What does SOS mean on iPhone and How to fix it?

Are you stuck in an annoyed situation in which you’re seeing SOS on iPhone signal icon? It is not that you triggered an emergency alarm accidentally. It is something more that can trouble you in making calls, sending texts, and navigating the internet.

what does SOS only mean on iphone and why won’t it go away

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This situation can raise concerns but can be pulled off by using some troubleshooting methods. For that, read the article to figure out what does SOS mean on iPhone, the reasons it is indicating on your iPhone and its possible fixes. 

Quick Answer

SOS in corner of iPhone indicates that your device is far from the network coverage area, or that your SIM has undergone sudden failures and is only available for emergency calls.

SOS on iPhone: An Overview 

The “SOS”, “SOS Only”, “No service”, or “No connection” flashes on the top corner under a few circumstances, including, no cellular network range, sim failure, travel to a different country, or disturbed network settings. Under these events, your phone is not liable to perform any call, text, or access the internet.

Confined to basic services, iPhone SOS meaning, you can make a call to some emergency numbers, including 112, a fire truck, a police station, a hospital, and more services available near you. With these numbers, you can ask for help in unusual emergencies, as your location gets automatically shared.

Reasons Why my iPhone Says SOS in Top Right Corner

Now that you know what does SOS mean on top of iPhone, the prime reason for this issue is poor internet connectivity. But this is not the only one; there are also some other factors that can trigger SOS in corner of iPhone.

• You might be travelling abroad and in between, your networks go out of range. 

• Your SIM card had failed, dislodged tray, broken or tampered card, or inserted incorrectly. 

• The phone doesn’t have an active roaming pack, and has disabled data roaming.

• The SOS on iPhone signal can also occur due to iOS bugs. 

These are the situations in which you search for reasons why does SOS appear on iPhones.

For clarity, the icon appears in the top right corner in iOS 16 and new and in the top left corner in iOS 15 and earlier. 

Solutions to Troubleshoot SOS on an iPhone: 8 Quick Fixes 

Now that you know what does SOS mean on iPhone data, here are the possible fixes to re-establish your seamless user experience. 

The first way to try fixing SOS is to move to an area that has strong network connectivity. In most cases, the network gets back to normal when you shift to an area with a good network range. 

Hence, this problem may trigger if you are in the basement, elevator, or remote areas. 

There might be times when your phone may not catch the network connectivity and show SOS on the iPhone signal. In that case, consider turning on and off your device’s flight mode. 

 To do so, follow the steps mentioned below

• On an iPhone model with face ID, swipe down from the right corner of your screen and swipe up from the right bottom corner on an iPhone model with a home button to access the control panel.

• Tap on the airplane mode, and you will see the icon change to orange.

  

• After 5–10 seconds, again hit the flight mode icon to turn it off. 

  

To fix the SOS icon, the next thing you can do is force restart your phone to close the background running apps and improve the performance. 

To do so: 

• Press any volume button (+,-)  along with the power button on the new models and on iPhone 8 or earlier, press the home button and power button to access the slider screen.

• Then, drag the slider that says slide to power off. 

  

• Wait for 1–2 minutes.

• Press and hold the power button on the right side to switch on until you see the Apple logo. 

This is one of the other solutions that can fix your SOS issue. To reset it, follow the steps mentioned below: 

• Open Settings on your mobile device. 

  

• Tap General. 

  

• Scroll down to navigate Transfer or Reset iPhone. 

  

• Next, tap on Reset>> Reset Network Settings. 

  

• Lastly, choose Reset Network Settings. 

  

You might forget to turn off the data roaming on normal days. But in case you are travelling, consider turning it to avoid this issue. 

To toggle on data roaming: 

• Launch Settings on your phone.

  

• Tap on Mobile Service.  

  

• Next, select Mobile Data Options.

  

• Toggle on the Data Roaming. 

  

At times, this problem may arise due to unseated SIM card insertion. So consider checking your SIM card holder.

To do so: 

Switch off the iPhone>> Use a pin to open out the SIM tray>> Reinsert it correctly>> Switch on the phone again. 

To gain access to the network automatically, make sure you have enabled the automatic network selection settings. 

If not, follow the steps to do so. 

• Open Settings. 

• Select Mobile Service. 

  

• Tap on Network Selection. 

  

• Toggle on the Automatic.

  

Switching your cellular network to LTE or 4G may improve your connectivity performance, as 5G is not fully productive everywhere. 

Here’s how to do this

• Open Settings. 

• Tap on Mobile Service.

  

• Select Mobile Data Options.

  

• From the list of options, choose Voice & Data. 

  

• Check the box for LTE. 

  

Besides the above-mentioned, try fixing the general iOS updates on your iPhone and see if the problem resolves. 

Conclusion

To sum things up, what does SOS stand for on iPhone, SOS is not a great sign for your Apple device, but it is not that bad as it can be dealt with easily by incorporating some troubleshooting solutions. 

Generally, the problem gets resolved after trying the aforementioned possible fixes, but if nothing works in your case, then the last option is to contact Apple support for further assistance.