My iPhone Air Keeps Dropping Calls, but a Fix Has Finally Arrived

The so-called scratchgate fiasco may have drummed up a lot of attention since Apple released its latest iPhones, but I’ve been struggling with a different issue. 

Over the last several weeks, my iPhone Air has had trouble placing and receiving calls, and there have been periods in which I’ve completely lost service, even after turning my phone off and on again. 

After digging online, it appears others have been experiencing similar problems. Phone Arena pointed to Reddit threads in which iPhone owners cite cell signal issues, regardless of whether they have service with Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile. I transferred my Verizon service from my iPhone 16 Pro Max to the iPhone Air, and only started having issues after doing so.  

Watch this: iPhone Air Review: A Joy to Hold, at a Cost

Just as I was about to resign and switch my service back to my older iPhone, Apple is rolling out an update with iOS 26.0.1 that’s designed to fix the problem. According to the release notes, Apple says this update will fix the fact that “a small number of iPhone users may be unable to connect to a cellular network after updating to iOS 26.”

iOS 26.0.1 update release notes

iOS 26.0.1 should fix cellular network issues, among other problems with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Cole Kan/CNET/Apple

The outages I’ve experienced have been sporadic. One day last week, my friend texted that she was trying to call me, but it wasn’t going through; I had to redial a few times before I could reach her. The same thing happened with a handful of other calls I tried to place. Over the weekend, my mom tried contacting me all day, and was sometimes directed straight to voicemail — as were a couple of other calls. I only became aware of these failed call attempts because someone informed me about them later; there’s no way of knowing exactly how many rings I actually missed.

The most frustrating instance was when I was out shopping with my friend and I lost service for several hours. My phone remained on SOS mode, even after I restarted it, and I had to hunt for in-store Wi-Fi just to text her my exact location so she could find me. (We both have Verizon, and her iPhone 16 Pro Max, which is still running iOS 18, had no issues.)

I asked my CNET colleagues if they’d faced similar problems, and it appears my experience with the iPhone Air was an outlier. My iPhone 17 hasn’t had any issues, nor have Patrick Holland’s iPhone 17 Pro Max or Jeff Carlson’s iPhone 17 Pro.

When I saw iOS 26.0.1 was available, I updated my phone immediately. So hopefully my mom won’t think I’m ignoring her calls anymore.



Source link

Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today

Related Article

T-Mobile’s Satellite Service Now Works With Popular Apps

T-Mobile is expanding its T-Satellite with Starlink service, adding satellite data connectivity to multiple popular apps. That means T-Mobile users who don’t have a Wi-Fi or cellular connection will be able to use Starlink satellite connectivity to access supported apps. Apps that will work over a T-Mobile satellite connection include Google Maps, AllTrails, AccuWeather, CalTopo,

This vibe coding app develops SwiftUI apps right on your iPhone

A group of ex-Apple employees who co-created SwiftUI has launched a vibe coding iPhone app that takes voice or text input, writes SwiftUI apps in seconds, and even lets you distribute them through TestFlight. Honestly, it is kind of awesome. Here’s how it works. Love it or hate it, vibe coding is here to stay.

T-Mobile announces big news as T-Satellite now supports “essential” apps

T-Satellite is the service offered by T-Mobile to its subscribers as well as those signed up with other wireless providers. When you find yourself in an area of the U.S. without cellular coverage, T-Satellite will carry your calls (both incoming and outgoing), your texts (again, those you are sending and those you are receiving), and

Chevy wrestles EV market share away from Ford

Audio By Carbonatix When it comes to “non-luxury” EV sales, Tesla’s still the gorilla in the room. According to Experian, the relatively new company claims 46.89% of the U.S. EV market in the second quarter of 2025. The Detroit Three are all fighting for the rest of the pie, and Chevrolet’s been gaining ground in

iPadOS 26 gives apps a new Mac-like power that pro users will love

iPadOS 26 is a huge upgrade for iPad, especially in areas of productivity. Alongside new windowing and multitasking features, dock and files changes, there’s a new iPadOS 26 capability for apps that pro users will love: Background Tasks. Background Tasks is a new iPadOS 26 capability for apps When the iPad first launched, it was

AI Agents Are Killing Apps—and Reshaping Business, Investing and Work

Urban black woman with smartphone and headphones in city or street walking and listening to music, networking and typing on chat ap. Gen z girl with cellphone with subscription or 5g audio streaming getty For decades, we worshipped beautiful apps. Polished user interfaces. Pixel-perfect buttons. Infinite scroll. That era just ended. We no longer need

Google Pixel Flex Dual Port 67W Charger Review: A Total Game-changer

As Tech Advisor’s Mobile Editor, I test dozens of different phones every single year.  Given how good modern smartphones are, this is generally a very pleasant experience, but there’s one exception that comes up time and time again: charging speeds.  While many Chinese phone makers offer genuine fast charging, Google’s Pixel handsets typically operate at

US SEC weighs tokenised stock trading on crypto exchanges

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is working on a proposal that could allow blockchain-based versions of publicly traded stocks to be bought and sold on cryptocurrency exchanges. If approved, the move would bring traditional equities closer to the digital asset space, blending two financial systems that have long operated separately. According to The