Unable to use mobile data since upgrading phone

[Mitchejx]

I upgraded my phone last week from an old iPhone SE to an iPhone 14. I live in a fairly rural area and have usually had to use 3G instead of 4G as the service/coverage is never great with Three ( my husband’s phone is with EE and it’s always faster than mine, honestly not sure now why I haven’t changed network 😫!) However since upgrading my phone my data is literally unusable! I can’t receive texts or WhatsApp messages, can’t load websites or even emails unless I’m connected to WiFi. I spent an hour yesterday on chats and phone calls to Three customer service but nothing has been resolved and the call was disconnected once I turned WiFi off to do one of the resets they asked me to. I don’t have the time to spend another hour going through it all today but it is really inconvenient not having a working phone when I’m not connected to WiFi!. When I upgraded the phone I had to switch to an eSIM as the phone to phone transfer said my old sim wouldn’t support a sim transfer (or something like that, I am not a phone expert!) and I wonder if this is what is causing the problems. I really need to get this resolved as I’m not tied to a 36 month contract with a phone that doesn’t work!! Any advice or suggestions welcome, please and thank you!

[Paddiewack]

I’m wondering if there’s an issue in your area causing your problem which I imagine is very annoying and frustrating. I’m going to suggest a couple of things purely from a layman’s point of view and if they don’t work then I’m sorry. Firstly check the Three status page for any tech issues in your postcode,but I suppose the advisor would have checked that when you made contact.Secondly I’m wondering has 3G been switched off in your area as there is a programme of decommissioning of this technology by all networks. This would leave you reliant on 4 and 5g which may not be too good in your area. (Check coverage on same page as network status). Following these suggestions which are worth a try I’m out of ideas and wish you good luck.

[MZone]

Is there an option under mobile services then voice and data so you can default your phone to use 3G only? This may be a temporary solution until 3G is switched off in your area and then 4G services improved. I know in the past if 4G was oversubscribed in your area 3 recommended falling back onto 3G. As I have the latest iPhone I do not have that option anymore and can only fall back to 4G. Luckily 4G isn’t oversubscribed for me anymore. The use of an eSIM should have zero effect on this. 

[JonathanB]

Hi @Mitchejx,

I'm sorry to hear that you've been having trouble with your new phone since upgrading. There's a couple of things we can try without having to contact customer services. Have a check if you have either of the following options in your settings menus:

• Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Network

• Settings > Mobile Data > Mobile Data Options > Mobile Data Network

In the Cellular/Mobile Data network screen you should be able to reset your data settings, which should hopefully fix this.

It's also worth checking that your software is up to date, as there will have been new iOS versions released since the factory version your iPhone was supplied with.

Next, if the issues persist. Try refreshing your iPhone's connection to the network. If you toggle Airplane mode on for a few seconds then back off this often will help. If this doesn't help try a forced restart:

1. Press and quickly release the volume up button.

2. Press and quickly release the volume down button.

3. Press and hold the side button.

4. When the Apple logo appears, release the side button.

If this doesn't work, please try resetting your network settings:

Settings > General > Transfer or Reset [Device] > Reset > Reset Network Settings

This 2nd option does unfortunately delete your saved Wi-Fi passwords though, so I'd try the other suggestions first.

It's also worth checking the Network Status Checker, just to be sure that this isn't an issue in the local area.

I hope these ideas help.

Thanks,
Jonathan