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iPhone: Error “Could not activate cellular data network” Fix

iPhone: Error “Could not activate cellular data network” Fix

by 60 Comments

Users of the Apple iPhone may experience an error when trying to make a data connection.

Could not activate cellular data network. You are not subscribed to a cellular data service.

This error is common after traveling for some reason. It could be occurring because you have a poor connection to the wireless network, but it’s more likely that the Apple iPhone just needs it’s settings calibrated. Try using one of these fixes.

Fix 1 – Clear Profiles

  1. Open “Settings” > “General” > “VPN” (if it exists).
  2. Look for an option called “Profiles“. If it doesn’t exist, try Fix 2.
  3. Clear anything you have listed in the “Profiles” section.
  4. Power down, then restart the phone.

Fix 2 – Reset Networking

  1. Open “Settings” from the Home screen.
  2. Tap “General“.
  3. Select “Reset“.
  4. Choose “Reset Network Settings“.
  5. Power down the iPhone by pressing and holding the Sleep/Wake button on the top of the device, then sliding the “Off” slider.
  6. Wait about 10 seconds, then power the iPhone back on.
  7. Open a web browser and see if things are operating as expected.

Fix 3 – Fill in APN Info

  1. Open “Settings” from the Home screen.
  2. Depending on your version of the iOS, go to the following path:
    • “Cellular” > “Cellular Data Options” > “Cellular Network“.
    • “Mobile Data” > “Mobile Data Options” > “Mobile Data Network“.
  3. Type the word “internet” for both APN categories (“Mobile Data” & “Personal Hotspot“)

You can also try resetting the APN data using the “Reset Settings” option on the “Cellular/Mobile Data Network” screen.

Most of the time, these steps will fix this error. Please share your experience in the comments section below.

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Comments

  1. Jessika says

    #2 worked!! A few days ago I switched plans within the same carrier and ever since then my phone has not been able to use data at all, only wifi. You HAVE to restart your phone for it to work though. I reset the network settings and my phone looked like it reset itself but it only worked after I powered off/on my phone myself.

  4. Rob Rice says

    Thanks! Removing the VPN settings on my iPhone7 Did the trick. I wonder if I need to create another better working VPN?

  5. R J says

    None of these worked. For the third one it didn’t give me the option to click reset cellular or mobile data network.

    Iphone 7

  6. Franklin uzoma says

    Non of this is working for my phone
    Is still showing no cellular network from my mobile Data.
    Please i need help

  8. Den says

    These steps did not help. But I solved it. I have iphone6 using Google Fi in USA and was traveling in Europe. The iPhone worked in the Netherlands but did not work in France. GoogleFi connected to Orange 3G. The error message says: “Could not activate cellular data network. You are not subscribed to a cellular data service”.

    Solution:
    Settings- Cellular – Cellular Data Network:
    In Cellular data – in APN type “h2g2”
    In LTE setup – in APN type “h2g2”
    In MMS – in APN type “h2g2” and in MMSC type “http://m.fi.good/mms/wapenc

    Good luck
    Den

  12. lisa says

    It worked!!! literally tried them all at once because that’s how desperate I was so I wouldn’t know which one in particular did the trick but it worked, thank you so so much!!!! (network problem by going to england from france, i was in 3g and am now in 4g and it’s working)

  15. Christopher Vecchitto says

    It was simple reset on my version account with network settings as said above

  20. Brooke White says

    I’m a tracfone user and none of these worked for me. However, this worked: In Settings, click Cellular, Cellular Data Options, Voice & Data, switch from LTE to 3G.

  21. Ismael says

    Thank you! This fixed my issue perfectly! I spent a while with AT&T tech support (tried everything else) and they did not have me remove any previous profiles. Thanks again!!

  22. Nova says

    Non of the above worked. I tried all three, but unfortunately nothing helped. Some I’m going to search the network providers site for an app fix.

  25. Gemma says

    Thank you!

    Using 3 UK in Poland – was automatically connected to the local network (Play), got a welcome SMS, phone worked fine – but no cellular data. Had previously tried resetting the network from SETTINGS > CELLULAR > CELLULAR DATA NET|WORK – as well as rebooting, removing and replacing the SIM GENERAL > RESET .> RESET NETWORK SETTINGS dd the trick. The reset did turn off data roaming on the phone, so I had to turn that back on after the shutdown/restart – but after that, full cellular data access!

  26. Harsha says

    Removing profile worked ,
    I went in to AT&T store twice and said it will work after few hours . Seriously they don’t know how to troubleshoot iPhone , I was worried that my model of iPhone 7plus MN5T2LL/A or A1661 will not work .

    Please remove all profiles and reset network setting fixed it.
    Thanks I did not need to buy a new phone, may be that’s what AT&T wants

  29. Gabriel says

    What worked for me , settings>general>profiles delete profile there , turn phone on and off then redownload profile from mobile provider and it worked again

  31. Numbnutz says

    Seriously saved my life. I thought I was going to have to get a new phone. Went to my phone company and multiple people couldn’t fix it but the first thing I google it works. This goes to show that google is always the way to go!

