Some iPhone 18 Pro Max owners in the US are losing mobile service on their new phones. It’s happening on AT&T, one of the country’s mobile networks. Calls, texts and mobile data stop working, and AT&T says that can include 911 calls. Apple confirmed the fault on 2nd October 2026 and said a phone that has already lost service can’t be fixed with a software update. It has to be replaced.
That’s a serious failure for Apple. The Pro Max is the larger of the two Pro phones Apple launched last month, and it went on sale on 18th September. Owners started reporting the problem the next day. More than three weeks after launch, Apple hasn’t said what’s failing inside the phone.
Apple’s latest move came on 8th October, when AT&T owners testing iOS 27.2 beta got a new carrier settings update. It doesn’t help phones that have already failed.
What happens to an affected phone
The phone drops off AT&T’s network, for some owners on and off, for others all the time, and the status bar usually shows “SOS” where the signal bars should be. The first post in Apple’s own support forum thread on the problem, started on 19th September, reads: “New iPhone can’t make or receive phone calls or FaceTimes.” By 12th October, 988 people had clicked “Me too” on it. Anyone can click it, so it isn’t a count of broken phones.
AT&T texted customers about it on 1st October. The message read: “Some phones may be unable to complete calls/text/data, including to 911.” It told them to update to iOS 27.0.1 immediately.
Apple describes the affected group as a “small number” of Pro Max users on AT&T, and it hasn’t given a figure. It says it has only seen the fault on the Pro Max on AT&T, and no other iPhone models or networks are known to be affected.
No software fix for phones already hit
Apple’s updates are meant to stop more phones failing. It released iOS 27.0.1 on 28th September, then on 2nd October a carrier settings update, version 72.1, which downloads automatically to AT&T phones over 14 days. Carrier settings are the network settings on an iPhone, and they update separately from iOS. Apple also started requiring iOS 27.0.1 to set up a new Pro Max. In Apple’s words: “These updates together are meant to help prevent this issue from occurring.” That wording stops short of promising the updates will work.
The 8th October update moves iOS 27.2 beta testers from carrier bundle 72.0.2 to 72.0.3. Apple hasn’t said what changed in it, or whether it carries the same changes as 72.1.
For phones that have already failed, Apple’s answer is replacement. It tells affected owners to contact Apple Support or AT&T, or to visit an Apple Store or an AT&T store. It hasn’t announced a repair programme for the fault, and its list of service programmes doesn’t include one. Apple’s statement also doesn’t say whether replacement is free.
Which phones, and where the modem comes in
The US Pro Max is the only iPhone 18 Pro model without Apple’s own C2 modem. A teardown found a Qualcomm Snapdragon X80 modem in the US Pro Max.
Apple hasn’t linked the fault to the modem, so for now the modem split is background only.
For owners outside the US, the fault Apple has confirmed has only been seen on AT&T, a US network. If you bought a Pro Max abroad or imported one, it’s worth checking which model you have. Open Settings, tap General, then About, and tap the part number next to Model Number to see the model number. The Pro Max sold in the US is model A3473. Apple hasn’t said how replacement works for a US model used outside the US.
What to do now
If your AT&T Pro Max still works, install iOS 27.0.1 or later from Settings, General, Software Update. Then check your carrier settings: open Settings, General and About, and follow any prompt to install an update. The installed version appears next to Carrier. Mandatory carrier updates install on their own and show an OK button instead of an Update button, so check the version even if you never saw a prompt.
If your phone has lost service, seeing SOS doesn’t automatically mean it has this fault. Apple’s troubleshooting steps start with restarting the phone and asking your network to check your account, coverage and any local outage. If service doesn’t come back, contact Apple or AT&T about a replacement.
Apple’s newest Pro Max can stop working as a phone, and more than three weeks after launch, Apple has no software fix for the phones it happens to and hasn’t said why. Until Apple says what’s failing and how replacements will work, AT&T Pro Max owners whose phones still work have one thing they can do: install the updates.
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