How to Fix It When an iPhone Is Stuck in SOS Mode

Is your iPhone stuck in SOS mode without triggering the mode yourself? We’ll discuss why this may have happened and show you how to get your iPhone out of SOS mode.

Causes of an iPhone Getting Stuck in SOS Mode

If you see an SOS label in place of the signal strength on your iPhone and can only make emergency calls, your iPhone is in SOS mode. Here are a few reasons why this mode may have been triggered without initiating an SOS yourself by long-pressing the Power and Volume Down button:

• Network issues
• Software glitches
• System updates
• SIM-related issues
• Errors during jailbreaking

Whatever the source of the problem, the following troubleshooting steps should help get your iPhone out of SOS mode.

How to Get an iPhone Out of SOS Mode

While these fixes apply to most modern iPhones running the latest iOS version, depending on your iPhone model, some of the features described may be unavailable or be located in a different section than stated.

1. Toggle Airplane mode on and off. This forces your iPhone to search for a signal anew and can usually fix the problem.
2. Turn cellular data on and off. You can do this via Settings > Cellular.
3. Restart your iPhone. This often fixes problems by clearing the RAM. Begin with a soft restart. If that doesn’t work, opt for a forced restart.
4. Remove your SIM and insert it again. If you have a physical SIM, reinserting it can often bring your iPhone out of SOS mode.
5. Check for a carrier update. If your carrier has issued an update, it’ll be available under Settings > General > About. Check this location and install the update.
6. Update your iPhone; software issues can cause your iPhone to be stuck in SOS mode. Visit Settings > General > Software Update, and if there’s an update available, click on Download and Install.
7. Reset network settings. This process reconnects your iPhone to your carrier and returns cellular, Wi-Fi, and VPN connections to their default settings.
8. Check for area outages. Ensure that you’re not the only one dealing with this problem by connecting with your carrier. If an area outage has happened, the issue should resolve by itself in a few hours.
9. Disable 5G. Switching to another cellular network is known to help if you have a weak signal or if you’re traveling internationally.
10. Check if you have unlocked your SIM. If you’ve locked your SIM with a PIN and you skip entering that PIN after a restart, your phone can get stuck in SOS mode.
11. Contact your carrier to check if they have blocked your phone’s IMEI number in error and get it unblocked.

Using a device that was reported lost or stolen can lead to blacklisting of the IMEI number. If you’re unwittingly using such a device or if you have recovered your own lost device, it’s best to contact your carrier for further steps.

12.Switch to an eSIM. Getting stuck in SOS mode is a possibility if your iPhone’s SIM card reader is damaged. If the SIM works fine on a different handset, the problem may be with the reader on your iPhone.

13.Put your iPhone into Recovery Mode. You will need a Mac or PC for this to work.

14.Contact Apple Support to make an Apple Genius Bar appointment. If all else fails, it’s time to get in-person support from Apple to get your iPhone out of SOS mode.