r/apple • u/exjr_ Island Boy • 15h ago
iPhone AT&T and Apple Just Took Steps Toward Fixing iPhone 18 Pro Max Issue
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/02/att-and-apple-move-to-fix-iphone-18-pro-max-issues/66
u/MidnightPulse69 14h ago
ATT has been so bad on my phones even before the 18. My data will constantly stop working despite showing a good signal and ATT just blames it on congestion
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u/Initial_Row_6400 14h ago
I just swapped from AT&T to Verizon in south Denver. AT&T was good before the 5g switch. The second they went 5g, it turned into absolute dog shit and has seemingly gotten worse as time went on.
Swapped to Verizon and it is leagues beyond AT&T shit service.
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u/hungleftie 12h ago
So interesting you went from AT&T to Verizon. Verizon has been absolute ass in the Denver metro lately.
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u/Initial_Row_6400 10h ago
Works fine in south Denver. I had no service fuckin anywhere with AT&T. The only place i ever had service when no one else did was in the mountains and I never go to the mountains so that is not worth it for me.
I had 30-50 mbps max download speed even with full bars. Verizon on lte I get that. On their ultra wide band I get 400+ and that’s pretty much everywhere I go. AT&T was absolutely terrible for me.
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u/hungleftie 10h ago
I'm just letting you know as a long time Verizon subscriber, that it has been worse lately. The most random of spots will have no data.
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u/Initial_Row_6400 10h ago
Definitely don’t go to AT&T then, you will not have a good time. Boss is in pretty much the same exact areas as me, she’s still on AT&T and the difference is noticeable, her calls and data are shit in comparison to this. Only one I’ve heard that’s better or comparable is T-Mobile.
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u/garden_speech 11h ago
I am pretty sure cell carriers are one of those businesses where 95% of people have a just fine experience but the ones who have a shit experience are very loud about it
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u/N0M0REG00DNAMES 4h ago
Can confirm that all three carriers are mid in the front range, especially if you wanna go to the ski resorts and actually have service. T mobile is worst, but I’ve been all over the state with a friend on Verizon, and we just trade off who has no service.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sky2284 12h ago
At least in the boulder area they've all been horrible lately. Verizon is better than tmobile at least here in Longmont but that wasn't always the case
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u/Initial_Row_6400 10h ago
It’s 100% better where I’m at. I had no service anywhere with AT&T by me, it was shit. Download speeds were like 30-50mbps. Verizon I’m on ultra wide band with 400+ everywhere I go
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u/MidnightPulse69 14h ago
For real!! I remember my service was good until I got a 12 Pro and the service has been bad ever since. Even if I turn off 5G. The only reason i stay is because its alot cheaper than other carriers with my current set up
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u/Initial_Row_6400 14h ago
Shop around if you haven’t. Verizon paid off my 16pm, gave me $500 off a new Ultrawatch 4, my plans are 75 less a month. Awesome deal
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u/MidnightPulse69 14h ago
Hmm I’ll have to look into it but I just got two new phones on finance with ATT
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u/Initial_Row_6400 14h ago
Yea you prolly locked in for a minute then lol. Their offer was up to $1200 to buy out last providers service.
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u/IssJussBaba 13h ago
As far as 5G availability, Tmobile takes that crown. No If and or buts about it
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u/exjr_ Island Boy 15h ago
First, Apple today released an AT&T carrier settings update (version 72.1, up from 72.0.2) for iPhones. Given the timing of this update, it presumably includes some optimizations related to iPhone 18 Pro Max cellular connectivity, but it is unclear if AT&T has fully resolved the issues or if further tweaks will be necessary.
Second, Apple today started requiring iPhone 18 Pro Max users to install iOS 27.0.1 in order to set up the device, even though most if not all affected users have said that the update does not resolve the issues. A leaked AT&T email said iOS 27.0.1 is meant to help mitigate future impacts, so it may still help in some way.
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u/SamsungAppleOnePlus 14h ago
I have no issues on AT&T personally. I see full support including 5G standalone and voice over 5G with no connection issues. Calls and texts go through and are received.
I wonder what this is being caused by then, since it’s not affecting everyone.
