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Products & Applications

Apple Confirms Some iPhone 18 Pro Max Units on AT&T Are Losing Cellular Service and Must Be Replaced

Apple says a "small number" of iPhone 18 Pro Max phones on AT&T have lost cellular service and cannot make calls. Affected units need a hardware replacement; iOS 27.0.1 plus a carrier settings update are meant to protect the rest.

AI News Feed · 2026-10-05 20:44

In a statement to 9to5Mac, quoted by TechRadar and Android Authority, Apple said: "We have identified an issue affecting a small number of iPhone 18 Pro Max users on the AT&T network that may cause a device to lose service and be unable to make calls. We released iOS 27.0.1 earlier this week and strongly encourage all iPhone 18 Pro Max users to update now, and are also issuing a carrier settings update today. These updates together are meant to help prevent this issue from occurring."

According to TechRadar, the carrier settings update should install automatically within 14 days, but users can pull it down sooner by going to Settings, then General, then About, where a prompt to download it should appear. iOS 27.0.1 has to be installed manually if a phone has not already received it.

Checking whether a handset is affected does not require any diagnostic tool. TechRadar reports that a broken iPhone 18 Pro Max will display the word "SOS" in the status bar and will be unable to use AT&T's network for calls, texts or data, although Wi-Fi connections still work. Users who see none of those symptoms are advised to update immediately. Users who do see them have no software fix available and need to contact Apple Support or AT&T by phone or online, or visit an Apple Store or an AT&T branch, where a free replacement should be issued; both outlets recommend backing up the phone first.

The fault appears to be limited to the Pro Max model on AT&T. Android Authority notes that the iPhone 18 Pro is not generating the same complaints, which it attributes to the two phones using different modems: the Pro Max sold in the United States carries Qualcomm's X80 5G modem, while the standard iPhone 18 Pro uses Apple's C2 modem. Android Authority reported that it is too early to say whether the Qualcomm modem is responsible or whether a faulty firmware release is at fault.

Reports from users surfaced shortly after the iPhone 18 Pro series went on sale. Android Authority cited a Reddit thread, posted days after launch, in which several owners described the same loss of service. The person who posted the original complaint and another user who took affected phones to a nearby Apple Store said the company replaced their devices, while some other owners reported that they had not received a replacement.

The iPhone 18 Pro Max has been on sale for a couple of weeks and starts at $1,299 for the 256GB model, a price that Android Authority linked to an ongoing RAM and memory crunch across the industry. In a separate piece published the same day, the outlet argued that the same $1,299 could buy an Android flagship such as the Google Pixel 11 Pro XL or the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, or a folding phone such as the Motorola Razr Ultra (2026) for about $200 more.