KEY TAKEAWAYS
- SOS or "SOS only" on an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro means your device isn’t connected to your cellular network.
- The warning appears when your iPhone 16 can only make emergency calls, like 911, due to being out of your carrier’s range.
- To fix SOS or SOS only on an iPhone 16, try moving back into your carrier’s coverage area or toggle airplane mode on and off, or restart your iPhone to re-establish a connection.
If you see SOS or SOS only on your iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro status bar you’ll have trouble making calls, sending texts, or accessing the internet. In this article, I’m going to explain how to Get Rid of SOS at the Top of iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
What Does "SOS Only" Mean on iPhone 16?
The "SOS Only" or just "SOS" warning appears in the carrier field, at the top of the screen on the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. If you see SOS or "SOS only" in the status bar, your iPhone 16 isn’t connected to your cellular network, but you can still make emergency calls through other carrier networks. This feature is available in Australia, Canada, and the United States.
Normal calls to standard numbers won’t work and you won’t be able to send text messages. Data services that connect to the internet also won’t work. Your phone is effectively limited to calling police, fire, ambulance, coastguard, mountain rescue, or similar emergency services you may have in whatever country you are in.
Why Does My iPhone 16 Say "SOS Only"?
There can be four reasons why your iPhone 16 goes into SOS mode:
- These SOS messages may appear if you are in a place without cellular coverage. For example, if you are in a rural area without any cellular towers. Or, you are in a tunnel. If this is the reason, the SOS message will disappear as soon as your iPhone connects to a network. This is normal behavior.
- The second reason is that something is not working with your iPhone 16 and is causing this SOS message to appear randomly or to be stuck there. This is probably a software issue.
- Your cellular carrier is having outages, causing you to have this issue.
- SIM card issues may also lead to this problem. However, this only apply to iPhone 16 models with physical Sim card. If your SIM card is damaged or placed wrongly, this message may also be displayed because your SIM card could not authenticate the connection. Additionally, if you are using your iPhone without a working SIM like many people do when they give their old phone to a child, you will see SOS at the top of the iPhone screen.
How to get your iPhone 16 out of SOS mode
According to Apple, if you see "SOS" or "SOS only" in the status bar, you can do the following to get your device out of this mode:
Toggle cellular data off and on
Turn cellular data off, then on again. To do this, go to Settings > Cellular or Mobile Data. Toggle Cellular Data off, then on again.
Make sure that you’re in an area with cellular network coverage
Since "SOS Only" is more of a failsafe feature than a problem, the only "fix" is to move within range of your carrier’s network. If you see the message appear a lot, you might want to consider making use of your iPhone’s dual-SIM capabilities and subscribing to another mobile plan.
Try to reconnect to your cellular network
Sometimes your iPhone 16 can get "stuck" on the "SOS Only" warning, causing it to appear in areas where you normally get a signal. In this instance, you can try reconnecting to your cellular network. Follow these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Turn on Airplane Mode for at least 15 seconds.
- Turn off Airplane Mode.
Restart your iPhone 16
Try restarting your iPhone if the above tips don’t work. Doing this should cause your iPhone 16 to re-establish a connection with your carrier.
To restart your iPhone 16, hold either of the volume buttons and the side button until the power off slider appears, and then drag the slider. Wait 30 seconds and then press and hold down on the side button to turn your iPhone back on.
If you are traveling internationally
If you’re traveling internationally, make sure that your iPhone 16 is set up for data roaming.
- Go to Settings, then tap Cellular or Cellular Data. Then:
- If your iPhone 16 has a single SIM card or eSIM, turn on Cellular Data, then tap Cellular Data Options.
- If your iPhone 16 uses Dual SIM or Dual eSIM, turn on Cellular Data, tap the number you want to modify, then tap Cellular Data Options.
- Then, turn on Data Roaming.
Check for a Carrier Settings update
These usually happen automatically, but you can do it manually. To manually check for and install a carrier settings update:
- Make sure that your iPhone 16 is connected to Wi-Fi.
- Go to Settings > General > About. If an update is available, you’ll see an option to update your carrier settings.
Update your iPhone 16
If the software has a bug, it may be causing issues with your cellular service. To check for a software update, go to Settings > General > Software Update. You’ll need internet for this to work, so Wi-Fi would be your only option if you can’t connect to cellular.
Check your cellular line
Go to Settings > Cellular.
If you don’t see your line, you need to set up an eSIM or insert a physical SIM. If you have a physical SIM inserted, take it out and then reinsert it.
If you see that your line is Off, tap on it. Make sure Turn On This Line is on.
If Turn On This Line is already enabled, toggle the switch to turn it off, then turn it back on.
Reset your network settings
WARNING: This will reset all your Wi-Fi networks and passwords, cellular settings and VPN settings, so only do this if you’ve tried all of the above first. If you’re fine with that, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings.
Lastly, if network connection issues persist, Apple suggests contacting your phone carrier in case there are issues with your carrier or account that could be affecting your service, like outages in your area or an unpaid account.
Contact your cell carrier
If none of the above has helped resolve the issue, you should contact your cell carrier. They can check your account to make sure there are no problems with the account and that everything is set up correctly with them.
If your carrier was unable to help you, you could contact Apple Support for more assistance.
