Following numerous complaints from iPhone 18 Pro Max owners, it’s now been officially acknowledged that some units have a problem placing calls, sending texts, and accessing data. Not by Apple itself, but by the carrier AT&T, which has sent out a message to customers warning about the issue and strongly advising them to update iOS “immediately”.
As seen by MacRumors, the carrier sent out the following text on Thursday:
“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.”
While this formal admission will be some comfort to affected parties–since the first step on the road to a fix is admitting that one is needed–the proposed solution may not be viewed kindly. Apple’s release notes for the iOS 27.0.1 software update do not mention fixing this issue, which is hardly a surprise given that the company (unlike AT&T) hasn’t yet acknowledged it. And many users who’ve encountered the bug explicitly report that updating to 27.0.1 doesn’t fix it.
The problem was first reported in mid-September. “New [iPhone 18 Pro Max] can’t make or receive phone calls or FaceTime,” complained the author of one Apple Support discussion thread. “Text messages are extremely slow to come through… It does all of this even when the phone is showing four bars of 5G… then the phone randomly drops service and goes into SOS.”
A Redditor, meanwhile, wrote: “I got my iPhone 18 on Friday. I have coverage through AT&T. I have been noticing that I have been getting SOS on my phone. Wi-Fi works for the internet but I can’t make calls. Even if it doesn’t say SOS, trying to make a phone call is impossible now.”
There are thousands of replies to these and similar discussions, many of whom confirm they’ve had the same experience. And they are pessimistic about AT&T’s solution. One commenter on the Apple Support thread replies, “I just received a text from them that the latest [iOS 27.0.1] update would fix the problem – I had already updated to this so I know it isn’t the resolution. This just reaffirms that they have no idea what the problem is or how to fix it.”
And while a separate Reddit thread entitled “iPhone 18 Pro Max Cellular Issues: Did iOS 27.0.1 resolve them?” includes a couple of replies who cautiously think it may have helped, but overwhelming people are unconvinced the issue is fixed:
It would appear that we’re not even close to a resolution, since it isn’t even clear if this is a hardware or software problem, or whether it’s possible to fix it through an iOS update. We’ll keep you updated as we hear more.
Update, October 2: AT&T sent us the following statement:
“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.”
