Cellular data has been one of the most useful features that a smartphone can provide these days. You can connect to the Internet if there’s no Wi-Fi available or if Wi-Fi is not accessible by connecting your phone to your cellular data network. However, this feature can easily succumb to errors which could make it unusable.
When Apple recently released the latest iOS update – 13.3 version, few iPhone X users have faced an issue where they can’t use their cellular data connection as it is not working. Provided in this post are workarounds that could help fix the iPhone cellular data not working after installing the update. Read further and find out how.
Troubleshoot iPhone X with mobile data or cellular data not working after updating to iOS 13.3
Carrier will sometimes perform server maintenance and upgrades which could deliberately affect the cellular data connection on your device. This could happen along with the iOS update and might be the reason why the mobile data isn’t working after installing iOS 13.3. To validate this matter, you can contact your carrier provider and verify for any ongoing server maintenance or service outages.
If your carrier stated that the service is good and you’re in an area with excellent signal coverage, perform the steps below if you’ve got an iPhone X that cannot connect to the Internet using cellular data connection after updating to iOS 13.3.
First solution: Power cycle your iPhone X to fix mobile data problems.
If post-update errors will plague a smartphone after an update, cutting off the power might stop the issues and fix them right away. Restarting your device is actually a good way to deal with a cellular data connection that is not working after the recent iOS update on your iPhone X. This will remove minor software glitches together with rogue apps that could have been affecting the mobile data functionality. If restarting your device is not new to you, here are the steps to refresh your knowledge.
For soft reset, follow these steps:
- Press and hold the Power/Side button and either of the Volume buttons simultaneously for a few seconds.
- Release both buttons once Slide to Power off prompt appears on the screen.
- Drag the Power off slider to the right to turn off your phone.
- After 30 seconds, press and hold the Power/Side button again until you see the Apple logo.
To force restart, here’s how:
- Press and release the Volume Up button quickly.
- Press and release the Volume Down button quickly.
- Lastly, press and hold the Side button for a few seconds until you see the Apple logo.
Both procedures will refresh your phone’s system. You can perform either one of them or try both as they will not harm your phone’s internal memory and personal information should remain intact. Once the reboot process has been completed, check if mobile data functionality has been restored.
Second solution: Refresh mobile data connection on your iPhone X.
Removing network-related connectivity errors like not connecting cellular data connection can be fixed by disabling and enabling mobile data connection on your iPhone X. This process has been one of the most neglected procedures as it is very common but not knowing that it can instantly fix the issue. To try this method, follow these steps:
- Select Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap on Cellular Data.
- Toggle the Cellular data switch to turn the feature off for a few seconds and then tap the switch again to turn it on.
Aside from going to the main feature, you can also toggle the airplane mode off and on to refresh the overall connections on your iPhone X. Doing so will remove conflicts that might be halting mobile data services to work properly. Here are the steps:
- Access Settings from the Home screen.
- Check Airplane mode. If toggle is currently turned on, tap on it to switch it off. If not, tap the toggle to turn it on.
- While the Airplane mode is enabled, perform a soft reset on your device.
- Wait for your phone to go back online after the reset then access Settings > Airplane mode. Tap the switch to disable the feature.
Just wait until cellular data functionality is back online and check if it works this time.
Third solution: Update carrier settings to fix iPhone cellular data not working.
Outdated carrier network settings can cause network-related issues like cellular data problems. Updating the carrier settings should remove any glitches caused by incompatibilities and might fix your iPhone X cellular data not working problem. Here’s how to do it:
- Access Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap on General.
- Select About.
- Wait for a few seconds for the update notification to appear on your screen. If there is an available carrier update, you’ll see a pop-up option to update your carrier settings.
If you’re able to update the carrier settings, restart your iPhone X to apple necessary changes and check if the mobile data is already working.
Fourth solution: Reset network settings to fix iPhone X cellular data issues.
Network settings are crucial for certain functions like mobile data or cellular data to work properly. If they’ve been altered or customized recently, some information might have been invalidated which resulted to the mobile data not loading or not connecting problem. Restoring the default values and options for your network settings might resolve the problem. Reset network settings will also change the APN settings back to its default configurations. APN or Access Point Names are used to enable mobile data functionality. To try this method, perform the steps that are indicated below:
- Access Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap General.
- Scroll down to and then select Reset.
- Tap the Reset Network Settings option.
- Enter your device passcode once prompted.
- Then tap to confirm network settings reset.
If you don’t want to reset the whole network settings and just want to restore APN settings, follow these steps instead:
- Access Settings from the Home screen.
- Select Cellular.
- Tap on Cellular Data Network.
- Select Reset settings option.
- If the option is not there, just access Settings > Mobile Data > Mobile Data options > Mobile Network instead.
Your phone will usually restart automatically once the reset process is done. Just wait until it boots up completely and check if the mobile data issues have been rectified.
Fifth solution: Remove then reinsert the SIM card to fix cellular data problems on your iPhone X.
Firmware crashes can be considered as one of the factors that could cause mobile data problems after an update. Removing the SIM card on your iPhone will recalibrate its functions and might restore cellular data features to its designated tasks. This might be the answer and fix the iPhone cellular data isn’t working. To do that, follow the steps below to properly remove and reinsert the SIM card on your iPhone X:
- Turn off your iPhone completely.
- Get the SIM ejector tool then insert it into the small hole on the SIM tray. The SIM tray is found on the side of your iPhone.
- Gently push the ejector tool until the tray pops out.
- Remove the SIM card from the tray and inspect it for any signs of damage like liquid traces and scratches. If there’s none, place the SIM card back into the tray in the same position and orientation before it was removed.
- Push the SIM card tray back into the phone until it’s locked.
Turn on your iPhone X once the tray is secured to its rightful place. Then check if you can connect to mobile data.
Still getting a not working cellular data or mobile data still not connecting on your iPhone X?
Other advanced solutions like factory reset, recovery mode restore and DFU mode restore are available at your own risks. These methods will wipe out all contents on your iPhone including personal information. If you wish to give them a try, perform backups of your important files via iTunes or iCloud beforehand.
You can also send a report to both your carrier provider and Apple support for further resolution if none of the methods fixed the iPhone X with cellular data issues after iOS 13.3 update.