iPhone 18 Pro Cellular Data Not Working? 8 Fixes That Work

Some users seem to experience an issue where the iPhone 18 Pro cellular connection is not working as expected even when in an area with good cellular reception. With this particular problem, the cellular data connection keeps getting lost even though the cellular status icons (like 4G, 5G or LTE) and the signal strength bars show it is connected to a cellular network.

If you do not have a cellular data connection, you won’t be able to connect to the Internet unless there is Wi-Fi. If you are having this issue, you may get “Network Error” or “Could Not Activate Cellular Data Network” types of error messages as you use your iPhone in a way that requires a cellular connection. This article explains how you can fix this problem.

Signs of this cellular data issue

Unless you are connected to Wi-Fi, you may experience the following:

• Apps that require an Internet connection won’t work. For example, you won’t be able to send or receive emails or load websites in Safari.
• Texts, including iMessages and SMS messages, won’t work.
• Phone calls will not work. You won’t be able to make or receive calls.
• You may see a No Service or Searching notification. In Australia, Canada and the United States, you may see SOS or SOS only instead, which means your iPhone isn’t connected to your carrier’s network but can still make emergency calls through other carrier networks.

Fixing the iPhone 18 Pro cellular data issues

Try these troubleshooting steps until your issue is resolved:

1. Is Cellular Data turned on?

Start with the simplest check. If Cellular Data is off, all data services—including email, web browsing, and notifications—use Wi-Fi only.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Cellular.
3. Turn on Cellular Data.
4. If you are travelling, tap Cellular Data Options and make sure Data Roaming is on. If your iPhone 18 Pro uses Dual SIM or Dual eSIM, tap the number you want to modify first, then tap Cellular Data Options.

2. Turn on and off Airplane Mode

1. Go to Settings.
2. Turn Airplane Mode on.
3. Wait at least 15 seconds.
4. Turn Airplane Mode off.

3. Update iOS

If your iPhone 18 Pro’s cellular data is not working because of an iOS bug, an update could fix it. Check if there is an iOS update and if there is, update your iPhone.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Software Update.
4. If there is an update, tap Download and Install. Additionally, you may want to tap Automatic Updates and turn on Automatically Install.

4. Turn off Wi-Fi calling

Some affected users have said that disabling Wi-Fi calling fixed the cellular data problem on their iPhones:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Cellular. If your iPhone has a dual SIM, tap the line you want below SIMs.
3. Tap Wi-Fi Calling.
4. Turn off the Wi-Fi Calling on This iPhone option. Test to see if the cellular data issue continues. If it does, you may want to turn this back on.

This may not be the fix you want. If turning off Wi-Fi calling fixes your issue, I recommend you periodically check the software update (see #3) and carrier settings update (see #6) to see if any update may fix this problem.

5. Restart

Restart to see if it fixes the problem:

1. Press and hold either volume button and the side button until the power-off slider appears.
2. Drag the slider, then wait 30 seconds for your device to turn off.
3. To turn your device back on, press and hold the side button (on the right side of your iPhone) until you see the Apple logo.

6. Update carrier settings

When a carrier settings update is available, you’ll see a prompt to install it. But you can check manually, too. Carrier settings updates are how your carrier brings their cellular-related software updates to your phone. Your cellular data issues might be fixed by a carrier settings update.

1. Ensure that your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi network.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap General.
4. Tap About.

If you see a popup notifying you that there is a carrier update, tap Update. If your carrier releases a mandatory update, you’ll see an OK button instead of an Update button to let you know that the system downloaded and installed the update. To verify that you have the latest carrier settings installed, contact your carrier.

7. Are you using VPN?

Are you using a VPN service? If you are not using a VPN service, do you have any VPN profiles installed? Let’s see if this is the problem:

• If you are using VPN, turn it off. And test your issue. If the issue continues, see the next step.
• Go to Settings > General > VPN & Device Management, select the configuration profile, then tap Remove Profile. This also removes other settings and accounts provided by the profile. Now test your problem again.

8. Reset Network Settings

This is the most drastic step among the steps I describe in this article because doing this will reset the network settings to the factory defaults. This does not mean that your content or other data will be erased. Your photos, music, etc., will stay intact. One of the main things is that your Wi-Fi connections will be erased. This resets all Wi-Fi networks and passwords, cellular settings, and VPN and APN settings. Thus, you may want to find and copy your Wi-Fi passwords before you do the reset.

Resetting Network Settings can fix a variety of connection issues; thus, it may help when the cellular data connection doesn’t seem to be working on your iPhone 18 Pro.

• Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings and follow the onscreen instructions.

If none of these helped you, contact your cellular service provider. This may be an issue they can help you with.