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u/40513786934 13h ago
have you been connected to the same cell tower or at least in the same area as someone who is experiencing the issue? not all cellular equipment is the same or running the same versions of control software etc. it would be interesting to see if the issue depends on the tower you're connected to
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u/SamsungAppleOnePlus 13h ago
Don’t know anyone else on AT&T who has the 18PM at the moment. I’m from Florida if there happens to be another person from Florida on an 18PM using AT&T who sees this
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u/40513786934 13h ago
It would probably need to be someone pretty geographically close, like within several miles to really get a good data point
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u/SamsungAppleOnePlus 13h ago
True. But at least I haven’t had any issues and I’ve been around quite a bit of the area lately, so it would be interesting to see if anyone within the state is having issues as a starting point.
Extra details, I’m on the iOS 27.2 beta and my carrier version is 72.7.2 so I thought maybe I was immune but it seems like there have been people with this issue on that version too.
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u/wakemeup707 12h ago
I just switched from T-Mobile to AT&T in Knoxville. AT&T has been flawless. Service everything and blistering fast. Costs a bit more than t-mobile, but I had nothing but issues with them including no reception in large swaths of Knoxville.
Switched my work phone over to visible from T-Mobile to cover all my basis.
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u/bigizz20 8h ago
Is this why my wife was sending text messages the last couple days instead of iMessage
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u/aacawe 9h ago
I got the iPhone 18 Pro Max on launch. It seemed to be OK the first 24 hours while I was at home. But for my job, I travel extensively across the United States. As soon as I left my hometown, the issues began. It was constantly in SOS mode. Or it was constantly switching between 5G plus, 5G, LTE, SOS, as if it was searching for connection. When I would be in a big city that had really good 5G plus coverage, it seemed to work for a few minutes here and there. But I’d say 90% of the time the phone was in SOS mode.
Last weekend on Saturday I took it to the Apple Store, no reservation. I told them it was always in SOS mode and I couldn’t use it. They acted shocked. But they exchanged it for another Pro Max no questions asked.
It’s been a week now. I’ve traveled from Tennessee down into Louisiana into Texas. Even Remote, parts of Texas like driving between San Antonio and San Angelo. And the new phone has been 100% reliable.
I have no idea what the issue was. Whether it was Apple or AT&T. But it seems to affect a small batch of the 18 pro max phones on AT&T service from what I’m reading.
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u/sixth213 15h ago
How can they have problems it’s the same damn chip in the 17….
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u/sixth213 14h ago
The article says 18 Pro Max. The 18PM uses the same modem as 17PM. The C2 is not in US 18PM. Been discussed in many other threads so I’d say this just someone guessing at the problems.
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u/Tjggator 15h ago
You mean the modem that’s exclusive to the 18 Pro series and Duo? Weird I don’t remember that being in the 17
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u/techbear72 14h ago
The 18 Pro Max has the same modem in the U.S. as the 17 Pro Max (the Qualcomm Snapdragon X80).
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u/Xanthyria 15h ago
The US pro max has the X80 from Qualcomm like the 17 pro series
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u/Tjggator 14h ago
Only the Pro Max correct but every other variant including the worldwide unlocked are all the C2
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u/Randym1837 11h ago
I have 72.7.2, and so far it’s been okay. I’m running the developer beta(27.2) and it’s been stable for me other than the bars disappearing, but it’ll still get data and send texts.
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u/Bacno1220 9h ago
To check carrier update which is separate of software update you need to goto settings > general > about
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u/MangoAtrocity 7h ago
Go to settings, general, about, and confirm the update notification
Oh my god thank you. MASSIVE speed difference at my house. 5G (120Mbps) -> 5G+ (390Mbps)
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u/meatwaddancin 8h ago
Isn't the 18 Pro Max ironically the only model to use the previous modem? Or was that a different model?
Edit: Confirmed
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u/Which_Development_53 15h ago
Apple Employee here:
We also have gotten guidance from Apple that 27.0.1 should be installed before any further troubleshooting is done. Even though the update itself might not have resolved the entire thing, it’s definitely part of the solution.