User profile for user: nullroute
nullroute Author
User level: Level 1
28 points

iPad eSIM cellular service lost after iPadOS 26.4 update

We are seeing an issue after updating iPads to iPadOS 26.4 where cellular service is lost.


Environment:


  • Devices managed via Apple Business Manager and Microsoft Intune
  • Carrier: Verizon


Confirmed affected devices:


  • iPad (9th generation)
  • eSIM


Behavior:


  • After update, device shows no cellular service
  • No prompt to re-activate or re-add the cellular plan
  • The plan still appears to be present on the device


Workarounds observed:


  • Resetting Network Settings restores service in some cases
  • In other cases, the eSIM must be removed and a new cellular plan provisioned to restore service


Notes:


  • This does not consistently appear to be a provisioning issue, as the plan remains visible on the device
  • Behavior suggests the cellular or eSIM state may not be initializing correctly after the update
  • Toggling Cellular or Airplane mode has not yet been tested for service restoration
  • We have not yet confirmed whether devices using a physical SIM are affected
  • Still gathering data on scope across additional iPad models


Additional observation:


We have not observed this behavior on iPhones (for example, devices on iOS 26.4 with LTE remain unaffected)

Has anyone else experienced similar behavior on iPadOS 26.4, particularly on managed devices or eSIM configurations?

iPad (9th generation)

Posted on Apr 15, 2026 10:59 AM

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User profile for user: nullroute
nullroute Author
User level: Level 1
28 points

Posted on May 7, 2026 9:30 AM

Status Update – iPadOS 26.4.x eSIM Cellular Issue

Following additional testing and review of reports here, this issue is now clearly reproducible and consistent across environments, does not appear to be related to carrier or provisioning, and strongly points to an iPadOS-level regression affecting eSIM functionality on 9th-generation iPads that will require Apple intervention for a permanent fix; migration to a physical SIM is currently the most reliable workaround.


Observed Behavior

Affected iPad 9 devices using eSIM will lose cellular service after normal use (hours to days).

When in this failure state, MDM telemetry shows:

  • Current Carrier = (blank)
  • MCC / MNC = 65535 / 65535 (invalid carrier identity)


ICCID remains present and unchanged in MDM telemetry throughout, confirming the eSIM profile itself is intact despite the loss of carrier identity.


To validate this, a user removed/reinserted the empty SIM tray, which immediately restored a valid state (Verizon, MCC/MNC 311/480) without any reprovisioning, confirming the device can recover by reinitializing the cellular stack while the same eSIM profile remains in place.


External Confirmation

Reports here show the same behavior across:

  • Multiple carriers and regions
  • Temporary recovery followed by repeat failure
  • iPad 9 as the common factor


Internal Testing

  • Confirmed transition from valid carrier identity → invalid (65535) during failure
  • Verified SIM tray interaction restores valid carrier identity without reprovision


Performed controlled testing by migrating an affected device from eSIM to a new physical SIM (unused ICCID) on the same line:

  • Same device (iPad 9), same OS version, same carrier
  • eSIM profile removed, physical SIM activated in its place


Result:

After switching to a physical sim, the device has remained stable with continuous service for over two weeks, with no recurrence observed under normal use conditions.


This strongly indicates the issue is isolated to the eSIM handling path rather than coverage, provisioning, or general modem functionality.


Working Theory

Likely a regression introduced in iPadOS 26.4.x affecting how eSIM state is reinitialized during normal modem lifecycle events (e.g., sleep/wake, network reattach), where the device retains a valid eSIM profile but intermittently fails to reapply that identity to the baseband, resulting in loss of carrier identity (MCC/MNC = 65535 / 65535); this appears to disproportionately affect iPad (9th generation), likely due to its older modem stack being less tolerant to changes in CoreTelephony / CommCenter behavior.


Physical SIM likely avoids this condition because carrier identity is read directly from SIM hardware and does not rely on the same OS-managed eSIM activation and reinitialization path observed to fail.


Current Mitigation

  • Most reliable workaround: migrate affected devices to physical SIM
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24 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: nullroute
nullroute Author
User level: Level 1
28 points

May 7, 2026 9:30 AM in response to nullroute

Status Update – iPadOS 26.4.x eSIM Cellular Issue

Following additional testing and review of reports here, this issue is now clearly reproducible and consistent across environments, does not appear to be related to carrier or provisioning, and strongly points to an iPadOS-level regression affecting eSIM functionality on 9th-generation iPads that will require Apple intervention for a permanent fix; migration to a physical SIM is currently the most reliable workaround.


Observed Behavior

Affected iPad 9 devices using eSIM will lose cellular service after normal use (hours to days).

