Posted in Problems and Issues and tagged with , ,

Could Not Activate Cellular Data Network: You Are Not Subscribed to a Cellular Data Service

Written on August 29, 2009 by Sebastien 53 Comments

If you recently updated your iPhone firmware, or jailbroke/unlocked your iPhone to use it with a different carrier, you may have encountered the following error: Could Not Activate Cellular Data Network: You Are Not Subscribed to a Cellular Data Service

This error often appears after jailbreaking and/or unlocking and it is mostly characterized by the fact that your iPhone can’t connect to the internet using the cellular data network, and you can’t send text messages anymore.

The first thing to do in that case is to reset the network settings and reboot your iPhone. If it still doesn’t work, then there is a more radical fix that will put everything back on track.

First, get on wifi and visit this website http://www.unlockit.co.nz/#_Custom from your iPhone. You should see this page, which will allow you to create a custom APN.

Under “Carrier”, tap the drop down menu and choose your carrier. Note that there are many carriers listed there and that it might take you a bit of scrolling down to get you where you want. So choose the right carrier and tap “Done”. This should populate the custom APN info.

Once the custom APN fields are populated, tap “Create Profile” and wait a bit. It will exit Safari, and take you to the settings application. Finally, just tap “Install” and this will set up your custom APN on your iPhone. Reboot your iPhone and you should now have Edge and 3G connectivity.

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53 Comments »

  • Rn3sto said:

    I didt that but with the webpage you told us. The one that lets you enable tethering as well.

    Anyway, now I have problems with wi-fi… I’ve got this blank untouchable option in settings telling me “no wi-fi”. Do you happen to know sth about it?

  • manofsteel1982 said:

    I had this problem the other day but didn’t want to do this website thing so I connected to itunes and preformed a sync, turned phone off and on and was able to access the data network again without any problems. hope this helps. :)

  • w said:

    will this break your voicemail?

  • Mark said:

    Thanks! This worked great! Saved me loads of time

  • saad said:

    WOW THIS WORKED GREAT. I HAVE 3G NOW TO. FREGGIN AWSOME. OH YEAH AND IF ANYONE HAS A 3G AND ACCIDENTALLY UPGRADED TO 3.1 LET ME KNOW I KNOW HOW TO GET IT WORKING AGAIN WITH JAILBREAK AND UNLOCK WITH WINDOWS. ITS SO EASY BUT YOU HAVE TO DO IT REAL SOON.

  • wack125 said:

    i need help unlocking my 3g iphone on 3.1! can u help me!!!

  • nerd said:

    thank you…this method helped me restore my data connection!

  • LuCruz said:

    i recently updated my 2g to 3.1 thinking their was a jailbreak/unlock for it obiuosly i read it wrong, but was wondering if its almost out for tha PC

  • Greg Willis said:

    So easy and fixed it perfectly! Thanks, I was so frustrated with this problem and now it gone!

  • Egger said:

    I never comment on anything, but this time i must! It actually worked and now I got my iphone back! woo hoo!

  • DD said:

    Wow….sickness!

  • kimmie said:

    I need Orange in the UK, and it’s not on the list… any other options?

  • Cindy said:

    Thank you so much for this. I was worried my unlocked iPhone would be pretty useless, but this fixed the no data plan issue in a heart beat.

  • Emma said:

    i recently restored my iphone and it upgraded to 3.1 now i get that message and can’t access the internet any tips?

  • Luka Sindle said:

    I tried this and however now when i try to access the internet via 3g, the message doesn’t appear, although it has the “loading symbol” and never loads anything. This goes for Facebook and other apps that use the internet. Any help would be great please.

  • NuCKOLS LOVe said:

    iT WORKeD GReaT i’M GLaD i FOUND THiS!!

  • Geo said:

    I have an at&t Blackberry with a data paln. When I put the sim in my iPhone, I get the “You are not subscribed to a cellular data plan”. Will this fix this? I am not unlocked by the way.

  • Yeni said:

    Will this lock my phone? I have an unlocked 3gs on 3.1.2 with T-Mobile. Sorry, I’m a little paranoid lol I just want a clear answer saying that it won’t lock it up.

  • chet said:

    this is a god send!! Thanks so much! I was without data for 1 month and didn’t know what to do. I am even paying ATT $$ for data plan and they can’t seem to help! THanks !

  • chris said:

    I have no data plan, and I did this, I get the EDGE and 3G connectivity, Will I be charged for this? I did everything it said, Custom APN. Thanks!

