Apple has released iOS 18.7.6 for older iPhone models to address an emergency calling problem that affected some users in Australia. The update focuses on a mobile network issue that prevented certain devices from properly connecting to emergency services, which raised concerns for users who rely on their phones during urgent situations.
The update specifically targets the iPhone XS and iPhone XR, where some devices failed to establish a stable connection to emergency networks in Australia. Apple said the release fixes the problem and improves how these older iPhones connect to emergency services when users attempt to place an emergency call.
Apple’s official release notes explain the fix for the mobile network issue affecting emergency calls in Australia.
Emergency Calling Issue on Older iPhones
Australian mobile network operators have been improving support for emergency calling on their networks, and those changes created compatibility problems with several older iPhone models. As a result, some devices struggled to connect to emergency services in certain situations.
Apple has worked on multiple fixes for the problem over the past few years. Earlier updates such as iOS 16.7.4 and iOS 26.2.1 also addressed similar emergency calling issues affecting older devices.
Some earlier software releases worsened the problem, which led Apple to temporarily pull several updates in December, including iOS 18.7.4, iOS 16.7.13, iOS 15.8.6, and iOS 12.5.8. Since then, Apple has released additional patches to improve reliability for emergency calling.
With iOS 18.7.6, Apple continues its effort to stabilize emergency service connections for older iPhones in Australia and ensure users can reach emergency networks when they need them.
