Unlocked iPhone 5 keeps searching for signal overseas

Sorry if this has been answered previously, but I could not find anything to my particular issue. I have an unlocked iPhone 5 that worked just fine in the US however, I am now stationed overseas and have purchased a contract from T-Mobile in Germany. When the new SIM card was initially inserted, the phone recieved signal and worked just fine. About an hour or two after the phone working, it began cycling through "Seaching..." and "No Service" continuously. T-Mobile would not try a new SIM card due to the current one apparently being just fine (they took mine out of my phone and put it in another iPhone and it worked). So they claim that it is either an iOS or hardware issue, which it very well may be. I have tried all the little 'tricks' found all around threads such as; turning airplane mode on and off, force reset(home and power button held together), system restore, reset network settings, and reset all settings. All to no avail. My old AT&T SIM still works just fine over here and connects to the networks over here just fine however, I have been told several times that it's a iOS or hardware issue. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Go back to T-Mobile and demand new SIM card. You are paying for cell sevice if they cannot provide it, then cancel T-Mobile. I am sure they will give you functioning SIM Card.

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My iphone 4 keeps searching for signal and then goes to no service for a good hour! what's wrong with it?

I have had my iPhone 4 for nearly a year now and previously i have had no problems with the phone but over the past few weeks since i have done the ios:5 update..
It's been driving me insane. I lose signal when i need signal the most & it's also been cutting out all of my phone calls.
Is anyone else having the same problem? & have you resolved it.. PLEASE HELP. I'M DESPERATE.

Try restoring the iPhone as well as getting a new sim card.

1.my iphone 4s keeps searching for service ... 2. it isnt recognized by itunes or my pc 3. im stuck on the activation screen as a result .... i need help

1.my Iphone 4s keeps searching for service ...
2. it isnt recognized by itunes or my pc
3. im stuck on the activation screen as a result
....i need help

Hey Jadonalecwilson,
Thanks for the question. If I understand correctly, you have a few issues with the iPhone. I would recommend that you read these articles, they may be helpful in troubleshooting your issue.
Get help activating your iPhone - Apple Support
iPhone, iPad, or iPod not recognized in iTunes for Windows - Apple Support
If you see No Service in the status bar of your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Have a good one,
Mario

IPhone 5 keeps searching for carrier.

I have an unlocked iPhone 5. I recently updated my iPhone to iOS 7 and now it keeps searching for carrier. What should I do?

Well, it seems the phone is working again now. I've tried to restore it several times (which didn't work) but after restoring it from backup (iCloud) the phone seems to work again.
It's not a real solution becouse I've tried to restore it several times without result. Very very very strange problem...

Why does my I phone 3 keep searching for signal

Why does my I phone3 keep searching for a signal

Hi jodierigby,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities. This article has steps you can take if your iPhone is unexpectedly powering off:
iPhone: Hardware troubleshooting
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2802
Will not turn on, will not turn on unless connected to power, or unexpected power off
Verify that the Sleep/Wake button functions. If it does not function, inspect it for signs of damage. If the button is damaged or is not functioning when pressed, seek service.
Check if a Liquid Contact Indicator (LCI) is activated or there are signs of corrosion. Learn about LCIsand corrosion.
Connect the iPhone to the iPhone's USB power adapter and let it charge for at least ten minutes.
After at least 30 minutes, if:
The home screen appears: The iPhone should be working. Update to the latest version of iOS if necessary. Continue charging it until it is completely charged and you see this battery icon in the upper-right corner of the screen . Then unplug the phone from power. If it immediately turns off, seek service.
The low-battery image appears, even after the phone has charged for at least 20 minutes: See "iPhone displays the low-battery image and is unresponsive" symptom in this article.
Something other than the Home screen or Low Battery image appears, continue with this article for further troubleshooting steps.
If the iPhone did not turn on, reset it while connected to the iPhone USB power adapter.
If the display turns on, go to step 4.
If the display remains black, go to next step.
Connect the iPhone to a computer and open iTunes. If iTunes recognizes the iPhone and indicates that it is in recovery mode, attempt to restore the iPhone. If the iPhone doesn't appear in iTunes or if you have difficulties in restoring the iPhone, see this article for further assistance.
If restoring the iPhone resolved the issue, go to step 4. If restoring the iPhone did not solve the issue, seek service.
Cheers,
- Ari

MY IPHONE EVERYTIME IS SEARCHING FOR SIGNAL

EVERYTIME I TRY TO MAKE CALLS FROM MY IPHONE IT'S JUST STOP AND START TO SEARCHING FOR SIGNAL. THE SIGNAL WHEN I TRY TO CALL AT FIRST TIME WAS WITH FULL STATUS AND IT JUST DOESN'T WORK AND START SEARCHING SIGNAL EVERY CALL I TRY TO MAKE.