  • Amir said:

    thank you so much this method worked flawlessly :)

  • DirtyLAKid said:

    Worked Great thanks for posting.

  • lexi said:

    It usually works for me if I reset network settings. But now it doesn’t. It still appears that way and I still can’t send messages. Any other suggestions? :(

  • laura said:

    Thank you!!!!!!! :D

  • Brendy said:

    Thanks! Worked a charm!

  • Brendan said:

    Hi, i using Starhub from Singapore and it is not in the list.. any other suggestions on how to get my GPRS up and running? thanks

  • Jamie said:

    Im on tmobile and I had 3 people try to do this easy fix and they couldnt, they all unlocked my 2g and wifi worked but not internet with out wifi….THANK YOU!!!

  • Andy said:

    What manofsteel1982 wrote also worked for me too.

    My iPhone 3G 16GB was locked to Rogers in Canada … I jailbroke and unlocked using Blackra1n for use on the Bell network. Right when switching the SIM I had the “Could Not Activate Cellular Data Network” error.

    All I did was connect to iTunes, which then prompted a new cellular update, updated and synced and it works fine now.

  • NewiPhoneDude said:

    Just Jailbroke and Unlocked my iphone 3g myself (first time I ever had an iPhone) using blackra1n (google it). There’s a bunch of tutorials on youtube on exactly how to do it but its so easy I did it on my own instead of paying those people on craigslist that charge $30.

    I recieved this error and than I followed the steps and my 3g internet worked (I’m on T-mobile and note that on the drop down menu there are 2 t-mobile options; I chose the first). I could go on a bunch of sites and the prob seemed fix.

    Only thing is that my phone wont connect to youtube for some reason…

    any know why?

  • mike said:

    thanx this worked great!!!

  • moe said:

    the best 2g phone back in action after update to 3.1

  • V said:

    Thanks it works!

  • Glenn said:

    Hi,
    I really need this for mine. I have jailbroken and unlocked an O2 8gb 3G and I’m gettin the message when I try to connect on 3G. I’ve tried the link but it has no T-Mobile UK in the drop down. Please help. Cheers.

  • Jordan said:

    WOW thanks u saved my life.

  • Cody said:

    You da man!! YOuu da mannnnn!

  • brandon scott said:

    i tried this on my iphone 3g worked on wifi only and not 3g did this and it works

  • Adi said:

    I tired this… It worked for me! :) ..

    Thank you

  • simon said:

    Great thanks! Sorted now!

  • utkarsh said:

    THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!

  • sania said:

    hi
    i have the 3g iphone. it was on 02 but i unlocked it so i can use orange!

    i can use wireless but not 3g… hw can i get it to work? if i go on that link will it lock my iphone again back to 02?

    please help

  • JJean said:

    YOU ARE GENIUS
    I spent a lot of time and luckily I found you… thanks A LOT

  • desi said:

    I enter apn as internet2.voicestream.com n internet was working fine

    This one day i called tmobile cuz i had some question since den my internet is not working can any one tell me what should i do

  • Frank said:

    SWEET!!! I been at this for a few days now. It worked! Thanks! You’re the bestest!

  • John Mc said:

    OMG!!! that was perfect!!! and EZ!!!!!! I thought because the website had a .co.nz at the end I’d not be able to use it and it had US carriers for t-mobile. thanks you so much!!!!!!!!

  • Calum said:

    Was getting very frustrated before I saw this
    thanks alot!

  • marcos said:

    Thanks bro….I though I couldnt fix it….Your the man

  • R62 said:

    I have 3gs OS3.1.2 jailbreak w/ blackra1n. My wifi work ok before.. all the sudden it could not search any network. I try to reset the network and also sync. nothing work for me… anyone could help please????????????????

  • desi said:

    restore your fone and unlock it again and after dat ur wife shoould work

  • Shelly said:

    GREAT! I was nervous I might mess up my phone because it’s unlocked and jailbroken. Nope it works GREAT! Glad I did it! Thank you so much this is wonderful!

  • Jules said:

    Could you please add CH – Orange as one of the carriers for Orange access in Switzerland? Thanks!

  • Ing. Arturo said:

    En mi caso el problema fue una restricción por parte de Telcel al momento de detectar que el celular salió de México.

  • Dame said:

    how to fix my 3g iphone GPRS problem i subscribe it from my tele center but my internt it dosn’t work . when i open safari (could not activate cellular data network) what is that mean. plz need help

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