What is an APN?
The Access Point Name (APN) is the name for the settings your phone uses to set up a connection to the gateway between your service provider's cellular network and the Internet.
How to change your APN
This is done pretty much the same way on any Android phone, but, of course, some manufacturers can (and do) change things in the settings, just because they can. So the process on your phone may be slightly different.
First you will need to find the right APN settings for the network/carrier you are going to be using. You should be able to find the information needed on the support pages at the carrier's website, or you can call them to get it.
The settings will look like something like this, which is for Straight Talk.:
NAME: straight talk
APN: tfdata
PORT: 80
MMSC: http
/mms-tf.net
MMS PROXY: mms3.tracfone.com
MMS PORT: 80
(NOTE: If Straight Talk is your actual carrier I would check their site or call them to be absolutely sure of their settings)
Once you have this information, you can then set up the phone correctly.
1. Go to "Settings" and look for "Wireless and Network Settings".
2. Once there, find the "More" option. When you tap that you will see a list of options to select. You are looking for "Mobile Networks" or something similar.
3. Now on this screen find for "Access Point Names" section. Tap to open it.
4. You should see a list with at least one "APN" on it.
If things aren't working using the currently listed/active APN, you need to add another.
DO NOT modify or delete the one(s) you see already there. Instead, make a new one. This will leave you the option to change, in the future, to networks already in the phone, without having to do this over again.
5. At the top of the screen, or by tapping the "Menu" button, if your phone has a menu button, tap it and then press the "plus sign ( + )" to bring up the "Edit Access Point" screen.
This is where you will enter the settings information that you got from your carrier's site (or when you call them to get it).
Two very important things to remember here:
A. Not every setting on the "Edit Access Point" screen will need to be filled in. Only fill in the items that your carrier provides. Then leave the rest as it already is.
B. Also, be sure you type in everything 'exactly' as provided by your carrier.
A good example of this would be... 'default,supl,hipri' vs 'default, supl, hipri' (without the ' ').
Why? Because of the spaces between items in the second one.
Your carrier's system is set up to read a specific set of values, in a specific order, and any changes — no matter how minor they may seem — can and will break things.
6. Once you have input the settings provided by your carrier, you need to save the APN. To do this tap the "Three Dots" in the upper right or of the screen (or the menu key if your phone has one) and then tap the "Save" option.
7. Once your APN information is saved, go back 'one' screen, to the list of APNs you saw earlier. On this screen, tap the "New" APN settings (that you just added) to make them active.
8. Now restart your phone, and you should be good to go.
Looking for other helpful how-to tutorials? Click here for a full list of all my tutorials.
The Access Point Name (APN) is the name for the settings your phone uses to set up a connection to the gateway between your service provider's cellular network and the Internet.
How to change your APN
This is done pretty much the same way on any Android phone, but, of course, some manufacturers can (and do) change things in the settings, just because they can. So the process on your phone may be slightly different.
First you will need to find the right APN settings for the network/carrier you are going to be using. You should be able to find the information needed on the support pages at the carrier's website, or you can call them to get it.
The settings will look like something like this, which is for Straight Talk.:
NAME: straight talk
APN: tfdata
PORT: 80
MMSC: http
/mms-tf.netMMS PROXY: mms3.tracfone.com
MMS PORT: 80
(NOTE: If Straight Talk is your actual carrier I would check their site or call them to be absolutely sure of their settings)
Once you have this information, you can then set up the phone correctly.
1. Go to "Settings" and look for "Wireless and Network Settings".
2. Once there, find the "More" option. When you tap that you will see a list of options to select. You are looking for "Mobile Networks" or something similar.
3. Now on this screen find for "Access Point Names" section. Tap to open it.
4. You should see a list with at least one "APN" on it.
If things aren't working using the currently listed/active APN, you need to add another.
DO NOT modify or delete the one(s) you see already there. Instead, make a new one. This will leave you the option to change, in the future, to networks already in the phone, without having to do this over again.
5. At the top of the screen, or by tapping the "Menu" button, if your phone has a menu button, tap it and then press the "plus sign ( + )" to bring up the "Edit Access Point" screen.
This is where you will enter the settings information that you got from your carrier's site (or when you call them to get it).
Two very important things to remember here:
A. Not every setting on the "Edit Access Point" screen will need to be filled in. Only fill in the items that your carrier provides. Then leave the rest as it already is.
B. Also, be sure you type in everything 'exactly' as provided by your carrier.
A good example of this would be... 'default,supl,hipri' vs 'default, supl, hipri' (without the ' ').
Why? Because of the spaces between items in the second one.
Your carrier's system is set up to read a specific set of values, in a specific order, and any changes — no matter how minor they may seem — can and will break things.
6. Once you have input the settings provided by your carrier, you need to save the APN. To do this tap the "Three Dots" in the upper right or of the screen (or the menu key if your phone has one) and then tap the "Save" option.
7. Once your APN information is saved, go back 'one' screen, to the list of APNs you saw earlier. On this screen, tap the "New" APN settings (that you just added) to make them active.
8. Now restart your phone, and you should be good to go.
Looking for other helpful how-to tutorials? Click here for a full list of all my tutorials.
Facebook
Twitter