How to fix no service error on your iPhone

You are experiencing a problem where your iPhone signal is not available. When there is a no service error, you cannot receive or make phone calls or text messages. This can be frustrating and can interrupt communication between two or more phone users.

There are various reasons behind this and the most common one is service issues. Other factors that may lead to your iPhone network error are problems with the carrier’s service plan, a hardware problem, or misconfigured setting such as Airplane mode. You can even get a bad signal after screen replacement.

If this is the problem you’re facing, here are the top 8 solutions you should try:

1. Check on your coverage area

Before anything else, you need to check whether you are in an area with the good cellular network coverage. Areas such as buildings, underground, or rural areas have poor services. You can check the signal strength of your server using the signal bars in the upper right corner of the screen.

If you want to search for network coverage, you can follow these two steps. If you wish to switch the cellular data on or off:

Tap on the Settings app with the gear icon.
Tap on the Cellular or Mobile Data option in the Settings menu.

If you are traveling abroad, you should make sure that your iPhone’s data roaming is on. To do this, you should:

Tap on the Settings app.
Open the Cellular option in the Settings menu.
Tap on the Cellular Data Options.
Turn the toggle that is next to Data roaming on.

2. Check the carrier settings update

Your cellular service provider may have launched a new update to the service that you are using. This may be another reason why your iPhone service is not working. The released update may affect the ability of your device to access the cellular network.

Before you start this procedure, you need to make sure that your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network. You can then:

Tap on the Settings app.
Tap on the General option.
Select the ‘About’ option. An option to update your carrier settings will appear if the update is available.

If you wish to see the carrier settings version that is on your iPhone, you should:

Tap on Settings.
Tap on the General option.
Select About and check next to Carrier.

If you purchase a new SIM card and insert it into your iPhone, you need to download the new carrier settings.

3. Restart your iPhone

Any iPhone user will tell you that the easiest way to restore your iPhone’s network is by restarting or hard resetting it. There may be a technical problem with your service provider.

Different versions of iPhones have different ways of restarting but they will be back to normal operations after doing the following:

Press the Volume Up button and then release it.
Press the Volume Down button and then release it.
Hold the right-side button of your iPhone until it switches off and the Apple logo appears on your screen.

4. Take out your SIM card

There may be a problem with your SIM card that is causing poor signal. You can remove it from its SIM slot and then put it back.

Contact your service carrier if the SIM card is broken or doesn’t fit in the SIM slot. You can then ask your service provider to give you a new SIM card.

5. Switch off Airplane Mode

The Airplane Mode feature restricts cellular and Wi-Fi services. If your iPhone is in Airplane mode, an airplane icon will appear on the upper right corner of your screen. To switch it off, you need to:

Tap on the Settings icon.
Tap on the Cellular option.
Switch off the toggle next to Airplane Mode.

6. Reset your network settings

There is a chance that your iPhone’s settings may interfere with the normal connection to your cellular provider hence the no service error. You can reset the iPhone network settings to their factory default by following these steps:

Tap on the Settings app.
Select General.
Tap on the ‘Reset’ option.
Tap on ‘Reset Network Settings’. By doing so, you can reset all Wi-Fi networks and passwords, cellular settings, and VPN and APN settings stored in your device.

7. Update your iPhone

The old and unstable IOS version of your iPhone may restrict it from accessing cellular services. You should regularly update your IOS to the latest version by doing the following steps:

Tap on the Settings icon.
Tap on the General option in the Settings menu.
Go to the ‘Software Update’ option and from there you can check if there is an available update.
If an update is available, you can tap on the ‘Download and Install’ button and wait for it to be complete.

8. Contact your phone carrier

If all these methods are used and your iPhone’s network still has issues, then you should contact your carrier since it may be an issue concerning them.

You can contact them to ensure that:

Your account is active and has good service.
There are no outages in service provision.
Your device is not blocked from cellular services and has the right data plan.

Connected to a cellular service provider?

There are various reasons why your phone may be experiencing the no service error. You may be located in an area where there is poor service, your iPhone shows no signal after screen replacement, or you are using an old and outdated iOS version.

You can try resetting your network settings to default or updating your iPhone if the service signal does not change.

If the above methods do not work, you should contact your phone carrier to confirm your device is not blocked and still active. Once there are no service issues on iPhone, you can receive and make phone calls and text messages.

Melvin

Melvin is a senior writer at iMentality. A DIYer at heart, Melvin loves to craft things in the tech space. He has amassed over a decade of experience in tech writing with special focus on apps and tech guides.