APN settings explained: fix mobile data on any UK network

If your mobile data has stopped working, you cannot send picture messages (MMS), or you have just popped a new SIM into an unlocked phone, the cause is almost always the APN settings. APN stands for Access Point Name, and it is the little piece of configuration that tells your phone how to connect to your network's data service. Get it right and data and MMS just work; get it wrong, leave it blank, or carry over the wrong settings from an old SIM, and you will see 'no internet', failed picture messages, or a stubbornly grey mobile-data icon. This guide explains what an APN is in plain English, gives you the correct, current APN values for every major UK network and the popular MVNOs, and shows you exactly where to enter them on iPhone and Android.

#What is an APN, and why does it matter?

Think of the APN as the address your phone uses to find the door into your network's data network. When you open a web page or send a picture message, your phone hands the request to the mobile network, and the APN tells the network which gateway to route you through and how to authenticate you. Most of the time you never see it, because phones bought in the UK come pre-loaded with the right APN for their network, and SIMs from the major operators push the correct settings automatically. The APN only becomes something you have to think about when that automatic process fails — typically on an unlocked or imported phone, after moving a SIM between handsets, when switching networks, or when a software update or 'reset network settings' has wiped the configuration. In those situations, entering the correct APN by hand is the fix, and it takes about a minute once you know the values.

#Correct UK APN settings by network

Below are the current APN values for the major UK networks. Enter exactly as shown, leaving fields blank where indicated — adding a username or password that should be empty is a common cause of failure. These are the standard consumer settings for mobile data; the MMS values (MMSC, proxy, port) are included where you need them for picture messaging.

If you need MMS (picture messaging) as well, add these alongside the APN: on EE, MMSC http://mms/, proxy 149.254.201.135, port 8080; on O2, MMSC http://mmsc.mms.o2.co.uk:8002, proxy 82.132.254.1, port 8080; on Three, MMSC http://mms.um.three.co.uk:10021/mmsc (proxy and port blank); on Vodafone, MMSC http://mms.vodafone.co.uk/servlets/mms, proxy 212.183.137.12, port 8799; on giffgaff, MMSC http://mmsc.mediamessaging.co.uk:8002, proxy 82.132.254.1, port 8080. Set the APN type to default,mms,supl so the same profile handles data, MMS and location services.

#How to enter APN settings on iPhone

1. 1

   Open Mobile Data settings

   Go to Settings > Mobile Data (or Mobile Service) > Mobile Data Network. If you do not see 'Mobile Data Network', your carrier locks the APN and you do not need to change it.

2. 2

   Enter the APN

   Under Mobile Data (and under MMS if you send picture messages), type the APN, username and password for your network from the table above.

3. 3

   Add MMS values if needed

   In the MMS section enter the MMSC, MMS proxy and port for your network so picture messages work.

4. 4

   Restart

   Leave the settings (they save automatically), then restart the iPhone and toggle Mobile Data off and on.

On iPhone, the option to edit the APN only appears if your carrier permits it; many UK SIMs configure data automatically, in which case you will not see 'Mobile Data Network' and you do not need to touch anything. If data still will not work after a correct entry, try Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings, then re-insert the SIM so it can reconfigure. Apple's own support pages cover the menu locations if they have moved in your iOS version.

#How to enter APN settings on Android

1. 1

   Open Access Point Names

   Go to Settings > Network & internet > SIMs (or Mobile network) > Access Point Names. The exact path varies slightly by manufacturer.

2. 2

   Add a new APN

   Tap the + or menu to create a new APN, then fill in Name (anything you like), APN, Username and Password from the table.

3. 3

   Add MMS fields

   Enter MMSC, MMS proxy and MMS port for your network, and set APN type to default,mms,supl.

4. 4

   Save and select

   Save the APN, select it as the active one, then restart and toggle mobile data off and on.

Samsung phones tend to put this under Settings > Connections > Mobile networks > Access Point Names; Google Pixel uses Network & internet > SIMs. If your phone hides the APN menu entirely, the SIM is configuring it automatically and you should leave it alone. Where you have created a wrong APN previously, delete it rather than leaving multiple profiles, as the phone may try to use the wrong one.

#Do MVNOs use the same APN as their host network?

