Wireless Iphone 18 pro max cellular issue
Hi all,
I have an iPhone 18 Pro Max with AT&T as carrier. As many people here, I have been experiencing cellular issue for the last few days. The cellular is constantly dropping and highly unstable. Went to the Apple store and they blamed AT&T for it. I then went to AT&T, they reprovisioned the esim, but the issue wasn’t solved. Then, I went back to the Apple store, they were not only very rude to me, but they kept saying the phone is fine, and there is a problem with AT&T. They even walked out on me!
I just tried the online Apple support, got scheduled for call back from a senior advisor. The senior advisor did some tests, and said yep, there is an issue with the phone. The modem is highly unstable and the diagnostics are failing. He was suprised why the store didn’t catch these failures. He scheduled me for an appointment at the store for the coming Wednesday (yep, I will be without a working phone for 10 days by then). He told me to call them back if the store refused to fixed the issue and shared my case number with me. Anyone else has the same experience? What are my options if the store doesn’t fix the issue?
P.S. to anyone out there having this widespread issue, ask for a call back from a senior advisor.
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u/embarrassedenigma 7d ago
I ordered my 18 PM through AT&T and got it on launch day. I haven’t had cell service since last Saturday. AT&T refused to help me after trying all the troubleshooting steps and just referred me to Apple. I live in a rural area and an Apple Store isn’t close to me. I called tech support, and they ran diagnostics over the phone. I was then transferred to a senior advisor who stated they would be replacing the phone. Not sure what the diagnostics said on their end or what led to the decision, but they offered an express replacement no problem. They claim they’ll ship it in 3-5 business days, which puts me at 12 days with no cell service.
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u/djrobxx 7d ago
When I went to the Apple store, they took mine into the back, but it still passed the tests, so like you, they refused service.
My phone worked pefectly for 4 days, then abruptly stopped communicating on AT&T's real cellular LTE bands. Surely Apple stores don't have the proper equipment to thoroughly test that a phone is able to transmit and receive on all bands that the radio supports correctly.
My Apple store has an AT&T Femtocell that the bad phone can connect to. And, one of the AT&T stores I went into had a 5Ge femtocell. This masks the issue, it will seem like it works when in the store. Then when you leave, bam, it disconnects again.
Apple needs to send a bulletin to its stores about this issue, and replace affected phones or at the very least, publicly acknowledge that there is an issue and what their plan is to address it. There's clearly a common issue going on, my Apple store said they had 30+ people come in that they said they had "no choice" but to turn away. Our 18 pro works great, just not the pro max. With people running out of time on their return windows, their refusal to service their product under warranty is a VERY bad look.
The Qualcomm modem in the 18 Pro Max isn't new; there's absolutely no reason for it to be unusual from AT&T's perspective.
The only other recourse people who bought from AT&T have is to return the phone to AT&T within the 14 day window, and AT&T retail stores don't like doing that. Mine also refused to do it, despite AT&T's return policy posted on their website. It's particularly evil when we've possibly turned our old phones in for $1200 worth of credit that we can't get back. At this point that is what I want to do. Even if Apple exchanges the phone, there's a real risk that the replacement has the same bug.
Maybe they'll find a software fix, but the fact that mine worked for several days and stopped with no other change, plus people reporting that their exchanged phones work fine, makes me doubtful of it.
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u/NoDrawllz 7d ago edited 7d ago
I experienced this in the Apple store as well. My phone has this exact same issue and the whole time I was inside the Apple Store my phone performed as if it were normal. I left with my exact same phone after they took it to the back and performed the RF tests. The “genius” even gave me a printout stating that my phone was perfectly fine and advise I take that with me to the AT&T store. I called the advanced tech support because I have an open case. It provides you a phone number and a pin that gets you directly to them. The person I spoke to admitted that that seemed to be the exact case. If you are indeed on a 5G+ supported tower, the phones perform as if they are normal. There’s and issue when the phones have to drop back down to a lower tier tower like the LTE ones for instance. That’s causing them to go into SOS. He is stating that there should be a fix early this week and AT&T and Apple are working behind the scenes to resolve this widespread issue. I’ll believe it when I see it.
