Consumer Cellular is a nice cellular provider if looking for a service from as low as $20. All the plans available also support mobile data operations, including browsing the internet, plus using MMS and mobile apps. But before you enjoy these (data) features, your phone (or tablet) must have the correct Consumer Cellular APN settings in place.
APN setting is a crucial part of the data services of any cellular mobile device. If the APN profile you’ve enabled on your device has incorrect values, it can’t access the internet services.
How APN Settings Work on Your Consumer Cellular Service
Usually, a cellular device, say a phone or tablet, needs a clear network path to work data features. And Access Point Name (APN) is the information that defines this network path for your device. It (APN) provides a gateway between your mobile phone provider and the public internet.
In layman’s terms, what happens is that Consumer Cellular uses the APN settings to generate an IP address for your device. The IP address is the unique identifier that your device will then use to operate data services, i.e. send and receive online requests from the internet successfully.
You can think of APN as a virtual door between your mobile carrier (in this case, Consumer Cellular) and the public internet. The door will need a key, sorry, keys, to open a clear network path for browsing. And if for any reason you don’t have the right key to this virtual door, this network path will be closed for use, partially or fully. Thus, cutting off your access to the public internet for browsing, sharing picture messages (MMS), or all features.
When I speak of the “public” internet, some people are more than likely to interpret it as “unsecure” from the bad reputation of public WiFi. However, access to the public internet through carrier data is usually more secure than WiFi, thanks to its randomly changing IP address.
APN Settings vs IP Addresses
First, you should know there are various types of APNs: Private and Public. A private APN is common in corporate devices. It tends to be more secure from the use of a password in the configuration and also has the option to filter web pages.
On the other hand, a public APN is what we commonly refer to when discussing APNs for carrier networks. The carrier, like our Consumer Cellular, usually has a pool of IP addresses within the public network. And now when you configure the APN settings of your device, you’ll get a dynamic IP address to use data features.
When you’re no longer using data services, the IP address your device received earlier will return to the carrier pool. Then when you want to use data services again, the mobile operator will go to the IP address pool and assign one to your device. And since we’re talking about a “dynamic” IP address, the new set will most likely be a different one from the option available on the pool. But sometimes you may receive the same IP address you had the other time.
Another thing you should know is that with your device APN settings, a carrier will generate two unique IP addresses: public and private.
A public IP address is the one our carrier will send from the large pool and use to connect to the internet. Then the private IP address is what your device will use to connect to the nearest cellular towers. (The two are also part of the reasons it’s usually difficult for a hacker to hack your phone through a carrier connection).
In any case, if for any reason your cell phone or tablet doesn’t have the right Consumer Cellular APN settings, it won’t be able to generate these IP addresses. Thus, making it impossible to communicate with other devices on the public internet with the information you need.
But Consumer Cellular Doesn’t Have its Own Cell Towers
As a mobile virtual network operator, Consumer Cellular doesn’t have its own cellular infrastructure. It has made a deal with Major Carriers to resell their network at a certain fee.
The network, or rather networks Consumer Cellular uses to offer its service are AT&T and T-Mobile. However, this doesn’t mean your phone will tap into the towers of the two carriers at the same time. You’ll have to choose either an AT&T-compatible Consumer Cellular SIM or a T-Mobile-Compatible SIM.
What this also means is that there are two different sets of Consumer Cellular APN settings. But I’ve come to notice this is something many fellow bloggers generally fail to mention.
If you happen to use the Consumer Cellular APN settings dedicated to AT&T-compatible SIMs on T-Mobile-compatible SIMs or vice versa, this becomes an incorrect configuration. Thus, your phone will have issues connecting to the internet and data services.
Consumer Cellular APN Settings on AT&T and T-Mobile Networks
Like any mobile provider, you can update the APN settings of Consumer Cellular on your device in two main ways:
Method 1: Update the Consumer Cellular APN Settings Automatically
Overall, an automatic APN configuration is the best method to help your phone with data connection issues. And just like the name, the service provider updates the APN values automatically using the latest carrier settings packet.
Nonetheless, this isn’t to say the provider will set up everything remotely, as the phone firmware does. Instead, they will send the APN settings bundle as an onscreen prompt (on iPhones) or configuration message (on Android phones). You will have to approve the request from your end physically using the “Update” or “Install” button.
