Android & iPhone: no network abroad - what to do?

If your Android smartphone or iPhone cannot find a network abroad, this may be due to the mobile network, your mobile operator or your smartphone. We show you how to solve the problem and quickly surf again.

First aid: No network abroad

• Turn your smartphone off and on again. When restarting, small errors in the buffer are deleted. In many cases, your cell phone then dials directly into the network.
• If this does not help, switch your smartphone off again and remove the SIM card for a short time. If the SIM cannot be easily removed, skip this step.
• In order for your smartphone to be able to dial into the foreign network, you need roaming access in some cases. In the following practical tips, we will show you how to switch on roaming on iPhone and roaming on Android. Please note that your network operator charges this.

No network abroad: choose your own network operator

Most mobile operators are only active in one or a few countries. If you are abroad, use the partner networks of your provider. Depending on the tariff (contract or prepaid), other networks are used in some cases, so the selection must be made manually:

• iPhone: Open the "Settings" app and select the category "Network operator". Deactivate the "Automatic" option and wait until the available networks are displayed. This process can take several minutes. Then try out all the available networks.
• Android: Open the "Settings" and under the category "Wireless and networks" select the item "Mobile networks". Here you can search for available networks and try out all the networks displayed.

Deactivate foreign lock at the mobile network provider

• Depending on the contract, some providers set up an automatic block for their customers abroad. However, this can usually be easily removed.
• Simply call the hotline of your mobile service provider and request activation. Here you will find the contact options for Vodafone, O2, E-Plus and T-Mobile.
• With some tariffs, the international block appears to have been activated from the start. As a rule, this decision was not made by the customer himself.

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