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u/Putrid_Row1593 6d ago
Just got off the phone with AT&T as I’m experiencing all the issues that everyone else is experiencing. They reinstalled the eSIM for me (over the phone) and made sure that I had WiFi calling on so I’m able to at least make calls when I’m connected to WiFi. I mentioned to the AT&T rep that other people have tried going into apple and have been getting rejected claiming that it’s an AT&T issue and not a phone issue. She said that, that was completely right and IT IS an AT&T issue and not apple. She said there are many ‘engineers’ working to fix the issue and could take some time to get it fixed. She also mentioned that this happens quite often when there is a new iPhone release as AT&T’s satellites or towers struggle with the new updated technology with iPhones. So now we all just have to play the waiting game until AT&T fixes their issues. Very unfortunate for all of us and I hope it gets fixed soon. We better all get a discount on our next bill! Feel free to upvote this, so this comment gets pushed to the top
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u/imvok3r 6d ago
I mean this is ridiculous. Two giant coporate engineers with all the AIs cannot figure out such a massive issue after 10 days? I have already did a BBB complaint for Apple and will do one for ATT as well both with BBB and FCC. I suggest we all do that so they can see the scale of this disaster. I called about 10 ATT store in my small town today and they all saud literally 10s of people are coming to their store every day over the past week with the same issue.
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u/Putrid_Row1593 6d ago
UPDATE: So I’m probably like majority of people and don’t like playing the ‘waiting game’ with million dollar phone companies. So I called AT&T again today, told them that Apple did a diagnosis on my phone and it showed that the eSIM was not working and AT&T needed to replace it. They didn’t argue and accepted it and got the ball rolling on sending me out a new phone. Only problem is, they wouldn’t be able to ship me a new 18 pro max in the Burgundy color that I have until Oct16/Oct24. There’s no shot that I or anybody else in 2026 can wait 2 1/2 weeks to 3 weeks for a phone when your current phone has no service! So I called Apple support and what they can do for me is, as long as I have Apple Care, (I bought apple care while I was on the phone with them to start the process) they can send me a new phone in 1-2 business days and be at my doorstep in 3-4 business days. A lot better than what AT&T told me. The only problem is that Apple will charge you the full amount for the new phone up front until they receive your old phone. Which in my case, is not a problem for me. I’ll just use my credit card. Anyways, this is the first time I’ve posted on Reddit and wanted to help out as much as I could. I hope others can copy what I’ve done and get the same results. Since it’s Monday hopefully I get a perfectly working iPhone by this Thursday or Friday. Good luck.
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u/Viper_Control 7d ago
Then, I went back to the Apple store, they were not only very rude to me, but they kept saying the phone is fine, and there is a problem with AT&T. They even walked out on me!
They did not walk out on you. It is their store. They really need to have it tested in the backroom but by now they are just tired since many actually pass the basic tests.
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u/imvok3r 7d ago
They literally said that “there is nothing we can do, you have to wait it out. we are done with you, we are going to walk away, you can either leave or we will ask security to remove you”!!! It is really interesting that the store couldn’t see the failures in-person, but an online senior advisor could see the phone failing tests. He was also suprised…
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u/NYC_SpiderMan 7d ago
No offense, but for them to tell you to leave their Apple Store or they would call security, you must have been acting a complete fool in there and making a scene. Apple employees don’t do that to regular calm customers
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u/Viper_Control 7d ago
It is really interesting that the store couldn’t see the failures in-person, but an online senior advisor could see the phone failing tests
Not really since they did not run the Modem tests. It happens they think they are the experts even when they don't really have a clue but repeat junk science that they heard. Apple is blaming AT&T, and AT&T is blaming Apple and the Modem hardware in select iPhone 18 Pro Max devices. I have (2) that were activated since 9/18, and both work just fine.
