Pick your United States carrier
- AirTalk Wireless
- Assurance Wireless
- AT&T
- Boost Mobile
- Consumer Cellular
- Cricket Wireless
- Gen Mobile
- Google Fi
- H2O Wireless
- Maxsip Telecom
- Metro by T-Mobile
- Mint Mobile
- Q Link Wireless
- Red Pocket Mobile
- SafeLink Wireless
- Simple Mobile
- Spectrum Mobile
- Straight Talk
- T-Mobile
- TextNow
- Tracfone
- TruConnect
- Ultra Mobile
- Unity Wireless
- US Mobile
- Verizon
- Visible
What is an APN?
An Access Point Name (APN) is the address your phone uses to connect to your carrier's mobile data network. When you insert a SIM card, your phone normally pulls APN settings automatically from the SIM profile. Manual APN configuration is needed when auto-detect fails — typically after a SIM swap between phones, after a factory reset, on imported (unlocked) phones, when using a prepaid travel SIM, or when troubleshooting "no internet" errors on mobile data despite a healthy 4G/5G signal.
United States carrier quick reference
| Carrier | APN | MNC |
|---|---|---|
| AirTalk Wireless | internet | — |
| Assurance Wireless | internet | — |
| AT&T | internet | — |
| Boost Mobile | internet | — |
| Consumer Cellular | internet | — |
| Cricket Wireless | internet | — |
| Gen Mobile | internet | — |
| Google Fi | internet | — |
| H2O Wireless | internet | — |
| Maxsip Telecom | internet | — |
| Metro by T-Mobile | internet | — |
| Mint Mobile | internet | — |
| Q Link Wireless | internet | — |
| Red Pocket Mobile | internet | — |
| SafeLink Wireless | internet | — |
| Simple Mobile | internet | — |
| Spectrum Mobile | internet | — |
| Straight Talk | internet | — |
| T-Mobile | internet | — |
| TextNow | internet | — |
| Tracfone | internet | — |
| TruConnect | internet | — |
| Ultra Mobile | internet | — |
| Unity Wireless | internet | — |
| US Mobile | internet | — |
| Verizon | internet | — |
| Visible | internet | — |
How United States mobile carriers identify your SIM
Every United States SIM card carries a PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network) identifier made of two parts: the MCC (Mobile Country Code), which is the same for all United States carriers, plus the MNC (Mobile Network Code) which is unique per carrier. The MCC+MNC pair is how your phone knows which network the SIM belongs to. You normally never need to enter these by hand; they are listed on each carrier page for reference and for the rare dual-SIM scenarios where you need explicit network selection.
Common APN setup issues in United States
- SIM works on one phone but not another. The new phone is using cached APN settings from a previous carrier. Open the APN list and delete unused entries before adding the United States carrier's APN manually.
- iPhone "Cellular Data Network" menu hidden. Some United States carriers ship locked SIM profiles that hide manual APN editing on iOS. Reset network settings (Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Reset Network Settings) and let the carrier auto-config trigger when the SIM reinserts.
- Data shows "5G+" but pages do not load. Most often a DNS issue, not an APN issue. Force-switch to your carrier's DNS by clearing custom DNS in network settings, or test with public DNS like 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8.
- MMS picture messages fail. MMS uses a separate APN configuration even when data works. On Android, add a second APN profile with APN type
mms. On iPhone, fill in the MMS section below Cellular Data in the same APN editor.