We know Apple likes to keep secrets. The company aims for big, splashy, exciting, and (perhaps most importantly) newsworthy reveals, and secrecy is a big piece of that. (That’s why I remain surprised that Apple’s never been able to plug the leaks that Mark Gurman at Bloomberg seems to get before many Apple announcements.)
But sometimes Apple takes too long to say enough. This recent AT&T iPhone 18 Pro Max kerfuffle is a great example.
The short version of the story is: Some iPhone 18 Pro Maxes on AT&T in the US… don’t work. That is to say, they can’t connect to AT&T’s cellular network, and software updates won’t necessarily fix it, and Apple and AT&T are offering replacement phones to affected people.
Imagine being one of those affected people. You spend a boatload of money (or contractually obligate yourself to do so), and you quite likely wipe your old phone, or give/sell it to someone, or trade it in.
Then your shiny new expensive phone only works on Wi-Fi. It’s a big iPod touch.
That’s infuriating. Apple’s statements on this have been minimal — and even, by my read, confusing.
Tom’s Guide:
“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,” an Apple spokesperson told Tom’s Guide. “These updates together are meant to help prevent this issue from occurring.”
However, if you already have an affected device without service, you can’t reactivate it via software. Apple confirmed that you will need to go to an Apple or AT&T store to get a hardware replacement.
I get that both those things can be true, but it’s confusing.
And here’s what Apple hasn’t said:
- “We’re sorry.”
- “Here’s what went wrong.”
- Here is a single website or phone number where affected users can request overnight replacements.
When John Gruber recently pointed to that old Apple Antennagate conference, the question to which Steve Jobs and other Apple executives had the least satisfying answer was: Why did you take so long to say something? Steve talked about how they needed time to dive in and figure out what was going on, and actually, they did this pretty quickly, and people were working around the clock.
But the smarter move then (and now) would have been for Apple leadership to say loudly and publicly, We are aware of this issue, we are sorry for it, and we are investigating the cause. Here are clear, simple, straightforward instructions for affected users in the meantime.
I’ve heard from more than one AT&T customer affected with this issue who went to an AT&T Store in person, only to be told by staff there that they knew of no issue, and that the customers should talk to Apple if they were having problems with their phones.
That stink rubs off on Apple and the iPhone. It’s avoidable. Say something. Sooner.