Cannot set APN using iPhone Configuration Utility

[chrisp124]

Hello,

I was unable to set the APN using the iPhone Configuration Utility. After creating an adequate configuration profile in the iPhone Configuration Utility, I tried to install it on the iPhone, but the iPhone then displayed the following diagnostic message: "Profile Failed to Install", "Only One APN configuration can be installed at a time". Since then, I have browsed the net extensively to find a solution, but without success.

To your knowledge, does the iPhone iOS allow to set the APN using the iPhone Configuration Utility (without jailbreak)?

Phone: iPhone 4, iOS 4.3.3, bought unlocked from Apple (Canada)
Carrier: Chatr (Canada)

Thanks for your help.

[XFF]

If it's a factory-unlocked iPhone and you're using it on an unsupported carrier, then the Cellular Data Network settings option should be available and you can specify your APNs there.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2283

If you're on an officially supported carrier, that menu option is likely blocked and unavailable.

Editing APNs via the iPhone Configuration Utility requires signed configuration profiles, something you probably won't be able to do.

[ceredon]

Also, if have already have a custom APN installed you will get that message and you need to uninstall the other APN first. And no you don't have to jailbreak to use the iPhone config utility to set the APN.

[chrisp124]

Thanks for your responses, XFF and ceredon.

So I should have access to the APN editor menu when using a SIM card from an unsupported carrier. In the case of Chatr, the situation is a bit hybrid: Chatr is an unsupported carrier according to Apple, but its SIM card identify it as Rogers (Chatr's owner), a supported carrier.

Since my post, I was finally able to connect to Chatr's data network by: (1) doing a "restore" (but not a "restore from a backup") which refreshed the activation policy to Chatr's, then (2) setting Chatr's APN using unlockit.co.nz. (FYI, at that stage, I was also able to set Chatr's APN using the iPhone Configuration Utility, but couldn't connect to Chatr's data network.)

However, after I did a "restore from backup" after the "restore" in order to retrieve my apps and data, I lost Chatr's APN settings as well as the ability to edit the APN (see my initial post). I understand that the backup probably contained prior APN settings (from AT&T or Rogers, the only other carriers I used), which I don't know how to uninstall.

[ceredon]

Have you tried using unlockit or the iPhone Config Utility to set the APN again? Having the default APN settings from the SIM shouldn't prevent you from installing a new APN file. It should only prevent you from adding an APN file if you have another custom APN file installed. If it does prevent you, then try Settings->General. I think that is when you will see if there is a customer APN installed (I don't have one at the moment, so it isn't visible on mine to verify). It might be under Settings->General->Network instead. If and when you find it in settings, that is also where you can delete it.

[chrisp124]

Thanks for your suggestion, ceredon.

Since setting the APN (using either the iPhone Configuration Utility or Unlockit NZ) would succeed after "restore" but fail after "restore from a backup", I became convinced that the profile installation failure was caused by an APN setting that came from my previous iPhone (a jailbroken iPhone 3G), that was transfered to my iPhone 4 by the backup I did when I changed phones.

I was able to resolve my problem by doing a "restore" without a backup, and then reloading all apps and app data. Prior to the "restore", I exported all the app data I could via sync or email (I lost the remaining app data), and I made note of my app settings. It took me a while but it worked.