Method 2: Update the Consumer Cellular APN Settings Manually
If the Automatic Consumer Cellular APN configuration doesn’t work, you’ll have to update the network information on your device manually. The values you fill out on the various APN settings fields must be what the operator is currently using.
(I) Consumer Cellular (T-Mobile) APN Settings
To update the APN settings for Consumer Cellular on T-Mobile Network with an Android phone:
- Open the Settings menu on your device and select the “WiFi & Network” (or “Network & Internet” or “Mobile Network’) tab.
- Click on the “Mobile Networks” tab, then select the “Advanced” option to display the hidden “Access Point Names (APN) submenu
- After you’ve opened the APN menu, tap on the “New APN” or “+” on the top right of your device screen
- Next, fill up the values of Consumer Cellular APN settings as below:
| Name | Consumer Cellular (T-Mobile) (or any desired name) |
| APN | wholesale |
| Proxy | (none or not set) |
| Port | (none or not set) |
| Username | (Leave blank) |
| Password | (Leave blank) |
| Server | (none or not set) |
| MMSC | http://wholesale.mmsmvno.com/mms/wapenc |
| MMS Proxy | (none or not set) |
| MMS Port | (none or not set) |
| MCC | 310 |
| MNC | 260 |
| Authentication Type | (none or not set) |
| APN Type | default,supl,mms (or default,mms,agps,supl,fota |
| APN Protocol | IPv4/ |
| APN Roaming Protocol | IPv4/ |
| Bearer | Unspecified |
| MVNO Type | None |
| APN Enable/ Disable | (Leave blank) |
- Finally, click the “Save” button to apply these APN settings to your device. Your internet or any other data services that were an issue should start working now. If not, restart your phone.
(II): Consumer Cellular (AT&T) APN Settings
To update the APN settings for Consumer Cellular on AT&T Network with an Android phone:
- Repeat Steps I (1) through (3)
- Next, enter the following details of Consumer Cellular APN settings in the fields as follow:
| Name | Consumer Cellular AT&T (or any desired name) |
| APN | reseller |
| Proxy | (none or not set) |
| Port | (none or not set) |
| Username | (Leave blank) |
| Password | (Leave blank) |
| Server | (none or not set) |
| MMSC | http://mmsc.mobile.att.net |
| MMS Proxy | Proxy.mobile.att.net |
| MMS Port | 80 |
| MCC | 310 |
| MNC | 410 |
| Authentication Type | (none or not set) |
| APN Type | default,supl,mms (or default,mms,agps,supl,fota |
| APN Protocol | IPv4/ |
| APN Roaming Protocol | IPv4/ |
| Bearer | Unspecified |
| MVNO Type | None |
| APN Enable/ Disable | (Leave blank) |
- Finally, click the “Save” button to apply these APN settings to your device. Your internet or any other data services that were an issue should start working now. If not, restart your phone.
Notes:
If the Consumer Cellular (AT&T) APN settings here fails to work, replace the APN field “reseller” with “ccdata” (without quotes).
Secondly, the APN Type of some Android phones will work as “APN All Types” or “Internet + MMS” or “default,mms,agps,supl,fota” instead of the default,supl,mms. This applies to Consumer Cellular service on either AT&T or T-Mobile.
Automatic Consumer APN Settings on Apple
If you have access to the Consumer Cellular APN settings from the time of 3G network, you’ll notice some major differences. For instance, the MVNO used to work with Proxy 66.209.11.32, Port 80, and the Server on http://mmsc.cingular.com. But in the reign of LTE & 5G, carriers (not just Consumer Cellular) no longer use these fields with Android or Apple devices.
Speaking of Apple devices, iPhones don’t require updating the APN settings manually. Consumer Cellular is one of the small carriers (or MVNOs) that pays their own carrier settings bundle to Apple for 5G, LTE, VoLTE, and other features.
So, when you activate the service, your Consumer Cellular data (on iPhone) should work automatically. And if not, update the carrier settings profile by going to Settings >> General >> About. The device will push a “carrier settings update” prompt, then you just need to press the “Update” button.
If you still have issues updating your Consumer Cellular APN settings at this point, reach customer service at (888) 345-5509.
