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psychoo118 Author

Level 1

0 points

iOS 7.1 Personal Hotspot APN settings won't save on iPhone 4

Hello,

I am facing a problem, which would be great to resolve. Since I updated to iOS 7.1 I can't set APN setttings for Personal Hotspot in my iPhone. If I go to Settings -> Cellular -> Cellular Data Settings, and I set the APNs(for data+mms) and i go back to save the freshly set APN settings then it saves, but if I touch any fields in the "Personal Hotspot" section (even focusing) and I go back the same way any changed value won't save (e.g. I also change data APN). In the menu "Cellular" there is an option for personal tethering where it just keeps loading and after a ehile it becomes an available option, but if I click on it it displays an error message like: "...contact: Carrier". So I tried everything, I reset my network settings, did 3 full restore(via iTunes, in recovery mode and DFU too). Then finally I downgraded to iOS 6.1.2 and guess what, it started working.. Then I thought it repaired some settings bug which burned in my device and I restored 7.1 in DFU. Now it is not working again. I need the help of community since I need hotspot tethering so hard everyday for my job. Thanks in advance!

Péter Józsa

iPhone 4, iOS 7.1

Posted on Mar 11, 2014 12:35 AM

Top-ranking reply

555gallardo

Level 1

5 points

Posted on Mar 11, 2014 1:20 AM

Same problem here! Updated iPhone 4 16GB to iOS 7.1 and now i can't use a personal hotspot anymore!

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631 replies

psychoo118 Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 19, 2014 3:14 PM in response to psychoo118

Just to let you know, I wrote an email to appleinsider.com's publisher:

Dear Kasper Jade,

I have just read your article that states Apple no longer supports carriers who are not partners and have got no pre-set profiles for their APN settings. My only question would be: where did you get this information from? Because as far as I know Apple has not changed their policies in connection with this problem and I talked to them today and they cofirmed that it's a bug and they also told me that they have not changed their policies. As far as I know there is no public statement that would say that the non-partner carriers won't be supported anymore. So please be so kind to inform me about your sources and maybe I am and all the 255 repliers of my forum thread are mistaken or you could just correct your statements and let the people know the truth..

Thanks in advance!

Yours sincerely,

Péter Józsa

afonteyn

Level 1

0 points

Mar 19, 2014 3:31 PM in response to psychoo118

Hi all,

I've made some tests tonight using :

- 1 Iphone 4 with IOS 7.1 purchased directly by apple in 2010

- 1 Sim Card from Base Operator (Belgium)

- 1 Sim Card from Tango Operator (Lux)

THe big difference : Tango Operator has a contract with Apple while Base not !

Using the Tango Sim in my Iphone 4 allow me to modify and save the APN Personal Hotspot settings I want

Using the Base Sim in my Iphone 4 allow me to modify the APN Personal Hotspot settings but never save the changes.

Swapping the Sim from Tango Sim to Base Sim erases the Personal Hotspot settings from my Iphone.

Conclusion : Apple is clearly blocking personal hotspot capabilities of the Iphone when you telecom operator has no contract with Apple ! This kind of rule should not have been setup involuntarily :-(

Apple, please solve this !

Regards

Mar 19, 2014 3:49 PM in response to psychoo118

Wy we dont get any official statement by APPLE ????

I think the reason is money the customer satisfaction is not importand.

psychoo118 Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 19, 2014 4:17 PM in response to afonteyn

