There could be many reasons your phone is showing the SOS icon.

And hence, you cannot make or receive normal phone calls, but you’ll still be able able to make emergency calls. This indicates that there is some problem with your cellular network. The SOS-only text or SOS icon usually appears in the top-right corner of your iPhone if you have iOS 16 installed and in the top-left corner if an older version is installed. It was chosen as the international distress signal for the nations who met at the conference, and went into effect on July 1, 1908.Bottom Line What does it Mean when your iPhone says SOS only? Germany’s “…-…”, though, could be sent quickly and easily and was hard to misinterpret. Marconi’s “-.-.-.-.”, and “………-.-.-.” (“SSSDDD”), which Italy had proposed at a previous conference, were deemed too cumbersome. In 1906, the International Wireless Telegraph Convention convened in Berlin, and delegates attempted to establish an international standard distress call. Because of this and other issues, various countries decided to get together and discuss the idea of laying down some international regulations for radiotelegraph communications.

It meant that a ship in distress in foreign waters had a language barrier to overcome with would-be rescuers, even if using International Morse Code. Having these multiple distress signals was confusing and potentially dangerous. The Marconi Company, which leased its equipment and telegraph operators to various ships, used “CQD.” The “German Regulations for the Control of Spark Telegraphy” of 1905 mandated that all German operators use “…-…”. Navy used “NC,” which was the maritime flag signal for distress from the International Code of Signals. At first, different organizations and countries had their own “in-house” distress signals. They needed a unique signal that would transmit clearly and quickly and wouldn’t be confused for other communications. When wireless radiotelegraph machines first made their way onto ships around the turn of the 20th century, sailors in danger needed a way to attract attention, signal distress, and ask for help. So why use that specific string of dots and dashes if there’s no meaning to it? Because it was the best way to get the job done. A message received from the ‘Titanic’ using Marconi's preferred “CQD” distress signal, now held in Oxford University’s Bodleian Library.

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