Vodafone and iphone 6 - intermittent issue with 'No Service' that can only be fixed by a restart.

[djc1986]

Hello, there is a problem with the iPhone 6 that periodically (more than once a day) the phones switches to 'no service' and this can only be fixed by restarting the phone or removing and replacing the sim. Apple initially thought this was a hardware issue so have replaced my phone. No change. I have also replaced my sim. No change. I have wiped my whole phone so it has no apps, Apple or 3rd party, no change. Turns out I'm not the only person having this problem:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6579476?start=15&tstart=0

It would appear its a problem with the interaction between Vodafone, 4g and the iPhone 6.

How will this be resolved?

Thanks,

Dan

[ChattyLeRoux]

Many thanks for replying and the information you provided.  From looking at what you referred to my phone doesn't have an update waiting.  I was wondering if, similar to drivers on a PC, I could 'reinstall' the current settings in case something was wrong with those on the phone right now.

My big problem is whether the fault is with the phone or the carrier.  It would be great to know if other posters who had the issue still have it or how they resolved it; the current situation makes the phone unusable.

Regards, Julian

[BandOfBrothers]

You're Welcome.

Unfortunately you cannot revert to / re install carrier versions.

It's up to the Network to communicate with  and then  release the Carrier Update sometimes with an iOS Update.

From recent chatter on various blogs  are gearing up for an iOS release possibly resulting from the WWDC this Monday 8th June 15.

I use the iPhone 6 Plus but currently it has an O2 SIM card in it - Carrier Version 18.0 with no issues some are sadly experiencing 😔

I hope you get this resolved ASAP.

[Hogatron]

Hi, I had this problem a few months ago.
I posted on here and was advised to check my iOS was up to date (quite frankly this was insulting but I guess they have a script to go through)
Voda were no help, only giving me the option to send the phone away for 10 days or to take it into store where it would be sent away for 7 days. I thought both of these options failed completely to give me a satisfactory solution to a warranty issue on a £600 plus handset that was two months old.
In the end, I arranged a Genius Bar appointment and when I explained the problem the guy asked if I was on Voda. He said they get around five of these issues reported per day!
He asked if I had restored the phone from an iPhone 5 back up (which I had) and he suggested restoring the phone and setting it up as a new handset.
I asked how this would fix an issue that was clearly carrier related to which he replied "I didn't say that".
This went back and forth for 10 minutes and in the end he agreed to replace the handset. He commented about how they were sick of how Voda supplied handsets but were unwilling to honour the warranty issues that they were having.
Anyway, I started the new phone by not restoring from the iPhone 5 back up as he had advised and the problem persists.
I've just learned to live with it, but will be leaving Voda as soon as my contract is up. I feel very disappointed with how my issues have been handled and made to feel like it's only me that's affected! I mean, there's a thread on their own forum for crying out loud. Their customer service is just a joke.

[BandOfBrothers]

I really do appreciate your situation.

If the iPhone is unlocked perhaps try another Networks Sim Card to see if these issues persist as a process of elimination to rule out the handset or Network. If it's not unlocked you can request for it to be through Vodaphone.

I know your frustrated and rightly so But Apple did replace the handset for you even tho you acquired if from Vodaphone I assume.

And Carrier Updates are controlled by the Network not .They just push them to the iPhone typically when an iOS update is put out.

[Hogatron]

I wasn't aiming any criticism at Apple at all, in fact quite the opposite. I made this quite clear to the GB guy who helped me despite, I suspect, him knowing it wouldn't resolve the issue. At least Apple understand customer relations.
As I stated, I am now six months into a two year contract so firstly, I doubt unlocking the phone is even and option and secondly, even if they (Vodafone) do, what am I supposed to do, carry on paying 18 months of contract out while I pay for a separate sim only contract that actually works.
I have just accepted that Voda service is not up to standard and have now moved on but its comments like this that just rile me.
Imagine having to check your phone every 5 minutes to make sure you still have a signal?
Imagine having to turn your phone off and back on four or five times a day?
Why do I need to try another carrier sim to prove it? The phone has been replaced and the Voda sim has been replaced. Not to mention others who have posted in this thread that they have done this and have had no issues on another carriers sim.
There have been two carrier updates in as many weeks so maybe something is happening? I'll just remain cautiously pessimistic if that's ok with you.

