- The order to check things in when you have no service
- How to tell a phone problem from a location or contract problem
- What to check before contacting your carrier
The short answer
If your phone suddenly shows No Service, narrow it down in this order: the phone, your location and signal, your contract, and outages at your carrier. Start by toggling Airplane Mode and restarting. If service does not come back, check that the line you use is turned on, and finally check with the carrier you have a contract with. There are many possible causes, so no single step is guaranteed to fix it. This article is written for phones used with carriers in Japan, but the device steps are the same elsewhere.
Try what you can fix on the phone first; if signal does not return, check your carrier's information.
Try these on the phone first
Here are the steps from Apple Support and Google Pixel Help, in order.
- Toggle Airplane Mode. On iPhone, turn on Airplane Mode in Settings, wait at least 15 seconds, then turn it off.
- Restart the phone. Google Pixel Help says to power the phone off rather than choosing Restart, wait about 30 seconds, then turn it back on.
- Update the software. On iPhone, connect to Wi-Fi and open Settings, then General, then About. If a carrier settings update is available, you will see a prompt.
- On a Google Pixel, open Settings, then Network and internet, then SIMs, and check that Mobile data is on.
For example, in a made-up case, you might have switched on Airplane Mode before bed and forgotten to turn it off. Check whether an airplane icon is showing at the top of the screen.
Is the line you use turned on?
On phones that can use two lines, the line you want may be switched off, which looks just like No Service. On iPhone, open Settings, then Cellular or Mobile Data, select the line, and if it is off, choose Turn On This Line. On a Google Pixel, open SIMs, select your carrier's name, and check that Use SIM is on.
If the line does not appear in the list at all, the problem may be how the SIM is inserted or how the eSIM is set up. The related article on why a SIM card is not recognized covers that.
Check your location, contract, and outages
If the phone itself seems fine, look outside the phone. Apple Support advises confirming the following with your carrier.
| What to check | Example |
|---|---|
| Is your account active? | Payments have not stopped |
| Are you inside the service area? | You are not underground or deep in the mountains |
| Is there an outage in your area? | Your carrier's outage and maintenance information |
| Is data service blocked? | A change to your contract |
Google Pixel Help also suggests turning off Wi-Fi to see the mobile signal, removing the case, and moving away from walls and buildings. When abroad, whether Data Roaming is on under Cellular Data Options on iPhone also matters.
If it is still not solved
If none of this brings service back, contact your carrier. If a family member's phone has no service in the same place, a location issue or outage becomes more likely. If your carrier confirms your contract and network are fine, ask about repairs: Apple for iPhone, and the phone's maker for Android. On Android phones other than Google Pixel, screen names and locations vary by model, and English screen names may differ from the Japanese help pages cited here.
Checklist
- Is Airplane Mode off?
- Did you power the phone off and on?
- Is the line you use (SIM or eSIM) turned on?
- Are your payments and contract in order?
- Did you check your carrier's outage information?
- Is it the same in another place or on a family member's phone?
One thing to check today
Find out where your carrier's outage and maintenance information page is, so you can check it quickly next time.