frustrated with all the different APN sets

[guy48065]

I have spent lots of time reading forum posts, blogs, internet articles, etc trying to make sense of all the different APN answers. It looks completely illogical to me.
I'm on Net10 and recently was told by a phone rep that it's different for each model phone.
If that's true why is it the many times I've called for proper settings to end my time in Net10 Setup Hell I've never been asked which particular GS3 model I have?

 

[funkylogik]

As far as i know, the APN for a carrier are the same no matter which ANDROID phone you use mate. There could be slightly different APN for prepay/contract though and sometimes a separate one for MMS i think :thumbup:

 

[guy48065]

There are so many "doesn't work for me" comments that I have to assume there's more to it than that.

 

[mikedt]

There are so many "doesn't work for me" comments that I have to assume there's more to it than that.

AFAIK the APN is for the carrier you're on. Sometimes pre-paid or post-paid plans have different APNs. There's nothing specific to whatever phone you're using. That's how it's always worked for me, and I've had Nokias, iPhones, Samsungs, Lenovos, as well as China Mobile, China Unicom, PCCW, 3UK, 3HK, O2, Vodafone and T-mobile.

How you enter the APN details might be different, depending on what phone you've got, e g. an iPhone or an Android phone.


Where did this "doesn't work for me" thing come from?

 

[guy48065]

Where did this "doesn't work for me" thing come from?

10 pages of "Samsung Galaxy S3 not working with provided apn settings" on the Net10 help forum. Hard to get more on-target than that.
https://www.net10forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5777&t=120824
And yes there wouldn't be 10 pages if their "forum" wasn't so appallingly ineffective.

Many many more unhappy subscribers can be Googled.

 

[mikedt]

10 pages of "Samsung Galaxy S3 not working with provided apn settings" on the Net10 help forum. Hard to get more on-target than that.
https://www.net10forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5777&t=120824
And yes there wouldn't be 10 pages if their "forum" wasn't so appallingly ineffective.

Many many more unhappy subscribers can be Googled.

That looks like problems specific to Net10, rather than a general APN problem for any networks and/or phones. Could just be crappy service that things are not working as they should, some of those problems are about receiving and sending MMS. Their forum does look like it leaves a lot to be desired, so could be their service is not so good either. "Cannot receive. Mms.messages customer service keeps blaming the phone when its their. Systems that don't work they keep u on the phone for hours then say they can't do anything. More I won't be renewing one month of horrible services is enough" .... etc. Is this a budget MVNO? Many networks the setup is automatic, insert your SIM and the APN stuff is configured for wireless internet and MMS.

I only have to do "cmwap" or "cmnet", everything else is on defaults and it works, doesn't matter what phone. That's China Mobile for where I am.

 

[guy48065]

I don't know enough about Apn or mvno's to offer conjecture but I would think that all gsm phones on their (AT&T) network would need the same settings but one of the forum techs "explained" that the reason they never give Apn settings publicly pin that forum is they are different for different model phones. Doesn't add up to me.

 

[Crashdamage]

Mikedt is correct. APNs are not phone-specific, they are carrier a specific. Your problem is with Net10. They are the only ones who can help you. Lots a luck there, you're gonna need it.

 

[guy48065]

Can you tell me if it's a go/no-go type thing...iow with a recommended Apn set it will either work 100% or not at all?
I have been using settings a little different than anything Net10 has recommended. I can make calls, send and receive data and mms...but I do seem to get drop-outs even with 4 bars of 3g.

So is there such a thing as a "better" combination of settings?

 

[Slug]

Compare your settings with the ones posted here, which seem to have met with great success.

 

[guy48065]

tf.net was the first one they suggested but it didn't work for me in December. Since that time they've been suggesting "att.mvno" APNs with "cingular" MMSC addresses and many of the most recent posts I've Googled are att/cingular routing. Now that you've answered my question about testing data settings I may take a new run through all the various permutations I've received online, via Net10 help, and via Net10 APN app. Hopefully I may learn something in the exercise. I'm just not understanding why ANY old APN won't work in my phone--they must still work on older accounts...

 

[guy48065]

My head's about to explode.
Last night I activated my wife's S3 on Net10. During the activation call I couldn't get data (still had the AT&T settings) so I was talked through the APN setup again. They sent a text with the settings to use. This is from memory but I believe they were:
Name: NET10
Apn: tfdata
Mmsc: http(colon)//mms-tf(dot)net
Mms proxy: mms3.tracfone.com
Mms port:80

The "tfdata" set didn't work on my phone previously so for grins I thought I'd give it another go. I deleted the "att" APN and created a new one on my S3 that duplicated my wife's S3, then rebooted. IT DID NOT WORK. No data via voice. Apps responded with "No Network" warnings.

So now I'm again completely in the dark why 2 Samsung Galaxy S3 phones on the same service in the same house would need completely different data settings. Both phones are "Bring Your Own" GSM phones that were unlocked & reset. The only difference I know of is hers is LTE capable and mine isn't. Does that explain the need for completely different data sets?

 

[funkylogik]

Ive never had an lte phone but it could be that i suppose

 

[guy48065]

Today I did some Googling and found a thread on an AT&T forum that makes sense. It does look like it's an LTE thing. The provisioning needs to be different to get LTE access. There are posts about creating a 2nd APN set like the one recommended for my S3 that doesn't allow LTE--this for the purpose of conserving battery life. When another member commented that such a work-around doesn't shut off the LTE radio (modem)...ding...finally the light went on in my noggin. It's more then just pointing to where the network access is--it's also about phone hardware differences.

Of course a Net10 tech could have explained that during any of the calls I've made in the past month rather than some dumb "explanation" that all phones are different and need special APN settings.

 

[guy48065]

I suppose there are so many variations of provider/network/phone capability that compiling a "sticky" of all the functional data settings would be a huge task...?

 

[funkylogik]

Its a good idea mate. Not something id wana take the time to do though lol. Im far too selfish

 

[Slug]

The obvious place for APN settings to be posted would be the relevant network carrier sub-forum.

 

[guy48065]

Happened again. Mid-day I list mobile data. Called my buds at NET10 and was switched over to the tfdata set that WOULD NOT work 3 days ago.

What the heck is wrong with this company???

 

[tagboy]

Maybe this app from Google Play could find the settings for you:

"Tweakker APN INTERNET MMS"

 

[guy48065]

I did try that one last week. It gave me the tfdata settings which didn't work at that time.
I don't think it's possible to create an app that can anticipate the weird crap Net10 does.

 

[Slug]

I notice you've opened a similar topic in the NET10 sub-forum, so I'll go ahead and close this one to save folks dividing their attention between the two and possibly missing info.