[ianch99]

I too am seeing this issue. I bought an iPhone 6 from Apple Store and am using with my existing Vodafone account. "No signal" symptom every few days unless you restart or do a sim card remove/insert.

I wasted my time going through the whole reset from scratch process, restore from backup, reset network setting, etc.

Apple swapped my phone .. still issue

I got a new nano sim, still issue

I am convinced that Vodafone have a carrier firmware issue but won't admit it.

Next time it happens, I will look for the missing Carrier section in Settings and see if this repeats as a earlier post suggests. If it does, seems a big clue as to what is going on?

What to do? Get Apple to give me yet another handset? Maybe that is what everyone should do as this will make Apple pressure Vodafone to fix this.

I know a number of other Vodafone iPhone 6 people with same issue so maybe we should all start a class action suit

Lastly, has anyone tried switching to 3G only to see if the problem goes away? If it does, then is does point to a 3G <-> 4G switching bug ..

[ChattyLeRoux]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm sorry that it does not have a happy ending yet; it does not give me confidence for the future.

Since my last post I decided to restore my phone using iTunes. The process failed with an unknown error code (53) so now I don't have a phone at all.  As Victor Meldrew said "Just when you think things have to get better they suddenly get worse.".  Apple support did their best to help over a live chat session but the end result is I'm going to an Apple Store on Wednesday.  It would be nice if they fix the phone and the problem with the sim but from what you and others say I don't have much hope.

I also intend going into a Vodafone shop for a new sim but again I'm not sure how much that will help.

I will give Vodafone a chance to fix things but if they don't I will terminate the Agreement.  Clause 11b says I can do this if they don't do something fundamental that they should have done.  If I can prove I have a service with another network carrier's sim card but not with Vodafone's sim card I think that is good enough!  I have kept the dialogue from the live chat with Vodafone which is also proof that they didn't even want to try and fix the problem.

My hunch is that the carrier update code is flawed in some way.  It is ridiculous that the code cannot be reinstalled on the phone.

[ChattyLeRoux]

Sorry. Forgot to say I previously switched to 3G to see if it solved the problem but it didn't.  Interestingly, when I last did this it wouldn't hold the setting. Even though I changed the setting to 3G it reverted to 4G when I came out of the menu (and went back in to check).  Having said that I have seen somewhere that it worked for some people; but for how long!

[astorrev]

I have also tried the change to 3G and this didn't help.  After reading post the other day I checked Carrier and when No Service this was missing.  I have also attempted to change this from Automatic to Vodafone but again still getting the same issue.  I have tried all Apples fixes, and replaced SIM to no avail.  I am convinced this is a Service problem, though as yesterday I was in another area and had no issues with signal loss.

I would be interested to know on Vodafone coverage checker if it is listed as having work in everyones affected area.  As in my area it says they are having issues, but its been like this for a good 6 to 8 weeks and still not resolved.  My wife and daughter although they have a weak signal are not losing service but they have Windows Phones, although a colleague on Iphone 5S also has the same issue as myself.

Not been happy with Vodafone's interest in the problem, I was advised to buy a suresignal to help resolve the issue in my home, although can't see how this is going to help me at all the other times I lose signal!!!!!

[ChattyLeRoux]

Interesting about Carrier not being present at the same time as there not being any service.  Spoke to someone in the Apple Store yesterday and he says that for some network providers Carrier does not appear in Settings.  Its absence may be a red herring but very odd that it happens only when there is no service.  The guy I spoke with also said that in his opinion the problems are with the network's updates which are in a state of frequent change because of rolling out the new spectrum.  This makes sense and fits in with what someone else said about the phone working in some areas and not others.  the bottom line though is that we are none the wiser but my bet is on the fault being with Vodafone and not with the iPhone.