Hopefully you never need to use this feature, but it’s useful to know as a ‘just in case’! I’ve you’ve ever wondered ‘What Does SOS Mean On iPhone’? then this is the post for you…
Before we get started, I’ve also written this post on Medium in case you prefer reading over there!
Introduction
So, you’re using your iPhone as usual when all a sudden you get an SOS popup. Not only does this annoying distraction stop you from endlessly scrolling on TikTok before the US nukes it, it could mean that you are blocked from communicating with friends or family.
To clarify, we are talking about the ‘SOS Only’ icon that appears in the status bar when you are without a mobile signal. I’ll include an image of what this looks like below:
So now that you know which SOS message I’m referring to, I’m sure you’re wondering ‘What Does SOS Only mean on iPhone’? Lets jump in!
What Does SOS Mean On iPhone?
As mentioned above in the introduction, this will appear once your phone is without a mobile or cellular connection. It indicates that you can only perform SOS functions, such as calls or texts to the emergency services.
It’s worth noting that whilst things might be bad now, it can still get worse. If you move even further away from civilisation, this message will be replaced with ‘No Service’ which means you can’t even make contact to the emergency services. But that’s fairly rare unless you live somewhere really remote.
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Potential Causes
I’ve mentioned the main reason above: remote locations. If you’re too far away from a mobile/cellular tower, then your iPhone won’t be able to communicate to the outside world.
Another cause that has occurred in the past, although is fairly rare, is an issue with the mobile service provider. You might remember the outage that plagued AT&T in February of 2024, which left millions of users without full service.
It’s worth knowing the potential causes as they do help you limit the actual cause down and perform a suitable fix. There’s no point calling and complaining to your mobile service provider if the reason for ‘SOS Only’ service is that you’re 100 miles into a remote forest. That’s entirely your fault… Although I doubt you could call to complain anyway. You get what I mean!
Fixes For SOS Only on iPhone
I’ve foreshadowed the best method for resolving this throughout the post, move closer to civilisation. If you think going further into the forest will help you, then you need more help than I can provide unfortunately.
You could also try turning your iPhone’s mobile data off and back on again to see if it reconnects. Failing that, try putting your iPhone into airplane mode. Once airplane is turned off, this can often ‘kick’ your iPhone into communicating again.
The final potential fix that could help with a local issue, is to turn your iPhone off, remove the SIM card, reinsert the SIM card and finally power the iPhone back on.
If none of the above options work, then there might be a wider issue with the mobile service provider. Try reaching out to them or check Downdetector for any user reported issues.
Repeated SOS Only Messages
If you are receiving this message consistently, then I would check your SIM card, phone and finally your mobile service provider. In that order too.
I’ve had this issue in the past. My iPhone 6 started losing connection and going to SOS Only mode. I tried reseating the SIM card, and that worked for a while. I eventually found out that the antenna inside the iPhone was shot. This meant either fixing it or replacing the device. I replaced it…
In my experience, mobile service providers are very helpful when it comes to outages. Often providing relevant and timely fixes and communications to users. I’m not being paid to say that, I promise. I use GiffGaff here in the UK and it’s been a great experience!
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Conclusion
Thanks for reading! Hopefully, you now know absolutely everything there is to know about the SOS Only message you might receive on your iPhone.
You should have gathered that there are two potential causes: local or remote. Always start your diagnostics locally by checking your phone and SIM first. Then widen your troubleshooting to avoid over complicating the issue.
Thanks for reading!
Enjoy! 🎉