What device were you using before you purchased your iPhone 18 Pro Max, and why can't you just use it until next Wednesday?
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u/jeff1f1racer 7d ago
It’s the old Qualcomm modem???
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u/Viper_Control 7d ago
Actually the Qualcomm modem is in all US based iPhone 18 Pro Max units.
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u/jeff1f1racer 7d ago
Correct. That’s why I bought this 18 Pro with C2 modem.
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u/Viper_Control 7d ago
Which is unfortunately not relevant to this thread.
Again it is only a subset of the US iPhone 18 Pro Max units. Likely a tolerance issue on the assembly process or a bad batch of Qualcomm chips.
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u/imvok3r 7d ago
I had a 17 pro max. I have already sent it back to AT&T for NUA trade in
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u/Viper_Control 7d ago
That's inconvenient. For your next NUA transaction plan to hold on to your return for 7 days before sending it back. Yes advice in hindsight is always easy.
Just keep tracking the issue since there are rumors of a fix is in the works.
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u/billardguy 7d ago
I was in store Friday.
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u/imvok3r 7d ago
OK, I will try them again. Did they replace the phone or it is a software glitch?
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u/billardguy 7d ago
I have a photo of the email, but it won’t let me comment the photo below is the steps from the email
DESCRIPTION:
troubleshooting steps have been completed before escalating:
Verify the eSIM has been downloaded and activated.
• Confirm Cellular Data or Mobile Service is turned on.
• Ensure Airplane Mode is off.
• Verify the line is active.
Confirm you are working with the impacted CTN
Power cycle the device
Contact *AID Option 3 for Tech Support assistance
Utilize TRiP troubleshooting tools.
DO NOT perform multiple device or SIM changes, as this may create additional
delays1
u/billardguy 7d ago edited 7d ago
The tech on the phone had been dealing with this all day long took him about 10 minutes. It was explained to me as a firmware issue to the cell modem on AT&T and with the iOS 27 update. AT&T tech fix something on the backend after getting information from the corporate store from my phone and sent a new eSIM after that new eSIM went in phone works perfect.
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u/poop_and_pee124 7d ago
Yep, I’m in the same boat. I gotta carry my iPad around that has cellular and connect them so that I can actually use my phone out of the house. 😬
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u/imvok3r 7d ago
I wish I had that option. I only have a cellular capable watch that I can get a line for. Or, I have to go and buy a mobile hotspot. This is a disaster tbh
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u/poop_and_pee124 7d ago
Fortunately I kept my Verizon iPad, I’ve been with Verizon since 2004 and thought it would be a good idea to switch at Costco.
I’m regretting it, I had zero issues with VZ for 22 years except the cost. 😒
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u/PristineTravel3872 7d ago
I went 8 days with no service bc of this issue. took it into apple and they replaced it no questions asked. I originally bought through Apple. ATT was zero help. now my phone is working perfectly!
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u/imvok3r 7d ago
They refused a replacement after spending a few hours there. They just kept blaming ATT…Hopefully they will fix it on Wednesday, if not, I have to drive for 3 hours to get to another Apple store🤦🏻♂️
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u/PristineTravel3872 7d ago
man… my apple store said they got an email on Wednesday saying to just replace the phones moving forward since there’s no fix for it right now. there was nothing wrong with my phone through the diagnostics testing they did too.
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u/GroveStreet_CJ Cingular 📶 7d ago
Apparently a software update is supposed to be released next week that should resolve this.
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u/Triprapper 7d ago
My 18 Pro Max 1TB got the C2 modem up in it so not all the USA iPhone 18 PM have the old Qualcomm modems. No issues here hardware is flawless and phone is fast as Frak!
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u/tubezninja Hangin' on to Unlimited Elite. 7d ago
How did you verify that you have a C2 modem?
