Stuck in SOS Mode Trying to Activate new iPhone 16 Pro Max

I cannot activate my new upgraded iPhone 16 Pro Max.

I am getting SOS only. I don't see the upgraded phone in my account. I purchased from Verizon.

I also have a secondary number (the $10 version) attached to the main number that is not activating, either.

The original iPhone 14 Pro Max is turned off. I've tried everything online to try to get the new phone to register with Verizon, but nothing works.

Please advise.

Accepted answers

UPDATE:

You don't have to go into a store to fix this. Level 2 phone Techs can help you if you find the right one.

In SOS mode you cannot verify your phone. You can use your email address to verify if you have it set up when you call the Tech 2 line for help -- here's the Google-accessible phone number for that (if you can get past the Robocall AI and actually speak to a tech) 1-[phone number removed per the Verizon Terms of Service].

I spent 90 minutes on the phone last night with a Tech 2 who could not help me. My phone numbers were "stuck" in the activation system. He said he'd call back later, but never did.

This morning I called back to the Tech 2 line and got in touch with a wonderful woman who solved my problem. For some reason, none of our upgraded phones were in the system, so she had to reset that, then we reset a bunch of cellular settings to get Verizon to "forget" the failed SOS numbers. We deleted the existing eSIMS and turned off and on and off again and reset and deleted and it took an hour, but she fixed it for me! IMEI is the key to the secret sauce solution; and you have to find various ways in the system to pound on it -- and she found them all to a solution!

The Tech 2 is calling me back in 2 hours to help fix my wife's upgraded phone because, as she said, "I can see right now it will have the same problem, too."

Hi If your having issues with your Apple iPhone going in SOS mode you can also use our troubleshooting assistant. To learn more able SOS mode on apple devices please visit our FAQs. Thank you

All comments

Verizon_Support

We're sorry to hear that you're having problems with your iPhone activation. Just to be sure, have you already been able to set up your phone and were you able to get to the home screen, but just showing SOS instead of a usable signal?

~Jesse

Hi there!

Yes, the phone is all good and working. Just no cellular service on either number. The second number didn't appear to transfer from the iPhone 14 -- tried that and failed several times. Tried airplane mode. Turned off and on again. Just SOS only.

Verizon_Support

Thanks for the details. I'm sending you a Private Message so we can gather more details and better help you.

~Jesse

I have the same issue. My iPhone 16 plus is stuck in SOS and has been since I activated it earlier this evening. My old phone is now inactive and my elderly parents are not able to contact me bacause we have no landline!! Very frustrating!

having the same issue. Just recvd my iPhone 16 Pro and it won't get service, We've contacted Verizon multiple times and they can't get it working. I was told they needed to make a service ticket and someone would call back next week. I shouldn't have to wait to get my new phone working!!! Apparently they have MULTIPLE records of this same issue!!!

Any word of a fix? Support just told me to wait because the request to activate the new phone was pending.

chandanpasunoori

I took iphone 16 pro max from best buy with verizon, same issue, just in SOS mode, phone started and other operations are working but no signal.
previous carrier notified that my network is already switched.

chandanpasunoori

Hi @jesse
, any update on how to fix, same SOS issue with iphone 16 pro max

I am having similar issues like everyone else above. One of my phones on the account is working and I was able to connect with support, but sat on the phone for over an hour just for that phone to end the call and go into sos mode. I turned that phone off and the cellular service was back on, but when I tried to call support again they were closed. Now I am stuck without service on my main line that I desperately need. This is actually the second time I’ve had this issue with this line when I upgraded the phone previously. I am not sure what to do at this point.

Same problem here. Verizon can’t get my

Phone to activate or even push a new sim to it.

Same exact thing happened to all 3 of my 16s. Spent an hour with a rep on my personal 16, no luck, online automated activation is useless. It eventually went through 3 hours after, by itself - service swung over from iPhone 14 to new 16.

2 other 16s are still on SOS 18 hours after. One phone says it’s locked by previous carrier. It’s a brand new phone I just got from Verizon! Unbelievable….

Activations from the years past were painless. Come on Verizon. This is what we get with the $35 per line activation fee?? Please do PM me.

Verizon_Support

Hello, Hap33, we certainly don't want your phone to continue to show the SOS message. Are you still seeing that indicator? To make sure we're on the same page, does your MY Verizon account show your new phone on your number?

-Lauren

Verizon_Support

Hey there, Isma713, sorry to hear you ran into an issue with a pending activation! Are you still experiencing an issue with yoru phone? Is your My verizon account showing your new device on your number?

