Can not receive SMS on iPhone 12 Pro

My issue was solved when AT&T swapped the SIM. I also noticed a carrier update. Currently there is a report on MacRumors and many complaints as well and you may find additional info there if the SIM swap doesn’t help.

Skip AT&T calls. To save hours on the phone go to an AT&T store and have them switch out the SIM card. The guy at AT&T was not very pleasant and insisted my old iPhone was getting them by WIFI. After several minutes of back and fourth he swapped it out and I get flooded with verification codes (35 to be exact). I had a ticket with Apple and for those that want to say Apple is not involved... per the Senior tech Apple engineers are aware of the issue and only the iPhones in which the carrier’s are unable to fix they receive to investigate. In my case it is not related to the iPhone but the carrier. So I have confirmed the following:

1) Apple, on the senior tech level, states some iPhone 12’s are having this issue but not all are impacted.

2) When your carrier can not fix the issue it is escalated and a ticket is made and 24 hours later they confirm if this is something they fix (sometimes) or carrier related.

3) Unless you get the SIM swapped for a new one you will not get the issue resolved.

4) Apple is indirectly involved based on they shipped iPhones with many faulty SIM cards and appears to be a growing number of users are finding this out recently. The lack of acknowledgment (see 6) is how it works.

5) The same specialist that called me back today advised me to update my ticket with the carrier’s resolution so they can handle these issue more quickly in the future.

6) The fact they screen shared and verified all my settings and could not force a 2FA to my phone had them concerned it was an issue on their end. The tech support was awesome. For those who want to dismiss Apple has no involvement it was clear based on what I was told that there are issues.

Here is a PSA and one example of why Apple will not openly disclose any of this. Take how the MagSafe chargers and cases get released, then after people already ordered did they update their notes about leaving rings on the back of the cases. Worse, as discovered yesterday, only Apple’s 20W charger, you buy separate, lets you get 15w charging from the MagSafe. So instead of shipping one in the box to help the environment you have to order it from them in order to take full advantage of the MagSafe charger as it needs a specific plug. You are better off using your iPhone USB C from last year and settle for 13 watts.

I’m so deep in this ecosystem and love Apple’s innovation but based on what I am told from a senior advisor they are aware of the issue Emily (it could be an Apple issue or Carrier). It’s not related to 5G and MOST LIKELY the carrier. Get a new SIM card and save yourself hours of talking to clueless reps at AT&T. I’m not a high level troubleshooter like most on here but I assure you the above is factual information. It’s the poorly made SIM.

You can save time with the carrier by doing the following:

You can go to Settings>General>About>Reset>and make sure you choose RESET CARRIER SETTINGS. Chose yes and the iPhone will restart. This resets the modem to factory settings. This will erase your WiFi and may need to reconnect to it. If this fixes it (unlikely) you will receive some back logged SMS or you can test the method on a computer again or as I did:. I turned off 2FA on Twitter and turned it back on to see if I could get the verification from vis SMS. As I have previous stated in another post I’m not a high level tech person like many on this board but anyone stating it is not an Apple issue is being dismissive. Again, per my various discussions with a “senior analyst” and Apple screen shared my device to verify my settings were correct it was escalated primarily because they were stumped I could not get a 2FA code from Apple when signing into iCloud (log in with a different computer that isn’t “trusted” and when the 6 squares appear choose underneath to get a text verification- which of you do not get one it’s an issue involving the modem. Per the analyst she had stated “those that are unable to receive messages or verification codes and their carrier is unable to resolve it is escalated to our engineers to investigate”. A ticket was opened as this was an issue on the iPhone 12 Pro and new iPhone 12 we received. As promised the technician called me 24 hours later and stated “though some cases involve our engineers to resolve yours is on the carrier side. You will need to contact them to resolve.” Since exhausted all attempts on the phone with the carrier I read a growing thread on Reddit and one post was from an alleged employee at AT&T who said they have been swapping out SIM in the new iPhones “all day”. Another Redditor commented he was on Verizon and he had the SIM replaced and it fixed the issue. This same person replie to a post my friend had done complaining of the same issue and everyone said it was the SIM. The “theory”in the thread discussion and from the AT&T employee was there were some defective cards that Apple had received and unknowingly got out in the phone. As posted previously swapping SIMs is so easy and only after arguing and the carrier rep could not get a message verification message sent to me did he believe me and swap out the old one. It immediately rectified the issue.

