We may earn a commission if you make a purchase from the links on this page. The iPhone 17 Pro redesigned its antenna system: now wrapped around the large rear camera module, with Apple promising much better coverage. But, likely due to a software problem, the iPhone 17 has cellular issues for a lot of folk, and it might have just picked up a new problem with T-Mobile.
A user report has appeared, claiming that their iPhone 17 Pro Max refuses to connect to T-Satellite, even though their previous iPhone 16 Pro Max did so in the same area. The user has updated their iPhone to the latest iOS 26 version, which is supposed to have improved the cellular issues mentioned above, and their settings for satellite connectivity are on as well.
Now, to be completely fair to Apple and the iPhone 17 Pro models, this is a new and isolated incident. For now, at least. There is a very high probability that this problem won't extend to any more iPhone 17 Pro users.
However, the cellular issues reported for the iPhone 17 Pro were also isolated incidents at first. Initial reports were scarce, and users were told by other iPhone owners that they were probably doing something wrong. It wasn't until a lot more people stepped forward and said that they were facing these problems as well that Apple's customer support listened, and the company rushed a software update.
Which is why I'd highly urge you to vote in the poll above if you use an iPhone 17 Pro with T-Mobile.
For most users, the cellular issue seems to have been fixed with the iOS 26.0.1 update, in addition to a few other, less significant problems. Which means that this was mostly a software issue, something that's almost expected from the company now after two years of frequent bad updates. The worst one, in my opinion, still remains iPadOS 18, which straight up bricked M4 iPad models.
Meanwhile, the main competitors to the iPhone 17 Pro -- the Samsung Galaxy S25 and Google Pixel 10 phones -- seem to have no problems with cellular coverage at all. Apple, in its race to redesign the exterior of its phones, seems to have missed the most important bit of its devices: placing calls and sending texts.