Why did I have to change my data APN when roaming to Ozz?

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Why did I have to change my data APN when roaming to Ozz?

old3eyes

9119 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#251699 7-Jul-2019 16:57

Hi Skinny.

In Ozz at present. This time rather than buying a Optus SIM card I decided to use Slinny roaming. I logged into my account and set the $20 roaming package and was able to make and receive calls but no data. Changed from Optus to Telstra no different. The data APN was the default wap.telecom.co.nz which is put there when the SIM card is activated. However I found on your help page it should be wapaccess.co.nz. I entered this and it worked. Why didn't the original entries work?

Regards,

Old3eyes

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#2271352 7-Jul-2019 17:06

wapaccess.co.nz is the correct Skinny data APN and has been for many years now.

Putting a SIM card in a phone won't necessarily override default APN settings, so unless you updated them when you put the SIM in they're always been incorrect but still worked inside NZ where from memory any APN will work on Skinny.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79263 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2271491 7-Jul-2019 20:15

NZ mobile APN settings are listed here.

old3eyes

9119 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2271599 8-Jul-2019 09:24

That's all fine but what if I was John Public going to Ozz with my cell phone and roaming and finding it didn't work. They have no idea of what an APN is so they would be screwed. The APN that is set by default should be correct at SIM activation not have be changed latter. My wife is on Spark and her roaming worked fine as I would expect it to be.

Regards,

Old3eyes

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79263 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2271601 8-Jul-2019 09:27

Correct. Unfortunately it looks like that is not how it works in real life. There is crappy user experience everywhere.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#2271652 8-Jul-2019 09:45

old3eyes: That's all fine but what if I was John Public going to Ozz with my cell phone and roaming and finding it didn't work. They have no idea of what an APN is so they would be screwed. The APN that is set by default should be correct at SIM activation not have be changed latter. My wife is on Spark and her roaming worked fine as I would expect it to be.

You're understanding of how things work isn't quite how they work in the real world.

I'm presuming here that you have a Spark handset? If so putting in a Skinny (or any other 3rd party SIM) for a number of reasons will not always override the APN settings already in the phone. On some handsets this can happen, but it can also create bigger problems hence many handsets will not automatically set these.

On some networks inserting a new SIM card will automatically generate an OTA SMS message message to be sent that will send the new settings. On some Android handsets like Sony's it has a "download internet settings" option that will download these automatically once you click the option.

The first step when swapping SIM cards is always to check the APN - this has been an unwritten rule from the early days of GPRS.

Your wife's phone worked because she is on Spark and using the correct APN. You were using the incorrect APN for Skinny in New Zealand (but it still works in NZ as they accept any APN) - had you been using the correct Skinny APN in your phone in NZ your roaming would have worked and been seamless.

old3eyes

9119 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2271722 8-Jul-2019 10:34

I'm using a Motorola G4 Plus handset. Never had a Spark SIM in it only Skinny anf 2D on the second SIM. Everytime I've put a Skinny SIM into a phone it always populates a Telecom APN which works fine in NZ but not when roaming. I would like to hear from Skinny on this.

Regards,

Old3eyes

scottjpalmer

5973 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2271724 8-Jul-2019 10:37

old3eyes: I would like to hear from Skinny on this.

Give them a call.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

hio77

12999 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lizard Networks

#2271726 8-Jul-2019 10:47

scottjpalmer:
old3eyes: I would like to hear from Skinny on this.

Give them a call.

i'd recommend this given the skinny folk here aren't directly on the mobile side.

If i get a chance to go visit their floor i'll ask about this one to see if they have something they can comment. I dont think it's something that can be 'solved' in a simple reply though.

Changing the APN to the correct one is the solution.

Personally this hit me with my hotspot sim a month or so back (be it on the spark side)

I got very frustrated with it, before realizing the apn was wrong on my hotspot (which it had defaulted yes.) soon as that was corrected, happy as can be again.

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

rugrat

3106 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2271782 8-Jul-2019 12:00

I brought my phone from 2degrees iphone6, just checked my APN and it is the wapacess one,
I don’t remember changing it, so looks like putting new sim in settings changed there automatically.

I guess the issue is that Skinny will work with the wrong one in NZ, but not overseas, where if it didn’t work in NZ people would know something wrong and a lot easier to get help here.

NikT

1710 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2271895 8-Jul-2019 15:20

old3eyes: I'm using a Motorola G4 Plus handset. Never had a Spark SIM in it only Skinny anf 2D on the second SIM. Everytime I've put a Skinny SIM into a phone it always populates a Telecom APN which works fine in NZ but not when roaming. I would like to hear from Skinny on this.

This is a Motorola issue rather than a Skinny issue.

As noted in the thread, Skinny will accept ~whatever APN within NZ, but needs the right one when roaming. So it'll work despite incorrect handset config until you need to roam. Skinny's answer will inevitably be "We didn't sell you the phone so can't control the settings on it," which is fair.

I will pass this through to Moto to have them double-check Skinny APN settings are corrected for current and future models. Skinny is a bit of a pain for handset vendors to configure as it's set up as an MVNO on Spark with a set IMSI range in which the handset should identify the SIM/network as "Skinny" instead of "Spark" and apply APNs accordingly. Brands that haven't been ranged by Spark in a while may not have the correct config to do this, as will be the case with your G4+.

Good info & opportunity to improve the experience for all involved.

Product Manager @ PB Tech

Smartphones @ PB Tech | Headphones @ PB Tech

noroad

949 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#2271904 8-Jul-2019 15:32

I'm presuming here that you have a Spark handset? If so putting in a Skinny (or any other 3rd party SIM) for a number of reasons will not always override the APN settings already in the phone. On some handsets this can happen, but it can also create bigger problems hence many handsets will not automatically set these.

I bought my Note 8 on "Skinny Direct" before swapping back to skinny (as Skinny direct had no useful roaming) and found this issue on the first time roaming as well.

openmedia

3325 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2274742 11-Jul-2019 17:39

I hit this issue with my phone a couple of years ago when I first tried to data roam in OZ. Phone was set to the telecom APN and I switched it to the correct Skinny one.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.