(UPDATE) – The article has been updated to include information from both Apple and AT&T.
AT&T on Thursday sent a text message to its iPhone 18 Pro Max-using customers urging them to immediately update their device to the iOS 27.0.1 update released earlier this week. The carrier says its a fix for the issues that some US iPhone 18 Pro Max users are experiencing with AT&T cellular connectivity and/or eSIM provisioning.
The text message says:
Hi, it’s AT&T. Action needed: An important Apple software update for your iPhone 18 Pro Max is available. Some phones may be unable to complete calls/text/data, including to 911. Update to iOS 27.0.1 immediately — Settings > General > Software Update. Please contact AT&T or Apple if you have questions.
Let’s hope the iPhone 18 Pro Max users actually received that text message, considering their connectivity issues.
Affected users are unable to connect to the AT&T network for phone calls, text messages, or data and their iPhone is showing “SOS” as the connection. The underlying cause of the problem has not been confirmed, and Apple has yet to publicly comment on the situation.
Although AT&T is urging customer to update to iOS 27.0.1, several affected users have said the update does not fix the problem. There have been several complaints in online forums, including the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community.
It should also be noted that Apple’s release notes for iOS 27.0.1 do not mention a fix for AT&T cellular issues. Rather, it merely says that the update addresses an issue that could cause Face ID not to work properly on the iPhone 18 Pro.
An AT&T spokesperson told Mactrast:
“Apple has released a software update to address an issue that may affect calls, data, texts and 911 calls on a small number of Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max phones. AT&T customers with an iPhone 18 Pro Max should update their phones now to the latest available software. Our top priority is ensuring customers can stay connected when they need it most, and we are working with Apple to make it right.”
As for Apple’s point of view, an Apple spokesperson told us:
“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.”
The updates are meant to prevent future issues like this, and AT&T users will see the carrier setting for the iPhone 18 Pro Max automatically download over the next 14 days. To manually trigger the download, users can go to Settings -> General -> About.
Apple has only observed the issue with iPhone 18 Pro Max users on the AT&T network. If you iPhone is already without service, you should contact Apple Support or AT&T, or visit an Apple Store or AT&T store. Affected devices will require a hardware replacement.
The US version of the iPhone 18 Pro Max is the only new iPhone that uses a Qualcomm cellular modem. The smaller iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone Duo are equipped with Apple’s C2 modem worldwide, as is the iPhone 18 Pro Max in other parts of the world. However, we don’t know for sure if the Qualcomm modem is at the root of the problem.
If the problem is indeed a software issue, Apple may be able to include a fix for it in a future iOS 27 update. Or, since customers on other carriers, such as T-Mobile and Verizon, are not reporting similar issues, is it something on AT&T’s end? Only time will tell.
