8 Best Ways to Fix Cellular Data Not Working on iPhone

Wi-Fi and cellular data are the two main ways to connect to the Internet on almost all smartphones. Whichever one you decide to use, you cannot rule out the possibility of one or the other malfunctioning. In this guide, we will cover 8 ways to solve the problems preventing cellular data from working on an iPhone. If you’re using Wi-Fi, use this guide to troubleshoot Internet connectivity issues related to Wi-Fi on iPhone.

Cellular data problems on iPhone may be due to weak network signal strength at your location or problems from the network provider. Other times, your phone is the culprit. Try the troubleshooting tips below to get cellular data working on your iPhone again.

1. Disable cellular data

It’s a trick that works pretty well most of the time. If cellular data is turned on on your iPhone, but there is no Internet, or you can’t use internet-based apps, try turning off cellular data and turning it back on. It worked for me a few times when I had problems using cellular data on my iPhone. You should also try it.

2. Airplane mode

You can also use Airplane mode to restore cellular data to your iPhone. Activate airplane mode and deactivate it. This will help refresh your device network and should make cellular data work again.

You can activate Airplane mode from the iPhone Control Center or in the Settings menu.

3. Check the signal strength

Sometimes the problem can come from your network operator / provider. If you are in an area / region where your network provider’s service is not available, cellular data on the phone may not work. A good way to determine network availability is to check the strength of the network signal on your iPhone. You can do this by taking inspiration from the network bars in the status bar of your iPhone, i.e. in the upper right corner of your device.

If there is no active network bar, you may have difficulty using cellular data on your iPhone. The same can apply to have only one (out of four) active network bars. What you can do is move around the area to get better network signal / reception. You can also call your operator to confirm the availability of network and data services in the area.

4. Restart the iPhone

This is another effective solution for an iPhone whose cellular or mobile data does not work. Restarting your iPhone could help resolve phone or network issues that could prevent cellular data from functioning normally.

5. Eject the SIM card

If you have problems using certain SIM activities on your device, consider ejecting and reinserting the SIM card from your phone. For example, if you’re having strange phone call issues on your iPhone, this SIM card troubleshooting fix might help. You should also try this when cellular data is not working on your iPhone.

Carefully remove the SIM card from your device and replace it. You should also make sure that the SIM card is inserted correctly. Several iPhone users have successfully restored mobile / cellular data from their device using this method.

6. Disable Wi-Fi

iOS (and just about every other mobile operating system) is designed to prioritize wireless (Wi-Fi) connectivity over cellular connections. If Wi-Fi and mobile / cellular data are turned on at the same time, your iPhone will automatically switch to using an active and previously registered Wi-Fi network.

If you need to use cellular data, make sure that Wi-Fi is turned off. Otherwise, your device will turn off cellular data and switch to any nearby Wi-Fi network – even if the network does not have Internet.

7. Reset network settings

If certain cellular network settings have been changed or may have been configured incorrectly, cellular data may not work on your iPhone. Fortunately, this is easily repairable. By resetting the network settings, you are simply asking your device to restore all network-related settings to their original state.

Note that resetting network settings on an iPhone also resets settings for other non-cellular features such as Wi-Fi, VPN, and Bluetooth. Refer to our detailed guide on resetting your iPhone network settings and how to do it.

8. Update iOS

The cellular network problem could be due to a bug in the iOS version installed on your device. Some iPhone users have reported that they noticed that cellular data no longer worked properly on their devices right after upgrading to one of the first versions of iOS 13. If cellular data does not work on your iPhone, make sure you have the latest version of iOS installed on your device.

Go to Settings> General> Software update and click “Download and install” to update your iPhone operating system.

Fixed connection issues

At this point, we are sure that cellular data now works on your iPhone. Right? If you answered “no”, you should contact your network provider; the problem most likely comes from their end. It should also be noted that extreme / bad weather conditions such as heavy rain, lightning, snow or ice can interfere with the signals of mobile phones and therefore prevent cellular data from working on your iPhone. .