What are APN Settings and What is it used for? Are you also asking yourself this question? Let us explain you in details what they are and why we need them.
APN stands for Access Point Names, they are like the routing information needed for the phone to communicate to the mobile phone towers from your carrier or mobile operator. This is needed so that you can use the internet on your phone and/or send picture messages
The APNs are usually not required to be manually setup, as they already come preloaded in the SIM when you activate the service. However if you are travelling abroad and want to use a different sim card or you are bringing your phone to another service provider, then you may need to manually changed those settings.
What fields are included in the APN Settings
These are the most important fields in an APN Settings:
Name: this is a generic name you assing, you can use any information
APN: this is key, it’s specific for every carrier and must be obtained from them
username & password: usually not required
MMSC, MMSC Server and Proxy: required if used for picture messaging
MNC & MCC: Mobile Network Code and Mobile Country Code, dont changed them, it’s added automatically when you create a new APN
APN Type: this is used to determine if the APN is used only for Data or also for MMS.
How to setup APN Settings on Android Phone?
To Update or Add APN on an Android phone Go to Settings > Connections (or More) > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names
from there, just add a new APN and fill in the information specific to your carrier. If you dont have them, please check this complete list of APN Settings for US carriers
How to Setup APN Settings on iPhone
if you are using iPhone, this is the process to setup APN or Cellular Data
1. From you home menu, go to Settings.
2. Go to Cellular
3. Go to Cellular Data Options
4. Go to Cellular Network (APN)
5. Tab menu or three little dots and select Add New, input the information corresponding to your carrier.
If you’re iPhone have those settings disabled, you may want to check this guide to reset network settings on iPhone