-Lauren

Verizon_Support

We're sorry to read about the issue with getting your devices activated. Were the old devices turned off? Have you tried entering the device information to your My Verizon account to activate it that way? ~Peter

Verizon_Support

Hello, Natemare13, we want to help out with your phone activation. Can you tell us more about the problem you're running into? Are you attempting to activate a new eSIM on your phone?

-Lauren

Hi Peter,

I tried multiple times using My Verizon to manually enter the info to activate the new phones. It just won’t go through and now one phone is locked and must contact ‘previous carrier’. Phone is new from Verizon…

Please advise next steps.

UPDATE:

You don't have to go into a store to fix this. Level 2 phone Techs can help you if you find the right one.

In SOS mode you cannot verify your phone. You can use your email address to verify if you have it set up when you call the Tech 2 line for help -- here's the Google-accessible phone number for that (if you can get past the Robocall AI and actually speak to a tech) 1-[phone number removed per the Verizon Terms of Service].

I spent 90 minutes on the phone last night with a Tech 2 who could not help me. My phone numbers were "stuck" in the activation system. He said he'd call back later, but never did.

This morning I called back to the Tech 2 line and got in touch with a wonderful woman who solved my problem. For some reason, none of our upgraded phones were in the system, so she had to reset that, then we reset a bunch of cellular settings to get Verizon to "forget" the failed SOS numbers. We deleted the existing eSIMS and turned off and on and off again and reset and deleted and it took an hour, but she fixed it for me! IMEI is the key to the secret sauce solution; and you have to find various ways in the system to pound on it -- and she found them all to a solution!

The Tech 2 is calling me back in 2 hours to help fix my wife's upgraded phone because, as she said, "I can see right now it will have the same problem, too."

Verizon_Support

Got it. Were the old devices powered off before you tried to active the new ones? When you get the "previous carrier" message? ~Peter

I am having the exact same issue. Went to a verizon store and fixed it last night. But today issue came back. It kept going back to SOS mode. And i cannot take calls.

I am having the same issue. Chatted with 5 different people between yesterday and today for over 3 hours and no help at all

I called again yesterday and a rep was able to help resolve the other 2 lines of mine. She did have to grab someone from the activation department to sort things through.

The problem seems to be VZ is having trouble registering IMEI numbers and esim(s). The stickers on the iPhones boxes even have the various numbers and proper phone number that it is to be associated with. I guess VZ never bothered to enter them on their system before shipping out.

The upgrades in the past is much more seamless, never had to get on a call with them for hour plus…

Yup, going through the same exact thing right now. Very annoying with little to no help from Verizon. Tech support just tells you to call and then nobody answers or you just wait on hold all day like I currently am.

Trying to activate an upgrade purchase that was made through Verizon obviously (hence upgrade) and the website prompts me to contact my previous carrier and that this phone is locked. Which is insane because this is a brand new phone literally through my carrier, VERIZON.

Lots of weird system problems going on right now. My two lines were fine yesterday, woke up with a system message on my iPhone about "Verizon wants to add an eSIM" that appeared to be a travel eSIM on my phone that I did not request, which was odd, and so I declined it, and then one of the two numbers were no longer working.

Called and Tech 2 said I had to be cleared by the fraud department to activate my wife's line. Fraud had no idea why I was transferred to them, everything was fine, and they did not active the phone and transferred me back into a Black Hole.

Later, after I called about my wife's line, both my numbers appeared to now be reset and working.

It took 2 hours on the phone to get my wife's single line activated out of SOS. The problem was "multiline conflict" again that, this time, was tied to a phone package upgrade to the Ultimate plan -- the system did not like the plan change along with the change of phones. A supervisor had to get involved to put my wife's line back to the "Get More" plan, then set the upgrade to update to the Ultimate plan tomorrow. The new, excellent, Tech 2 could only watch all that happen; could not solve it himself, though he tried.

It's gruesome!

They told me the same, no updates for 48 hours yet for me.

Spent 75 minutes this morning trying to resolve the same issue. Asked for a call back at 3pm, still waiting for that call. Very frustrating experience, especially when my old phone is not active. I can’t even log into back account since I can’t verify via text. Wish we went back to the physical SIM days

Bought a new iPhone from Verizon to replace my old phone on my verizon account and agent or chatbots are useless in trying to activate it for 5 hours. Same error as reported in this chat thread earlier. How do we get this fixed

I was stuck on sos and changing to lte only got me going. Verizon said it must be a hardware issue. Apple was a lot more helpful and said they are 100% sure it’s a carrier issue. Not sure if this is the same issue others are having but if it looks like you are activated but getting sos only, try disabling 5g

I’m having the same issue. I received my new iPhone 16 pro on Friday but I’m stuck in SOS mode. It’s disheartening to be so excited to get a new phone only for it not to activate properly.

