You have bundle. You have bars. Nothing loads. Calls and texts work perfectly. That combination nearly always means one thing: the phone does not know how to reach your network's internet service, because the APN is missing or wrong.
APN stands for Access Point Name. It is the address your phone dials for data. It usually arrives on its own when you put a SIM in. It usually does not when the phone came from abroad, when it was locked to another network, or when the SIM was swapped for a replacement.
Try the free automatic route first
This is easier than typing anything, and the network sends the settings that are correct for your exact phone.
- MTN: dial `*156#` and choose the internet settings option, or call 100.
- Telecel: call 100 and ask for internet settings.
- AT: call 100 and ask for internet settings.
A configuration message arrives. Open it, accept or install it, and if it asks for a PIN try `0000` or `1234`. Restart the phone afterwards.
If the message never arrives, or the phone refuses to install it, set it by hand below. Some phones sold outside Ghana cannot read the network's configuration messages at all.
Setting it by hand on Android
The menu wording changes slightly between brands, but the path is always roughly this: Settings, then Connections or Network and internet, then Mobile network or SIM cards, then Access Point Names or APN.
Tap the plus or the menu to add a new APN, then fill in only these:
| Field | What to put |
|---|---|
| Name | MTN, Telecel or AT. It is only a label, anything works. |
| APN | internet |
| Username | leave blank |
| Password | leave blank |
| APN type | default,supl |
| APN protocol | IPv4/IPv6 |
Leave every other field exactly as you found it. Save from the menu in the corner, not the back button, then select the new APN so its dot is filled in. Turn mobile data off and on again.
All three Ghanaian networks use `internet` as the APN. That is not a mistake in this guide; it really is the same word on MTN, Telecel and AT.
About MCC and MNC
You will see two fields called MCC and MNC, usually already filled in. Leave them alone. The phone reads them off the SIM and gets them right on its own.
If yours are genuinely empty, Ghana's country code is 620, and the network codes are MTN 01, Telecel 02, and AT 03 or 06.
Websites that list APN settings get these wrong constantly, including sites that look official. If a page tells you Ghana's MCC is anything other than 620, it has copied another country's table. Do not type in numbers from a page you do not trust.
Setting it by hand on iPhone
Open Settings, then Mobile Service or Cellular, then Mobile Data Network. Under Mobile Data, put `internet` in the APN box and leave username and password empty.
If that whole menu is missing, your carrier profile is hiding it. Check for a carrier settings update under Settings, General, About, and wait a few seconds on that screen.
If it still does not work
Work through these in order:
- Is mobile data actually switched on? Obvious, and it is the answer often enough to check first.
- Do you have a bundle? Bars do not mean data. Check your balance.
- Is the right SIM set for data? On a dual-SIM phone, Settings, SIM cards, and confirm mobile data is pointed at the SIM you bought the bundle on. This catches a lot of people.
- Restart the phone. Properly off and on again.
- Reset network settings. Android: Settings, System, Reset, Reset network settings. iPhone: Settings, General, Transfer or Reset, Reset, Reset Network Settings. This wipes saved Wi-Fi passwords, so have them to hand. It does not touch your photos or apps.
- Try the SIM in another phone. If it fails there too, the SIM or the account is the problem, and that is a trip to the network's office, not a settings fix.
A note on phones from abroad
A phone bought overseas can be network locked, which no APN setting will cure: the phone will simply refuse the SIM or refuse data. If your SIM works in every other handset and not this one, ask the seller whether the phone is unlocked. Some are locked permanently.