How to Fix iPhone Cellular Data Not Working in Proven Ways

Updated by Lisa Ou / March 05, 2026 05:30

When your iPhone suddenly cannot connect to Wi-Fi, or even the cellular data of iPhone does not work, how do you diagnose and fix the problem? There might be dozens of causes and maybes, you can just learn more about why your iPhone won’t connect to Wi-Fi as well as the 11 ultimate fixes from the article with ease.

Guide List

• Part 1. Why is My Cellular Data Not Working on My iPhone
• Part 2. Turn off Airplane Mode When iPhone Cellular Data Not Working
• Part 3. Turn on Cellular Data If Cellular Data Not Working on iPhone
• Part 4. Reboot Your iPhone When iPhone Cellular Data Not Working
• Part 5. Update Carrier Settings If My Cellular Data is Not Working on iPhone
• Part 6. Reinsert SIM card to Fix iPhone Cellular Data Not Working
• Part 7. Reset Network Settings to Solve iPhone Cellular Data Not Working
• Part 8. Reset Your iPhone to Fix iPhone Cellular Data Not Working
• Part 9. Restore iPhone with iTunes Backup If iPhone Cellular Data Not Working
• Part 10. Put iPhone into DFU Mode If iPhone Cellular Data Not Working
• Part 11. Use FoneLab iOS System Recovery When iPhone Cellular Data Not Working
• Part 12. Switch on Data Roaming When iPhone Cellular Data Not Working
• Part 13. Comparison of How to Fix iPhone Cellular Data Not Working

FoneLab iOS System Recovery

FoneLab enables you to fix iPhone/iPad/iPod from DFU mode, recovery mode, Apple logo, headphone mode, etc. to normal state without data loss.

• Fix disabled iOS system problems.
• Extract data from disabled iOS devices without data loss.
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Part 1. Why is My Cellular Data Not Working on My iPhone

In order to diagnose the issue, you only need to check the iPhone and the Wi-Fi networks. Here are some simple fixes you can follow the find the reasons, such as connect the iPhone to another Wi-Fi, restart the iPhone and router, or even reset the network for your iPhone. Here are some reasons for your iPhone cellular data not working.

1. The Wi-Fi settings for iPhone
2. Service problems of carrier
3. Incorrect or changed password
4. Hardware issue for iPhone or router

When it is the hardware issue for iPhone or router, you need to send the device to repair shop. If the problems are related to the settings or software issues, you can follow the methods to fix iPhone won’t connect to Wi-Fi as below.

Part 2. Turn off Airplane Mode When iPhone Cellular Data Not Working

Airplane mode will turn off both Wi-Fi and cellular data on your iPhone. You can try to disable it to access your cellular data on iPhone.

Step 1Swipe up from the bottom of the iPhone screen to reveal the Control Center to fix iPhone won’t connect to Wi-Fi problem.

Step 2Tap the Airplane mode to turn it off. Make sure the signal strength indicator replaces the Airplane icon in the top corner.

Part 3. Turn on Cellular Data If Cellular Data Not Working on iPhone

You should ensure that you have turn on the cellular data on iPhone to use it. Follow the steps below.

Step 1Go to Settings > Cellular on your iPhone. After that, you can turn on the switch next to the Cellular Data at the top of the screen.

Step 2Once you connected to Cellular data, you can fix the cellular data not working problems with ease.

FoneLab iOS System Recovery

FoneLab enables you to fix iPhone/iPad/iPod from DFU mode, recovery mode, Apple logo, headphone mode, etc. to normal state without data loss.

• Fix disabled iOS system problems.
• Extract data from disabled iOS devices without data loss.
• It is safe and easy to use.

Free Download Free Download Learn more

Part 4. Reboot Your iPhone When iPhone Cellular Data Not Working

Restarting iPhone will usually fix most issues on device without additional operations. Please move on to know how.

Step 1Press and release the Volume Up button. Then press and release the Volume Down button.

Step 2After that, you press and hold side Power button until the Apple logo appears on your iPhone screen.

Step 3When you restart the iPhone, you can fix most of the simple problems, including iPhone cannot connect to Wi-Fi.

Part 5. Update Carrier Settings If My Cellular Data is Not Working on iPhone

You can try to reset carrier settings for your cellular data using on iPhone to fix this issue.

Step 1Launch the iPhone and go to Settings on your home screen of iPhone with ease.

Step 2Go to General > About, then you can check the Carrier option within the screen.

Step 3If there is any update available, you can tap on it to download the carrier service and fix iPhone Wi-Fi connection.

Part 6. Reinsert SIM card to Fix iPhone Cellular Data Not Working

You can insert your SIM card again to fix the iPhone issues. If it is still not working, you can try another SIM card from someone else to confirm if there are something wrong on your SIM card.

Step 1Power off your iPhone first, you need a SIM ejector tool, such as a paperclip or a pin to eject the SIM card of your iPhone.

Step 2Add the SIM card into the SIM card tray, press in on the tray to lock it into place and restart your iPhone.

FoneLab iOS System Recovery

FoneLab enables you to fix iPhone/iPad/iPod from DFU mode, recovery mode, Apple logo, headphone mode, etc. to normal state without data loss.

