• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

I cannot connect to any data connection

B

Brock297

Newbie
I have an LG Escape 3. I decided to try Mint Mobile to see if it was any good. I reset the phone and then installed the SIM card from Mint. I set up the APN per their instructions and everything worked. Now, all of a sudden, my phone cannot access the Internet. I connect to Wifi or the data network, but no data comes through. I can make calls and text no problem, it's just data.

Steps I've taken:
1. Restart phone (multiple times and after every other step attempted)
2. Deleted the APN and set it up again.
3. Uninstalled AVG Antivirus (just in case)
4. Removed SIM and rebooted. Still won't connect to Internet via Wifi

I have very few apps installed since I was just trying out the Mint service. It seems to me it's obviously something on the phone since it won't connect even with the APN and SIM card removed. Any ideas?
 
Do you, or did you ever have any type of VPN setup? It sounds like your phone is trying to route through a proxy that is down or no longer exists.

Have you tried it on a different network?
 
You are sure that WiFi is connected? How about a data manager? If you have one, it might have detected a threshold and turned data off. (Just guessing).
 
I use Mint Mobile and never experienced anything like that. In fact, I don't remember setting up APN settings, though it was a while ago that I switched. If it won't connect to wifi without the apn and sim installed it sounds like something other than the carrier.
 
Wifi is connected. It states "Internet unavailable". The data manager might be of interest. I went into it, disabled mobile data, and it worked for a moment, then stopped again. Here's a screen shot of the data manager:
 

Attachments

  • Capture+_2019-01-30-11-55-49.png
    Capture+_2019-01-30-11-55-49.png
    84 KB · Views: 335
Brock297 said:
Wifi is connected. It states "Internet unavailable".
Click to expand...

Just to be clear, you are connecting to a home WiFi access point/router and other devices also connected to it can connect to the internet? Have you ever set a static IP for this device?

I'd try rebooting the router, too.
 
It's a work Wifi. I connect to it with my main phone no problem. Obviously, I can't reboot it ;)

I'll connect to my home network tonight and see what happens.
 
Last edited:
WiFi connectivity has nothing to do with your cellular service. Your carrier and the SIM they provide you only relate to your basic cellular service and mobile data. If you can't get any online access using WiFi, that's a different issue completely from Mint mobile.
This also involves two different things in your Settings menu. One is just for setting up various WiFi connections, the other just for setting up your cellular service account. Neither is dependent on the other. Another significant difference is between WiFi and cellular signals. With WiFi, it's supplied by a broadband connection feeding a local wireless router (with an effective coverage of a few hundred feet). With cellular, it's supplied by nearby cellular towers outside (typically with coverage of a few miles).
You need to focus on one or the other when trying to diagnose your connectivity problem.
 
svim said:
WiFi connectivity has nothing to do with your cellular service.
Click to expand...

True enough, but @Brock297 lost all internet connectivity whether coincidentally or symptomatic of a larger problem.

Brock297 said:
Now, all of a sudden, my phone cannot access the Internet.
Click to expand...

While I agree that mobile data and WiFi are completely separate connections, what do they have in common that would make them both stop simultaneously? The reason I was probing WiFi for an internet connection was to rule that out since it's usually the simpler to troubleshoot and more reliable of the two. If @Brock297 truly does have a WiFi connection and/or a Mint data connection and still can't connect to any external data sources, then there is something going on like a bad proxy, missing or misconfigured VPN (or blocked VPN account) or ...?
 
If he is connected to a WiFi router with no internet connection it doesn't matter if there is a data connection. Android will try to use the WiFi connection for data. @Brock297, do you need to be authorized on the network for internet access? Do you need to sign in? Have IT enable internet? Something like that.

Conversely, if you turn off wife and insert the Mint sim can you get data?
 
I think we're getting distracted here. I can't connect to data either via Wifi or cellular. Phone calls and texting work fine. I just can't get any data, no matter what the connection. That leads me to believe it's a phone problem.

At the end of the day, I'll probably have to reset the phone again, but it would be nice to figure out what the problem is for future reference and to avoid the issue.
 
@Brock297 in many ways this is analogous to a laptop with both a WiFi and a wired connection to a network. While the end result -- getting to the internet -- is the same, the systems are fairly independent. Since your work router is 99.44% likely to NOT be using the same network as your Mint SIM card, and we assume that the simultaneous loss of connectivity is from a common cause, then there are much fewer things to consider.

As I stated VPN or proxy connections gone bad, data managers shutting down connections because of quotas, although that generally doesn't effect WiFi, you could have a security or firewall app throwing up a block, too. Sometimes these kinds of problems require a lot of troubleshooting, sometimes more than they're worth.

At the end of the day a factory reset without know the cause (as long as you back everything up first, right?) may be your easiest solution.

Of course there's always the remote possibility of your SIM card and your WiFi adapter failing simultaneously, but unless you forgot to tell us that right before this started you accidentally put your phone in the microwave, I'd say it's not too likely.
 
Have you tried using the 'Network settings reset' option? It should be buried somewhere in your Settings >> Wireless & networks menu. This will reset everything network related (cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth) to their original settings. It's something to try before doing a Factory Reset, as this doesn't wipe all your saved data. But note this does wipe any saved WiFi entries and Bluetooth pairings.
 
Okay, then your own work network is blocking you and the settings for the Mint network might not be what you think they are ... or for some reason Mint suspended your data ... or, maybe the sim went bad. In any case, it's time to check with Mint.
 
Looks like you're spot on. I can connect to my work network now. The Mint Mobile was a trial plan, maybe I've hit my limit. Thanks for your help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom