bugs will be killed.
all true, regarding three, the biggest percentage price drop takes place at around 6 months after release, not a couple.
 
What...you want to call on your iPhone as well? Is the new A14 processor not enough for you? And the new flat frame design like the old iPhones...
 
I knew it! My phone has that issue! It loses signal completely all the time. 5Ggate? I want my money back!

I have the iPhone 12 Super Max Ultra Pro model.
 
I have an iPhone 12 mini. Its a fantastic phone and I have zero issues so there we go. Definitely don't feel like a beta tester. Sorry to anyone who is having issues.
 
So how many will get irretrievably bricked when "over the air" update fails because of dropped connection? 10% - 20% ???
 
So how many will get irretrievably bricked when "over the air" update fails because of dropped connection? 10% - 20% ???
So, you don’t understand how over the air updates work. First the phone downloads the update and verifies the downloaded files to ensure it can run the update without bricking. Then it runs the update. It doesn’t need to connect to the internet during the update. They don’t brick if a disconnection occurs.
 
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