First iPhone Air Reports Modem Failure: Apple C1X Troubles Surface

Apple made a significant leap one year ago by introducing its first-party modem chip with the iPhone 16e, followed by the more powerful C1X chip in the iPhone Air. Despite the promise of enhanced performance and efficiency, a rare hardware failure related to the modem chip has been reported by an iPhone user.

A Reddit user shared their experience of waking up to a sudden loss of cellular connectivity on their iPhone Air, leading to a hardware issue detection in the Mobile Service Diagnostics section after troubleshooting steps.

Reports from Wccftech and MacRumors corroborate the Reddit post. The iPhone Air user, who used a dual SIM configuration with two providers, attempted various troubleshooting steps with no success.

While modem failures were uncommon in the era of Qualcomm and Intel chips, the isolated incident with the iPhone Air raises concerns. Apple’s choice to stick with Qualcomm modems for other iPhone models in the previous year suggests a preference for performance and mmWave frequency support.

Despite the absence of mmWave support in Apple’s C-series chips, a new “C2” chip is rumored for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models, expected to introduce mmWave capabilities and 5G satellite connectivity.

Apple’s C-series modems not only offer performance and efficiency enhancements but also enable unique privacy features like the “Limit Precise Location” setting in iOS 26.3 to prevent carrier tracking.

While the reported iPhone Air failure doesn’t discredit Apple’s modem technology, it highlights the challenges of first-generation devices. Apple’s upcoming advancements in modem technology will aim to match Qualcomm’s established track record in 5G modems.

Apple is likely to address the Redditor’s iPhone Air under warranty and investigate the issue with the C1X chip to ensure product reliability.