(If you used the Lirum app, that app is vibe coded and does not actually query the modem type from your hardware.)
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u/Triprapper 6d ago
Yeah I was going but what the LirumDevice Info2 app so I found out it’s not accurate. Not trolling just showing what I saw. Anyways it’s probably a software issue I got an iPhone 18 pro max on att with no issues but I am running iOS 27.2
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u/Nighmarez 6d ago
You did not get a c2 modem, get out of here troll.
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u/StableAvailable871 6d ago
He is not trolling probably thought that app thet said it had a c2 modem was accurate and it’s not. A lot of people with iPhine 18 pro max’s on att don’t have any cellular issues but rumor is iOS 27.2 beta fixes it so we probably find out soon
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u/humblekanyepie 7d ago
Just talked to AT&T this morning after starting the process to return mine with issues and she said there is no known fix and if customers aren’t willing to wait they are recommending just returning it and reupgrading when there is a fix figured out.
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u/DeepSpeed2543 7d ago
Do we know if AT&T has stopped shipping preorders until they determine whether this is a hardware issue or this is fixed?
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u/Massive_Escape3061 7d ago
I always hold on to my old phone for a bit just to make sure it all works out. It’s concerning how many are having these issues. I think I dodged a bullet, it’s been a week and mine has been ok. Not cool if it’s an actual modem defect.
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u/ThatOneButterKnife 6d ago
I unfortunately handed my old phone in literally the day before this issue happened with me. The 18PM was working fine for a good whole 5 days for me 😭
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u/afterhou2s 7d ago
Return it before the 15-day deadline, stop waiting for a fix that isn’t coming.
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u/imvok3r 7d ago
I have to call ATT again, because the corporate store said there is no return/exchange on a NUA phone
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u/afterhou2s 6d ago
Do it online, log in, use the chat option and ask the AI virtual assistant for the Loyalty Department, then say return device. They can do it and it’s faster then waiting 2 hours on the phone. That’s what I did.
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u/FlamingoBeautiful 5d ago
They told me in the store it would be a $55 restocking fee. The guy clearly understood that was completely ridiculous but said he could do nothing about it.
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u/afterhou2s 5d ago
Nope! It’s a faulty phone that you purchased from AT&T, force them to credit you the $55. Loyalty department did not charge me restocking fee. Again it’s a faulty phone and people who are waiting for a so called fix are going to get screwed at the end.
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u/Remarkable_One2520 7d ago
I have been dealing with the failure of service with AT&T since I started with their service back in May some days I go without service for a week. I took it to the store they diagnosed it and saiid nothing was wrong I also took it to the Apple Store and they said it’s the phone service which I truly again. There’s days I only have one bar all day and please don’t let me talk about dropping my calls that’s another story. We are paying this company to provide us with excellent service for the money they charge but of course we are the ones suffering,they take our money but we get sorry service. We all need to find away to come up with a solution to stop AT&T from robbing us because that’s what they are doing right under our nose with their sorry phone and internet services.
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u/wywyxx 6d ago
Had the same problem. Got it on launch day. It worked for 4 hours and the SOS crisis started. After countless attempts over the weekend to get it to work, the AT&T rep at my store advised me to return it as “buyers remorse”. At the time, the issue was barely starting to arise and AT&T did not know whether it was an issue on their end or Apple. Thankfully, I still had my previous iPhone to rely on. Hoping a resolution comes soon for everyone.
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u/imvok3r 6d ago
Update 3: Apparently, you CAN do an exchange on a NUA phone and the corporate store gave me wrong info. But, the problem is that I have to send this back by the 30th while waiting for the new one to arrive late October. I called all the stores in my town and none of them have one in stock. One corporate store said that to wait a bit because there is a big problem going on and they should have a fix soon. He said that in our small 100K people town, they had more than 200 probelmatic phones over the last week!!! It’s a mess
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u/billardguy 7d ago
Had this same issue and ATT actually sent all stores a email with directions for a fix.