- Apple has confirmed that a “small number” of iPhone 18 Pro Max users are experiencing an unfixable error
- Affected users will have to replace their phone
- All currently unaffected iPhone 18 Pro Max users on AT&T should download a pair of updates to ensure their phones don’t break
Most bugs can be fixed through software updates, but right now some iPhone 18 Pro Max users are facing a bug that requires a whole new handset.
In a statement to 9to5Mac, Apple confirmed that a “small number” of iPhone 18 Pro Max devices have lost AT&T Cellular service, rendering them unable to make calls.
The company is rolling out a carrier settings update that — along with iOS 27.0.1 — is designed to prevent this issue on phones that aren’t already affected, but it won’t fix things for devices that already have the bug.
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How to check if your phone is affected
So, how can you check if your phone is affected? Well, first the issue is limited to iPhone 18 Pro Max models on AT&T – the iPhone 18 Pro is not affected, possibly because it uses a different modem. So if you’re not on AT&T or not using an iPhone 18 Pro Max, you should be fine.
If you’re using this phone on AT&T, you should be able to easily tell if the bug has hit your handset because it will display the word ‘SOS’ in the status bar, and you won’t be able to use the AT&T network for calls, texts or data – although Wi-Fi will still work.
If you haven’t experienced this, be sure to update your phone to iOS 27.0.1 immediately. The carrier settings update that Apple is additionally rolling out should be installed automatically within the next 14 days, but you can trigger it beforehand by going to Settings > General > About, where a prompt should appear to download this.
But what if you are already affected by this error? Well, unfortunately the only option is to get it replaced for your phone.
To do this, contact Apple Support or AT&T by phone or online, or visit an Apple Store or AT&T branch. Since this is an unfixable glitch, you should then issue a free replacement – but make sure you’ve done your current iPhone first.
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