Join the discussion: Is the iPhone 7 Plus antenna worse?

By Cella Lao Rousseau
last updated

So you've just upgraded to your iPhone 7 Plus! The phone is pretty, the camera is sharp AF, and the untouched screen looks like it's sent from the heavens; but what about the antenna?

Some people online have speculated that the antenna for the iPhone 7 Plus is worse at providing consistent service than other cell phone models, while others claim that they haven't had any poor reception with their iPhone 7 Plus.

Folks has anyone else had any issues with your reception on your 7+? I have a g6 and a 256g 7+ (on T mobile) and have noticed I have more service on my g6 than 7+ some times.... Fyi they are side by side comparisons ...... Thanks folks......

emscapt47

While there are those that claim their iPhone 7 Plus has better reception than most of the other phones they've used...

I find my 7 plus has better reception than all my other iPhones.

Larry Cook1

… There are others who have noticed a difference between their iPhones in one way or another…

I've not noticed a difference from my 6s plus and the 7plus one way or another.

Not Quite Right

But what do you think? Do you think the iPhone 7 Plus antenna is worse? Jump on into the iMore forums and join in on the discussion to let us know what you think about this topic!

Join the discussion on the iMore forum!

Cella Lao Rousseau
Cella Lao Rousseau

Cella writes for iMore on social and photography. She's a true crime enthusiast, bestselling horror author, lipstick collector, buzzkill, and Sicilian. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @hellorousseau

7 Comments
  • I use an iPhone 7 Plus for work and a Galaxy S7 Edge for personal stuff. Both are on the same network (O2 in the UK) and nearly always the Samsung connects to a stronger network. Right now the iPhone is on 3G and the Samsung is on 4G (and yes, I've got 4G connected in the settings). This was also the case with the 6S that preceded it. I've always assumed it's down to either better antennas or modem chips.
  • Agree. Same occured with the ip6 in my experience. Posted via the iMore App for Android
  • I'm from Argentina, I've been using an iPhone 5s for almost 3 years, now I've switched to an iPhone 7 Plus, I can't find a lot of difference regarding to the signal strenght between them, in my case the iPhone 7 Plus is slightly better: Here, at work, the cellular signal is weak, I used to have 1 dot (in the signal indication bar next to the company name) with the iPhone 5s. With the 7+, in the very same spot where I use to sit; I have 2 dots.
  • I have noticed my 7+ consistently has one dot less signal than my 6s+ did in the same areas, but I don't know if that's a UI display thing or an actual signal change since iPhones (as far as I've found from looking) can't show you the signal strength like my Android phones could. One thing I know for sure, unless it's an app issue, is that using the Fitbit app to do a GPS track on a walk the same route is significantly less accurate on the 7+ than the 6s+. It's much more "zigzaggy". At least with using the Fitbit even if the miles are off it's really still just mostly or only using the steps/HR to track calories because I did one trip on the route with the fitbit + the app with GPS tracking and one with just starting/stopping the activity on the fitbit itself and the steps/calories were very very close even though the distance was very different.
  • You can show signal strength in dBm on the iPhone
  • I think In general the iPhone has weaker signal, I have the 7 and my wife has the LG v20, in my house where I have two bars she has four. Also during a speed test her phone is much faster, we're on the t-mobile network don't know if that makes a difference but the signal strength in some areas is definitely different between the phones. Posted via the iMore App for Android
  • Not just the 7 plus. I have a 6s Plus, my wife has a 6s and my 10 year old has a 6. Lay all 3 side by side and my phone always has the weakest signal, and the slowest downloads. Their phones open apps faster than mine too. Been to an Apple store and they could not explain it.