Just because the phone works fine on wi-fi doesn't mean it's not defective. Wi-fi and cell use 2 different radios.

If the SIM card doesn't fix it I'd look at the phone itself. Do you know someone with another iPhone that could try theirs at your location?

It's possibly phone or SIM card related since you aren't the only one reporting issues.

http://forums.wireless.att.com/t5/Apple-Community-Discussion/iPhone-5-Switches-to-Edge-or-No-service...

Thanks, guys. I'll look into your suggestions and update for any changes/solutions

I have the exact same problem!

 

I used to get pretty good reception in my entire area with my iPhone 4S, 4 and 3GS... now with my 5 I can only get on the Edge network, or 1 or 2 Bars on 4G and I NEVER get an LTE signal... I live in Asheville, NC and according to the AT&T map, I should get LTE when I'm in the city (mountains around me can be an issue, but that's always been a given), but I've NEVER seen the LTE icon up on my phone since I've had it for about 10 days now... 

 

Sucks because I'm dropping calls left and right in my house right now and that never used to happen!

 

Yes, I tried resetting my network settings, and no it didn't help.

 

Anyone know who to best bring this issue to?

I am also having the same issue. At times it can take 10 min or more for it to switch from Edge back to 4G, however if I power cycle then it comes up 4G right away. I have an iPhone 4 right next to my iPhone 5, the 4 shows four or five bars and 3G network whereas the 5 show one, two or three bars and Edge most of the time.

I have the exact same problem.  My Iphone 5 gets a low signal and switches to Edge... even though my Iphone 4s never had this issue.  In addition, once it goes into Edge mode... it NEVER comes out!  I've waited for hours!  I need to physically reboot the phone or reset the network settings and it will automatically pick up a 4g signal.  It's like the phone is incapable of switching modes.  Part of me thinks it's an OS issue but if it's only affecting a small minority... it's possible there's a hardware issue going around.  (or SIM issue?)

A friend and I bought our phones together and we both have horrible connectivity issues. Wifi and No service.
We have tried everything except replacing our phones, which is next.
SIM card replacement did not work. Rebooting, reinstalling, restoring , nothing works. Apple store reinstalled firmware and still didn't work ( the genius was positive it would work).
It's such a hassle to try all these things and waste tons of time for nothing.
Will replace phone ( the genius was more than willing to do so after firmware reinstall) next time. It's strange after firmware was reinstalled the Apple genius said we could come back after an hour after trying it out and if it didn't work he'd replace it. I think Apple is well aware of the issue.

Also our friends do not have these issues! It's sad that in the most basic of places like theaters or work the service just cuts out.

My wife and I both bought new iPhone 5 units to replace the iPhone 4 we had previously. Those worked well. If I go to a no service area and then return to a 4G area, the iPhone 5 is dropping back to an EDGE connection only and that is wildly variable in strength and usually delivers no data or sporadic data at best. The only way to get back to a connected 4g is to power cycle or enter and exit airplane mode. I’ve tried all sorts of resets and no fix. Apple points to AT&T and AT&T to Apple. Apple wants me to get the Sims replaced but I know of others with this problem also and I suspect there are not a batch of bad SIMs out there but I’ll try. It bothers me deeply that all are finger pointing. If no one owns this problem soon, the phones go back pronto.

I am having the exact same problem. I had the 3S and never had a single problem with reception. Now my phone has 1 bar or no service, can't send texts from my home or work, and drops calls like crazy. I called ATT, they said it's the phone, I went to Apple, they exchanged the phone, but told me it was the service. I went to the ATT store (because changing the phone out didn't fix anything) where they gave me a new SIM card. And I still have no service. I'd call ATT customer service, but I can't make any phone calls.

The guy at Apple said it's not a known issue--but I'm really hoping they realize there's obviously something going on. It seems like when I'm anywhere where there's wi-fi I have no signal.

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gphipps wrote:
Just because the phone works fine on wi-fi doesn't mean it's not defective. Wi-fi and cell use 2 different radios.

If the SIM card doesn't fix it I'd look at the phone itself. Do you know someone with another iPhone that could try theirs at your location?

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I second the notion that it's probably the phone.  Shortly after getting my 1st 3GS, it would struggle just to get E and never find 3G.  After a couple of resets, trips to AT&T for new sim, none of which helped, Apple replaced the phone and I never had trouble again.  The OP's symptoms should identical, albeit a completely different phone.

 

I've got the same issue in Minneapolis.

 

Yesterday, I had 4G with 4 and 5 bars.

 

Today, Edge or No Service.

Apple store isnt supposed to admitt of any issues or read there own support threads.
My friend had his Firmware reinstalled by Apple and they said it will "definitely" fix wifi and connection problems or they will replace it. DIDN'T WORK. Got phone replaced by an incredibly rude " Genious" and we asked if its going to fix the problem and he snidely said " of course, it's not like its a huge problem".
Still having problems. It's basically a dead end. Nothing works. Crappy phone. You'll have to wait for the next update and hope it gets resolved.

Does anyone know if the Microcell units work on the iPhone 5? They're supposed to be very helpful in cases where cell reception is bad inside the home.

