How to fix an iPhone 8 Plus that keeps losing signal [Troubleshooting Guide]

Having a new iPhone with unstable network service is definitely a downer. You would miss some important calls or fail to reply to important messages. If by any chance you’ve landed into this page while searching for potential fixes to a similar issue on your new iPhone, then this content is for you. Read on and find out what to do if your iPhone 8 Plus keeps losing signal.

One of the most common network problems encountered by smartphone users is on intermittent signal or service drops. This has been among the widely raised issues since the birth of basic phones until the smartphone era. The occurrence of signal drops in mobile devices is usually linked to network outages, software glitches, and in worst cases, hardware damage like damaged SIM slot/card. Service drops that are associated with software errors including bad updates are usually remedied by some workarounds while those tied with hardware damage would require service.

Drop by our iPhone 8 Plus troubleshooting page if you have other issues with your phone as we’ve already addressed the most common problems. If you need more help, fill up our iPhone issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

How to fix an iPhone 8 Plus that keeps losing signal

Before you start to troubleshoot software problems on your iPhone 8 Plus that might have caused signal drops, make sure that you’re within your network’s coverage area. You may be too far from your network’s cell towers so it’s normal for your iPhone to obtain weak signal. And when the signal is weak, there is a higher chance of experiencing signal drops.

Proceed with the following workarounds if the problem persists even within your network coverage.

First solution: Soft reset/reboot.

Force reset is another term for a device restart. It’s the very first recommended solution to minor software glitches that caused the phone to act weird. If this is the first time for your iPhone 8 Plus to experience service drops, then it may be just a random glitch, which can be dealt with by a soft reset or device restart. For starters, here’s how a soft reset is done on your new iPhone:

Press and hold the Side/Power button for a few seconds until the slider appears.
Drag the Slide to Power off to turn your phone completely off.
After 30 seconds, press and hold the Side/Power button again until the Apple logo appears.

If the problem continues after the reboot, move on to the next possible solution.

Second solution: Remove and reinsert the SIM card.

Another possible reason as to why you’re getting intermittent signal on your iPhone is that the SIM card might have been dislodged from a drop hence couldn’t establish a secure contact with your iPhone. To rule this out from the possible causes, try to remove and reinstall the SIM card on your iPhone 8 Plus with these steps:

Power off your iPhone.
Insert the SIM eject tool or small paperclip into the tiny hole/slot on the SIM/SD card tray located on the right corner of the iPhone.
When the tray pops out, remove the SIM card.
Check for any visible signs of damage. If there’s none, then place it back into the SIM card tray.
Position the SIM card with the gold contacts facing down.
When the SIM card is secure, push the SIM card tray back into its slot.
Press in on the tray to lock it into place.

When the tray is secured, turn your phone back on and see if that fixes the problem.

Third solution: Toggle Airplane Mode on and off.

It’s an old trick that has helped many people who have dealt with various types of network errors on their respective iOS devices. Turning Airplane mode on will automatically turn off all wireless connections on your phone. For some reasons, switching this mode on and off refresh the network services on the phone and thereby fixes minor network glitches. If you want to take your chances in this workaround, then go ahead and follow these steps:

Slide your finger upwards from the bottom of the Home screen. Doing so opens the Control Center.
From the Control Center, locate and tap the Airplane (Flight) mode icon to turn the feature on.
After about 30 seconds, tap the Airplane mode icon to turn the feature off again.

Return to the Home screen then reboot your iPhone and see if that trick fixes the problem.

Alternatively, you can access Airplane mode through Settings-> Airplane mode menu.

Fourth solution: Reset network settings.

Incorrect network settings can likewise lead to the same problem. Network settings can be changed manually and automatically. If you recently made changes to your iPhone’s network settings and then your device started to lose signal, then most likely you’ve done something wrong. You can revert the changes you’ve made back to the prior configuration but if it’s not possible, perform a network settings reset instead. This will restore your iPhone network configurations back to the original or default values. Here’s how a network settings reset is done on your iPhone 8 Plus:

Tap to open the Settings app.
Tap General.
Scroll to and tap Reset.
Select the option to Reset network settings. This will reset your current network settings and restore them to defaults.
If prompted, enter your device passcode to continue.
Tap to confirm network settings reset.

Your iPhone automatically reboots when the reset is finished. At this point, set up your wireless network to resume Internet access on your iPhone.

Fifth solution: Factory reset/master reset.

A full system reset is generally regarded as the last resort when dealing with software-related errors in mobile devices. That said, you may opt to proceed with this reset if none of the prior methods is able to fix the issue on signal drops on your iPhone.

The fastest way to perform a master reset or factory reset on your iPhone 8 Plus is through the settings menu. It has the same positive output as the factory reset done in iTunes. Here’s how it’s done:

Tap to open the Settings app.
Tap General.
Scroll to and tap Reset.
Select the option to Erase all content and settings. This will wipe everything from your iPhone including your personal information.
If prompted, enter the correct passcode for your device to continue.
Confirm system reset on your iPhone.

Usually, this reset resolves complex software issues that might have caused conflict to your iPhone’s network functions as manifested by service drops. But if it still failed to fix the problem and your iPhone 8 Plus is still experiencing signal drops, you should now consider opting for service.

Seek more help

Your iPhone might have acquired some type of hardware damage, which require physical repair. You may opt to contact your carrier first for other options and recommendations before heading to an Apple service center.

Connect with us

If you need more help with the use of certain functions and features of the new Apple iPhone 8 smartphone, feel free to visit our Tutorial Page. There you can find a list of how-to contents, step-by-step tutorials, as well as answers to FAQs regarding iPhone 8. If you have other concerns or encountered some troubles while using the phone, you can reach us through this form. Just be sure to tell us more details of the problem or device issue(s) you may have and we will be more than happy to assist you further.

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