Try this:
Check that your security software and settings aren't preventing your device from communicating with the Apple update server.
Then try to restore your iOS device two more times while connected with a cable, computer, and network you know are good.
Confirm that your security software and settings are allowing communication between your device and update servers.
If you still see the error message when you update or restore, contact Apple support.
copied from Resolve iOS update and restore errors

IPhone 5 RARELY searches for signal. Useless.

Me and a friend have both noticed the iPhone 5 doesn't bother searching for signal at all. We are both on different networks, both upgraded from previous iPhones.
For work I move areas a lot so I pass black spots often.
I have to toggle airplane mode many many times a day for the phone to start searching for signal.
VERY FRUSTRATING. All I want is to pick up the phone and use it when I want!
This is not a network issue.
This is clearly a firmware issue and some prat has thought it was a great way to save battery.
I would take it back to the 3store I got it from but the store doesn't exist anymore... well according to iOS 6 maps!!!!
Sort it out!!
Grrrrr

At home I have full 3G signal, all the time, everywhere in the house. Always have done.
If I've been on the road, get home, nine times out of ten it will still say no service, even if I leave it for a while it won't bother to search for signal and I know fully well there is excellent coverage in my house.
Toggle airplane mode, it triggers it to search networks and I get the full 3G signal back.
I don't know how you've assumed it's a fact I have little network coverage. "Gosh"

Why is my iphone 4 constantly searching for signal

My son dropped his iphone at school the other day, and it has been searching for signal ever since. He can send imessages, but cannot make or receive other texts or calls. I have six months left on this contract. What do I do?

Hello sassyklaas, no one likes a broken phone! Let's get to the bottom of this together. Can you first try dialing *228 and choose option 1 if the screen will let you navigate. After this is completed, restart the phone to see if there is a change. If the issue still persists, we can review replacement options. Do you know if the phone has insurance? You can file a claim here: http://bit.ly/1hhpZuv
WiltonA_VZW
VZW Support
Follow us on twitter @VZWSupport

IOS 7.0.3: iPhone 5 keeps searching for a network without sim

Hi there
I update my iPhone 5 from 7.0.2 to 7.0.3 yesterday.
Since then my iPhone does not care about the sim card.
I can remove the sim card and the iPhone keeps searching for a network.
Whe I insert another sim, the iPhone does not ask for a pin.
I did a iPhone Restore. Saddly the bug is still there.
My problem no is, I cannot activate my iPhone after the restore, because of the sim card problem.
Is there a simple solution, or shoud I go to an Apple Store?
Thanks!

My solution was the Recovery Mode:
http://www.guidingtech.com/16064/put-iphone-in-recovery-mode/

"searching" for signal, all the time now. . .

so lately i've been noticing my iphone is constantly "searching" for signal in places were i used to get 3GS signal/service (full bars) all the time. now, i was ready to blame at&t outright, but lately whenever this happens i've been "reseting" the phone (home + sleep buttons) and after the reset i get full 3GS service again.
why is this happening? is this an at&t issue, or an iphone hardware issue? why do i have to reset the phone to get a signal?

Thanks for your suggestion but I tried that (several times) as well as restoring from backup and restore as to a new iPhone. I have switched off, removed sim, in fact everything that has been suggested by every support person I have spoken to at O2 and Apple. They seem to concur it is a network issue not the phone so I am going to buy an O2 sim today and take it with me to France tomorrow when I go home. I will try to use another phone (not iPhone) with O2 to see if it connects and also try to use my own sim from the iPhone in another phone. This will at least prove where the problem lies - though it will not resolve it of course. I am expecting to find it is the phone, not the network. I'll report back after the test.

My iPhone 4S keeps searching even after I took out SIM card

My iPhone 4S keeps searching for service.
I've tried:
Taking out SIM card, then powered off my phone
Powered off my phone
Restarting network settings
Restarting all settings
Airplane mode off and on
This has been going on for about possibly two months now.
What can I do to resolve this problem?
After two weeks since this happened, I dropped my phone resulting into the back glass being cracked, and a better quality camera (haha), could this be another cause??

The device is obviously damaged.
If it has been opened by anyone other than Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Center you are on your own.
If it has not been, take it to Apple for an Out of Warranty replacement.

My iphone 3g is keep searching for network, and the carrier unable to load network list , wat shall i do? Read more: My iphone 3g is keep searching for network, and the carrier unable to load network list

My iphone 3g is keep searching for network, and the carrier unable to load network list , wat shall i do?

