Apple Is Replacing iPhone 7 Units Affected by the Airplane Mode/No Service Bug

Upon the release of any new device, it’s not unusual to see glitches here and there. Well, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are beginning to see their first round of glitches – at the moment, several users are reporting that their phones are losing service after enabling and then disabling Airplane Mode on their devices.

“Airplane Mode” is a setting that has long been available on many smartphones, laptops, and tablets that suspends radio frequency transmissions such as Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular service. The name “Airplane Mode” comes from the prohibition of equipment that transmits radio frequency signals while in flight of many commercial airlines. The feature is typically used while on flights, or sometimes in areas of poor reception to save battery life.

According to internal documents obtained by MacRumors, Apple is aware of, and investigating the problem. MacRumors claims that “Apple has advised authorized service providers to instruct customers to restart the affected iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus”. If the restart fails to correct the problem, customers are advised to remove and replace the device’s SIM card.

Although AppleInsider suggests that the problem is possibly related to the iPhone 7’s SIM tray, which may be allowing SIM cards to “shift enough to lose contact”, it’s not yet clear what is causing the issue. Under certain circumstances, Apple retail stores are reportedly replacing iPhone 7 and 7 Plus models exhibiting this behavior – MacRumors user Yassar El-Haggan reported that he received a new phone after posting the following video displaying the glitch on his new phone. The employee that swapped El-Haggan’s phone out “had allegedly seen the issue on a few previous handsets, and immediately replaced the device per Apple’s instructions in lieu of running a basic diagnostic test.”

Apple Stores reportedly have replacement units in stock kept just for such occasions. If you own an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus, and the issue isn’t resolved by a simple reboot or by re-seating your SIM card, it is advised to take it to your local Apple Store as soon as possible.