The APN, or access point name, is the setting that tells your device how to reach the mobile network’s data service. Your Halo eSIM sets its own APN when it installs, so on almost every device you will never need to look at it.
It is worth checking in one situation: you have landed, the Halo line shows signal bars, and data still will not flow after you have worked through If your eSIM has signal but no data. A missing or edited APN is one of the few remaining causes, and it is the one you can fix from the handset.
Your plan’s APN
The APN is not the same on every Halo plan. It comes with your eSIM profile and depends on the network your plan uses, so use the APN shown on your eSIM page rather than a value from another guide or another order.
Find yours on your plan card on your eSIM portal page, where it sits next to your plan details with a copy button. The link is in your order confirmation email, or you can request a fresh one from the portal entry page. Recent order confirmation emails show the APN as well. If your plan card says the APN is set automatically, ask Hal and we will confirm the exact value for your plan.
Leave the username and password fields empty. Halo plans are data only, so there is nothing to set for calls or picture messaging.
In the steps below, “your plan’s APN” means the value from your plan card.
Before you change anything
Work through the checks in If your eSIM has signal but no data first. Almost every no-data case is one of those, not the APN:
- The Halo eSIM is not selected as your data line.
- Data roaming is off on the Halo line.
- A VPN is intercepting the connection.
- The data allowance is used up.
If you have been through all of those and data still will not flow, carry on below.
iPhone
- Open Settings and tap Mobile Service (Mobile Data on older iOS).
- Tap the Halo eSIM line.
- Tap Mobile Data Network.
- Under Mobile Data, check that APN reads your plan’s APN. Leave Username and Password empty.
- Go back. Your iPhone applies the change straight away.
If there is no Mobile Data Network option on that screen, that is normal and nothing is wrong. iOS hides the menu when the installed profile is managing the APN itself, which is the healthy state. There is nothing for you to change on iPhone in that case, so skip to the last section below.
Samsung
- Open Settings > Connections > Mobile networks > Access Point Names.
- If you have more than one SIM, choose the Halo line at the top of the screen.
- Check that an entry with your plan’s APN is listed and selected. Tap it to see the detail.
- If the APN field is empty or shows something else, tap it and set it to your plan’s APN, then tap the menu and choose Save.
Pixel and other Android
- Open Settings > Network and internet > SIMs.
- Tap the Halo eSIM.
- Tap Access Point Names.
- Check that an entry with your plan’s APN is listed and selected.
- If it is missing, tap Add and enter your plan’s APN in the APN field. Leave the rest at their defaults, then save it and select it.
Menu names vary between Android manufacturers. On some devices the path is Settings > Mobile network > Advanced > Access Point Names. If you cannot find it, search your Settings app for “APN”.
Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO
- Open Settings > Mobile networks (SIM cards and mobile networks on MIUI).
- Tap the Halo eSIM.
- Tap Access Point Names. On some versions this is under Edit access point, or inside Manage eSIM.
- If your plan’s APN is not listed, tap New APN (or the plus button), enter Halo as the name and your plan’s APN in the APN field, then save it.
- Select the entry so it is the one in use.
Some Xiaomi phones do not pick the APN up from the eSIM automatically, so it is worth checking here early. The full install steps are in Install your Halo eSIM on Xiaomi.
After you change the APN
Turn on aeroplane mode, wait ten seconds, then turn it off again. This makes your device reattach to the network and pick up the new setting. If data still will not flow, restart the device fully.
Two things not to do
Do not delete the other APNs on the list. Some of them belong to your home SIM, and removing them can break data on that line when you get back.
Do not enter an APN you found for another provider, or from another Halo order. A Halo eSIM will not connect through another network’s APN, and a wrong value stops data that would otherwise have started working on its own once the local network finished registering you.
If you have already changed something and want to undo it, most Android devices offer Reset to default in the Access Point Names menu.
If the APN looks right and data still will not work
At that point the APN is not your problem, and it is worth having someone look at the line itself. Ask Hal and have these to hand:
- Your Halo order number, which starts with HALO-
- Your device model and its operating system version
- The country you are in
- What the APN field shows, or that the menu is not there
- Whether data roaming is turned on for the Halo line