Your iPhone is connected to your carrier’s network at all times unless you turn on Airplane Mode or travel outside of a carrier coverage area. When this happens, you may see one of the following messages: No Service, Searching, SOS, or SOS Only. If your device displays the SOS Only message in the status bar for a significant amount of time, you may have difficulty contacting anyone from your iPhone.
iPhone Stuck in SOS Mode? Here’s the REAL Fix!
But why does your iPhone give the SOS Only message and how do you solve it? We will discuss that in this post.
When you see the SOS or “SOS only” notification in the status bar of your iPhone, it’s because your device can’t connect to a supported network in your area. This can happen because:
Your iPhone may not be able to connect to a supported network if you're traveling and moving through an area with limited or no coverage. In such situations, you may still be able to make emergency calls, provided you're in the US, Australia, or Canada. To make emergency calls, open the Phone app on your iPhone and dial the following numbers, depending on your current region: