[RANT] Troubleshooting steps recommended for APN by moderators is wrong.

[jice73]

Warning, this is a rant.  It probably won't be productive, so if you have better things to read, please don't waste your time.

TLDR; Use the APN settings found in this Knowledge Base article, and go from there.  I really hope the moderators here stop using that other site to troubleshoot data issues for Android.

I am unsure if the moderator I dealt with is doing things their way, or this is the way it's done here.  If it's the latter, hopefully this helps correct it.  I am not naming names, or posting with the account I had the issue with.

After going through some "tech support" last night with one of the moderators, I am writing this to save anyone else some grief.  This pertains to Android devices only, and setting the APN up.  I have no knowledge of iPhone, BlackBerry, or anything else non-Android.

I was instructed to set my APN settings to what is listed at APN Changer.  So where do I even start?  Let's see:

• Sending a customer to a third party site looks really unprofessional.
• The Knowledge Base has an article that already covers this, with different settings.  Perhaps the article should be updated?  By the way, there is no "MMSC Proxy.  It's "MMS Proxy".
• This third party site doesn't seem to have a clue how Android even works with APNs.  It recommends entering two APNs.  Android can only have a single APN active at a time.  Am I expected to switch between them when I want to use data or MMS?!  It also has values for settings that don't even exist (eg., MMS Protocol).  The MCC and MNC values are presented as being empty.  It's not clear whether these should be left as default or empty.  I attempted empty but could not save the APN as these are required values.  The second APN (recommended for MMS) .. Err, OK.  just combine the two into a single APN), recommends a "<blank>" value for the APN.  That's not even possible.  It cannot be saved as such.

For the record, it turned out my partner's phone (an LG G4) needs a factory reset if the SIM card changes in order to recognize a new APN (which seems to be read from the SIM, as it now works without us even entering an APN).  Who knew??  Well, I do now, as do some people here, which let Google find it after beating my head against the wall for hours trying to figure out why identical APN settings didn't work on the other phone.  (I had initially blamed Public Mobile's side of things, until I tested the SIM in my phone.)

I am not expecting a reply, nor do I really want one.  This site should NOT be being used (especially for Android phones).  It's very inaccurate, and simply, wrong.  This should have been tested before being given to a user.  Especially if it's going to be used to troubleshoot.

Anyway, I am sorry again for wasting your time.  I wanted to get this off my chest.

[jice73]

As an aside, it appears I am incorrect about how Android handles multiple APNs.

According to this XDA post, (I am just assuming it's correct - no one corrected the guy, and he did test it, which is more than I can say), Android will use the APN type to choose a different APN if it is specifically asked for (eg, having an APN Type: default, and a second one with APN Type: mms), the one specifically matching the requested type will be used.  I guess I learned something today.  😉

[jice73]

Yeah, I was quite surprised a third party site was even mentioned, since I knew about the Knowledge Base article (and was using those exact values, like I am currently on my own phone).

It's my girlfriend's phone/account.  She went over her data limit two months in a row with Koodo.  I have been here since December 2016, and felt now was the time to get her to switch (she was reluctant previously as she saw me go through a 2 week wait when I attempted to port my number from Koodo failed).

I promised her it would be fine this time and that the "rush" was over and it would be smooth sailing.  None of the issues we had were Public Mobile's fault, rather, a very subtle detail with her phone.

What had irritated me was that in my first post to support (using her account), I mentioned I had rebooted the phone several times, and checked the APN settings several times.  Then in the reply, those were the only two "troubleshooting" issues I was given to try.  That site was useless (and completely wrong as far as I can see), and rebooting (albeit occasionally useful) had already been tried, and even mentioned I had tried it, so I felt the entire experience was rather pointless.

*Edit:  December 2017 -> December 2016 (I am not from the future!)

[will13am]

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@jice73 wrote:

Great idea.  I hadn't considered that.  My goal was to mention possible improvements, albeit in a more roundabout way than most would approach it.  😉

Yeah, I did try resetting the network settings.  It wiped out the WiFi, but left the single APN we had in place.  No idea what happened there.  Perhaps a second attempt, or even removing the APN then doing the network reset would have been better.  I was really hoping to avoid the factory reset.  It totally felt like using a nuclear missile to swat a fly.  😞

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What carrier source was your LG G4 from?  Generally, carriers like to butcher the APN configuration file in the phone so that only their APNs are available for selection.  In all cases, it is easy enough to manually create a new APN to suit.  The APN name is the unique identifier that separates one APN from another.  So, "unused" APNs can remain in place without harm. 

[ShawnC13]

@jice73, as stated there is some great info in your rant.  Yes it is a little weird to go to another site for apn settings, but if the RIGHT info is somewhere else why duplicate it.  I have never used the site that you have posted but I have always had positive results using this one  https://apn-canada.gishan.net/  .  In your case it wouldn't have helped but it may in the future.  Were you coming over from Freedon Mobile?

[jice73]

Great idea.  I hadn't considered that.  My goal was to mention possible improvements, albeit in a more roundabout way than most would approach it.  😉

Yeah, I did try resetting the network settings.  It wiped out the WiFi, but left the single APN we had in place.  No idea what happened there.  Perhaps a second attempt, or even removing the APN then doing the network reset would have been better.  I was really hoping to avoid the factory reset.  It totally felt like using a nuclear missile to swat a fly.  😞

[will13am]

Thanks for the rant.  In between the lines of rant are useful tidbits that should make its way into the knowledge base.  To be really helpful to others, I would suggest stripping out the useful information and offering them as asuggestion for inclusion into the knowledge base.  The labs forum is the place for such suggestions.  BTW, on the LG G4, network reset will do the trick.  There is no need to use the big factory reset hammer.