Skip to main content

Apple releases iOS 15.1.1 to help iPhone users with dropped calls

If you’ve been having problems with calls dropping on your iPhone, there’s some good news, as Apple has just pushed out a minor iOS update to resolve this very problem.

The bigger iOS 15.2 update we’ve been waiting for isn’t ready quite yet, however Apple clearly feels that the problems some folks are having with call performance is important enough to push out a smaller iOS 15.1.1 update in the interim.

According to the release notes, this small update includes only one big fix: It “improves call drop performance on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models.”

We haven’t seen too many complaints about this problem online, so it’s not clear how many iPhone owners it’s impacting or whether it only applies to 5G calling or certain carrier networks. It’s possible Apple merely discovered the problem internally, and it’s simply being proactive about fixing it before it becomes widespread.

Since iOS 15.1.1 only addresses this one issue that’s specific to the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 families — including the Pro models — and doesn’t include any security fixes, Apple isn’t releasing it for older models. There’s also no iPadOS equivalent, for obvious reasons. If you’re using an affected iPhone, however, you should be able to find the update in the usual way, by going into Settings > General > Software Update on your iPhone.

If you’re not experiencing problems with dropped calls, however, there’s really no need to rush out and install this update, since it doesn’t appear to do much else. The same fix will almost certainly be incorporated into iOS 15.2, which is expected to include several interesting new features and is likely to arrive in the next few weeks.

Jesse Hollington
Jesse has been a technology enthusiast for his entire life — he probably would have been born with an iPhone in his hand…
I’m so excited about this small iPhone 16 camera upgrade
A close-up screenshot of Photographic Styles on the iPhone 16.

I’ve been an iPhone user since the very first iPhone. Ever since then, it’s become more than just my pocket computer; it’s also been my main camera for almost two decades.

In 2021, with the iPhone 13 line, Apple launched Photographic Styles. These were similar to camera filters that were applied in real time as you took photos, and they were a way to customize how your iPhone camera took photos. They had preset styles, but you could adjust the tone and warmth values to your liking for a truly personalized experience.

Read more
iOS 18 gives your iPhone a super-handy charging feature. Here’s how it works
The display on the iPhone 16 Pro.

Now that iOS 18 is rolling out, we're finding new features that are even more exciting than some of the larger-scale changes -- like a new setting that alerts you if you're using a slow charger on your iPhone.

If you're anything like me, you probably have a lot of old charging cables and bricks around the house. You might not realize that some of those are dated and aren't capable of supporting fast charging, especially if you tend to power your phone up in the evenings while you sleep.

Read more
Google’s Find My Device app is copying a helpful iPhone feature
Someone using Find My with an iPhone 15.

Google's Find My Device network is still a work in progress, with features being added slowly. According to 9to5Google, an important feature that could arrive soon has proven crucial to its chief competitor, Apple, with the Find My app on the iPhone.

In the latest version of the Find My Device app for Android, v3.1.148, Google has set what’s being called a “foundation” for a compass feature -- just like Apple's Precision Finding tool.

Read more