[mpgo4th]

Sorry for the repost but just realized I put this in the wrong section. I have 4 iPhones on my VZW account. My wife and I upgraded to iPhone 7 and passed our 6s down to our sons. All of this happened right around the time they offered unlimited data. Our new phones work well in major city areas and on wifi but where we live in rural America they suck. They drop calls and chop up words like crazy. VZW has done a study on our account and says we are in a poor service area and there is no immediate plan to upgrade. The funny part is our old hand me down phone work fine. No static, no dropped calls nothing. I'm told by a VZW apple "specialist" that the old phones handle the 1x phone service better than the new hardware can. He says 5G is coming and will fix this but no time table on that. My question is there anyone out there who's found settings or a trick to make a iPhone 7 work reliable in a poor service area? Please help before I loose my mind.

[bmhillegass87]

Well that stinks! And also, the rep is not telling you the truth that somehow old phones will handle the 1x service better. If anything, with each device that comes out, there are more bands inside the phone increasing connectivity stability.

You're in a bit of pinch since 5G is way off, like year 2020 off! Here is what I recommend. Are you struggling with calls at home mostly? In that case, there is some hope! You can get a signal booster that should alleviate some of that headache. I would call Verizon CS and demand they give you this for free since they have no intention of fixing your service. That at least would solve connectivity there.

https://forums.imore.com/e?link=http...token=ZeeEf1To

Wi-Fi calling is another option (thanks community).

How was service on the 6s before? Obviously it was more reliable, but i'm assuming you were probably not getting LTE around town?

The other thing you can try this is very basis is:

Settings app > Scroll till you can tap on General > Scroll to the bottom and tap on reset > Tap on "Reset network settings. Just be careful when you do this because you could erase your entire phone if you are trying to do this quickly! Just trying to warn ya .

[mpgo4th]

The 6s work great. I do have 4g in my area but at home it's 1-2 bars of 4g and the phone does drop it at times. Still no reason the 6s hold a better call quality but I'm stumped. The phone work perfectly in metropolitan areas with great service.

[Just_Me_D]

Well that stinks! And also, the rep is not telling you the truth that somehow old phones will handle the 1x service better. If anything, with each device that comes out, there are more bands inside the phone increasing connectivity stability.

You're in a bit of pinch since 5G is way off, like year 2020 off! Here is what I recommend. Are you struggling with calls at home mostly? In that case, there is some hope! You can get a signal booster that should alleviate some of that headache. I would call Verizon CS and demand they give you this for free since they have no intention of fixing your service. That at least would solve connectivity there.

https://forums.imore.com/e?link=http...token=km0DCGM0

How was service on the 6s before? Obviously it was more reliable, but i'm assuming you were probably not getting LTE around town?

The other thing you can try this is very basis is:

Settings app > Scroll till you can tap on General > Scroll to the bottom and tap on reset > Tap on "Reset network settings. Just be careful when you do this because you could erase your entire phone if you are trying to do this quickly! Just trying to warn ya .

What an outstanding reply......Thank you!

[Just_Me_D]

The 6s work great. I do have 4g in my area but at home it's 1-2 bars of 4g and the phone does drop it at times. Still no reason the 6s hold a better call quality but I'm stumped. The phone work perfectly in metropolitan areas with great service.

What kind of protective case do you have on it, if any? If you do have a case on it, how is the service when you take the case off?

[mpgo4th]

What kind of protective case do you have on it, if any? If you do have a case on it, how is the service when you take the case off?

Otterbox defender. I thought that could be it also. I went case less for a week with no change. Great ideas guys thanks. I'm up for trying anything. Another detail I forgot to list is that the reception is much better with LTE voice turned off.

[Just_Me_D]

Otterbox defender. I thought that could be it also. I went case less for a week with no change. Great ideas guys thanks. I'm up for trying anything. Another detail I forgot to list is that the reception is much better with LTE voice turned off.

Are you using the latest iOS version? Also, try going to Settings -> General -> About or Settings -> General -> Software Update to see if you have an awaiting carrier update that may help matters.

[mpgo4th]

I'm on the latest and greatest 10.3.1. I've had a few carrier updates too.

[Ledsteplin]

Well that stinks! And also, the rep is not telling you the truth that somehow old phones will handle the 1x service better. If anything, with each device that comes out, there are more bands inside the phone increasing connectivity stability.

You're in a bit of pinch since 5G is way off, like year 2020 off! Here is what I recommend. Are you struggling with calls at home mostly? In that case, there is some hope! You can get a signal booster that should alleviate some of that headache. I would call Verizon CS and demand they give you this for free since they have no intention of fixing your service. That at least would solve connectivity there.

https://forums.imore.com/e?link=http...token=wuA6i2O5

How was service on the 6s before? Obviously it was more reliable, but i'm assuming you were probably not getting LTE around town?

The other thing you can try this is very basis is:

Settings app > Scroll till you can tap on General > Scroll to the bottom and tap on reset > Tap on "Reset network settings. Just be careful when you do this because you could erase your entire phone if you are trying to do this quickly! Just trying to warn ya .

My old iPhone 5 gets a better cellular signal than my 6s Plus. So the rep may be correct. My 6s Plus usually has one dot in the status bar. My iPhone 5 has 4 dots.

[Ledsteplin]

I'm on the latest and greatest 10.3.1. I've had a few carrier updates too.

There's not much you can do. Try Reset Network Settings. Or ask Verizon to send a reset signal to your phone. This would be different from the one in settlngs. I have the same issue with my 6s Plus. My old 5 does much better.

[robertk328]

You can get a signal booster that should alleviate some of that headache. I would call Verizon CS and demand they give you this for free since they have no intention of fixing your service. That at least would solve connectivity there.

You don't need a signal booster. If you have wifi at home, enable wifi calling at:

Settings > Phone > Wi-Fi Calling

[bmhillegass87]

Great call Robert 👍. I personally haven't had much luck with it ever on VZW but T-Mobile has been great for me in that regard.

[robertk328]

Great call Robert . I personally haven't had much luck with it ever on VZW but T-Mobile has been great for me in that regard.

Use it constantly here at home where my signal is bad. No more dropped calls!

[Ledsteplin]

You don't need a signal booster. If you have wifi at home, enable wifi calling at:

Settings > Phone > Wi-Fi Calling

Yep. Mine stays enabled about 60% of the time.