In my experience it is rare to get a call back. They say they will, but the way their work is structured, one Tech told me, it's pretty impossible for them to call back. Out of 9 promises of call backs since Friday, only one actually called back to tell me there was no change and she'd call back in the morning, which she never did.

The login problem is a massive issue. I was lucky I had an email address attached to my verification account. You can't verify on your phone if your phone is in SOS mode! Impossible to do!

I do like the eSIMS, though. They can be deleted and reworked in real time. No delay. You might want to try a corporate Verizon store in your area since you can't verify your account via your phone.

Again, this sounds like the "multi-line conflict" and it has to be cleared above a Tech 2 level. You need to call them. Try to get a USA agent since they all seem to be much more experienced in working with the Verizon system.

My problem was also related to the promo update -- my 14 was on the old plan, the 16 was on the new plan -- the Verizon system believed both lines were not only active, but in conflict on international roaming due to the plan change!

Only an inventive supervisor was able to fix this for me while the Tech 2 was on the line with me. The trick was to put the old plan back on the 14 and the 16, then clear the "multi-line conflict" then add the new plan 24 hours later. So far, that's holding!

There also was a "SIM Swap" and "eSIM" outage yesterday morning, but my Tech 2 said that had nothing to do with the problem.

100% not a hardware issue. My Tech 2 yesterday said inexperienced Techs will try to blame Apple just to get you off the phone, but he said the problems was not hardware, Apple cannot help, this is totally a Verizon issue. I was on the phone with him for 2 hours as he tried to troubleshoot this, and finally he found an "out of the box thinker" Supervisor who creatively solved my problem. It was a miracle, really!

If you are getting an SOS signal you are NOT activated in the system. Changing to 5G won't fix SOS. You will need to call them.

Got my issue solved in less than 20 mins with Tech 2. VZ definitely had an esim issue yesterday activating phones so they chose to either tell no one or waste everyone's time like they di for me for 6 hours. Tech 2 was able to activate my phone easily this morning. Scheduled a call and they called on time. Finally activated but lesson learned. Will always order from apple directly moving forward. Never again ordering through Verizon

That's great news! I'm glad everything is working for you. My Tech 2 yesterday said the SOS activation problem was not related to the eSIM/SIM Swap outage.

Another Tech 2 told me to never preorder a phone from Verizon for launch day. "Give it a week," she told me, "to make sure the phone "released" and properly set up right in the system for the upgrade." She said she saw these same activation problems for the 14, 15 and now the 16 all due to "first day" activations. So, the phone doesn't really matter, it's the wireless system that makes the difference between connecting, or not, I guess.

Verizon_Support

Tcapone07, we are concerned to learn about your activation and device issues. Is your device still showing SOS mode? We want to ensure we get you up and running as soon as possible if you are still experiencing issues with your device.

-Andi

Verizon_Support

We're sorry to read about the issue with activating your new device. We're here to help. We'll be sending a private message. ~Peter

Verizon_Support

Rozroro, we want to make sure that your service is working properly. Please tell us, does this happen only in certain areas? To clarify, do you experience this issue both indoors and outdoors? Is the new device software fully up to date: https://www.verizon.com/support/knowledge-base-206915/

~Izzy

So this is my second iPhone 16 that is stuck in SOS mode. What is going on Verizon. That and your support is closed at 8PM? What the heck? You need to do better. I have 1 more phone to go for my daughter and am dreading it..

Need help ASAP

72 hours and many calls later, still not corrected for me

Verizon_Support

Having your phone up and running is always vital. Did you make sure to power off your old phone when activating the new one? Make sure to power cycle the device so that the activation can go through.

~Freddy

Verizon_Support

Oh, no! Dealing with phone issues can be overwhelming, especially if you are encountering SOS issues. Verizon is here to help.

Let's gather more details. When did the issue start? What recent changes have you made? Who else is experiencing this problem? Aside from the SOS, any other issues?

~Gilbert

I will be sure to do that on the next one i have to do. BUT remember we have to wait for the transfer code to come through and there is a process happening between the 2 phones transferring data. Not sure sure when the best time to shut of the old phone is... has the device to device communication completed by the time the code comes in?

