Apple is offering free replacements to some iPhone 18 Pro Max owners affected by a serious AT&T connectivity issue that can prevent the phone from making calls, including emergency 911 calls.
The problem appears to affect iPhone 18 Pro Max models using AT&T’s network. Owners began reporting a loss of cellular connectivity last week, with estimates suggesting that thousands of customers could be affected.
Apple rolled out iOS 27.0.1 alongside a separate carrier-settings update on Friday, with both updates intended to prevent the problem from affecting more phones. Unfortunately, they won’t fix devices that are already experiencing the issue. According to CNET, affected owners will instead be provided with a replacement iPhone 18 Pro Max at no cost.
If you’ve run into the problem, Apple and AT&T are asking affected customers to contact their support teams. Some owners on Reddit have reported that installing iOS 27.0.1 alone didn’t restore cellular service, while upgrading to the iOS 27.2 public beta reportedly didn’t help either.
For now, the problem appears to be quite specific. Only the iPhone 18 Pro Max on AT&T has been implicated, with no similar reports from T-Mobile or Verizon. The standard iPhone 18 Pro on AT&T also doesn’t appear to be affected.
The hardware could be part of the reason. Unlike the iPhone 18 Pro, which uses Apple’s C2 modem, the US version of the iPhone 18 Pro Max uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X80 modem. A teardown by iFixit also found a new millimeter-wave antenna in the phone, while TechInsights says the X80 modem is also used in the previous-generation iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max.
It’s not clear whether the modem or the new antenna is responsible, however. Qualcomm hasn’t yet commented on the issue.
For everyone else, the software and carrier-settings updates should help prevent the problem going forward. But if your iPhone 18 Pro Max has already lost cellular connectivity on AT&T, Apple appears to be taking the more straightforward route: replace the phone rather than trying to patch it.
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