  33. Victor Nguyen says

    iPhone X have same problem with cellular data could not activate. Remove profiles, reset network, reset settings nothing work

  34. Michelle says

    Spot on advice, worked a treat! Thanks so much for sharing! Will pay it forward! X

  39. Lesco says

    Yeah right,,, tried fix 1 says go to fix 2,,, tried fix 2 reset network settings ,,smashed it,, so fast to do,,so well explained,, could not have been easier when told,, thanks a million,,

  40. Bogdan says

    Tried all of them. Nothing worked. Left stranded basically in middle of Buenos Aires

    Iphone x

  41. nonyabuisness says

    None of this worked i feel like it would be easier to get a new phone at this point

  42. RIL says

    Somebody please help. Having the same problem with cricket wireless. I need the cellular data to receive voice mail. Please tried everything

  43. Billa says

    All these websites keep posting to fill in the APN, but with an AT&T (or its prepaid variants) the APN option is hidden on iPhones. It’s frustrating!

  44. Brad says

    Thank you. Removing von and profiles was the fix. T
    Really appreciate you taking the time to publish the support for otherz

  48. Erin Watt says

    I had just changed carriers and brought my own device. I had been on 3 calls and went to 2 different stores for help. Got home and tried option 1….. phone fixed! Wish i would of just googled it in the first place!

  51. Diana says

    Thank you so much for putting my husband out of his misery. We arrived in France to find my mobile data working fine and his not at all. After phoning o2 and getting nowhere, messing about with settings we don’t understand I found your guide to resetting network settings. Worked like a dream. He’s now busy catching up with one day’s worth of sport. Thanks again ?

  52. Zach says

    Hi Mitch,

    Thanks for putting this out there. I got back from japan about 2 months ago and since then I have not been able to connect to LTE. I have tried resetting network (and all other) settings, I have removed my VPN, and I have removed all of the profiles on my phone. The only thing that has worked is a full factory reset, but that removes all of my data, and when I restore from backup, the problem returns. Do you have any other suggestions? 3G coverage where I am is spotty at best, and seems to not be optimized by Verizon, so it’s hard to perform routine mobile tasks on the go. I have an iPhone 6s, running the newest iOS.

    Thank you!

  53. tom says

    I have the issue with iphone 5s. It cannot connect to data network. I tried all of the above many, many times.
    The issue is related to my iphone, since the SIM card works fine on my wife’s phone, and her SIM does not work on my iphone 5s.
    I wiped out and restored my phone from backup still the same. I have the latest IOS.
    Last two weeks I spent oversease, and used two sim cards from two carriers oversease. No, issue over there.
    On my way back I left europian sim card in my phone and put phone in air plane mode. Turned off Airplane mode upon arrival to Canada. After swapping SIM card to my cannadian carrier, that I used for 7 years it could not connect to data network of the carrier. Phone, texting, wifi works perfectly fine but it could not connect to data network. Tried more SIM cards not issue, those SIMs as I’ve already stated work fine on other phones. Frustrating!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ll go to apple store to see what will find out their diagnostic… Anybody in the world had anything similar to this?

  54. Mariia says

    Fix 1 worked on Iphone 7 but in a bit other way – after delating all vpn applications.
    Thanks a lot!

  55. Millie says

    This happened to me right before my softball game today and I had no idea what happened to my iphone (mind you I have a 5s so I thought it was just old). At first I thought it was just Snapchat acting up but then my other social media apps didn’t work at all. I tried shutting it off a few times to see if that would help. I googled how to fix the problem and saw a bunch of ways to fix it but nothing worked. I reset my iPhone, took out the SIM card, called Apple and my provider AT&T and they had no word on what was going on. After a few hours of not being able to use cellular I finally tried going to the cellular settings and see what i could fix there. I’m not a pro at all so I started messing around with the settings and figured this; I reccomend going to settings then cellular then cellular data options then shut off enable LTE and have data roaming on. It’ll give you full bars of 4G and it works perfectly fine now. I think this should work for all iPhones but I’m not for sure. Hope this helps!

  56. Mohammed says

    You are an absolute ledgend mate. Iv tried everything. Even Apple store couldn’t fix the issue.

    A few simple steps and wow mobile data network working again !!! I’m so happy and cannot thank you enough.

    Thank you very very much for helping me fix my mobile data network after a painful 5 months of no data at all :)

  57. Rui Rosário says

    Fix 1 worked on iPhone 6
    In fact i’ve been in Japan, using a pre paid data sim card. They adviced to remove vpn settings when i arrive in my country (i forgot!) :)

  58. Cortena Williams says

    None of these steps worked for me . I have a iPhone 8 plus with the iOS 11.4

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