When in this failure state, MDM telemetry shows:

  • Current Carrier = (blank)
  • MCC / MNC = 65535 / 65535 (invalid carrier identity)


ICCID remains present and unchanged in MDM telemetry throughout, confirming the eSIM profile itself is intact despite the loss of carrier identity.


To validate this, a user removed/reinserted the empty SIM tray, which immediately restored a valid state (Verizon, MCC/MNC 311/480) without any reprovisioning, confirming the device can recover by reinitializing the cellular stack while the same eSIM profile remains in place.


External Confirmation

Reports here show the same behavior across:

  • Multiple carriers and regions
  • Temporary recovery followed by repeat failure
  • iPad 9 as the common factor


Internal Testing

  • Confirmed transition from valid carrier identity → invalid (65535) during failure
  • Verified SIM tray interaction restores valid carrier identity without reprovision


Performed controlled testing by migrating an affected device from eSIM to a new physical SIM (unused ICCID) on the same line:

  • Same device (iPad 9), same OS version, same carrier
  • eSIM profile removed, physical SIM activated in its place


Result:

After switching to a physical sim, the device has remained stable with continuous service for over two weeks, with no recurrence observed under normal use conditions.


This strongly indicates the issue is isolated to the eSIM handling path rather than coverage, provisioning, or general modem functionality.


Working Theory

Likely a regression introduced in iPadOS 26.4.x affecting how eSIM state is reinitialized during normal modem lifecycle events (e.g., sleep/wake, network reattach), where the device retains a valid eSIM profile but intermittently fails to reapply that identity to the baseband, resulting in loss of carrier identity (MCC/MNC = 65535 / 65535); this appears to disproportionately affect iPad (9th generation), likely due to its older modem stack being less tolerant to changes in CoreTelephony / CommCenter behavior.


Physical SIM likely avoids this condition because carrier identity is read directly from SIM hardware and does not rely on the same OS-managed eSIM activation and reinitialization path observed to fail.


Current Mitigation

  • Most reliable workaround: migrate affected devices to physical SIM
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User profile for user: Dthomas498
Dthomas498
User level: Level 1
20 points

May 4, 2026 9:35 AM in response to Allan Jones

All of my Ipads are Verizon, I sat on the phone with the carrier for about an hour trying to figure out if it was a service problem. Ultimately, it looks like it isnt a Verizon issue, its an Apple issue. Before I updated some of these devices, they were on IOS 17, and they still worked perfectly fine. As soon as they received IOS 26, this issue started. I spoke with apple support about this as well, and they said they were aware of the issue, but there was no window for a fix of the issue.

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User profile for user: jenkinsr1234
jenkinsr1234
User level: Level 1
8 points

May 8, 2026 6:07 AM in response to nullroute

Figure I'd take a shot researching this and sure enough....thank you Apple! Through countless eSIM refreshes and sending out replacement tablets where the issue starts I'm at my wits end. Adding that physical SIMS do not behave any differently as the signal is eventually lost and this is also happening on iPad Air 3rd Gen devices.


Sending out the 3rd Gen iPad Airs and 9th Gen iPads with TMO as the carrier with the latest iOS update and as far as I know, we're not experiencing the loss of data.


  • Our solution is to activate service with another carrier...
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User profile for user: tanja140
tanja140
User level: Level 1
14 points

May 9, 2026 5:23 PM in response to nullroute

All right, everybody as I reported before it was four phone calls and nothing worked. The last lady from level 1 IT was kind enough to order me two SIM cards as my tablets did not have physical SIM cards in them. I went to my Verizon store and they put the SIM cards in and I’ve not had a problem since so this would be the solution to the problem.


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User profile for user: krechii
krechii
User level: Level 1
8 points

Apr 28, 2026 7:16 AM in response to nullroute

We also saw our eSIM 9th gen iPads go dark, starting with 24.6.0 and on. Popping the SIM tray out and back in is the quickest immediate fix we've found, but every device restart will bring the same bug back. Has anyone tried switching to physical SIMs? We're trying to push Verizon to send us some with no response. I'm sure their support is getting buried as well.

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User profile for user: Rigdog1
Rigdog1
User level: Level 1
14 points

Apr 24, 2026 6:54 AM in response to TomTooBig4IT

We have seen this on only one of our Gen 9 tablets so far. ESIM connectivity failed after update to 26.4.0. Contacted carrier (Verizon) and had to add new ESIM. That failed after update to 26.4.1. Same process to create new ESIM.

Then it failed a week late prior to the 26.4.2 update. Have not fixed it yet. Installed 26.4.2 today but that did not resolve anything. Looking to just have Verizon replace the hardware. Far too much time waster at this point.

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iPad eSIM cellular service lost after iPadOS 26.4 update

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