After Apple released its flagship phones, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the devices were inevitably subject to due scrutiny. Customers aren't to blame for this, given the persisting problems of exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus has to go through intense vetting if it means that flaws can be detected early on.
Two popular tech sites recently conducted a poll among its users with regard to problems that they may have been noticing with their iPhone or iPhone 7 Plus units. Both 9to5Mac and Gizmodo choired unanimously: the most prominent problem of the phones was Bluetooth-related, specifically car connection woes.
Apart from Bluetooth connectivity problems, the iPhone 7 has also been reported to suffer from LTE problems, particularly those who own a Verizon iPhone 7 unit.
Here's a quick rundown of the problems a number of users are currently experiencing with their iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus:
Bluetooth Problems
In the Gizmodo poll, several users reported Bluetooth connectivity problems with the iPhone 7 that previously did not plague older units like the iPhone 6 or 6s.
A reader tipped Gizmodo that his new iPhone won't automatically connect with his car or speakers, which his old iPhone 5 was able to seamlessly accomplish sans snags.
An anonymous user also informed Gizmodo that the Bluetooth connection on the iPhone 7 is "a nightmare," constantly disconnecting at random. The music will halt on the device or through the speakers despite falsely displaying that music is still playing.
Another reader explained his woes with the iPhone's 7 difficulty in connecting with his Bluetooth headphones, a problem he did not have to deal with back when he used an iPhone 6s that was running a public beta of the iOS 10. With this information, it's likely that Bluetooth connectivity problems aren't rooted in software issues since older units running iOS 10 weren't reported to have the same problems as the iPhone 7.
A few more readers tipped Gizmodo about numerous problems in connecting their iPhone 7 with the entertainment system in their cars. The car models found to be having iPhone 7 Bluetooth connectivity problems were the Ford Focus, Volkswagen Jetta GLI, BMW 335i and the Toyota Venza.
Over at the 9to5Mac poll, 24.85 percent of the overall votes, or 1,710 users, reported that they were having Bluetooth connectivity problems with their iPhone 7, while 43 percent, or 2,959 users, reported that they weren't having problems with their iPhone 7.
LTE Problems
According to some Verizon iPhone 7 users, the devices are randomly dropping LTE connectivity. A report by MacRumors indicates that there are a "dozens of complaints" from iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus owners who posted their individual issues via MacRumors forums, Reddit and Apple Support communities.
Similar to the Bluetooth connectivity issues, the LTE problems seem to occur only on Apple's newest flagship phones and not with older models. Users complain that with the LTE connection dropping regularly, they are deferred to a 3G signal, sometimes even dropping the signal altogether.
As a stopgap solution, users can turn off VoLTE to avoid dropped calls. Still, turning this off would mean that users can't make phone calls over LTE, and turning off a feature to avoid a glitch isn't exactly a solution users are comfortable with, especially after the fact that they spent a lot to purchase the iPhone 7.
Apple's latest public release, the iOS 10.0.2, fixes neither. Bluetooth and LTE connectivity problems continue to plague numerous devices. Is this proviso of a major problem Apple is to face in the future when more iPhone 7 or 7 Plus units are shipped globally? There's already an alleged incident of an iPhone 7 exploding, and these problems collectively pollute the dialogue surrounding the new devices.
It remains uncertain whether these problems come with a faulty software, which is ideal because this means that it can be easily fixed with an update. However, if these problems are rooted in hardware issues, that's another story altogether.