Either way.. now I need to call customer service for this one. This seems like a bigger issue and should be known by your reps now how to fix, right? Should I mention I have the "SOS Activation" issue? Would that get me to level 2 tech support and get this resolved quickly?

Verizon_Support

Thanks for sharing those details with us here, madone550. I know how eager I would be to use my new iPhoen 16, and we can certainly help as we are the same support here that you would reach out to in other channels. Since we will need account access to assist, please be on the lookout for a private message from us.

-Joseph

Verizon_Support

We're sorry to read about the issue with activating your device and we want to help. Are you connected to Wi-Fi on the device? ~Peter

Do you know what team you talked with and what they did to fix it? I’ve been through several agents and no one has been able to resolve it.

Verizon_Support

Hello! We are here to help. Please tell us, were you able to complete your new device activation?

~Maria

Verizon_Support

Hello fatsocells! We wanted to check in with you and find out if your were able to activate your new iPhone. Feel free to reach out here for activation support. Also, here is a guide to assist with iPhone Activate and Set Up: https://www.verizon.com/support/knowledge-base-309040/

-Deb

Same problem stuck in sos mode, cannot transfer eSIM or activate

I also got the new I Phone 16 Pro Max. Spent 2 1/2 hours in a store to get everything transferred and never could get phone out of SOS. Thankfully my old phone- I Phone 15- was still getting service. I was told to “come back tomorrow “ if there was no change. ( the store closed at 7 and it was getting close to that time so I kind of felt like they didn’t want to deal with it even though they told me that before I left they were not going to let me leave until the problem was fixed) That they knew there was an existing problem and it may take up to 24 hours to switch over. I was told that when my current phone showed SOS then I could turn on my new phone for service. First if they knew there was a problem why try to set the phone up? Second - I’m a nurse and work in a hospital. I cannot be without service and now am skeptical about going back and trying to get this phone to work. I feel like I am stuck with a brand new expensive phone that is just going to sit in a box. I also got the new Apple Watch and was told not activate it either because it came as a set on the same order. Again an expensive piece of equipment sitting in a box. I’m pretty frustrated and don’t have the time to go sit for 2-3 hours and try to get something to work that should have easily taken only a 1/2 hour or so. Also looking at my Verizon account the phone is not even showing up. It still has my I phone 15 . Looking at my store printed receipt I didn’t see the offers on it either- you know the 1000.00 off the phone and 250.00 off the watch. At this point I’m ready to give the phone back and pray that the service to my current phone doesn’t stop. Shame on Verizon for not putting a stop to the activation of the phones until they had a solution. It would have been easier to be more understanding if I was told that my phone was in but that I needed to wait because there was an issue with transferring cell service that they were working on. Now.. I’m constantly checking my existing phone for service.

Verizon_Support

Hey there, MrsMontoya, sorry to hear you're running into an issue with activating your new phone! Does your My Verizon account show your new phone on your number? Does it help to power the phone off and back on to attempt activation again?

-Lauren

Verizon_Support

We're sorry to read that you have not been able to activate your device. Are you getting any error message when trying to activate? ~Peter

Verizon_Support

Thank you for reaching out to us on this platform. We understand how crucial is to keep you connected and would like to help. To better assist, tell us a little more. Did you purchase the devices directly from the store? Is the promotion available for purchases at the store or online only?

~Maria

Turn Airplane Mode on & off and then it should work. That’s what fixed my sos mode. If you can’t activate thru the regular methods, Call Verizon to activate thru automated system say”Activate phone” turn the phone off your activating before u do this, then turn on phone, if it’s in sos mode turn “Airplane mode “On” then “off” and voila it’s working now.

Call Verizon, say “Activate phone” in automated system, turn phone off before u do this. Your phone should be activated if in sos mode, turn “airplane mode “ON” then “off” then it should get it out of sos mode and start working that’s what I did.

Call Verizon, say “Activate phone” in automated system, turn phone off before u do this. Your phone should be activated if in sos mode, turn “airplane mode “ON” then “off” then it should get it out of sos mode and start working that’s what I did.

Call Verizon, say “Activate phone” in automated system, turn phone off before u do this. Your phone should be activated if in sos mode, turn “airplane mode “ON” then “off”

This doesn’t work phone still on sos mode. Please help.

I’m having the exact same problem and cannot get in touch with anyone for help.

Hi If your having issues with your Apple iPhone going in SOS mode you can also use our troubleshooting assistant. To learn more able SOS mode on apple devices please visit our FAQs. Thank you

Verizon_Support

I'm sorry you were having issues activating the iPhone. What software version is on the device? What zip code ae you in?-Joe

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