Carrier Is It Possible For An LTE Radio To Be Broken?

[iPadCary]

I just got an iPad Mini 4 with AT&T as the carrier yesterday.
And for 24 hours now, all I get is ONE DOT of signal.

It'll start out with 3 or 4, then after a couple of minutes, it's down to one.
Sometimes it'll creep back up to two dots for a minute or so, and then it's back to one.

With past AT&T iPads, I steadily get four, with the occasional five appearing now & again.
And the letters "LTE" even disappear now for awhile & "4G" is displayed, instead.
Did I get a defective unit?

 

[MartyCan]

I'd say you need to take it in to have it tested for that. Is it from one physical location or anywhere you go with it?

In terms of being "broken" I think if it was broken you would get no signal whatsoever.

 

[xraydoc]

Could also be a bad SIM card.

 

[iPadCary]

I'd say you need to take it in to have it tested for that.

Take it where? To an Apple Store?

Is it from one physical location or anywhere you go with it?

I haven't used it in other locations yet, but I'm gonna try that today.
I'll report back with results later on.

Could also be a bad SIM card.

If it's that, how do I replace it?

 

[xraydoc]

If it's that, how do I replace it?

Your carrier can provision a new SIM card with your account information on it. Go to any AT&T corporate store (not an "authorized retailer") and they should give you one for free. You can also call customer service and they'll send one to you in the mail, though going to an AT&T corporate store with your iPad in hand is probably the easiest way.

Don't let an AT&T store try to charge you for the SIM card. If they do, you're not at a corporate store.

You can also go to any Apple Store and get a new Apple SIM (again, should be free), but I'm not sure honestly if you can provision those to use pre-existing account information or if they're strictly for new subscriptions -- haven't tried to provision an existing account on to an Apple SIM.

 

[iPadCary]

You can also go to any Apple Store and get a new Apple SIM (again, should be free),
but I'm not sure honestly if you can provision those to use pre-existing account information
or if they're strictly for new subscriptions -- haven't tried to provision an existing account on to an Apple SIM.

Thank you.

By the way, I didn't try testing the iPad Mini 4 in other locations because:
1] I've gotten four or five steady dots of LTE before with other iPads
using AT&T LTE in the exact same spot, and ....

2] I also have an iPad Mini 3 with AT&T LTE that I use in the exact same time & place
as the problematic iPad Mini 4 and it gets the aforementioned four or five steady dots of LTE service.

 

[xraydoc]

Thank you.

By the way, I didn't try testing the iPad Mini 4 in other locations because:
1] I've gotten four or five steady dots of LTE before with other iPads
using AT&T LTE in the exact same spot, and ....

2] I also have an iPad Mini 3 with AT&T LTE that I use in the exact same time & place
as the problematic iPad Mini 4 and it gets the aforementioned four or five steady dots of LTE service.

Swap SIM cards and see if the mini 4 still has connectivity problems. That'll tell you if it's a bad SIM or if it's the iPad itself.

 

[iPadCary]

QUICK UPDATE:
While standing near a quite powerful wifi signal, I get a rock-solid FIVE dots of LTE.
But back where I usually use it, it's the ol' One Dot Shuffle.
This never used to happen before. What in blazes is going on?

 

[Cascades42]

QUICK UPDATE:
While standing near a quite powerful wifi signal, I get a rock-solid FIVE dots of LTE.
But back where I usually use it, it's the ol' One Dot Shuffle.
This never used to happen before. What in blazes is going on?

It could be that the mast is having issues or has broken. They might be doing maintenance in the area. I'd suggest calling the carrier and asking - but maybe not mentioning the new iPad as they'll probably try to blame it on that!

 

[iPadCary]

It could be that the mast is having issues or has broken. They might be doing maintenance in the area.
I'd suggest calling the carrier and asking - but maybe not mentioning the new iPad as they'll probably try to blame it on that!

Thanks for the input, man!
At least it made me feel better for a minute! lol

As long as I have your attention for a moment, can I ask:
would you know if AT&T has a "Maintenance Map" site and/or app?
Thanks again! : )

Also, i just realized that's yet one more thing that Brits & Americans say different.
We call 'em "cell phone towers" but you guys call 'em "masts"! lol

 

[Cascades42]

Thanks for the input, man!
At least it made me feel better for a minute! lol

As long as I have your attention for a moment, can I ask:
would you know if AT&T has a "Maintenance Map" site and/or app?
Thanks again! : )

Sorry, I live in Austria and have never used AT&T - try logging into your account online and looking there?

 

[iPadCary]

OK, I just ordered a Verizon nanosim to replace this AT&T drek.
Before I open a Verizon data account, how do I go about deleting for good my AT&T data account
so that I don't keep getting auto-charged every month?