For iPhone users, one of the most important things is getting online. If your smartphone can make and receive calls and texts but isn’t browsing the web as it should, your APN might be the issue.

We have included all the info you need to update your APN on an iPhone below.

What is an APN?

APN stands for Access Point Name. Essentially, it’s information your phone provides to connect to mobile networks, such as the internet.

When you try to use the internet on your smartphone, your mobile network operator will read your device’s APN to arrange things such as IP addresses and security.

Why Do I Need An APN?

In most cases, you won’t need to do anything with your APN - you likely won’t even realise it’s there! Many SIMs automatically input the correct APN details into your phone, and contract phones will often have their APN details tied to the selling company.

However, there are some circumstances where you may need to enter APN details manually.

Pay-As-You-Go and business SIMs will sometimes require you to manually set the APN on your device before you can connect online.

You may also need to change APN settings for devices moving from one network to another, particularly if you’re purchasing a reconditioned phone or the device has moved overseas.

It’s worth noting that there are many potential reasons why you might not be able to connect to the internet. Incorrectly changing your APN can cause you to lose mobile connection and sometimes incur additional charges, so make sure it’s the right thing to do before progressing.

How to Change Your iPhone’s APN Settings

If you need to change your APN settings on an iPhone, the process is straightforward:

1. Tap on the Settings App.
2. Tap ‘Celluar’ > ‘Celluar Data Options’ > ‘Cellular Network’.
3. Alternatively, Tap ‘Mobile Data’ > ‘Mobile Data Options’ > ‘Mobile Data Network’.

Some mobile networks won’t allow you to edit the cellular data settings. If you see neither of the options above, you may need to contact your carrier, as your phone might be locked to a specific APN.

Note that any custom APN configurations will revert to default after an iOS update. If you’re updating your iPhone, you may need to reenter your APN details.

Setting Up APN on iPhone

Once you reach the settings pages mentioned above, you will need to enter specific details depending on your mobile carrier. We’ve included some of the most common carriers below.

Where no details have been provided for a specific box on the page, leave it blank. Once you’ve entered all the details below, backing out of that page should save your new APN settings, although you may need to restart your phone before it is fully implemented.

Ensure that all the characters below are entered exactly as they appear, including spaces (or lack thereof) and capitals. If you still experience issues, get in contact with your mobile carrier.

iPhone APN Settings Vodaphone

If you are using a Vodaphone or VOXI plan, enter the APN details below:

1. APN (for pay monthly SIMs): wap.vodaphone.co.uk
2. APN (for PAYG or VOXI SIMs): pp.vodaphone.co.uk
3. Username (for all SIMs): wap
4. Password (for all SIMs): wap

iPhone APN Settings Lycamobile

If you have a Lycamobile SIM, use the details below to set up your mobile network:

1. APN: data.lycamobile.co.uk
2. Username: lmuk
3. Password: plus

iPhone APN Settings Giffgaff

Use the following details if you need to set up your APN for a Giffgaff SIM manually:

1. APN: giffgaff.com
2. Username: giffgaff
3. MCC: 234
4. MNC: 10

iPhone APN Settings O2

The following details should help if you are trying to connect to your mobile data on an O2 SIM:

1. APN: mobile.o2.co.uk
2. Username: o2web
3. Password: password

iPhone APN Settings Lebara

While Lebara works on the Vodaphone network, you will require details specific to Lebara for your mobile connection.

1. APN: uk.lebara.mobi
2. Username: wap
3. Password: wap

The same details also work for MMS Messaging, along with the below:

• MMSC: http://mms.lebara.co.uk/servlets/mms
• MMSC proxy: 212.183.137.012

We hope that this guide will help your mobile connect to the internet. If we haven’t covered your carrier, explore the rest of our APN guides, where we cover all the major mobile networks.

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