To Summarize: Apple is aware of the issue and some phones require Apple correcting but more than likely it’s the SIM card. Skip phone calls and go to the store and have them swap out the SIM. Tell them to send one of their non text messages to show you do not receive. If that does not work have them create a ticket and contact Apple support and they can add it to your case if the engineers need to be involved. Go on Reddit for even more info if you want to see how many are impacted. (I know it’s not the Apple discussion board with high level people helping) but they have an ATT thread for AT&T and as stated Verizon users have the same issue. They verified my suspicions it was the SIM card. Technically not Apple or the carrier or did this discussion board help. There are issues that require Apple but not all. From Friday to Monday I spent endless hours trying to get it fixed. Apple needs to roll out a support document to direct people. It’s the worse experience ever involving a new iPhone and I’ve been with Apple from the beginning. Good luck.

You can save time with the carrier by doing the following:

You can go to Settings>General>About>Reset>and make sure you choose RESET CARRIER SETTINGS. Chose yes and the iPhone will restart. This resets the modem to factory settings. This will erase your WiFi and may need to reconnect to it. If this fixes it (unlikely) you will receive some back logged SMS or you can test the method on a computer again or as I did:. I turned off 2FA on Twitter and turned it back on to see if I could get the verification from vis SMS. As I have previous stated in another post I’m not a high level tech person like many on this board but anyone stating it is not an Apple issue is being dismissive. Again, per my various discussions with a “senior analyst” and Apple screen shared my device to verify my settings were correct it was escalated primarily because they were stumped I could not get a 2FA code from Apple when signing into iCloud (log in with a different computer that isn’t “trusted” and when the 6 squares appear choose underneath to get a text verification- which of you do not get one it’s an issue involving the modem. Per the analyst she had stated “those that are unable to receive messages or verification codes and their carrier is unable to resolve it is escalated to our engineers to investigate”. A ticket was opened as this was an issue on the iPhone 12 Pro and new iPhone 12 we received. As promised the technician called me 24 hours later and stated “though some cases involve our engineers to resolve yours is on the carrier side. You will need to contact them to resolve.” Since exhausted all attempts on the phone with the carrier I read a growing thread on Reddit and one post was from an alleged employee at AT&T who said they have been swapping out SIM in the new iPhones “all day”. Another Redditor commented he was on Verizon and he had the SIM replaced and it fixed the issue. This same person replie to a post my friend had done complaining of the same issue and everyone said it was the SIM. The “theory”in the thread discussion and from the AT&T employee was there were some defective cards that Apple had received and unknowingly got out in the phone. As posted previously swapping SIMs is so easy and only after arguing and the carrier rep could not get a message verification message sent to me did he believe me and swap out the old one. It immediately rectified the issue.

To Summarize: Apple is aware of the issue and some phones require Apple correcting but more than likely it’s the SIM card. Skip phone calls and go to the store and have them swap out the SIM. Tell them to send one of their non text messages to show you do not receive. If that does not work have them create a ticket and contact Apple support and they can add it to your case if the engineers need to be involved. Go on Reddit for even more info if you want to see how many are impacted. (I know it’s not the Apple discussion board with high level people helping) but they have an ATT thread for AT&T and as stated Verizon users have the same issue. They verified my suspicions it was the SIM card. Technically not Apple or the carrier or did this discussion board help. There are issues that require Apple but not all. From Friday to Monday I spent endless hours trying to get it fixed. Apple needs to roll out a support document to direct people. It’s the worse experience ever involving a new iPhone and I’ve been with Apple from the beginning. Good luck.

