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.
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.