Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $25/year with no ads, private forums, and more!

Apple Investigating iPhone 7 Bug Causing 'No Service' After Turning Off Airplane Mode

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
52,095
13,713



iphone6-ios9-settings-cellular-cellulardata-dataroaming.jpg
Apple is aware of and investigating an iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus issue that can result in the loss of cellular service after turning off Airplane Mode on the devices, according to internal documents obtained by MacRumors.

In the meantime, Apple has advised authorized service providers to instruct customers to restart the affected iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus. If no service persists, Apple advises customers to remove and re-insert the device's SIM card.

In a video shared with MacRumors by reader Yasser El-Haggan, an iPhone 7 can be seen with no service alongside an iPhone 6s with two bars of LTE after Airplane Mode is toggled off on both devices. Both of the iPhones are said to be AT&T models, which means the iPhone 7 has an Intel modem rather than a Qualcomm modem used for Verizon and Sprint models.

All of a sudden today my iPhone 7 Jet Black model started not getting internet service -- can't make outbound calls or receive calls -- even though it showed 4 bars. I then put it in Airplane Mode, and back off, then it showed no service. It got pretty warm in the top right hand corner.

I then took a video of my wife's iPhone 6s right next to my iPhone 7, put them both in Airplane Mode, and then switched Airplane Mode off and you can see immediately that the iPhone 6s gets signal instantly, and the iPhone 7 just sits there searching. I then took her SIM and put it in my iPhone 7, no luck, put my SIM in her phone, and it got signal right away.
Click to expand...
El-Haggan said he took his iPhone 7 to an Apple Store, where the Genius Bar swapped out the device with a new one. The employee had allegedly seen the issue on a few previous handsets, and he immediately replaced the device per Apple's instructions in lieu of running a basic diagnostic test. Apple appears to have replacement iPhone 7 models reserved for these scenarios per standard policy.

Article Link: Apple Investigating iPhone 7 Bug Causing 'No Service' After Turning Off Airplane Mode
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/09/19/iphone-7-no-service-airplane-mode-issue/
  • Like
Reactions: macfacts
smacrumon

smacrumon

macrumors 68030
Jan 15, 2016
2,683
4,010
Interesting to note, I had my device on Airplane mode the other day, and actually received a call! When I answered it, all I got on the other end was a bunch of electronic noises. So Airplane mode means offline or something else exactly?
 
  • Like
Reactions: ActionJacksonHern
Comment
B

bjet767

macrumors 6502a
Oct 2, 2010
967
313
" the iPhone 7 has an Intel modem rather than a Qualcomm modem used for Verizon and Sprint models."

Hold it, I thought the only difference these days was the SIM card.

I bought my last phone (6) directly from Apple as a generic phone and used my SIM card from Verizon. I was really tired of all that locking stuff (although my previous Verizon phone wasn't locked) and wanted to be free from contracts with the phone carrier.

Now I find ATT wants a special phone for their customers. Run...
 
  • Like
Reactions: AleXXXa
Comment
cmichaelb

cmichaelb

macrumors 68020
Aug 6, 2008
2,244
679
Italy
This is an iOS10 issue, not just iPhone 7 series. I was out in the country this weekend and switched to airplane mode. I switched back when I got home, where I am very well connected, and 'No Service'. I finally rebooted the phone and it reconnected.

For the record, I have a 6s+ running iOS 10.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ActionJacksonHern, brent12 and tnesmith
Comment
M

melendezest

Suspended
Jan 28, 2010
1,693
1,579
Klae17 said:
And not enjoy a great phone for an entire year? Just get a replacement at the Apple Store or through AppleCare. Living in fear of a few bugs is no way to live. And yes, I upgrade every year and don't have problems Apple's service team haven't fixed.
Click to expand...

Hmm, a "great phone" with problems is not a great phone, pal.

Besides, I thought the 6S was a great phone?

This has nothing to do with fear, it has everything to do with having a reliable, bug-free product with the right features.

Apple usually gets it right the second time around. Obvious examples of this being:

iPad vs iPad 2
:apple:Watch vs :apple:Watch Ver.2
iPhone 6 (bendy!!) vs 6s
Unibody MacBook (original missing FW) vs 13" MBP
iPad Air vs iPad Air 2

I will never, ever (again ;)) buy a first-gen Apple device.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AleXXXa, studio¹³¹ and SaaGua
Comment
SandboxGeneral

SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
9,995
Detroit
Huh. I had wondered how the Intel chips would fare over the long, tried and true Qualcomm chips. While this isn't a huge deal per se, it does however, show that there is going to be some bugs to work through on Intel's part.
 
Comment
A

Aathroser

macrumors newbie
May 2, 2016
11
64
bjet767 said:
" the iPhone 7 has an Intel modem rather than a Qualcomm modem used for Verizon and Sprint models."

Hold it, I thought the only difference these days was the SIM card.

I bought my last phone (6) directly from Apple as a generic phone and used my SIM card from Verizon. I was really tired of all that locking stuff (although my previous Verizon phone wasn't locked) and wanted to be free from contracts with the phone carrier.

Now I find ATT wants a special phone for their customers. Run...
Click to expand...

The iPhone 7 has gone back to having different modems for different carriers. I'm not a fan of this.

Proof: iPhone 7 Tech Specs

Models A1778 and A1784 do not support CDMA networks, such as those used by Verizon and Sprint.
Click to expand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: AleXXXa, studio¹³¹, themick4u and 1 other person
Comment
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom