AT&T subscribers across the United States suffered a recent outage, but iPhone users saw a worse fate than others as they reported that they were stuck on iOS' Emergency SOS via Satellite mode during this entirety. This led to iPhone users being unable to do regular activities on their devices including sending texts, placing or receiving calls, as well as access to the internet via Cellular.
It is known that sometimes when entering SOS mode on iPhones, it tends to get stuck, including in an event like AT&T's recent service outage.
iPhone AT&T Users Stuck on Emergency SOS via Satellite After Outage
Unsplash
Apple iPhone users who are also AT&T subscribers saw greater challenges compared to others in this recent outage, as CNET reported that many claim to be stuck on Emergency SOS via Satellite mode earlier today. This renowned emergency feature on iOS was triggered after AT&T's services went down, with many sharing their troubles with AT&T's Help account on X.
Whenever users lose mobile service and a WiFi connection is unavailable, iPhone 14 Pro devices and later would trigger the 'SOS only' mode that will allow them to connect to satellites. However, users tend to get stuck in this mode like what happened with the recent AT&T outage.
According to the report, AT&T shared that it had solved the issue and restored service to users at around 7:55 PM PT.
For those who are still stuck, ensure that you are in an area with a good network signal and perform troubleshooting methods like turning Cellular on and off via Settings, restarting the iPhone, turning your Cellular line on and off, or resetting network settings.
AT&T's Outages This 2024
The early months of 2024 did not start great for AT&T as it faced a massive outage last February affecting its wireless services and leading to widespread interruptions. The said February AT&T outage lasted for as much as 11 hours and left its subscribers without any other options but to wait for its service's return, prompting a probe by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Its nationwide outage was also an isolated incident as its rival telcos in the US remain unaffected by AT&T's issues.
While not exactly an outage, an issue was faced by users last June where AT&T subscribers cannot place calls to others who are under other carriers. AT&T clarified that this was not an outage, and the company later claimed that the issue was already resolved, enabling interoperability to other networks.
Not six months later, AT&T is yet again the focus of a massive online fiasco where its subscribers are complaining about a new service outage that affected its nationwide operations. It also led to iPhone 14 Pro and later users suffering from being stuck on the Emergency SOS via Satellite mode as they were left without service, but AT&T claimed that this issue was already resolved.
