This topic

Unable to connect to data on my phone

Johnquinn — Sat, 29 May 2021 07:01:51 GMT

Good morning. I wonder if someone could give me advice. I've been a BT broadband customer for years and haven't had any problems until now. Just over a fortnight ago I had to phone them up to check something and it was suggested I upgrade to BT Halo and also to a 6GB Sim-only mobile deal. I don't tend to use a lot of data but had nearly gone over my limit recently due to having to do a Zoom call while waiting outside a hospital for a friend who was having an appointment, so thought it might be a good idea. And it was only a quid more. Plus with Halo I'd get double the data anyway.

However, since changing to this deal I haven't been able to use data at all. At first I thought it was because the Halo set-up hadn't been...er...set up. But even after it had been I still can't get connected on my phone unless I'm either in a BT hotspot or there is another free wi-fi system which I have to sign into. I've rarely had to do this before, as my phone is set up to do this automatically.

But in other places where I have previously used the internet with no problems I just can't get a connection. These include outside the aforementioned hospital (I even parked in the exact same spot), a couple of motorway service stations I regularly stop at, and outside a local shopping precinct. I can't even get connected in my car while sitting directly outside my home.

I spoke to someone from BT yesterday who suggested I may have had data switched off. I hadn't but she suggested switching it off for a short period and then turning it on again would solve the problem. It hasn't. I went out afterwards and once more was unable to get connected.

Does anyone have any idea what's going on here? It's not a BT phone incidentally. It's a Moto G8 but I've only had it a few months and as I said, never had any problem getting connected until the day I switched to the new deal.

Thanks for reading this.
All the best, John.

Re: Unable to connect to data on my phone

imjolly — Sat, 29 May 2021 07:58:59 GMT

Have you checked that your mobile data spend limit is not set to zero as that might cause a problem

Re: Unable to connect to data on my phone

Johnquinn — Sat, 29 May 2021 08:53:36 GMT

I don't think so. I've just had a look and my spend settings are up to over £75 over my allowance and I have a data roaming cap of over £35. I haven't changed either of these since I got the new deal. The only thing I've done since then is change the parental controls from light to off (mainly because I'm not a parent), Oh yeah, and I bought a data add-on about a week before switching to Halo. I ended up not going over my limit though. But apart from that (and switching things on and off (or indeed off and on) to try and get a connection in the last couple of weeks) I don't think I've done anything that could affect it in anyway.

Thanks for trying to help though. I'm no expert but I'm not totally inexperienced with technology either. However this has totally bamboozled me.

Re: Unable to connect to data on my phone

Johnquinn — Sat, 29 May 2021 09:10:00 GMT

PS, it's not solved. My landline rang while I was scrolling down and made me jump. I must have clicked on my modem accidentally. It was one of those fake Amazon calls.

Unable to connect to data on my phone. Part two.

Johnquinn — Sat, 29 May 2021 09:16:35 GMT

I know I've already posted this but my original post is now appearing as solved, which it certainly isn't. So if anyone has any ideas....thanks.

Good morning. I wonder if someone could give me advice. I've been a BT broadband customer for years and haven't had any problems until now. Just over a fortnight ago I had to phone them up to check something and it was suggested I upgrade to BT Halo and also to a 6GB Sim-only mobile deal. I don't tend to use a lot of data but had nearly gone over my limit recently due to having to do a Zoom call while waiting outside a hospital for a friend who was having an appointment, so thought it might be a good idea. And it was only a quid more. Plus with Halo I'd get double the data anyway.

However, since changing to this deal I haven't been able to use data at all. At first I thought it was because the Halo set-up hadn't been...er...set up. But even after it had been I still can't get connected on my phone unless I'm either in a BT hotspot or there is another free wi-fi system which I have to sign into. I've rarely had to do this before, as my phone is set up to do this automatically.

But in other places where I have previously used the internet with no problems I just can't get a connection. These include outside the aforementioned hospital (I even parked in the exact same spot), a couple of motorway service stations I regularly stop at, and outside a local shopping precinct. I can't even get connected in my car while sitting directly outside my home.

I spoke to someone from BT yesterday who suggested I may have had data switched off. I hadn't but she suggested switching it off for a short period and then turning it on again would solve the problem. It hasn't. I went out afterwards and once more was unable to get connected.

Does anyone have any idea what's going on here? It's not a BT phone incidentally. It's a Moto G8 but I've only had it a few months and as I said, never had any problem getting connected until the day I switched to the new deal.

Thanks for reading this.
All the best, John.

Re: Unable to connect to data on my phone

Johnquinn — Sat, 29 May 2021 09:18:46 GMT

For modem read mouse. Obviously.

Re: Unable to connect to data on my phone. Part two.

NigelB72 — Sat, 29 May 2021 13:35:02 GMT

Go into your mobile phone data settings and check the data limit as was suggested previously. This could have reset to zero.

The settings in there are different to what is on your BT account. I had this issue before with a Motorola handset as it had reset them during an overnight software update.

Re: Unable to connect to data on my phone. Part two.

Johnquinn — Sat, 29 May 2021 14:17:25 GMT

Thanks Nigel. I've taken a look and my according to my phone I have a data warning at 2GB and a data limit of 5GB. I had gone beyond the warning level (mainly due to the Zoom call) but not the limit. But I'm going to pop out shortly so have reset the warning level to 10GB and limit to 12GB (in line with my new deal, although I'm highly unlikely to use that much in a month. I had a 3GB deal before and think I've only ever gone over it once or twice) to see if this makes any difference.

Thanks again. If this works I'll be very grateful.

Re: Unable to connect to data on my phone. Part two.

Les-Gibson — Sat, 29 May 2021 17:41:20 GMT

Are you sure you haven't turned mobile data off?

Have you tried restarting your phone

Re: Unable to connect to data on my phone

ctrlz — Sat, 29 May 2021 18:06:41 GMT

Have you tried resetting your APN settings? Usually in settings, mobile network, advanced, access point names, then click options/3 dots and reset to default. Should ensure it wipes and reconfigures them and that should do the trick.

Re: Unable to connect to data on my phone. Part two.

Johnquinn — Sat, 29 May 2021 18:53:02 GMT

Oh yes. And many a time. Always worth trying though. So ta

Re: Unable to connect to data on my phone

Johnquinn — Sat, 29 May 2021 18:59:39 GMT

I've just done this and it seems to have worked. I've temporarily switched wi-fi off and am using up data for the first time since I got the new deal. I'm at home at the moment and won't be going out again till tomorrow but hopefully it'll work elsewhere too. If not I'll start another thread. But for now thank you very much. I think (hope!) you've sorted it. Cheers.

Re: Unable to connect to data on my phone

Johnquinn — Sun, 30 May 2021 10:09:26 GMT

It now works in the outside world too. So thanks everybody, and especially. Ctrlz. Cheers.