Well, I wouldn't believe that Apple no longer supports non-partner carriers. I also made some research in the past days and I dig deep into the file system of iOS 7.1 and 6.1.2. I found the folder where the carrier profiles are stored(System/Library/Carrier Bundles). If you wouldn't know I will explain it: carrier profiles are stored in '.bundle' files which are like a zip archive file and they contain '.plist' (mostly like xml) files and settings for the providers are stored here. Normally this folder can not be accessed, but as I have an iPhone 4 I could manage to do it, I don't want to explain it how. So the first thing you should know that every carrier in the world can be identified by a unique code which comes from two codes: MCC(Mobile Country Code) plus MNC(Mobile Network Code), for example my carrier(Telenor Hungary) has the MCC '216' and MNC '1' so their unique code is 21601(because if the MNC is less than 10 a zero comes between the two codes). The second thing you should know that carriers burn this code into their SIM cards and that's why iOS can determine which carrier are you using. In bundle files these codes can be found. The third thing you should know that there is a common profile called 'Unknown.bundle' which is used only when your carrier's code could not be paired to any of the profiles. I checked nearly 20 of your providers if their code can be found in any of the bundles and of course they weren't there and it is absolutely okay because they are not partners of Apple. This research confirms that most likely the problem must be at using this 'Unknown.bundle' and iOS can not properly work with this common profile. I also made a comparsion between the 6.1.2 'unknown.bundle' and the 7.1's and I couldn't find any difference which could generate the problem. Of course there would be the chance to make a custom profile for ourselves but unfortunately this can not be done because the file itself and almost every configuration entries(data apn, mms, hotspot apn and username password etc.) in the plist files are signed by apple and if any changes were made in these signed files iOS would reject the modified profile. And we don't know the signing algorithm so we can't sign it for ourselves. Unfortunately we have to wait for apple to fix this problem.

That's why I believe it is only a bug and not a rejection of non-partners.

Mar 19, 2014 4:30 PM in response to psychoo118

Same problem on my iphone 4 in Italy with Wind.

Apple please help us.

Mar 19, 2014 5:29 PM in response to psychoo118

Same problem with Simyo (Spain). I've tried to make an APN Settings from unlockit.co.nz but it doesn't works. Anyone knows if we can downgrade to iOS 7.0.6 meanwhile?

Mar 19, 2014 5:40 PM in response to psychoo118

I had the same problem too with the APN being deleted after every time. Not sure if this is a bug or a move by Apple to control the user experience but it drove me nuts. Anyways tried a whole lot of ways but it didn't work. Took out sim, tried resetting iPhone network setting even attempted to reinstall iOS7.1.

That is when I found out that when the phone is connected to iTunes, there was an update from iTunes for my phone. The carrier update through ITunes helped to resolve this problem! So for those who have this problem, tried connecting your iPhone 4 to a pc/Mac that is connected to the internet. It certainly helped me

Mar 19, 2014 7:33 PM in response to psychoo118

Same problem with the settings. I need the internet conection for my TOMTOM and since I update to IOS 7.1 stop working. I call my carrier in Spain (PepePhone) and they say the problem is from Apple.

Apple... pls,we need a solution for this NOW!!!!!!! 😠

KevinPNG

Level 1

0 points

Mar 19, 2014 10:00 PM in response to psychoo118

Thanks for all your comments.

As I am using Digicel in Papua New Guinea I guess it is not one of the carriers that partner with Apple. That is a bit of a surprise as they provide coverage in so many countries.

I tried a SIM from Austrailia Telstra and the settings for APN Personal Hotspot was there. This is not a solution for me since the international roaming charges would be to costly.

So I think this further confirms the issue with Unknown.bundle which you stated above.

I am using an iPhone 4 32mb, the personal hotspot was working fine before upgrading to 7.1

This really hinders me from doing work on my laptop.

Apple really needs to fix it.

J@J87

Level 1

0 points

Mar 19, 2014 10:10 PM in response to psychoo118

Boss i visit that quick link but i do not understand coz it was not in english, Please Help

Mar 19, 2014 11:09 PM in response to psychoo118

Same problem here with iPhone 4 32GB running 7.1, carrier BSNL in India.

NBS2013

Level 1

0 points

Mar 19, 2014 11:33 PM in response to Taldecual

Taldecual, I am also having the same problem with Spanish carrier PepePhone. I talked to them I few days back I they simply told me it was Apple's problem. I talked to them yesterday after many sources say it is not a bug, but Apple's decission to block unauthorized carrier and PepePhone accepted to open a support issue and they will answer me. They told me that more people complained about the same issue in the last days. I think it is time we all press Apple and our carriers so that they give a solution to us.