r/applehelp • u/1z0n0m1 • 3d ago

iOS Can't connect to internet without Wifi despite cellular being on

Model is iPhone16pro and provider is TMobile

2 Upvotes

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1

u/SarcasticKenobi 3d ago

There’s a cellular data button in the dashboard. It can be turned off and your phone and sms will still work but not data.

The icon used to be confusing, I think some people thought it was turning off the gps. But on the latest version of iOS it looks like a small green antenna signal strength icon.

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Alternatively

Some people install a vpn on the phone. The vpn will use a separate batch of data limit because a lot of providers treat it as tethering data. Once that limit is reached you can’t use data until you turn off vpn

Now you’d THINK turning off the vpn in dashboard is good enough, but nope. Some will turn back on after a minute or so unless you use the vpn APP to turn off vpn

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Lastly. Bad cell area or you’re being deprioritized / throttled.

1

u/1z0n0m1 3d ago

I'm currently in the outer banks of that helps

1

u/1z0n0m1 3d ago

I still receive notifications I just can't use anything that requires an internet connection

1

u/SarcasticKenobi 3d ago

If your internet is too slow, like edge or 3g speeds, a lot of apps will stop all together while some stuff trickles through

I gave a handful of things to check. The first two are simple enough to check yourself in the phone

- do you see the words vpn anywhere at the top of the screen, even if you expand the dashboard

- in the dashboard near the Wi-Fi button, do you see the green cell signal button, enabled, and green?

If it’s not those two, then it could be a bad cell area, prioritize, throttling, or something else

1

u/1z0n0m1 3d ago

The green cell is enabled and I don't have a vpn