Phone network issue

[Kram]

Lost all phone signal and its not coming back.
Phone was turned on and unlocked in my pocket, on the mobile network settings page, it may have changed stuff. Im on Lycamobile which use EE network. If I go to the networks page and try to select network myself, EE shows forbidden/unavailable/cant connect.

Tried resetting the apn page, removed sim, restarted.
Customer services were no help, they told me to buy a new sim and get the number swapped which seems like a pain.

I'll admit I havent been far since, might be a network issue in my area but CS tell me theres no issues here.

Tried the Lyca sim card in two other phones same result. I dont have a spare sim to try in my phone.
Was going to try my dads sim but his seems to be stuck shut in the slot.

 

[Mark 5]

Lost all phone signal and its not coming back.

You could try turning Airplane mode on/off a few times that worked for one of my kids after he lost phone signal.

I had a cell phone where I had to reset its carrier settings to get it to work again.

However your issue comes across as your sim card gone pear shape, this happened to me, no rhyme or reason, just failed

It maybe a pain but what else can you do?-- replace sim and port your existing number.

 

[fizzy]

Some phones can also use an E sim - no need for a physical one. It is built into the device. Not a lot of people know about it.
Mainly newer phones though.
Here is a list

eSIM Compatible Phones | List updated October 2025 - Holafly

Find out if your phone is compatible with eSIM using our monthly updated guide. iPhone, Samsung, Google, Huawei, Motorola, Xiaomi, and more.

esim.holafly.com

 

[Jackimus]

Lost all phone signal and its not coming back.
Phone was turned on and unlocked in my pocket, on the mobile network settings page, it may have changed stuff. Im on Lycamobile which use EE network. If I go to the networks page and try to select network myself, EE shows forbidden/unavailable/cant connect.

Tried resetting the apn page, removed sim, restarted.
Customer services were no help, they told me to buy a new sim and get the number swapped which seems like a pain.

I'll admit I havent been far since, might be a network issue in my area but CS tell me theres no issues here.

Tried the Lyca sim card in two other phones same result. I dont have a spare sim to try in my phone.
Was going to try my dads sim but his seems to be stuck shut in the slot.

Do you have call / SMS signal but not internet? Or absolutely nothing?

 

[Seadog]

Lost all phone signal and its not coming back.
Phone was turned on and unlocked in my pocket, on the mobile network settings page, it may have changed stuff. Im on Lycamobile which use EE network. If I go to the networks page and try to select network myself, EE shows forbidden/unavailable/cant connect.

Tried resetting the apn page, removed sim, restarted.
Customer services were no help, they told me to buy a new sim and get the number swapped which seems like a pain.

I'll admit I havent been far since, might be a network issue in my area but CS tell me theres no issues here.

Tried the Lyca sim card in two other phones same result. I dont have a spare sim to try in my phone.
Was going to try my dads sim but his seems to be stuck shut in the slot.

This happen to me on my way to drop a motor in the wilds of Surrey.
Samsung S8 I think it was.
The motherboard just gave up the ghost.
It couldn't see any networks or wifi.

 

[daedalusminos]

Have you looked at downdetector...Looks like EE certainly had an issue

 

[voipio]

Not sure if this will help, but it might be worth a try:

Lycamobile UK 5G APN Settings 2025 - 5G 4G APN Settings

Lycamobile UK 5G 4G LTE APN Settings for Android iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 15 Pro, Android, Samsung Galaxy, Sony Xperia, Xiaomi, Huawei, Moto, OpePlus, HTC, Oppo, Vivo, Realme, WiFi Router. Lycamobile UK APN Settings for Android In your Android Smart Phone Go to -> Settings -> Connections...

www.apnsettings.org

Also here, with some slight differences to the above:

Lycamobile APN Settings (2025 Guide) - APN Mostly

This is exactly Lycamobile APN Settings (2025 Guide) by APN Mostly . Step by step. Complete setup.

apn-mostly.com

 

[gaz1]

give it a day and try again after that start looking into the issue as maybe a network issue

lyca has been fine up here

 

[Robotstar5]

Some phones can also use an E sim - no need for a physical one. It is built into the device. Not a lot of people know about it.
Mainly newer phones though.
Here is a list

eSIM Compatible Phones | List updated October 2025 - Holafly

Find out if your phone is compatible with eSIM using our monthly updated guide. iPhone, Samsung, Google, Huawei, Motorola, Xiaomi, and more.

esim.holafly.com

So they've come full circle, my first mobile, a BT Jet (NEC P800) was an ETACS phone with no SIM card, does that mean I can start using it again?

 

[Kram]

Do you have call / SMS signal but not internet? Or absolutely nothing?

"Lost all phone signal" that is everything, showing "No service".

Yesterday nothing, managed to get a new simcard in the evening, expecting customer services to be shut I was going to phone them today from the landline.
My phone has two sim slots so put it in the second anyway, and the second instantly had good signal, I got the Lyca welcome text messages. Atlesst I knew it was not the phone.
An hour later I noticed that both sims were showing full signal. I turned wifi and the new, unactivated sim off, and I have full 5g internet and can do calls.

Unsure if the second sim played any part, or if something happened their end..

We have another phone using the EE network through Smarty, and that has had good signal throughout but as said above it is stuck in the slot so couldnt try it.

 

[Jackimus]

Bizarre... If you had only lost internet, and your phone was on the settings page, I was thinking mobile data could have just been knocked off by accident.

 

[Kram]

Yes, I'm unsure if the APN page has any effect on normal mobile connectivity or if those settings are all hidden in the sim?!


Now the odd thing is I was expecting several OTP text messages and none have arrived.