Lost mobile data? MMS not sending? 5G showing bars but no internet? You’re probably one APN line away from getting it all back. Here are the latest, verified APN settings for every major US carrier — plus the exact menu paths to enter them on iPhone and Android.
TL;DR — Quick Answer
An APN (Access Point Name) is the gateway your phone uses to reach your carrier’s data network. If it’s wrong or missing, you lose mobile data, MMS, hotspot, and sometimes 5G. The fix is usually just typing the right APN name into one field. Here’s the cheat sheet:
ndo (or endo on newer Cricket SIMs).Heads up: Sprint shut down on June 30, 2022. Virgin Mobile USA closed in 2020. If you’re chasing settings for either, you’re really looking for T-Mobile (Sprint) or Boost Mobile (Virgin’s old prepaid customers).
Quick comparison: APN values at a glance
Here’s every major US carrier in one table. If your phone’s auto-config didn’t take, you only need to copy three or four of these fields manually — the rest stay blank.
| Carrier | Network | APN | MMSC | MCC / MNC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T (LTE) | AT&T | NXTGENPHONE | http://mmsc.mobile.att.net | 310 / 410 |
| AT&T (5G) | AT&T | ENHANCEDPHONE | http://mmsc.mobile.att.net | 310 / 410 |
| T-Mobile | T-Mobile | fast.t-mobile.com | http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc | 310 / 260 |
| Verizon | Verizon | vzwinternet | http://mms.vtext.com/servlets/mms | 311 / 480 |
| Boost Mobile | DISH | boost.data | http://sprboost.mmsmvno.com/mms/wapenc | 313 / 340 |
| Cricket Wireless | AT&T MVNO | ndo / endo | http://mmsc.aiowireless.net | 310 / 150 |
| Mint Mobile | T-Mobile MVNO | wholesale | http://wholesale.mmsmvno.com/mms/wapenc | 310 / 260 |
| Metro by T-Mobile | T-Mobile | fast.t-mobile.com | http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc | 310 / 260 |
| Visible | Verizon MVNO | vsblinternet | http://mms.vtext.com/servlets/mms | 311 / 480 |
| US Cellular | USCC | internet | http://mmsc1.uscc.net/mmsc/mms | 310 / 120 |
APN names are case-sensitive. One wrong space, capital letter, or comma will break it. Copy carefully.
How to set up APN settings (the short version)
You don’t need to memorize anything. The path is the same on basically every device — you’re just looking for the menu called Access Point Names. Here’s how to find it on both platforms.
On Android
- Open Settings
- Tap Connections or Network & Internet
- Tap Mobile Networks (or your SIM name)
- Tap Access Point Names
- Tap the + icon (or three-dot menu → Add)
- Enter your carrier’s APN values
- Tap the menu → Save, then select the new APN
- Restart the phone
On Android
- Open Settings
- Tap Cellular (or Mobile Data)
- Tap your SIM/line, then Cellular Data Network
- Enter values under Cellular Data, MMS, and Personal Hotspot
- Go back — there’s no “save” button, it auto-saves
- Toggle Airplane Mode on for 10 seconds, then off
If Cellular Data Network doesn’t appear on your iPhone, your carrier has locked APN editing. You’ll need to do a Settings → General → Transfer or Reset → Reset → Reset Network Settings instead, or contact the carrier for a configuration profile.
AT&T APN settings
AT&T splits APN names by device type. The carrier officially confirms these on their support site — NXTGENPHONE for LTE phones, ENHANCEDPHONE for 5G phones, and Broadband for tablets and mobile hotspots.
1-800-331-0500
Postpaid + Cricket Wireless host network
iPhones running iOS 15 or later auto-detect AT&T settings — you usually won’t even see a “Cellular Data Network” option until you do a Reset Network Settings first.
T-Mobile APN settings
T-Mobile uses one APN value across LTE and 5G — fast.t-mobile.com. There’s no separate 5G APN. If your data drops after a phone update, this is almost always the field that needs to be re-typed.
1-800-937-8997
Now also operates the former Sprint network
If your device has a “5G Standalone” or “Voice over 5G Standalone” toggle (recent Samsungs and iPhones do), turn it on after entering the APN. Several user reports tie data drops on iPhone 15/16/17 directly to this setting being off.
Sprint customers who were migrated to T-Mobile in 2022: you’re on T-Mobile’s network now. Use the fast.t-mobile.com APN above. The old Sprint values (cinet.spcs, n.ispsn) are dead.
Verizon APN settings
Verizon uses vzwinternet for everything — 4G LTE, 5G non-standalone, and 5G Ultra Wideband. There’s no separate 5G APN. Most fields stay blank, which throws people off. That’s correct.
1-800-922-0204
3G CDMA shut down December 31, 2022 — VoLTE required
Verizon often locks APN editing on iPhones and many Galaxy models — the menu is greyed out or hidden. That’s normal. Do a Reset Network Settings, install any pending Carrier Settings update, and the right APN will provision automatically. If MMS still fails after that, that’s when you call.
If you’re on a Verizon-powered MVNO (Visible, Total Wireless, US Mobile Warp, etc.), the APN is usually different and locked. Visible uses vsblinternet, US Mobile Warp auto-provisions, and Total Wireless uses tfdata.
