You should probably check the APN or Access Point Name. AT&T and the rival carriers all have them and it's their gateway between the cellular network and the internet.
If your APN settings aren't just right, then you may not be able to send or receive multimedia messages (MMS) and you may not receive cellular data or calling features such as Voice over LTE (VoLTE).
What is an APN?
APN is the Access Point Name, which is kind of like your phone's password to the internet. You need the APN settings for you to be able to access AT&T's LTE network.
Entering the APN helps the carrier decide what type of connection needs to be made, which IP address to assign and what type of security method needs to be used. Most of the time this information will be automatically populated but sometimes you will need to make sure it's up to date or enter it on an unlocked phone.
To activate an unlocked phone, you will for sure need an AT&T SIM card, but so long as your phone is compatible with AT&T's network, you should be good to go.
What is an APN, and how do I change it?
What are AT&T's APN settings?
You can find the APN settings in your phone's mobile network settings.
- Name: NXTGENPHONE
- APN: NXTGENPHONE
- Proxy: not set
- Port: not set
- Username: not set
- Password: not set
- Server: not set
- MMSC: http://mmsc.mobile.att.net
- MMS proxy: proxy.mobile.att.net
- MMS port: 80
- MCC: 310
- MNC: 410
- Authentication type: None
- APN type: default,mms,supl,hipri
- APN Protocol: IPv4/IPv6
- Bearer: Unspecified
If you need APN settings for a tablet or another device, you can fine those settings on AT&T's support page.
Still not working?
When my phone data goes away I have a small panic attack. Once I've recovered, the next thing I try is checking for outages in my area. Here's how to determine if there is an outage in your area and what to do if there is.
If things are looking good for the network, you can try simply restarting your device, resetting network settings to default, and a factory reset. If this all fails, you may have a malfunctioning device or SIM card. You're best bet would be to visit am AT&T store if possible to find the issue.
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