Roger Fingas
Apple is reportedly investigating a problem affecting the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus that causes the devices to lose cellular access after a person turns off Airplane Mode.
As a stopgap, the company is telling authorized service providers to recommend owners reboot their iPhones, according to internal documents obtained by MacRumors. Should that fail, Apple is suggesting that people re-insert their SIM cards, though it may be willing to replace iPhones in some cases.
Complaints about the problem are growing. An AppleInsider reader noted that his AT&T-based iPhone 7 went into "no service" mode nine times on Sunday, and that the carrier's support staff said they're getting a number of similar calls. A support representative suggested that the issue may be attributable to the iPhone 7's SIM tray, which could be allowing cards to shift enough to lose contact.
Reaching out to an Apple retail source, AppleInsider was told that "most, if not all" of the ongoing problems with Airplane Mode may actually be attributable to a "slightly askew SIM."
The glitch is the second discovered with the iPhone 7. Some models are generating a hissing sound when handling processor-heavy tasks, though there don't appear to be any other negative consequences.
Wesley Hilliard
AppleInsider Staff
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
32 Comments
Caused by missing headphone port. :)
Coming soon:
Hissgate
Simgate
Hmm. So they're saying that Airplane Mode physically disconnects the SIM card, and then when you turn off Airplane Mode the SIM card isn't physically re-engaging properly? Or the card is precariously positioned, so it still works until Airplane Mode stops passing the current through it...?
Um, I have my doubts.
I dont think it's related to Airplane Mode...Apple is replacing my son's iPhone 7 as he had very weak/no signal condition since receiving the phone Friday, and we tried network resets, complete phone wipe, and a new SIM from ATT. He never used Airplane Mode.