[tdenson]

Can anyone help me please. I am in Kenya at the moment and I have local SIM cards in both my iPhone 5S and my HTC One. I have got Three to unlock my HTC while I have been away so I had no chance to try another SIM back home. I received an unlock code by text and it seemed to work, however, it is telling me that mobile data is turned off, despite my settings showing it turned on. The same SIM card works in my iPad fine and I've also tried a SIM from another network operator here in the HTC with the same result. I'm out of ideas.

[tealady]

I'd try and check the APN settings to start with.

[Stiggles]

Have you allowed roaming? My Nexus 4 when i was in Kefalonia last month wouldnt let me use data until i turned that on even though i had mobile data on.

[tealady]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stiggles

Have you allowed roaming? My Nexus 4 when i was in Kefalonia last month wouldnt let me use data until i turned that on even though i had mobile data on.

OP says ipad works which I take to mean they can access data, just not on the phone.

[Stiggles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tealady

OP says ipad works which I take to mean they can access data, just not on the phone.

Yeah, what i meant though is on Android phones when abroad even if you switch data on in the settings, it won't work unless you switch roaming on as well in the settings also.

Can't remember if i had to do the same with my iphone last year in Rhodes or whether on apple devices once you turn data on it just allows it.

[Zee_Bukhari]

I had an issue with my HTC One where data would just switch off and then on itself again, after 3 times being sent to repair they finally changed the device, don't think I've experienced the issue since.

[IslandNiles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stiggles

Yeah, what i meant though is on Android phones when abroad even if you switch data on in the settings, it won't work unless you switch roaming on as well in the settings also.

Can't remember if i had to do the same with my iphone last year in Rhodes or whether on apple devices once you turn data on it just allows it.

Yeah, it's the same on an iPhone in that both mobile data and data roaming would need to be switched on. Although, I'm not sure if data roaming will need to be enabled if it's a local SIM on its home network.

[tdenson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IslandNiles

Yeah, it's the same on an iPhone in that both mobile data and data roaming would need to be switched on. Although, I'm not sure if data roaming will need to be enabled if it's a local SIM on its home network.

As it happens I am talking to you via a tethered iPhone and have data roaming disabled, so that only applies if you don't have a local SIM card.

[tdenson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stiggles

Have you allowed roaming? My Nexus 4 when i was in Kefalonia last month wouldnt let me use data until i turned that on even though i had mobile data on.

yes. At one point I thought that might be my problem but no such luck.

[tdenson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tealady

I'd try and check the APN settings to start with.

Brilliant. Googling Safaricom APN settings came up with "those elusive safaricom APN settings for Android" and it sure was complicated but worked. I guess I had been lulled into a false sense of security by the iPhone "just working" with a Safaricom sim in it (and no that isn't meant to precipitate a fanboy war please )

[flagpole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stiggles

Have you allowed roaming? My Nexus 4 when i was in Kefalonia last month wouldnt let me use data until i turned that on even though i had mobile data on.

if you're using a local sim the phone is not roaming.

i'm minded of the conversation i heard in a japanese bar with an american tourist asking for domestic beer.

[tdenson]

Strange thing now is that although it is working, I did so much swapping around of SIMs I lost the plot and in fact my second Safaricom SIM is in my iPad and in the HTC I have an Airetel one. It must just need any old APN settings but not allowed to be blank.

[flagpole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdenson

Strange thing now is that although it is working, I did so much swapping around of SIMs I lost the plot and in fact my second Safaricom SIM is in my iPad and in the HTC I have an Airetel one. It must just need any old APN settings but not allowed to be blank.

possibly.

or, perhaps more likely. safaricom uses airetel or they both use the same network.

[Stiggles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdenson

Brilliant. Googling Safaricom APN settings came up with "those elusive safaricom APN settings for Android" and it sure was complicated but worked. I guess I had been lulled into a false sense of security by the iPhone "just working" with a Safaricom sim in it (and no that isn't meant to precipitate a fanboy war please )

Weird. I used a Greek local sim in my Nexus 4 and it 'just worked' as well.

Cant understand why you had such an issue. Did you put the sim in your iphone first then the HTC by any chance?

[Stiggles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flagpole

if you're using a local sim the phone is not roaming.

i'm minded of the conversation i heard in a japanese bar with an american tourist asking for domestic beer.

Yeah, i missed that bit!!

[tdenson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flagpole

possibly.

or, perhaps more likely. safaricom uses airetel or they both use the same network.

Yes, probably the most likely explanation thanks

[grumpyoldbat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stiggles

Weird. I used a Greek local sim in my Nexus 4 and it 'just worked' as well.

Cant understand why you had such an issue. Did you put the sim in your iphone first then the HTC by any chance?

I've found that some phones and carriers automatically grab the APN settings, and some others don't. I guess it depends on the SIM card.

[Stiggles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grumpyoldbat

I've found that some phones and carriers automatically grab the APN settings, and some others don't. I guess it depends on the SIM card.

See i had the same problem but it was nothing to do with the phone. I put it in our ipad on holiday first and it worked as you would expect. Then put it in the phone and it didn't. Had to do what tdenson did. We got another sim and stuck it in the Mrs phone and it worked right away.

I think its because the APN data was grabbed by the ipad so the carrier didn't send them out for the next device it was put into.

[tdenson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stiggles

See i had the same problem but it was nothing to do with the phone. I put it in our ipad on holiday first and it worked as you would expect. Then put it in the phone and it didn't. Had to do what tdenson did. We got another sim and stuck it in the Mrs phone and it worked right away.

I think its because the APN data was grabbed by the ipad so the carrier didn't send them out for the next device it was put into.

Ah, that's exactly what I did - put it in the iPad first to test it. Looks like that was where I went wrong.