Apple Offers iPhone 18 Pro Max Replacements Amid AT&T Outages
According to 9to5Mac, apple has confirmed it will provide hardware replacements for a limited number of iPhone 18 Pro Max devices experiencing severe cellular service disruptions on the AT&T network. The issue affects US units utilizing a standalone Qualcomm modem, leaving affected devices stuck in data-less SOS mode and unable to complete calls or send messages.
According to 9to5Mac, iPhone 18 Pro Max users affected by the network outage cannot connect for calls, texts, and data, and should contact Apple Support or AT&T or visit an Apple Store or AT&T location.
US iPhone 18 Pro Max models rely on Qualcomm modems while the standard Pro uses Apple's in-house C2 modem, restricting the AT&T connectivity failure exclusively to the US Pro Max configuration.
According to 9to5Mac, the hardware failure prompted AT&T to issue customer alerts regarding emergency service access, while Apple announced targeted software remedies. The company released iOS 27.0.1 and a carrier settings update designed to prevent further disruptions for unaffected users, though devices that have already lost network connection require direct hardware replacement.
Apple released iOS 27.0.1 earlier in the week and strongly encourages all iPhone 18 Pro Max users to update.
Performance Benchmarks and Thermal Design
Despite cellular connectivity challenges for a subset of users, gaming benchmarks indicate substantial performance gains for the device's A20 Pro chip. Testing conducted by the Dame Tech channel and reported across technical publications demonstrates that the iPhone 18 Pro Max exceeds Apple's official 40% sustained performance improvement claims during extended gaming sessions.
In Geekbench 6.7 evaluations, the A20 Pro achieves 4,725 single-core and 12,575 multi-core points, compared to 3,883 and 10,017 for the preceding model. The GPU demonstrates an approximate 40% performance lead in Metal scoring, reaching 64,069 points against 45,683 for the A19 Pro.
Extended Gaming Stress Tests
Hardware teardowns reveal a redesigned thermal architecture featuring a larger vapor chamber in direct contact with the A20 Pro chip and a new thermal-pad material. This enhanced cooling mechanism allows the device to maintain high frame rates during demanding titles.
In Resident Evil 4 operating at 2346 x 1080 resolution with a 60 frames per second target, the iPhone 18 Pro Max maintained an average of 58 FPS, outperforming the iPhone 17 Pro Max baseline of 38.6 FPS. In Assassin's Creed Mirage tested at 1320p on High graphics, the newer device averaged 30 FPS against 25.3 FPS on the predecessor model.