Not exactly — and this trips a lot of people up. An MVNO (a 'virtual' network like giffgaff, VOXI, Smarty, Tesco Mobile or Sky Mobile) rents capacity from one of the four physical networks, but it usually has its own APN, distinct from the host's. giffgaff and Tesco Mobile run on O2's network, but giffgaff's APN is giffgaff.com and Tesco's is prepay.tesco-mobile.com, not O2's mobile.o2.co.uk. VOXI runs on Vodafone but uses pp.vodafone.co.uk. Smarty runs on Three but uses mob.asm.net. So if you have switched to an MVNO and copied your old host-network APN, data may not work — you need the MVNO's specific value. The exception is the occasional MVNO that genuinely uses the host's settings (some EE-based brands like BT Mobile, ASDA Mobile and Plusnet use EE's everywhere/eesecure/secure). When in doubt, use the value in the table for your exact brand, not the underlying network. To understand which physical network sits behind a given 07 number, see our UK mobile networks by 07 prefix guide.

#Troubleshooting: data still not working

If you have entered the correct APN and data still will not connect, work through these in order. First, confirm mobile data is switched on and that you have not hit a data cap or a 'spend cap' that blocks usage — check your account or app. Second, make sure data roaming is set correctly: it should be off at home (to avoid charges) but may need to be on for some MVNOs or when abroad. Third, restart the phone — a surprising number of APN problems clear with a reboot once the settings are saved. Fourth, delete any old or duplicate APN profiles so the phone is not trying to use the wrong one. Fifth, check the phone is unlocked and compatible with the network's bands; an imported handset may lack the right 4G/5G bands even with a perfect APN. Finally, if picture messages fail but web works, the MMS section of the APN is the culprit — re-enter the MMSC, proxy and port for your network.

#APN, coverage and switching networks

It is worth separating two things people often conflate: an APN problem and a coverage problem. The APN governs whether your phone can connect to data at all when it has signal; coverage governs whether you have usable signal in the first place. If data is slow or drops in certain places but works elsewhere, that is coverage, not the APN, and the fix lies in checking your network's coverage in your area rather than fiddling with settings — see our best mobile network in the UK guide for how to assess coverage properly. Conversely, if data fails everywhere and never connects, the APN (or a locked/incompatible handset) is the likely cause. If you are moving to a new network and want to keep your number, you do not need to worry about the old APN — you will get the new network's SIM and settings; our PAC code guide explains how to switch while keeping your number. And if poor indoor signal is your real issue, turning on Wi‑Fi calling can help; see our Wi‑Fi calling guide.

#Why APN settings get lost in the first place

Understanding when and why APN settings go missing helps you avoid the problem and recognise it quickly. The most common trigger is moving a SIM into a new or unlocked phone that did not ship with your network's profile — a handset bought SIM-free, imported from abroad, or bought second-hand. Such phones may not carry the right APN for your network, so data fails until you enter it. The second trigger is a 'reset network settings' — a step often suggested for fixing other connectivity issues, which also wipes any custom APN you had entered, so data stops until you re-add it. The third is a major software update that occasionally resets or changes network configuration. The fourth is switching networks or moving to an MVNO without the new network's settings being pushed automatically. And the fifth is simple human error: someone previously entered a slightly wrong value — a stray space, a username that should be blank, the wrong case — and the phone has been limping along or failing ever since.

The practical defence is to know that a correct SIM from a major UK network usually configures the APN automatically the first time it connects, so if data fails on a brand-new official SIM, give it a few minutes and a restart before assuming you must enter settings by hand. If it still fails, or if you are on an unlocked/imported phone or an MVNO, that is when manual entry from the table above is the fix. It is also worth knowing that you generally should not enter an APN you do not need: piling in extra or guessed profiles can cause the phone to select the wrong one. Keep a single, correct APN for your network and delete the rest. If you have switched networks and kept your number, your data settings come with the new SIM — see our PAC code guide for how number-keeping switches work, which is separate from the APN itself.

