Technologies

My iPhone Air Keeps Dropping Calls, but a Fix Has Finally Arrived

Some people report having cellular connectivity issues with Apple’s iPhone 17 models and the iPhone Air. An update for iOS 26 should solve the problem.

The so-called scratchgate fiasco may have drummed up a lot of attention since Apple released its latest iPhones, but I’ve been struggling with a different issue.

Over the last several weeks, my iPhone Air has had trouble placing and receiving calls, and there have been periods in which I’ve completely lost service, even after turning my phone off and on again.

After digging online, it appears others have been experiencing similar problems. Phone Arena pointed to Reddit threads in which iPhone owners cite cell signal issues, regardless of whether they have service with Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile. I transferred my Verizon service from my iPhone 16 Pro Max to the iPhone Air, and only started having issues after doing so.

Just as I was about to resign and switch my service back to my older iPhone, Apple is rolling out an update with iOS 26.0.1 that’s designed to fix the problem. According to the release notes, Apple says this update will fix the fact that «a small number of iPhone users may be unable to connect to a cellular network after updating to iOS 26.»

The outages I’ve experienced have been sporadic. One day last week, my friend texted that she was trying to call me, but it wasn’t going through; I had to redial a few times before I could reach her. The same thing happened with a handful of other calls I tried to place. Over the weekend, my mom tried contacting me all day, and was sometimes directed straight to voicemail — as were a couple of other calls. I only became aware of these failed call attempts because someone informed me about them later; there’s no way of knowing exactly how many rings I actually missed.

The most frustrating instance was when I was out shopping with my friend and I lost service for several hours. My phone remained on SOS mode, even after I restarted it, and I had to hunt for in-store Wi-Fi just to text her my exact location so she could find me. (We both have Verizon, and her iPhone 16 Pro Max, which is still running iOS 18, had no issues.)

I asked my CNET colleagues if they’d faced similar problems, and it appears my experience with the iPhone Air was an outlier. My iPhone 17 hasn’t had any issues, nor have Patrick Holland’s iPhone 17 Pro Max or Jeff Carlson’s iPhone 17 Pro.

When I saw iOS 26.0.1 was available, I updated my phone immediately. So hopefully my mom won’t think I’m ignoring her calls anymore.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Sept. 30

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Sept. 30.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Is it just me, or was today’s Mini Crossword especially hard? I thought I was never going to solve it, and I’m used to this puzzle being a nice easy one! Possible SPOILER: I just organized my 40th high school class reunion this summer, and I swear I have never used the related word that is the answer to 2-Down before. Need answers? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Exclamation made with a shiver
Answer: BRR

4A clue: Putt ‘er there!
Answer: GREEN

6A clue: «___ gotta be kidding me!»
Answer: YOUVE

7A clue: Negative attribute, so to speak
Answer: MINUS

8A clue: Got some shut-eye
Answer: SLEPT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Oven button with a «high» or «low» setting
Answer: BROIL

2D clue: Get together again, like alumni
Answer: REUNE (Editor’s note: Whaaaaaa? How is this a word? It’s even in the dictionary! I realize REUNITE did not fit, but…)

3D clue: Make go «Vroom!»
Answer: REVUP

4D clue: Spots where you might spot some spotters
Answer: GYM

5D clue: Egg container
Answer: NEST

Technologies

AI Can Now Help You Create Top-Grade Word Documents and Excel Spreadsheets

Microsoft adds a whole new vibe to its 1980s-era software pioneers.

I’m not a wizard with Word and Excel. Are you? Do we know what to do with all those many menus at the top? Now, thanks to AI, maybe we don’t need to.

Microsoft has added AI to those software programs of yesteryear with Agent Mode for both Word and Excel. Powered by Microsoft 365 Copilot, Agent Mode can help anyone — even those with little experience — create high-quality, professional-grade documents and spreadsheets. Microsoft will add Agent Mode to PowerPoint at a future date.

Microsoft has also added Office Agent to Copilot chat to help create PowerPoint presentations and Word documents. Functionality for Excel will be added later.

Vibe coding

It’s a new take on the vibe coding wave, whereby developers can create software with natural language prompts instead of writing lines of code by hand, said Sumit Chauhan, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Office product group.

«Get started with a simple prompt and then work iteratively with Copilot — steering it as it orchestrates multi-step tasks to deliver high-quality Office documents, spreadsheets, and presentations,» Chauhan said in a statement. «It’s the new pattern of work for human-agent collaboration.»

How Agent Mode works

Say you want to create a household budget in Excel. Tell Agent Mode to create budget categories such as rent or mortgage, groceries, utilities, gas and entertainment. You can have Agent Mode create formulas to let you know if you’re over and under budget, among other tasks. Agent Mode in Excel could also help you create a financial analysis for a business.

In Word, Agent Mode can help you create or refine a limitless number of documents, such as revising and cleaning up your resume, composing a holiday letter, or writing a progress report or executive summary for a business.

Microsoft says Agent Mode for Word «handles the heavy lifting: drafting content, suggesting refinements, and asking clarifying questions. » The consumer works with Agent Mode to keep refining and honing the document to the finished product.

Office Agent in Copilot chat 

You can start creating a PowerPoint from Copilot chat, using a prompt such as «Create a 10-slide PowerPoint deck of the most popular tech products in the US.» The Office Agent will then work with you to clarify intent, such as visual theme and target audience, refine the presentation, and determine how much research is needed.

How to begin

Agent Mode in Copilot for Excel and Word is now available in the Frontier program for Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed customers and Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscribers.

Agent Mode is available in Excel on the web and will be coming soon to the desktop. To try it, install the Excel Labs add-in and choose Agent Mode. Agent Mode works in Word on the web, with desktop coming soon. Get started here.

Office Agent is available in the Frontier program for Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscribers in the US. Office Agent works in Microsoft 365 Copilot on the web in English. Get started here.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Sept. 30, #372

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle No. 372 for Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has a category playing off the fact that many athletes have last names that are also words with other meanings. If you recognized a few of those, you probably did well. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Pass the Cracker Jack.

Green group hint: Throw it in there.

Blue group hint: Star players.

Purple group hint: Airplanes do this.