topic Re: Signal iPhone 16 in Mobile Network discussions

Signal iPhone 16

Jod_xo — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 12:27:50 GMT

Hi,

My phone struggles to get bars of signal a lot,

A spanner sign comes up and my mobile data and bars of signal won’t come on.

In areas where other people are able to connect and use there phone fine, so I was wondering is this an issue with my phone itself? Is there settings I need to be checking. I’ve tried airplane mode , turning it on and off but still having these problems.

Thank you

Re: Signal iPhone 16

bristolian — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 12:46:28 GMT

If your phone is struggling for coverage in multiple locations, and others aren't, there's a very good chance there is a fault with it.

The acid test is to try a 2way SIM-swap with a working phone....

Put your non-working SIM in a working phone - what result?

Put a working SIM in your non-working phone - what result?

Re: Signal iPhone 16

Northerner — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 13:02:58 GMT

Hi @Jod_xo

Are you on EE PAYG or pay monthly contract.

Are you using a VPN.

Thanks

Re: Signal iPhone 16

bristolian — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 13:07:30 GMT

@Northerner wrote:
Are you using a VPN

A VPN wouldn't have any impact on indicated coverage levels,

Re: Signal iPhone 16

Jod_xo — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 13:17:01 GMT

Hi,

I’ve tried my sim in another phone and it works. As I say it doesn’t loose signal all the time it’s just if I’m out it looses signal and a spanner can appear..

Re: Signal iPhone 16

bristolian — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 13:18:57 GMT

@Jod_xo wrote:
I’ve tried my sim in another phone and it works.

And how about the working SIM in your phone?

You've proven that your SIM isn't causing this, now to prove whether your phone is.

Re: Signal iPhone 16

Jod_xo — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 13:18:47 GMT

Hi,

I’m not using a VPN, should I be?

I pay monthly

Thank you

Re: Signal iPhone 16

Jod_xo — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 13:20:02 GMT

Yes the sim is working fine in my phone ,

It is when I’m out of the house and at work and in theatres etc it looses signal and I have the spanner appear

Thank you

Re: Signal iPhone 16

bristolian — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 13:35:35 GMT

FYI you have a short time after posting to edit, negating the need for multiple replies.

I don't personally think a VPN has any relevance to this query, it enables your data traffic to be routed differently and hide its true origin, but yours is an issue of coverage - at least that's how I'm reading it.

You need to be doing the 2way SIM-swap when in a location you have problems. If your phone is showing no coverage when others have service, that's where you need to be testing to prove the issue either onto your SIM or your phone. I wonder if your phone has a general coverage issue though, and you're perhaps not noticing at home where you have WiFi. If that's the case, disabling WiFi would be another test.

Re: Signal iPhone 16

Jod_xo — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 13:39:16 GMT

I’ve just tried it taking the WiFi off at home and it’s working fine, just seems to be when I’m out it’s happening.

Re: Signal iPhone 16

Northerner — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 15:03:47 GMT

@bristolian

No but it would on the data if the signal strength was already poor which the OP is implying. Henve the question.

Yes the sim is working fine in my phone ,
It is when I’m out of the house and at work and in theatres etc it looses signal and I have the spanner appear

In theatres and at work could just be coverage and traffic/ interference especially in theatres.

Thanks

Re: Signal iPhone 16

bristolian — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 15:09:08 GMT

If the coverage is poor, then that's the underlying issue and I maintain a VPN is immaterial.

The OP mentioned that other users are continuing to use their phones in the affected location, which still suggests an individual issue rather than a general/network one.

What is it about the radio environment in a theatre specifically that you think would cause poor coverage?

Re: Signal iPhone 16

Jod_xo — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 15:15:52 GMT

So yesterday I was at a theatre interactive where we had to open our camera and join a link to participate, everyone In my group of people could all do it but mine wouldn’t because the signal bars was low and the spanner kept coming up.

So I wasn’t sure if I needed to check anything in my settings or do something to help with signal

or is it my internet browser do you think?

Re: Signal iPhone 16

bristolian — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 15:22:49 GMT

If everyone else in the group was able to perform this function and you couldn't, then self-evidently it's not a network issue but something specific to your device.

The one exception would be if this is a poor coverage area for EE, and everyone else was on other networks.

Can you use other internet-based functions on your phone at the same time?

Regardless, the two-way SIM swap remains the way to go. Prove the issue to SIM or phone.

Re: Signal iPhone 16

Jod_xo — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 15:40:54 GMT

Thank you so much for all your help.

I will try the sim swap next time this happens!

When you say internet based functions on my phone, what do you mean? As in watsapp , other apps if so.. no nothing works when the signal bars go and spanner comes on, when this has happened.

Re: Signal iPhone 16

bristolian — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 17:37:38 GMT

Yes - WhatsApp, BBC News, Sky Sports, pick your favourite app, these all use the internet and so without a working connection, they won't work.

What I was trying to eliminate, was whether this was an issue specific to the app/function in question, or if (as sounds likely) this is a coverage issue in general. All the symptoms you've described are natural consequences of a loss of coverage. So you need to identify what's causing the loss of coverage...

A SIM/account issue could do so, but it would do so everywhere and not be specific to a location. Your SIM works in another phone, so that's case closed.

A phone issue could do, and there's numerous ways that it could only "show up" in certain circumstances. Putting a known working SIM in your phone, will prove this either way.

A network issue could cause loss of coverage, but it would do so for every user of that network in the location. By seeing other people use their phones in the same place, would suggest this isn't the case.. but ask them if they're using EE.

There's nothing specific about a theatre that should cause these symptoms. Radio microphones, to take one example of an urban myth, are in common use in numerous other places, and operate on totally different frequencies to both 4G & 5G telecoms.