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This is so odd. I have two phones with AT&T currently sitting right next to each other. One has service, the other is in SOS mode.
by oceliker 3y ago
This is so odd. I have two phones with AT&T currently sitting right next to each other. One has service, the other is in SOS mode.
- sandinmyjoints 3y agoSame here. Strange. Would love to know the reason!
- BuckYeah 3y agoDifferent bands could be affected differently if it is solar radiation related. Same exact model of phone?
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- sandinmyjoints 3y agoDifferent models, in my case.
- oceliker 3y agoSame year, different size (13 and 13 Pro Plus)
- bombcar 3y agoDoes it still show bars in SOS mode? Or is SOS just “I dunno can’t see no cell towers but maybe it’d work?” I wonder if the MVNOs that piggyback on AT&T are showing down also. If not, it’s some AT&T service authorization system that exploded.
- sandinmyjoints 3y agoMine says SOS Only, shows no bars.
- dcan 3y agoSOS mode means it can see towers of other providers you aren’t authenticated with, but no signal to authenticated cell towers
- rixthefox 3y agoOn the latest iPhones, SOS mode is the emergency fallback to satellite service. It's really meant to be used in situations where you're well outside of any sort of service area but you have a clear, unobstructed view of the sky. Your iPhone will instruct you on where to point and help you track an emergency satellite that is manned by live humans who will take your emergency request and relay it to the proper people. More specific info here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/104992 https://support.apple.com/en-us/104992
- bombcar 3y agoWon't that only activate if it can't see or communicate with any towers at all?
- lxgr 3y agoI’m pretty sure that “SOS only” can also mean the phone seeing networks it can’t register with but which it could make an emergency call on if required. This predates satellite SOS.
- SirMaster 3y agoSOS means it has cell service and you can call 911. If there is no cell service then it's SOS with a little picture of a satellite next to it.
- inferiorhuman 3y agoExcept SFFD is reporting that (some) AT&T customers are unable to call 911.
- organsnyder 3y agoSOS mode typically means that your phone is connected to a carrier other than one you have a contract with.
- Scoundreller 3y agoI wonder if some devices bungle their failover. The exact failure mode state of AT&Ts network might cause some devices to hang onto AT&T’s RF.
- ok123456 3y agoEmergency only means 911 calls through whatever provider is available.
- nathanyz 3y agoSome of our staff are reporting similar where their partner's phone has service and their's doesn't. Both on same AT&T family plan. So the radio bands may play into it although I would think with latest iPhones, they can use any of the bands from AT&T although I could be wrong.
- alephnerd 3y agoI'm on the latest iPhone and it's SOS for me
- vel0city 3y agoI'm wondering if it could be some kind of auth timeout. I've heard from a few people of one person's phone going out, then a bit later the other person's phone finally failing too.
- aclindsa 3y agoYep: my partner's iPhone has service while my Pixel doesn't, both on same plan.
- PietdeVries 3y agoCan you check if things improve if you turn off 5G and move to 4G/LTE instead?
- nathanyz 3y agoGood thought, but switching to LTE only didn't work. Same result of ending up in SOS only. Cellular over wifi works perfectly fine though. Wish we could count on better post mortems from the phone companies, but I'm not holding my breath for it.
- SkyPuncher 3y agoMy wife and I were riding in the car next to each other. Took mine about 5 to 10 minutes longer to jump to SOS mode.
- pixl97 3y agoI wonder how SIM registration works? For example if it's like a token with an expiry. If some set of registration servers on the network couldn't renew then I could see behavior like this.
- bdcravens 3y agoDitto, mine and my wife's. In my case, the working one is slightly newer (15 Pro Max vs 14 Pro)
- jeffwask 3y agoThere are some reports that phones with e-sims are less likely to be impacted versus phones with hardware sims.
- harambae 3y agoI have eSIM only (iPhone 15) and was impacted the same as physical SIM users on AT&T (Boston area). I suppose I can't speak to likelihood with a sample size of one.