Yes, that kind of tallies with my experience ... after 3 days of useless iPhone 3G (BTW, killing 3G on the phone and relying on acquiring AT&T 2G didn't help, it still locked onto T-Mobile with the result that it was draining battery and rebooting frequently!), I ended up visiting the local Apple Store.
Although the visit was not to resolve the iPhone problem, whilst there I happened to cycle the phone and due to the store having a local AT&T cell, the strength of the local signal meant that I finally re-acquired a AT&T 3G signal ... once locked on again the phone was fine for the next day.
Nett outcome of this is that I would prefer to lay most of the blame for this debacle on the poor state of 3G support both by AT&T (and US carriers in general), maybe exacerbated in my case by two related events (the local DNC in Denver, which saturated local AT&T cells including 3G and a proliferation of v2.0.0 and v2.0.1 firmwares on iPhones in town, which dragged cell coverage into the weeds).
It would be nice for future sanity if AT&T and T-Mobile could at least resolve the ability to acquire/release the iPhone gracefully, otherwise I'll be very sceptical of travelling back to the US with only my iPhone, as a self-employeed consultant I can't afford to be out of touch for three days again!

When in sleep mode iPhone 4 loses signal but when it's back on it searches and finds signal only recently doing this and because it's searching for signal battery not lasting very long please help

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Here are some observations and a suggestion.
1) I mentioned before, that the number of views of this discussion forum is fast approaching 100,000. I suppose relative to all iPhones sold that is not a great percentage, but 100,000 still sounds pretty impressive to me. Consider also that many people probably have this same Sim problem and are not viewing this discussion forum because thay do not know it exists. How many people are REALLY experiencing this problem? Who knows. But I suspect it is more that 100,000.
2) To the best of my knowledge, Apple does not consult these forums as a guide to awareness of product performance. It may be company policy, but most of the time when I speak to an Apple employee they seem remarkably unaware of the "Top Stories" in the Apple Discussion Forum. This, despite the fact that my personal experience with customer service at Apple is excellent. So, as much as we of this discussion forum are confident SOMEONE important at Apple is reading all our posts and taking them to heart...I am not so sure.
3) I have been told over and over that the best way to gain Apple's attention regarding a problem is to post a comment on their Feedback Site. One comment about a problem is pretty worthless. 100,000 comments on the same issue, I'm guessing, will really get their attention.
4) Some folks have mentioned a recall to address this problem. Although such a thing is always a possibility, I don't see it happening. Why? When the brakes on a Toyota don't work, or that Toyata starts to accelerate without driver intention...well, that involves human life and the stakes are quite high. For many reasons you would see the automotive industry eventually be forced into a recall program under such a situation. But, a phone APPEARS to not nearly be such a life and death device. Or is it? My daughter's iPhone 4S developed a "SIM FAILURE" on the same day her car broke down in the middle of the very rural area we live at around 10:00 pm. She is 17 years old and was coming home from high school play practice. You can imagine the anxiety I and her mother felt when she did not arrive home on time. She eventually walked about a quarter mile to a house of a stranger and had to ask to use their phone to call us. Now, I am not saying that strangers where I live are not to be trusted. But, in addition to being worried out of my mind, I was not happy that an inoperative iPhone 4S caused my daughter to be put in this situation. My biggest concern now is...when will my daughter's iPhone become inoperative again due to SIM FAILURE?
5) The more folks in this discussion forum who post a comment about this issue in Apple's feedback site the more pressing this issue is going to be perceived by Apple. So, I like others, encourage all of you to do so. If this seems like a lot of effort, I offer you these few sentences below that you could just copy and paste into the feedback site.
The link to feedback site is: http://www.apple.com/feedback/
Feel free to use copy/amend/whatever the following as you wish:
Dear Apple,
I wish to register a strong concern about my iPhone's unpredictable inoperability due to failures somehow associated with it's SIM technology. For me, I do not consider this just a significant lack of convenience, but a significant safety issue. Should I need my phone in an emergency situation where it is experiencing a SIM FAILURE, I believe the iPhone will have put me at risk. I would ask you to please give fixing this problem your greatest priority and effort.
Sincerely, XXXX

Unable to sync over wifi - iPhone keeps searching for the macbook

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hey krispyking22 are you still looking for a solution ?

I'm using 3G3 16gb and just upgraded to 4.3.3. Tried activating bluetooth to use Personal Hotspot for my laptop. But the iphone keep searching for devices thou my laptop can detect the phone. Does anyone know how to solve this?

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Hi NWL1,
Thanks for the question. If I understand correctly, the iPhone won't update and is stuck. I would recommend that you read this article, it may be able to help you resolve or isolate the issue.
If you can't update or restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Have a great day,
Mario

Unlocked iPhone 5 keeps searching for signal overseas

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