• Fix disabled iOS system problems.
• Extract data from disabled iOS devices without data loss.
• It is safe and easy to use.

Free Download Free Download Learn more

Part 7. Reset Network Settings to Solve iPhone Cellular Data Not Working

Reset network settings will directly fix network issues on iPhone without erasing your data. But you need to enable your cellular and connect Wi-Fi again after that.

Step 1Tap the Settings app on your iPhone. Go to General and scroll down to find the Reset option.

Step 2Choose the Reset Network Settings and confirm the action to remove the network settings.

Step 3Login to the Wi-Fi network again with the Wi-Fi ID and password to fix iPhone not connecting to Wi-Fi.

Part 8. Reset Your iPhone to Fix iPhone Cellular Data Not Working

As you might know, that are different options when you reset your iPhone. You can try erase all data to fix your iPhone issues if the above-mentioned ways are not working. But it will delete all your iPhone data, please make a backup if you have to keep them.

Step 1When you need to reset your iPhone, it is recommended to backup the files with iTunes or iCloud beforehand.

Step 2Go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings to factory reset your iPhone.

Step 3When you are prompted, enter your passcode to continue the process and fix problems that iPhone stuck with Wi-Fi.

Part 9. Restore iPhone with iTunes Backup If iPhone Cellular Data Not Working

iTunes is one of the Apple official methods to manage your data. It enables you to back up and restore iPhone data with ease. And you can restore iPhone to fix issues commonly on computer. Please note that iTunes has been replace on latest Windows and macOS computer with Apple Devices app and Finder. You can use them with similar steps to finish what you want.

Step 1Connect your iPhone to a computer with the original USB cable. Launch the iTunes to detect the iPhone on the computer.

Step 2Go to Summary > Restore Backup and choose a desired or the recent backup to restore from.

Step 3After that, you can fix the iPhone cellular data not working by restoring the iPhone to previous status with ease.

FoneLab iOS System Recovery

FoneLab enables you to fix iPhone/iPad/iPod from DFU mode, recovery mode, Apple logo, headphone mode, etc. to normal state without data loss.

• Fix disabled iOS system problems.
• Extract data from disabled iOS devices without data loss.
• It is safe and easy to use.

Free Download Free Download Learn more

Part 10. Put iPhone into DFU Mode If iPhone Cellular Data Not Working

Step 1Plugin your iPhone into a computer with a USB cable. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and Home button.

Step 2After that, you can release the Sleep/Wake button only until iTunes says iTunes has detected an iPhone recovery mode.

Step 3Let go the Home button that your iPhone will successfully enter DFU mode to fix iPhone not working with Wi-Fi.

Step 4If it fails to work, you can start the whole process over from the beginning and try again.

Part 11. Use FoneLab iOS System Recovery When iPhone Cellular Data Not Working

Is there a method to detect and fix the iPhone cellular data not working problem automatically? FoneLab iOS System Recovery is the iPhone fixer to fix iPhone from different scenarios, such as DFU mode, recovery mode, Apple logo, headphone mode, and more others back to normal status without data loss.

FoneLab iOS System Recovery

FoneLab enables you to fix iPhone/iPad/iPod from DFU mode, recovery mode, Apple logo, headphone mode, etc. to normal state without data loss.

• Fix disabled iOS system problems.
• Extract data from disabled iOS devices without data loss.
• It is safe and easy to use.

Free Download Free Download Learn more

Step 1Launch the iOS System Recovery on your computer. Then you can connect iPhone to your computer via the original USB cable.

Step 2Choose the iOS System Recovery and click the Start button. Select the Standard Mode and confirm the information about your iPhone.

Step 3Click Optimize/Repair to start the fixing process. It is able to detect, download and fix the problems for iPhone cellular data automatically.

FoneLab iOS System Recovery

FoneLab enables you to fix iPhone/iPad/iPod from DFU mode, recovery mode, Apple logo, headphone mode, etc. to normal state without data loss.

• Fix disabled iOS system problems.
• Extract data from disabled iOS devices without data loss.
• It is safe and easy to use.

Free Download Free Download Learn more

Part 12. Switch on Data Roaming When iPhone Cellular Data Not Working

Step 1Head to Settings > Cellular, then choose the Cellular Data Options from the drop-down menu.

Step 2Select the Roaming option and switch on the Voice & Data Roaming option.

Step 3Touch the button to the right of Data Roaming to turn it on. You need to have voice roaming enabled to enable data roaming.

Part 13. Comparison of How to Fix iPhone Cellular Data Not Working

Conclusion

What should you do if your iPhone cannot connect to Wi-Fi or the cellular data cannot work? The article explains the reasons for the problem as well as the 11 ultimate troubleshoot. Just learn more details from the article and choose the desired one accordingly.

FoneLab iOS System Recovery

FoneLab enables you to fix iPhone/iPad/iPod from DFU mode, recovery mode, Apple logo, headphone mode, etc. to normal state without data loss.

• Fix disabled iOS system problems.
• Extract data from disabled iOS devices without data loss.
• It is safe and easy to use.

Free Download Free Download Learn more