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BrianneRene wrote:

I am having the exact same problem. I had the 3S and never had a single problem with reception. Now my phone has 1 bar or no service, can't send texts from my home or work, and drops calls like crazy. I called ATT, they said it's the phone, I went to Apple, they exchanged the phone, but told me it was the service. I went to the ATT store (because changing the phone out didn't fix anything) where they gave me a new SIM card. And I still have no service. I'd call ATT customer service, but I can't make any phone calls.

The guy at Apple said it's not a known issue--but I'm really hoping they realize there's obviously something going on. It seems like when I'm anywhere where there's wi-fi I have no signal.

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Me too.

 

There is "4G" where I live, phone works fine when above ground. As soon as I go into my basement, where the signal isn't as strong, phone drops to Edge. It then won't come out of Edge unless I power-cycle it.

 

Let me see how bad this gets (I'll be in an LTE area next week). If I can't do any better than this I'll return the phone and go back to my Blackberry. I'm really loathe to go to an Apple store or to ask ATT for a replacement, I have a feeling that will only make things worse.

 

 

I live in NJ. I've had every version of the iPhone. iPhone 5 is the worst. I'm still trying to decipher if the problem is the phone or the AT&T network. At times I'll have no bars. And I'll have to shut the phone off & turn it back on just to get the bars & 4G back. I don't use the LTE because it drains the battery. Another thing I've noticed is that I don't get all my text messages & voicemail notices, at times, hours late. Please help! SIM card change before exchanging the iphone out? PLEASE HELP!

I totally agree I have had so many problems with the exact same thing you reference.  Lost signal, low signal, dropped calls, have to restart phone just to get signal back.  Sometimes it goes off for hours at work before I become aware of it.

Battery life is also low.  I am tired of being told of all of the things I need to turn off or modify to conserve battery power.

My Phone 4 had a much better battery and a much better signal strength.

So, I go to Apple today and get a new phone.  Same issues.

I call att&t and they are now having to send me a microcell tower 3g tower so I can get the same service in my condo that I received before with Iphone 4. [Edited to comply with Guidelines]

I have the exact same issue and everyone I know around here who has one does. I would suspect the combo chips and stuff being the flaw and ATT's equation request for signal calculations in order to brand the other iPhones with 4G are the culprits. Maybe a software update will fix it. I love everything else about my iPhones. But, rest assured, you are not the only one with this issue.

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MisisMags wrote:

I've never had any problems with my older iphone models but ever since I switched to 5, I keep getting low signals, no signal at all, and when it does find signal it goes to EDGE.

 

I called ATT and the only thing they told me was to try resetting he network settings (did not help) or exchanging my probably "defective" iphone 5. But since it's so hard to get one, I am not about to exchange it when clearly the problem is their signal and not the handheld itself (works perfectly fine when I'm connected to y wifi at home).

 

I live in Albuquerque, NM and as far as I know we still do not have 4G LTE here. I tried turning off the LTE since it's practically unuseable to me right now. CSR told me that my iphone is provisioned right on their network but I'm wondering since if we don't even have 4g LTE here, shouldn't they just switch me back to regular iphone 3G connections? Or do I HAVE to be on the 4G LTE regardless?

 

CSR also told me she's sending me a new sim card to see if that helps. Hopefully it will because it's very very frustrating right now. ATT plans are not cheap and I want to get my money's worth!!

 

Thanks in advance for any input or suggestions on how I can self-fix this.

 

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I have the exact same issue and everyone I know around here who has one does. I would suspect the combo chips and stuff being the flaw and ATT's equation request for signal calculations in order to brand the other iPhones with 4G are the culprits. Maybe a software update will fix it. I love everything else about my iPhones. But, rest assured, you are not the only one with this issue.

I had some issues as mentioned for a few weeks. I called AT&T, they told me they'd check into it and, within a couple of days I got a text message saying the issue had been resolved. Sure enough, no problems since. I still don't know what happened but I'm glad it was taken care of.

I had a similar problem...I just went from the 3GS to the 5 a few weeks ago.  I struggled with my 3GS at work, so I was not surprised to have the same struggle with the 5.  I didn't think much of it until I started having major problems at other areas around town (Denver metro area) in which I never had connection issues with the 3GS.  The kicker for me was at a coffee shop in Conifer yesterday, where my husband (with a 4S) had blazing connection speeds on 4G and I was vacillating between NO BARS/SIGNAL to the Edge network, even when the phones were side by side.  I emailed the service person from whom I purchased my phone, and she suggested I turn off the LTE option for the phone(Settings>General>Cellular>Enable LTE>Choose OFF).  This has worked like a CHARM.  I've had a great signal all day today at work.  My service rep said this is a known issue with the iPhone 5 and Apple is working to fix it.

I'm having the exact same problem in Indiana. I've always had poor service in my office (I work in the basement of the building) so it was nothing new that when I got the iPhone 5 I couldn't make phone calls. However, I noticed it would default to the Edge network in my office. When I leave the office the phone stays on the Edge network. I was rebooting the phone to fix the problem, but found that putting it in airplane mode and back fixed it as well. I get perfect 4G service at my house and get good service in general, unless the phone switches to E, in which case I can't connect back to 4G or LTE. It's very frustrating when I'm out and about and have to put it into airplane mode for 15 seconds and back.