We recently had a user contacting us about their newly acquired android phone, the Samsung Galaxy S9, showing the “mobile network state disconnection” notification when they try checking the SIM card status. On a quick check, we noticed this was not an isolated case, and customers everywhere are complaining about the “mobile network state disconnected” issue that sometimes makes them unable to send MMS, while connected to Wi-Fi or sometimes even when trying to use their mobile internet.
In this article, we get to explore a few possible causes for this issue, while exploring fixes that would work for users on Sprint, Fizz, Verizon, T-Mobile, Vodafone, EE, Tracfone, and many other network providers and mobile phones, including the Samsung and iPhone devices.
What Does Mobile Network State Disconnected Mean? – Possible Causes
The most common cause of the “mobile network state disconnected” issue is the APN settings on your phone. Since most users complain about an inability to browse the internet and send MMS messages, the APN settings would be the most common culprit. You would want to check with your mobile service provider to be sure that the APN settings you have are correct.
Locked Phones
Another cause of the “mobile network state disconnected” issue is that a phone is likely locked to a carrier. If you just got a new phone, check that the phone is unlocked to the carrier you’re using. (So if you just got an android device or iPhone from Sprint, you wouldn’t be able to use a Verizon SIM card in it if the said phone is locked to Sprint). This is one dicey subject because some phones locked to a carrier might be able to seamlessly do basic calling and texting, but the moment you try connecting them to the internet, they return the “mobile network state disconnected” notification.
Inactive SIM Cards
Another reason why you’d likely be getting the “mobile network state disconnected” issue is if your SIM card was not yet activated by your mobile carrier or if it wasn’t done properly. If this is the case for you, the easiest way to know this is to check in your phone plan account and be sure it’s properly activated. If it’s not, you just might need to contact the carrier to have that rectified.
Canceled Phone Plans
If your phone plans have been canceled, either because of inactivity or because you haven’t paid for a new phone plan, then this will result in issues like the “mobile network state disconnected” when you try to connect to the internet. Reactivating and paying your phone bills helps to have this fixed in most cases.
Network Incompatibilities
If your phone is a 4G only phone and your SIM is a 2G or 3G only SIM, then you can expect this issue, and the same can be said of phones that are either 2G or 3G only with SIM cards that are 4G only. Generally, this will cause issues and your phone won’t be able to connect to the internet.
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How to Fix the “Mobile Network State Disconnected” Issue?
In this section, we will be sharing some recommended suggestions for having this fixed. We’d be as detailed with each, and you should be able to try any one of them irrespective of your carrier, phone brand, or model.
Request For/ Reset APN Settings
This will be the first thing we recommend, especially if you have been able to use the internet and send MMS from your phone before now. If it’s a new phone, we would recommend checking with your carrier to have them send their APN settings to you.
To reset your APN, go to Settings >> tap on Connections >> select Mobile Networks >> select Access Point Names >> tap the three vertical dots on the top right corner of your screen >> then tap on Reset to Default. This resets your APN settings to the default and is the fix if you have been able to use the internet and send MMS messages on the said phone and SIM card in the past.
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Swap out Phone and SIM
If that doesn’t fix things on your phone, you want to try inserting your SIM card in another phone and try connecting to the internet and using the MMS. If it works fine, then chances are that the phone is the culprit. Doing the same for the phone can help streamline the issue. The principle here is isolating the issue as much as possible.
Enable/Disable Wi-Fi Connection
If your phone is showing this error, you should see if disabling or enabling Wi-Fi fixes it. If you’re seeing this issue over Wi-Fi, we suspect that it might have something to do with the router you’re using, so disable Wi-Fi and try using only the mobile data. You could also enable Wi-Fi if you’ve been seeing this on mobile data and see if you can use the internet and send MMS when on a Wi-Fi connection.
Adjust the SIM to the Phone Network
Most android phones and iPhones come with an option to adjust the network to the SIM you’re using. If your phone is set to use 4G or 5G, inserting a SIM card on 3G will probably be showing the “mobile network state disconnected” issue. To adjust this, tap on Settings >> select Connections >> tap on Mobile Networks >> select Network Mode >> select 2G or 3G (CDMA) as the preferred network.
Reset the Mobile Network
Resetting the mobile network can fix the “mobile network state disconnected” issue. To do this, go to Settings on your phone >> select System >> select Reset >> tap on Reset Network Settings >> select the SIM card if you’d like to reset the settings on one SIM, or Reset Network Settings to reset all network settings. This fix resets Wi-Fi, mobile data, and Bluetooth.
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