

Apple’s stick in the mud routine is getting old - dsr12
http://pandodaily.com/2012/11/23/apples-stick-in-the-mud-routine-is-getting-old/

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mannkind
Heh, the author of this article may be exaggerating a bit.

The carrier sim can block access to the apn/mms settings; an AT&T sim usually
does.

I've used the sim-swap trick (with a t-mobile sim) on my iPhone 4S to change
the apn without issue... On iOS 5 and iOS 6. And I know of at least four
others that are on StraightTalk using iOS 6. Guess my anecdotal evidence is
greater than the authors.

~~~
ChuckMcM
Except when you buy an explicitly unlocked phone, you expect to be able to use
different SIM cards, and some carrier SIM cards don't work in the unlocked
phone because you can't set the MVNO setting in iOS 6.x (you could prior to
that)

My guess is that its just a 'bug' and it only affects a 'minority' of the
users, so its not on the stop ship list. But I have no insights into Apple or
their process.

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willyt
Why should anyone have to set this themseleves anyway? I thought carriers
pushed these settings through some kind of magic "carrier settings" text
message? I don't understand why his carrier can't sort this out for him? I'm
pretty sure they can change the APN remotely because I found a way to tether
my laptop to my sony erricson way back when it had unlimited data (because WAP
was so crap that no-one used much data). My memory may be wrong but I think
they changed the APN for WAP access to one which actually had a password by
sending out one of these, then shut off the APN people were using for surfing
the web on their laptops through a tethered phone.

~~~
Mavrik
Because that doesn't work on the iPhone. iOS has those settings baked in.

I ditched my iPhone when I got tired of my tethering options randomly
disappearing/reappearing on minor iOS updates without a chance to override
that. Even though my carrier allowed and supported tethering, the options
would just disappear because the APN settings for the carrier were not present
in the phone and couldn't be uploaded on some iOS versions.

Somehow Android "just worked". Figure that.

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shy_coder
This article is incorrect. I've used a 3GS with iOS 6 up until recently when I
picked up my nexus 4 and I use a MVNO. I've been on straight talk for quite
some time and have had no issues. I've used this site unlockit.co.nz and
downloaded the profile to make the changes. To my knowledges these are just
files you could create with the desired APN settings and host up on your own
personal computer via nginx or apache and browse internally to
download/install.

To create a straight talk APN profile on my nexus 4 I needed to have a sim
card installed in the phone. For some odd reason Android OS does not allow one
to access the APN settings area without a sim card in the phone.

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dubcanada
This is probably not a Apple thing, but a carrier thing saying if you buy a
phone from me it's locked to me so no APN for you.

I have full access to those options, but someone else I know on a different
carrier does not.

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doctorpangloss
iPhone APN settings can be modified using the iPhone Configuration Utility.[0]
In fact, T-Mobile provides an easy-to-download, easy-to-install "profile" (a
file specifying the APN) created with this tool.

<http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1465>

~~~
outworlder
The configuration profiles are even easier to use then editing the information
on the device itself.

The only problem is that end-users might not be aware of it and I am not sure
what the answer from the Geniuses might be.

~~~
178
There is nothing to stop the service provider from offering a profile on their
website. With a short URL the costumer could set it up right from the store
using the wifi connection and 2 taps. These profiles can even be signed.

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aioprisan
I'm in the US on AT&T locked and have full access to my APN settings

~~~
Timothee
Honestly, this is somewhat odd/surprising since AT&T has been known not to
allow access to the APN settings, as opposed to T-mobile for example.

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kgarten
hmm ... I still have full access to the APN settings ( Unlocked iPhone 4s from
the US, German carrier). Is this just a problem in the US? I guess it depends
on the carrier doesn't it?

~~~
DigitalTurk
Me too. This is with a Chinese iPhone in Europe.

I noticed that my carrier settings get erased on OS upgrades, though, which is
annoying.

~~~
thedrbrian
Me three. I've got a new (bought on friday unlocked from an apple shop) iPhone
5 and I've used the magic text message to change the APN settings.

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178
Just not true. The settings are still there and were in the iOS6 betas as
well. I know because I would have been affected.

Even if the settings were gone from the UI it would still be possible to set
them with profiles, which can be distributed via the operators website.

Some "advanced" settings that could only be set with profiles have even moved
into the UI in later versions of iOS, like Cisco VPN, S/MIME.

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Timothee
This post is extremely bad and is just a rehash of the original post by Nathan
Anderson with added misunderstandings, errors and drama.

