The IPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max Suffer From Four Major Issues.

On paper, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are Apple’s best smartphones to date. They run on the new A20 chip, feature cameras with a revolutionary variable aperture , and, according to Apple, boast the longest battery life of any iPhone. Yet, the iPhone 18 Pro’s launch was rocky, marred by glitches and hardware issues of varying severity. Some were fixed with simple software updates, while others remain unresolved.

None of this is meant to discourage you from returning your iPhone 18 Pro or buying one if you’re looking at Apple’s latest Pro phones. However, it’s important to note that this model’s launch hasn’t been without its issues. At the time of writing, I’ve identified four major issues with the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

iPhone 18 Pro randomly rebooted.

The first issue I noticed with the iPhone 18 Pro was random reboots . Users complained that after a failed Face ID attempt, their iPhones would freeze and reboot after a short period of time. Interestingly, the newest Apple Watches, Series 12 and Ultra 4, had similar reboot issues . While annoying, it was apparently just a glitch with the newest iPhones running iOS 27 and Apple Watches running watchOS 27. The company quickly released patches for all devices running iOS 27.0.1 and watchOS 27.0.1, with the release notes only mentioning this single patch.

iPhone 18 Pro Max may not be able to call 911.

While Apple claims iOS 27.0.1 only fixes this reboot bug, AT&T claims otherwise. This week, the company sent out alerts to iPhone 18 Pro Max users urging them to update to the latest version of iOS, warning that iPhone 18 Pro users may occasionally experience difficulty sending text messages, making calls, or connecting to the internet, including dialing 911. The full message reads: “Hello, This is AT&T. Action required: An important Apple software update is available for your iPhone 18 Pro Max. Some phones may be unable to make calls/text/data messages, including dialing 911. Update to iOS 27.0.1 immediately – Settings > General > Software Update. If you have questions, contact AT&T or Apple.”

As it turns out, iPhone 18 Pro users are not affected by this warning. MacRumors suggests that this may be due to the iPhone 18 Pro Max modem. It is the only new iPhone this year to ship with a Qualcomm modem, rather than Apple’s proprietary C2 modem. As MacRumors notes, iPhone 18 Pro Max users affected by this issue may experience connection loss, causing their phones to enter SOS mode.

Some iPhone 18 Pros are experiencing a crackling or clicking noise.

Some iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max users are reporting strange “cracking” or “clicking” sounds coming from the speakers of their new smartphones. One Reddit user reported that the sound intermittently comes from the top speaker and sounds like someone is yanking the AUX cable out of the headphone jack. Users in the thread confirmed this: one user complained of a slight buzzing sound at 100% volume, while another said their iPhone makes a crackling noise during calls in mono speaker mode. According to one Reddit user, updating to iOS 27.0.1 did not resolve the issue.

While the thread is full of users complaining about similar issues, not everyone has the same experience. Some Reddit users, including several Mashable reporters , claim they don’t hear these sounds on their iPhone 18 Pro. Another user noted that they experienced this issue on their iPhone 16 Pro Max after updating to iOS 27.

Some iPhone 18 Pros are already losing their color.

As Mashable notes , some iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max users have noticed the coating on their devices is starting to wear off, particularly around the camera lens. It appears most, if not all, of the complaints are coming from users of the burgundy and black iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, and it’s unclear how widespread this issue is. Some users claim that simply cleaning the damaged area with a cotton swab resolves the issue, while others say the coating itself has worn off.

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