missing apn network settings

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Level 1

7 points

missing apn network settings

i was given a free at&t iphone from a friend. she got it free when her sister signed a contract. she was given 30 days to cancel so she did and had a phone she didnt want. i took the phone to h20 wireless and activated it. i was able to surf the web but i wasnt able to send picture messages to anyone who didnt have an iphone. i couldnt only use imessage for pictures. i stayed with h2o wireless for 2 months. last week i switched to cricket wireless. now i can send picture messages to anyone but i cannot surf the web. i was told to go to the apn setting and set them up but i have no apn settings on my phone at all. under cellular network it says celluar data on and there is no option for he network. there is also no option for the carrier. (right under the cellular) cricket told me to go tot he apple store and the people at the apple store told me to go back to cricket. after some research i see that some sim cards block apn settings. so i'm wondering what i should do now. im very frustrated and im ready to trade in/ sell my phone and switch carriers again. please help. i have ios 9.3.1 and its up to date. i went to unlockit.co.nz and cricket wasnt listed. several at&t options were there but i didnt know if i should pick one and if so which one. someone please help me thanks!

iPhone 5s, iOS 9.3.1

Posted on Apr 17, 2016 1:39 PM

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Answer 1

Apr 17, 2016 2:17 PM in response to ebony b

Sites that offer to unlock phones are scams. They either hack your phone or take your money and don't deliver what they promise. If it's an AT&T phone it is locked to AT&T. But your story doesn't make sense. AT&T has never offered free phones in the situation you describe, so most likely there is some other story behind it, either the phone is stolen, or there is some other issue with it. If you call Apple they can tell you the lock status of the phone. If it is truly unlocked (and not hacked to unlock it) then it should work with any SIM you put in it. If the APN settings don't appear it is because they aren't needed with the carrier associated with the SIM.

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Answer 2

ebony b Author

Level 1

7 points

Apr 17, 2016 9:10 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

if the phone was locked wouldnt that mean it wouldnt have worked on h20 or crickets network? should i call apple to find out the lock status or go in? i thought they would have told me if it was locked when i took it in the first time.

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Answer 3

ebony b Author

Level 1

7 points

Apr 18, 2016 1:26 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

when i try to go on the internet it says "could not activate cellular data network turn on cellular data or use wi-fi to access data"

then when i go to settings>cellular> the only options are cellular data on/off and cellular data options roaming on/off

theres supposed to be a cellular menu with apn settings but i dont have that menu at all

i have vpn setting which arent set up but cricket said its supposed to be apn settings not vpn settings

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Answer 4

KiltedTim

Level 10

224,958 points

Apr 18, 2016 1:42 PM in response to ebony b

The problem is centered around the fact that Cricket and H2O are NOT supported carriers. They are MVNOs that piggy back on the network of a supported carrier such as AT&T or T-Mobile. Because the network identifies itself as, for example, AT&T, The APN settings are not available on the phone because the settings for AT&T are already there and should not be changed.

Unfortunately, they won't work on an MVNO. You'll need to work this out with your carrier or switch to a supported carrier like AT&T.

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Answer 5

ebony b Author

Level 1

7 points

Apr 19, 2016 4:27 AM in response to KiltedTim

really? when i had h20 i was able to get online but i couldnt send picture messages. thats why i switched to cricket. i would imagine since cricket sells iphones those iphone do work correctly. i just wanted to use the free phone i got instead of buying another one.

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Answer 6

ebony b Author

Level 1

7 points

Apr 21, 2016 4:02 AM in response to ebony b

i called apple yesterday and they said to backup my phone, erase my iphone completely, then install a brand new copy of the operating sysytem on the phone directly from itunes (via cable) i did that and the apn settings are still not there and in addition to that now i cant even restore my backed up info because either my iphone is corrupt or not compatible with the os i backed up. so now i can't even access my contacts/apps/pictures etc.

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Answer 7

Apr 18, 2016 2:59 AM in response to ebony b

What is the exact message that you see?

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Answer 8

Apr 18, 2016 2:19 PM in response to ebony b

Go to Settings/General/About and click on the network name. This MAY install a carrier settings package that will enable the feature. If that doesn't fix it you will have to work with the carrier.

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Answer 9

ebony b Author

Level 1

7 points

Apr 19, 2016 4:28 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

the network name is listed as cricket but i can click on it, it doesn't open any menus, its just written there.

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Answer 10

wjosten

Level 10

95,369 points

Apr 19, 2016 5:07 AM in response to ebony b

Go here: http://www.unlockit.co.nz/unlockit/

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Answer 11

Apr 19, 2016 5:50 AM in response to wjosten

Really?

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Answer 12

ebony b Author

Level 1

7 points

Apr 19, 2016 6:02 AM in response to wjosten

i did that already and i couldnt find cricket's name in the carrier providers and i found att there were about 6 different atts and i didnt know which one i should use

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Answer 13

ebony b Author

Level 1

7 points

Apr 19, 2016 6:03 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

yeah its crazy i will probably sell/trade in this phone before my bill is due on the 9th of may

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Answer 14

Jan 2, 2017 7:18 PM in response to ebony b

I have the same issue.

Any luck with finding a solution since?

Thanks!

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