What does SOS mean? Many people mistakenly believe the letters stand for "save our souls" or "save our ship." However, instead of individual words creating an acronym, the letters actually do not ...

What does it mean when your iPhone says SOS? Apple Support says if you see "No Service" or "Searching" in the status bar on your iPhone or iPad, your device isn't connected to a cellular network.

Major cellular carriers are reporting significant outages Thursday, which created some confusion for iPhone users whose phones were in SOS mode.

So, what does "SOS" actually mean? Here's everything you need to know about the term and its military origins, plus the feature on your iPhone that utilizes it for your safety.

Although SOS mode indicates you don't have cellular service, it doesn't mean the phone is useless. Most modern phones allow calling, texting and internet browsing over wi-fi.

Although SOS mode indicates you don't have cellular service, it doesn't mean the phone is useless. Most modern phones allow calling, texting and internet browsing over wi-fi.

Related: So, what does SOS actually stand for? SOS is just that—SOS. It was derived from Morse code and recognized as an international standard signaling danger, or the need for aid.

Although SOS mode indicates you don't have cellular service, it doesn't mean the phone is useless. Most modern phones allow calling, texting and internet browsing over wi-fi.

Although SOS mode indicates you don't have cellular service, it doesn't mean the phone is useless. Most modern phones allow calling, texting and internet browsing over wi-fi.

Although SOS mode indicates you don't have cellular service, it doesn't mean the phone is useless. Most modern phones allow calling, texting and internet browsing over wi-fi.

Although SOS mode indicates you don't have cellular service, it doesn't mean the phone is useless. Most modern phones allow calling, texting and internet browsing over wi-fi.