#MMS and picture messaging: the part people miss

A very common scenario is that mobile data works perfectly but picture messages (MMS) fail — they sit unsent, or arrive as a prompt to 'download' that never completes. This happens because MMS uses a separate part of the APN configuration (the MMSC address, the MMS proxy and the MMS port), and that part is often left blank or wrong even when the data APN is fine. The fix is to add the MMS values for your network from the section above, and to make sure the APN type includes mms (the recommended default,mms,supl covers data, MMS and location). A second cause of MMS failure is having mobile data switched off: MMS needs a data connection to send and receive, even though it looks like a text, so a phone with data disabled to save money cannot send picture or group messages. A third cause is the message size limit — very large attachments can exceed the network's MMS size cap and fail regardless of settings, in which case sending a smaller image or using a messaging app is the workaround.

MMS quirks are worth sorting because group chats on standard messaging frequently fall back to MMS, so a broken MMS configuration can quietly break group messaging without any obvious error. If you have entered the data APN correctly and web browsing works but group or picture messages do not, go straight to the MMS fields rather than re-checking the data APN — the data side is clearly fine if browsing works. On iPhone the MMS section sits below the main APN under Mobile Data Network; on Android it is part of the same APN profile you create under Access Point Names. Once the MMSC, proxy and port are correct and data is on, picture and group messages start flowing immediately, usually without even needing a restart.

#APN myths and things people confuse it with

Because 'mobile data does not work' has several possible causes, the APN gets blamed for problems it has nothing to do with — and people sometimes spend ages re-typing APN values when the real issue is elsewhere. The first thing the APN is often confused with is coverage. If data works in some places and not others, that is signal, not the APN; an APN is a yes/no switch for whether your phone can use data when it has signal, not a dial that improves a weak connection. The second confusion is with a data cap or spend cap. If you have used your allowance, or a spend cap has kicked in, data stops regardless of a perfect APN — the fix is in your account, not the settings. The third is roaming: abroad, data may be off because data roaming is disabled (which is the correct default at home to avoid charges) rather than because the APN is wrong. The fourth is a locked or incompatible handset: an imported phone might lack the right network bands, so even a flawless APN will not deliver data; and a network-locked phone may refuse another network's SIM entirely.

The fifth and most damaging myth is that fiddling with APN values can speed up your connection or unlock hidden data. It cannot. The APN is configuration, not a performance setting — there is one correct value (or a small set) for your network, and 'tweaking' it beyond that simply breaks things. Be especially wary of online guides or 'secret APN' posts promising faster speeds or free data; at best they waste your time, and some are vectors for misinformation. The genuinely useful APN knowledge is exactly what is in the table above: the correct value for your network, entered once. If data still fails after that, the answer lies in coverage, caps, roaming, or the handset — not in more APN experiments. When you find yourself tempted to try a tenth APN variant, stop and check those other four causes instead. And if the trigger for all this was an unfamiliar caller or a suspicious 'your data has been suspended' message, treat that message itself with suspicion — look the number up and read our who called me? guide, because networks do not suspend your data by text and ask you to call a strange number.

One final practical habit will save you the most grief: write down (or photograph) the correct APN values for your network before you ever need them, and note where the menu lives on your particular phone. The moment you actually need APN settings is usually the moment you have no data to look them up — a new SIM in an unlocked phone on a train, or a handset that has just had its network settings reset. Having the values to hand turns a frustrating dead end into a one-minute fix. And if you manage phones for family members on different networks, keep a short list of each network's APN and MMS values, so you can sort out anyone's data or picture messaging without hunting around. The settings themselves rarely change, so a list you make once stays useful for years, and it spares you from relying on dubious 'secret APN' posts when you are stuck without a connection. Treat the values in the table here as your reference copy, and you will have what you need the next time data mysteriously stops.

#Bottom line

APN settings are the small but crucial configuration that lets your phone reach mobile data and send picture messages. On the major UK networks the values are EE everywhere (eesecure/secure), O2 mobile.o2.co.uk (o2web/password), Vodafone internet on contract or pp.vodafone.co.uk on PAYG (wap/wap), and Three three.co.uk (blank). MVNOs usually have their own APN — giffgaff is giffgaff.com, VOXI is pp.vodafone.co.uk — so use your exact brand's value, not the host network's. Enter it under Mobile Data Network on iPhone or Access Point Names on Android, add the MMS values if picture messages fail, then restart. If data still will not work, check caps, roaming, duplicate profiles and whether your handset is unlocked — and remember that signal problems are coverage, not APN. For the wider mobile picture, see best mobile network and look up any UK number if an unfamiliar caller has been trying to reach you.