Per a senior analyst most likely Apple is not involved but she did confirm there are some users that only Apple can correct the issue. She would not state what the issue was but said they do have cases involving the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12. Simply stating Apple is not involved is not entirely true in some people’s cases and I suggest anyone having these issues get them involved if swapping the SIM does not fix the issue. I appreciate your expertise but I do not expect Apple to issue an official document as they would be overwhelmed. One example previously made - does one believe Apple was not aware of the marks the MagSafe can leave on the cases? It seems like common sense but only after cases started to arrive did the document get updated to include these issues can be expected. Most likely the SIM but per Apple some issues require their engineers get involved. In short, a fair amount got faulty SIM cards and others need Apples help. If the SIM swap doesn’t fix it Apple has to get involved (per many discussions with Apple support). I was also told to report back if the carrier could resolve as they are working on many cases and it would limit ones not needing their engineers help. Maybe in another 3 weeks when the next batch of iphones arrive and more users have issues an official document will be available by then? Stay safe and healthy.

UPDATE

The issue has been found to be both on Apple’s side and the carrier side. If you are unable to get a 2FA TEXT from Apple (try signing into iCloud and push a TEXT) have your SIM swapped. If your SIM swap does not fix it I have verified it requires Apple engineers getting involved. This is a known issue and that will quickly help many rule out the carrier and possibly fix your issues quicker. Not until you have you gotten a SIM swap and verified your carrier can not send verification codes should you involve Apple. SOME iPhones do require Apple support but this will streamline it and provides a better solution than just being told it’s your carrier. Hope this is helpful!

In my case it was an AT&T problem since that is my carrier and as stated once the SIM was swapped it was fixed. Also, there appears to me some issues that are Apple related but only Apple can look into it when all avenues have been exhausted. I would of saved even more time had I listened to the Reddit thread of many people experiencing the same issue. There are many users regardless of which carrier they are using. I can only offer information based on my experience with AT&T and with Apple. If a senior analyst dials in my phone and can not get even a forced 2FA text from Apple after verifying my settings she said she was baffled and “in some cases it is the modem and only our engineers can fix it but it will take 24 hours” which in my case they said it was the carrier as I was not impacted by whatever it was that she was aware of. The theory was the SIM cards had an issue per a thread I had read and as stated before I hand to argue with the AT&T employee it needed a new card. Only after he could not get a verification code to be sent to me did he decide to swap out a SIM card. As stated my Apple Watch lit up like a Christmas tree with all the messages I did not receive previously and even he was surprised. In short, all three iPhone 12 had their SIM card swapped and that fixed MY issue, which in turn I updated Apple on my ticket status as they wanted to know if I got it resolved and how since this was a new issue. As previously stated, I am not some high rated or advanced tech person on this discussion board. I do know the iPhone extremely well, but I do not pretend to have the talents of so many on the various threads that are well beyond my experience level and I often find answers from the various threads or even dedicated Reddit threads faster. I can only offer up my experience to possibly give insight as to possible remedies. In my cases and many other on AT&T the SIM was the issue. I have many friends with no issue. Many people on all the various carries have chimes in having an issue. I can only offer up suggestions: force restart your iPhone (did not work for me), erase carrier settings and set to factory settings (did not work for me), swap the SIM (worked for me), and the. If all else fails contact Apple support and tell them you believe there is something wrong with the modem and need someone to run test on your phone or you need a replacement. I hope one of these methods work and hope you do not spend hours and feel like the release was ruined by dealing with my carrier and Apple for 4 days. I’ve never had any issues until this year but seems like 2020 has been a horrible year and should of expected their to be an issue. I hope you get it resolved and if not keep checking the discussion boards. I’m a healthcare professional on the front lines and simply was offering some insight on possible fixes since many systems I use require me getting verification codes or I can not access certain systems so to me this was a serious issue for me to perform my job especially during a pandemic. Worst release ever in my opinion.

I saw the issue was posted in MacRumors today and surprised it’s taken this long to get more traction. I thank the folks on a Reddit that worked for a carrier who was way ahead of the curve and glad you have your issue resolved.

Follow MacRumors as they finally heard of enough complaints and see if there is helpful information there. I noticed there was a carrier setting update today for AT&T and could be related. How it gets resolved soon.