How To Fix Mobile Data Not Working On Samsung Galaxy

A lot of Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet owners report to us all the time that mobile data is not working on their device. To address this common problem, we come with a list of solutions that you can try.

Typically, a user may have to do a few troubleshooting steps before he or she can pinpoint the cause of a problem so hopefully this post can help.

Troubleshooting Mobile data issue on your Samsung Galaxy

Estimate Cost : 0

Time Needed : 8 minutes

There’s no universal cause of mobile data issue so you’ll have to narrow down possible factors. Below are the troubleshooting steps that you must follow to identify which one is the reason why mobile data is not working on your Samsung Galaxy.

  1. Is your Samsung device getting good signal?

    No Signal

    Good mobile data connection depends on a number of factors including location. If you’re in an area with poor network coverage, your portable internet connection may not work as expected.

    Try checking the signal strength on your device and see if it fluctuates or is weak. If the signal bars, which is a good indicator or network coverage only manages to display 1 or 2 bars all the time, your device may not be getting good signal. Try moving to a more open area to improve signal reception.

    If you’re inside a building, signal reception may also be affected but this is temporary. In order to improve the situation, all you have to do is to relocate where there’s better signal.

  2. Check other network services.

    calling

    If voice calling or texting do not seem to work where you are, there may either be poor signal issue, as mentioned above, or there’s an on-going network outage.

    Make sure that you talk to your network operator to see if there’s anything that they can do to help. 

  3. Reboot Samsung device to fix mobile data not working issue.

    reboot 4

    Rebooting your Samsung Galaxy can fix a lot of issues, especially all sorts of networking ones. Be sure that you also restart your phone or tablet regularly, at least once every few days, to fix minor bugs and prevent new ones from developing.

    Just like a computer, a system that is left to run for extended periods may not work efficiently and eventually develop issues. Restart won’t take even a minute of your time so do it at this point.

  4. Keep apps and software up-to-date.

    Play Store 3

    Updating both apps and software is also a good way to prevent glitches. In some instances, updates may also include fixes for known issues both within apps or with Android Operating System.

    To check for app updates, just open the Play Store app. 

    If you want to know if there’s any new Android OS update available, you can go to Settings > Software update > Download and install.

  5. Verify Roaming is not ON.

    Roaming 1

    If you’re regularly on the road or going outside your network, it’s possible that you may have left Roaming enabled.

    You can check if Roaming is left running at this time by opening Settings app and going to Connections > Mobile networks > Data roaming.

  6. Disconnect from network.

    disconnect from network

    Other network problems on Samsung Galaxy are fixed by temporarily disconnecting from a network. This forces the phone or tablet to clear whatever bug there is that prevents connection from working properly. 

    Learn how to do this troubleshooting step by checking the steps in this post.

  7. Reset network settings.

    reset settings 2

    If mobile data is still not working at this point, the next good thing that you can do is to reset the network settings on your Samsung Galaxy. 

    What this troubleshooting step does is to clear all network-related setup of your device to factory defaults. This means that you’ll have to re-enter your wifi passwords and connect to Bluetooth devices that your phone or tablet was previously paired to.

    Regarding mobile data connectivity, your phone will automatically reset the network settings that applies to the current network you’re on so there’s nothing much that you need to do.

  8. Troubleshoot the SIM card.

    SIM card 1

    Some network issues can be traced back to issues with a SIM card. There are a number of stuff that you can do to ensure that the SIM card is working. 

    First off, you want to make sure that there’s no physical damage to the card. Turn off the phone and take out the card to check it. Also, make sure that you wipe the copper connectors on the card before inserting it back.

    Secondly, you can clear the SIM Toolkit app cache and data. Be sure that you clear the SIM Toolkit (maybe renamed to SIMMobilityKit) app’s cache and see what happens. If clearing the app’s cache won’t work, try resetting it to its factory defaults by deleting its data.

    To clear app cache and data, follow this post.

  9. Get help from your Carrier.



    If none of the solutions above help, you should consider working with your carrier’s technical support team. Not every reason for mobile data connection problems are due to a device issue. Sometimes, the problem can be from their end. 

    You can visit your local carrier store but we suggest that you try chat or phone technical support before doing so.

Tools
  • mobile data
Materials
  • Samsung Galaxy

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Get help from us

Having Issues with your phone? Feel free to contact us using this form. We’ll try to help. We also create videos for those wanting to follow visual instructions. Visit our TheDroidGuy Youtube Channel for troubleshooting.

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George Tsay

Executive editor in charge of The Droid Guy since 2012. Coordinates a group of more than 10 editors and writers based around the world as they cover the latest and greatest products in consumer technology. Grew up and lives in Southern California. Go Bruins. Go Padres. Go Chargers. Find me on Twitter

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