Boost Mobile APN settings
Boost is now a full carrier (owned by EchoStar/DISH) running its own 5G network plus roaming partnerships with T-Mobile and AT&T. There are two APN profiles depending on which Boost SIM you’re holding — the new Boost Mobile Network SIM, or the legacy Boost Mobile (Sprint heritage) SIM.
1-833-502-6678
DISH Wireless network + multi-carrier roaming
Cricket Wireless APN settings
Cricket runs on AT&T’s network. The APN value depends on when you activated your SIM — newer SIMs use ndo, older ones use endo. Try whichever auto-fills first; if data fails, swap to the other.
1-800-274-2538
AT&T-owned MVNO — same coverage, lower price
Mint Mobile APN settings
Mint runs on T-Mobile’s towers but uses its own wholesale APN. If you bring an unlocked phone and data won’t kick in after activation, this is the field.
1-800-683-7392
T-Mobile MVNO — bulk-discount prepaid plans
Metro by T-Mobile, Visible & US Cellular
Three more you’ll likely run into. Metro is fully T-Mobile under the hood (same APN). Visible is Verizon-owned. US Cellular was acquired by T-Mobile in mid-2025 — most US Cellular customers are being migrated, but the legacy APN below still works on existing SIMs until full transition.
What every APN field actually means
Most APN guides throw a wall of acronyms at you and call it a day. Here’s a plain-English breakdown of what you’re actually filling in:
APN The address of the gateway between your phone and the internet. The single most important field — get this right and most of the rest can stay blank.
MMSC Multimedia Messaging Service Center. The carrier server that handles picture, video, and group texts. Wrong MMSC = MMS fails while regular SMS still works.
MCC / MNC Mobile Country Code (the US is 310–316) and Mobile Network Code (carrier-specific). These usually pull from the SIM automatically — don’t override them.
APN Type A comma-separated list of what this APN is allowed to do — default (data), mms (picture messages), supl (GPS assist), hipri (high-priority data), fota (firmware updates).
APN Protocol IPv4, IPv6, or both. Always pick IPv4/IPv6 in 2026 — modern carriers prefer dual-stack.
Authentication Almost always None. Only a few carriers (older Virgin, some international roaming) use PAP or CHAP.
Bearer Leave as Unspecified. Locks the APN to a specific radio (LTE, 5G, etc.) — usually causes more problems than it solves.
If a field on your phone doesn’t appear in the table for your carrier, leave it blank. Don’t guess. Adding extra characters or proxies that aren’t supposed to be there is the #1 reason “verified” APN settings fail.
Frequently Asked Questions
For most carriers, no. T-Mobile, Verizon, Mint, Visible, Cricket, and US Cellular use the same APN for 4G LTE and 5G. AT&T is the exception — it has a separate ENHANCEDPHONE profile for 5G phones, plus NRPHONE for 5G Standalone devices. What matters more is having APN Protocol set to IPv4/IPv6 and the correct network mode enabled in your phone’s settings.
Apple lets carriers hide the Cellular Data Network menu via a Carrier Settings profile. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile all do this on certain plans and devices. Try this:
1. Settings → General → About (let any Carrier Settings update install)
2. Settings → General → Transfer or Reset → Reset → Reset Network Settings
3. Restart and check Cellular → Cellular Data Network again
If it’s still hidden, your phone is fully provisioned to use the carrier’s automatic APN — you don’t need to edit anything.
Run through this checklist in order:
1. Double-check spelling and capitalization (APN names are case-sensitive — vzwinternet ≠ VZWInternet)
2. Make sure the new APN is selected (radio button on Android)
3. Restart the phone or toggle Airplane Mode for 20 seconds
4. Confirm mobile data is on and you have signal
5. Verify the SIM is properly seated and your account is active
6. Make sure your phone is unlocked if you brought it from another carrier
If all of that checks out and you’re still down, the issue is on the carrier’s end — call them.
Sprint as a carrier no longer exists. T-Mobile shut down the Sprint LTE network on June 30, 2022, after acquiring the company in 2020. If you have an old Sprint SIM, it won’t work anywhere. Existing Sprint customers were migrated to T-Mobile, so use the T-Mobile APN settings: fast.t-mobile.com.
Boost Mobile, which used to be on Sprint’s network, is now an independent carrier owned by EchoStar/DISH with its own 5G network — see the Boost section above for current settings.
Damage your phone — no. Rack up charges — generally no, but with one exception: international roaming. Some carriers use a separate roaming APN, and entering a domestic APN while abroad can sometimes default the connection to a more expensive billing path. For domestic use, the worst that happens is your data simply won’t connect.
Bigger concern: typos can break your service entirely until you fix them. Always write down the original settings before changing anything so you can roll back.
iOS — yes, frequently. Major iOS updates often wipe custom APN profiles back to the carrier default. After each update, check Settings → General → About to install any new Carrier Settings update, then verify the APN.
Android — usually no, but some manufacturer updates (especially Samsung One UI) can re-provision APNs. If data goes weird right after a system update, that’s your first place to look.
