7-11 SpeakOut Data Service

Your iPhone should include an option to manually enter the required settings for data access via your carrier's network - the APN settings for the carrier's data network.

I believe this is at Settings -> General -> Network -> Cellular Data Network -> APN.

Allan Sampson wrote:
An officially unlocked iPhone should include the option to enter the APN settings for a particular carrier for internet access via the carrier's cellular network. Go to another country and use a SIM card with another carrier's network or using a SIM card from another carrier's network in your country should include the option for this if required.

My experience of this is not the case. Whether you can change the APN is actually based on the SIM and the carrier settings in the phone for the SIM's service provider.

It sounds like the iPhone is identifying the SIM as being for a specific service and setting the APN for the service provider, and the APN set on the account is different.

On the iPhone go to Settings, Generaral, About and see what it says for Carrier. This will determine what APN settings it is using.

Not exactly. The APN is stored in the carrier settings for the network. Carrier settings for many networks are included in iOS for iPhone. Occasionally updates to the carrier settings for the inserted SIM will appear in iTunes for update. The SIM identifies which carrier settings to use. When you insert a SIM in an unlocked iPhone the carrier settings for that SIM are used on the phone. These carrier settings have an option for allowing you to change the APNs. Most carriers do not allow it. I would think if no carrier settings were identified you would be able to change the APN, and a lot of other settings that would normally come from the carrier settings would be defaulted.

Updated carrier settings will be on a Mac in ~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Carrier Support/.

When the iPhone 3G was launched in Australia Telstra and Optus did not allow you to change the APN and Vodafone did allow you to change it. An update later to Vodafone's carrier settings changed this.

So back to the original poster's issue. It was stated that 7-11 SpeakOut is a service provider using AT&T. I suggested looking at which carrier settings were in use. I was wondering if it was AT&T. If that is the case then the APN would be set specifically for AT&T's iPhone APN and not the APN for 7-11 SpeakOut.

Isn't there a web site that allows you to download edited carrier settings?

You're welcome.

An officially unlocked iPhone should include the option to enter the APN settings for a particular carrier for internet access via the carrier's cellular network. Go to another country and use a SIM card with another carrier's network or using a SIM card from another carrier's network in your country should include the option for this if required.

This error message - "could not activate data network. You are not subscribed to a cellular data service" - usually means you are not subscribed to cellular data service with the carrier (which you have confirmed with the carrier you are subscribed and this is set up properly for your line/number), or you don't have the required APN settings entered for the carrier's cellular network for internet access via the carrier's network.

I would think if no carrier settings were identified you would be able to change the APN, and a lot of other settings that would normally come from the carrier settings would be defaulted.

So the answer to my question is yes - this option on an officially unlocked iPhone disappears and the option reappears is this is not included with the SIM card inserted in the iPhone?

And what about this?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2283?viewlocale=en_US

If your carrier allows you to edit the APN settings or if you have an authorized, unlocked iPhone, you will see one of the following options, depending on your iPhone's operating system:

If the carrier allows you to edit the APN settings and not all do, OR if you have an authorized, unlocked iPhone, you WILL see one of the following options.....

Perhaps the person who wrote it misunderstood what it meant, and had no experience to base it on. Perhaps it was written because the idea of having an unlocked iPhone was to use it on a network other than one that provides iPhones, because in that instance you would have an iPhone from that network.

I would think that originally Apple designed it so that you could not change the APN, part of Apple's simplification of using a phone compared to other phones, however they needed a way to allow you to change the APN when they had no idea what it would be for the network you are trying to use it for, or if the network wanted to give you the choice. Some networks do have various APNs depending on what type of customer you are.

Note also that an APN has to be associated with your subscription details on the network. If it is not you cannot use it. This was the problem I had with the Telstra pre-paid SIM. The pre-paid subscription allowed me to use the pre-paid APN but not the one Telstra had set up for the iPhone. This was in the early days of the iPhone 3G. I think they have fixed this.

And back to the original poster, I think he has a similar problem, but unfortunately has no way to change the APN to the one the service provider uses.

For a SIM card inserted in an officially unlocked iPhone provided by a carrier that does not allow you to change the APN settings and changing the APN settings is not required with the carrier's SIM card, the APN settings change area can be and is probably grayed out to prevent making any changes when not required or not allowed by the particular carrier, but this MUST be available to be changed with an officially unlocked iPhone when inserting a SIM card for a carrier that requires and allows it.

So in your experience, an officially unlocked iPhone does not include the option to enter or change the APN settings for a particular carrier being used? If the SIM card for a particular carrier inserted in an officially unlocked iPhone includes the correct APN settings, the option to enter or change the APN settings for the carrier being used is no longer available - this option on an officially unlocked iPhone disappears and the option reappears is this is not included with the SIM card inserted in the iPhone?

Actually, wherever I said Vodafone it should be Telstra. I just remembered it was Telstra and not Vodafone, because every time I inserted the Telstra SIM after having another SIM in the phone I had to update the APN. This was because Telstra used one APN for iPhones but had configured pre-paid accounts to use a different APN.

Looks like something that has been in there for a while and no-one has realised it is incorrect.

Logically it does not make sense. Why would you allow someone to change the APN details on an unlocked phone for a supported network who would normally not allow you to change them?

I think in that first line the SIM card is provided by the carrier but it reads like the officially unlocked iPhone is provided by the carrier.

The details are not greyed out. You don't get to see the option at all. Just like you probably see now on your iPhone.

If I remember correctly, when I had an AT&T SIM inserted in my phone in the USA I could not see the list of available networks (Settings -> Carrier), but when I put my Optus SIM in the phone they would appear.

I have no direct experience with this, but strange that an available setting on an iPhone can disappear based on the SIM card inserted in the iPhone, and I find it hard to believe that the info included with the Apple article is completely wrong - not partially, but completely wrong in regards to an officially unlocked iPhone.

Perhaps the person who wrote it misunderstood what it meant, and had no experience to base it on.

Baloney.

I would think that originally Apple designed it so that you could not change the APN, part of Apple's simplification of using a phone compared to other phones, however they needed a way to allow you to change the APN when they had no idea what it would be for the network you are trying to use it for, or if the network wanted to give you the choice. Some networks do have various APNs depending on what type of customer you are.

Originally or initially, there were no officially unlocked iPhones except for the iPhone sold in France. Now the iPhone is sold as officially unlocked in a number of countries and I've seen a number of posts here in regards to an officially unlocked iPhone about changing the APN number. And again, I find it strange that an available setting on an iPhone can disappear based on the SIM card inserted in the iPhone, and I find it hard to believe that the info included with the Apple article is completely wrong - not partially, but completely wrong in regards to an officially unlocked iPhone.