Some iPhone 18 Pro Max units are losing cell service, but the good news is you get a new phone (again)

The Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max officially hit the shelves a couple of weeks ago. While users are still in the honeymoon phase with the new flagship, some AT&T customers haven’t been as lucky and have reported severe cellular connectivity issues. Apple has finally acknowledged this problem, saying affected units may require a hardware replacement.

In a statement to 9to5Mac, Apple confirmed that a “small number” of iPhone 18 Pro Max owners on AT&T have lost cellular service. However, the company says it began rolling out iOS 27.0.1 last week, reportedly to prevent the issue from affecting more models.

We have identified an issue affecting a small number of iPhone 18 Pro Max users on the AT&T network that may cause a device to lose service and be unable to make calls. We released iOS 27.0.1 earlier this week and strongly encourage all iPhone 18 Pro Max users to update now, and are also issuing a carrier settings update today. These updates together are meant to help prevent this issue from occurring.

Additionally, Apple told the publication that customers who have already lost cellular service on their AT&T iPhone 18 Pro Max will need a hardware replacement. Affected users are encouraged to contact AT&T or Apple support online or visit the nearest Apple or AT&T retail outlet.

Interestingly, we’re not seeing complaints from iPhone 18 Pro users, with the issues on AT&T pretty much limited to the Pro Max version. The iPhone 18 Pro Max sold in the US features the Qualcomm X80 5G modem, whereas the standard iPhone 18 Pro uses Apple’s C2 modem. However, it’s too early to say definitively whether Qualcomm’s modem is the culprit or if it’s a faulty firmware release.

A Reddit thread from days after the iPhone 18 Pro series hit the shelves shows multiple users reporting the same problem. However, the person who posted the original complaint, along with another user who took their affected iPhones to a nearby Apple Store, said the company replaced their defective iPhones. At the same time, some owners seemingly didn’t have that luck.

For now, iPhone 18 Pro Max users on AT&T are advised to download iOS 27.0.1, especially if cellular issues haven’t appeared yet. But if you can’t find any signal or make/receive phone calls, the only solution appears to be contacting AT&T or Apple for a hardware replacement, at least according to the company’s statement.