So… You’ve bought yourself an Android phone. You’ve spent at least ten grand on a little piece of technology and you can’t wait to start using it. You put your Sim card in, charge her up and decide to check your mail. But for some very annoying reason, your very expensive phone just won’t connect to the Internet. Do you read on and learn how to solve this little issue? Or do you now own a very expensive paperweight?? Decisions decisions…..
The reason your phone doesn’t automatically connect to the Internet, is very simple. It doesn’t know how. Phone’s need something known as an “APN” (Access Point Name), to be able to connect to the Internet. Think of it like how you need to know a person’s phone number, in order to call them and yell at them. (Did i say yell? I meant talk nicely….)
Sometimes, service providers are sweet and kind, and automatically send the APN to your phone upon inserting the Sim card. Other times, they behave like little brats and you have to enter the APN yourself. Fortunately it isn’t that hard….
Step 1 :-
Unlock your shiny new droid and click on “Settings.”
Your screen should look something like this. Make sure Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are switched OFF as shown.
Step 2 :-
Tap “More…”
Your screen should look like this.
Step 3 :-
Tap “Mobile Networks”.
Your screen should look like this.
Step 4 :-
Tap “Access Point Names”
Your screen should look like this.
Step 5 :-
Press the physical “Options” key on your device. From the pop-up menu select “New APN”
Step 6 :-
Your screen should now look like this.
Tap “Name” and enter any name you would like to use for your APN. For simplicity just enter the name of your service provider. I use “Tata Docomo” as you can see below.
Step 7 :-
Now tap “APN”. This is where the magic happens. Depending on your service provider, you have to enter a different APN. Here’s a list of some of the common service providers and their APNs.
| Service Provider | APN |
| Airtel | airtelgprs.com |
| BSNL | bsnlnet |
| MTNL Prepaid | pps3g |
| MTNL Postpaid | mtnl3g |
| IDEA | internet |
| Aircel | aircelgprs |
| Vodafone | www |
| Tata Docomo | TATA.DOCOMO.INTERNETHVC |
Depending on your own service provider, enter the appropriate APN. I use Tata Docomo.
Step 8 :-
That’s it! We’re done. You will notice several other fields under the APN field. DO NOT ENTER ANYTHING IN THOSE FIELDS. They’re meant to be blank and some will automatically update themselves soon.
Exit “Settings” and make sure “Mobile Data” is set to “ON”.
Restart your phone and you should see a little “E” or “H” above your signal strength indicator. Go ahead and try using your internet now. It should work fine.
As always, feel free to comment in case you have any difficulties and queries. Cheers!
