Hello. Skip to the asterisks for the solution.
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Background
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I was on vacation in the mountains where I expected to have low signal. I planned to be out mountain biking and wanted to conserve my battery for an emergency. I put my phone on airplane mode for this reason. I turned airplane mode off after completing my trip, but my phone never again obtained a signal. I maintained WiFi access. (Note: I never jail-broke my phone, opened it, I was not using it when this occurred)
I believe my problem is the same as yours, and that the airplane mode was unrelated. It said searching continuously. It still had wifi and worked like an iPod would.
I spoke to Apple support on the phone and they said connection issues were a Verizon problem, not an Apple problem and to go to Verizon. That option was not available to me, so without success, I attempted the following...
- Turn off with power button
- Force restart (power and home held)
- Reset network settings
- remove SIM card, blow out (both powered on and off)
- Downloaded most recent iOS but it failed to install (iOS 8.2)
None of these interventions changed my situation.
I went without a phone for the rest of the week, then visited Verizon upon returning home. They did the same things I did, but they also tried another SIM card and did a factory reset.
However, this completely locked down my phone on the activation screen, failing each time. It would still not find a cellular signal. It would not activate with WiFi. It also did not activate with iTunes when I got home. Verizon told me to go to the Apple store.
It took a few days to get an appointment at Apple. I spoke to a "Genius" for about 10 minutes, during which time they restarted the phone, tried another SIM card, and told me it was out of warranty. They gave me the following options...
- Exchange it $249
- Sign a contract for a iPhone 6 $200
- Buy a new phone outright ~$700
I told them I would sleep on it.
I refused to accept that my iPhone was now a paper weight. Worst case, if it were a damaged cellular card, it should as a minimum continue working as a wifi iPod.
A lot of research, trial and error was done when I got home.
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The following is the solution.
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Here are the steps I took to solve this problem (to the best of my ability to explain them)
- Turn off iPhone
- Open iTunes on computer
- Hold down home button on iPhone and plug iPhone USB into computer
-> (Do not plug in USB before holding down the home key)
- Click restore iPhone on iTunes and update when asked.
-> (You want a full software replacement with update)
This was clearly caused by some sort of corruption to the firmware.
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Outro
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I am very disappointed that Apple so quickly wrote me off. This problem was clearly caused by a bug in software/firmware. I was not operating or abusing the phone when it failed, nor has it ever been jail-broken, or any other kind of abuse.
Apple passed the buck right out of the gate. My wife's phone was clearly working and mine failed, yet they refused to provide any assistance. This problem could have been resolved immediately with the PC we had (same PC used to later fix the problem).
Apple's "Genius" also wrote me off. I understand that I have had my phone for 2.5 years and I am outside of the warranty window. However, this problem is clearly a software, and possibly iOS problem that Apple should take responsibility for. Telling me to spend hundreds replace a perfectly working device is terrible customer service. I am glad I spent a few hours researching this problem and solving it myself, but I am very disappointed that it could have been resolved in a few short minutes by an Apple tech. It also was about a 2.5 hour total time involved in the Apple store once my commute is included.
I hope this story makes it to someone important at apple, and I hope none of you had to or have to spend hundreds to replace a functioning device.
I do not have any special tech background. Just GOOGLE and determination.