If you buy an iPhone, you’ll likely learn about the device’s various functionalities the longer you own it. You might use some of them daily, while others you may only have occasion to utilize infrequently.
The latter is true with updating or adjusting your device’s carrier settings. In this article, we’ll talk about what carrier settings are in relation to your iPhone and why it’s sometimes beneficial to update or adjust them.
What Are Your iPhone’s Carrier Settings?
Your iPhone’s carrier settings can be described as small files that exist within your phone’s memory. They’re installed on all iOS devices, not just iPhones. The term “carrier settings” includes all kinds of data, including your default and tethering apps, your MMS settings, and your Access Point Names, sometimes abbreviated as APNs.
We won’t get into the technical details of why all these matter for your iPhone’s functionality. Suffice to say that all of them should be updated periodically.
If you do that, then your phone should continue working properly, including your Wi-Fi calling. Sometimes, if your iPhone is malfunctioning in various ways, the reason is because you haven’t updated your carrier settings in a while and it’s causing slowdowns and similar issues.
When is the Best Time to Adjust Your iPhone Carrier Settings?
It’s usually the consensus of both iPhone owners and Apple Store employees that the best time to update your carrier settings is when your wireless carrier comes out with an update to its technology.
All iPhone owners have a preferred cellular network they use. For instance, you might use one like AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, etc. Your iPhone comes out with updates via iOS sometimes, but your cellular network also puts out updates every once in a while.
When your cellular network updates its tech is the perfect time to update your carrier settings. That’s one of the best ways to make sure you don’t run into the slowdowns or other glitches that we mentioned earlier.
Now, let’s talk about how you can do a carrier settings update. Once you do this, you should improve cellular network connectivity and see better responsiveness from your iPhone overall.
How to Do a Carrier Settings Update
Carrier settings updates are best accomplished by connecting to a stable Wi-Fi network or using cellular data. Since you only have a limited amount of cellular data with most phone plans, you’ll probably want to connect to your personal Wi-Fi network if you have one at home. You can always use a free public one in a library, coffee shop, or somewhere else as well.
You will first tap Settings. Your Settings app is where many adjustments take place that can help your iPhone perform better.
After you tap Settings, you’ll head to General, and then About. You should now see some detailed instructions you can follow to do a carrier settings update.
What if You Don’t See Any Carrier Settings Updates?
It’s also possible that if you hit Settings on your iPhone and then navigate to the “About” screen, you will not see any carrier settings updates. If that happens, then it indicates that your device has already installed the latest carrier settings.
Remember that in most instances, the settings application on your iPhone should be automatically programmed to update the carrier settings without any direct action taken by the device’s owner. Your wireless carrier’s network will send signals to your device indicating that there are updates, and there’s often nothing you have to do to facilitate this change manually.
You May Also Need to Update Carrier Settings if You Get a New SIM Card
The other time you might need to do a carrier settings update is if you get a new physical SIM card or a new eSIM. In that instance, you’ll tap Settings on your iPhone, then hit General, and then About.
Look next to where it says Carrier. There, you can hit the Version number to see whether you have the most updated carrier settings that correspond to your SIM card.
What if Your iPhone Can’t Seem to Do a Carrier Settings Update?
Sometimes you might run into a scenario where your phone is slowing down or freezing, and you feel certain it is because there’s a carrier settings update that you need to install. However, when you try to update carrier settings, the device won’t let you do it. You head to Settings on your iPhone and look for the update, and none is visible.
If so, then you will likely need to take the device to an Apple Store with a Genius Bar so the experts there can take a look at it. They should be able to scrutinize your device to make sure you have the latest carrier settings update if you have any doubts.
Talk to the Employees at the Apple Store About Setting Up Automatic Carrier Setting Updates
When you speak to the workers at an Apple Store with a Genius Bar, they’ll likely tell you there’s seldom a need to manually update your carrier settings. If you’re consistently needing to manually update any of your device’s settings, that’s a sure sign that some adjust needs to be made.
The Geniuses can work with you and reach out to your carrier provider. They can also do whatever is necessary with your iPhone to ensure that the next carrier update that becomes available will not require you to manually update anything. Consequently, your Wi-Fi calling should continue working perfectly, and your phone’s various other functionalities as well.
The Bottom Line About Carrier Settings Updates
Every carrier update enables your iPhone to perform better. Your service provider definitely knows this, which is why it generally attaches new features to these updates.
For the most part, iOS devices can handle carrier updates on their own. If the update does not happen automatically, then a notification pops up telling you what you need to do to enact this process.
If a pop up appears indicating that there’s a carrier settings update with new features, and you can’t install the update by clicking on the pop-up window, then Apple employees should be able to help. They will typically charge you nothing for this kind of assistance.
