AT&T acknowledges iPhone 18 Pro Max issues: ‘Update immediately’

In a text message sent to customers today, AT&T acknowledged that some iPhone 18 Pro Max devices on its network are experiencing cellular issues.

AT&T said customers should immediately update to iOS 27.0.1, despite many affected users saying the update doesn’t fix the issues. There are now at least thousands of users experiencing this issue, according to discussion threads on the Apple Support Community forums, Reddit, and Woozad.

Here’s what the text message says:

Hi, it’s AT&T. Action Required: An important Apple software update for your iPhone 18 Pro Max is available. Some phones may not be able to make calls/texts/data, including to 911. Update to iOS 27.0.1 immediately — Settings > General > Software Update. Please contact AT&T or Apple if you have any questions.

Apple’s release notes for iOS 27.0.1 don’t mention a fix for AT&T cellular issues. Instead, the update fixed a Face ID issue on iPhone 18 Pro models.

As we reported last week, affected iPhone 18 Pro Max users are persistently or intermittently unable to connect to the AT&T network for phone calls, text messages, or data, and their devices typically go into SOS mode. The underlying cause has not been confirmed and Apple has yet to publicly comment on the matter.

Notably, the US version of the iPhone 18 Pro Max is the only new iPhone unveiled last month equipped with a Qualcomm cellular modem. The smaller iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo are equipped with Apple’s C2 modem worldwide, as is the iPhone 18 Pro Max in all other countries. However, it is unclear whether this is a contributing factor.

If a software issue is identified, another update such as iOS 27.0.2 may be required. If there is a hardware problem, it will obviously be a much bigger problem. We will provide further updates as new information becomes available.

(PS There is some irony in AT&T sending a text message to warn iPhone 18 Pro Max users that they may not be able to send or receive text messages.)