iPad Air Wifi+Cellular: No Cellular Data Button

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Level 1

6 points

iPad Air Wifi+Cellular: No Cellular Data Button

Hi!

I recently recieved an iPad Air Wifi+Cellular (without a SIM card in it) from a family member. After a few days of using it I decided to buy a SIM card (with a mobile internet plan) to use the cellular data network. However, when I inserted the SIM card and loaded a few gigs of mobile surfing on it, nothing happened. And the strange thing is that in Settings, the only alternatives in the first group of options is Airplane mode, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. In other words, no menu for Cellular Data. So far I've tried restarting the device, re-inserting the SIM card, resetting the network settings, and resetting the entire device. Nothing has worked so far. Any ideas?

Model Number (on the back): A1475

Model Number (in General / About): MD794KS/A

Thanks in advance!

iPad Air, iOS 9.3.1, Wifi+Cellular 16GB

Posted on Apr 3, 2016 1:32 PM

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Answer 1

jberntsson Author

Level 1

6 points

Apr 4, 2016 9:45 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

From what I understand from the support from my carrier, the SIM card is compatible. I have no way of testing this though, since my iPad for some reason uses the firmware for iPad Air Wifi, and therefore does not have any software support for SIM cards or cellular data.

So in other words, I am not totally sure about the answer to your question, but I'm fairly sure the problem goes way deeper than just having an incompatible SIM-card 🙂

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Answer 2

Apr 4, 2016 9:58 AM in response to jberntsson

jberntsson wrote:

So in other words, I am not totally sure about the answer to your question, but I'm fairly sure the problem goes way deeper than just having an incompatible SIM-card 🙂

I'm not convinced of that. Restore the device as new using iTunes. Make sure that you don't add any corporate email accounts until you have all the other issues resolved.

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Answer 3

jberntsson Author

Level 1

6 points

Apr 4, 2016 11:44 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

I tried that twice, without any improvements. As far as I understand, the Settings in an iPad with Cellular should look like this when no SIM card is inserted: http://cdn.iphonehacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/ipad-iphone-hotspot.jpg

The Settings menu in my iPad looks like this: http://i.imgur.com/uUQwr3w.png

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Answer 4

jberntsson Author

Level 1

6 points

Apr 4, 2016 12:51 AM in response to jberntsson

I also tried manually installing the iOS 9.3.1 IPSW file for iPad4,2, but iTunes immeadiately said that the firmware isn't compatible with the device.

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Answer 5

Apr 4, 2016 7:50 AM in response to jberntsson

Is the account that the SIM is attached to set up for an iPad? Generally, you get a SIM from a supported carrier (if there is no Apple SIM), put it in the iPad, then set up the account.

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Answer 6

Apr 4, 2016 11:52 AM in response to jberntsson

Very, very strange. I'm out of ideas. Make an appointment at the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store?

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