Mobile internet usually just works without us having to fiddle with things. Just pop in a SIM Card or register an eSIM and you’re in business. But it wasn’t always like this. This issue is not as prevalent as it was in the late 2000s and early 2010s but even today, there are devices that still experience issues with internet settings. An Access Point Name or an APN is a gateway between a GSM, GPRS, 3G or 4G mobile network and another computer network, frequently the public Internet. A mobile device making a data connection must be configured with an APN to present to the carrier. 1 Basically, these are settings that need to be configured correctly for your smartphone to be able to access mobile data. Today, SIM Cards come with these settings built in so you don’t need to fiddle with it. Should you be facing issues connecting your device to Safaricom Internet, it might be worth trying to manually input these settings and in this post, we guide you through how to set this.
How to Set Safaricom Internet Settings manually
For the purpose of demonstration, I will be showing you how to do this on Android but the settings should be the same for iOS.
Go to SettingsSelect Network and InternetSelect Safaricom SIM Card if your device has multiple SIMsScroll all the way to the bottom and select Access Point Names.Click on the + botton to add a new profile.
Now, enter the following details in the respective fields.
Name: SafaricomAPN: safaricomUsername: safPassword: dataProxy : (leave it blank – not set )Port : (Leave it blank – not set)Server : (leave it blank )MMSC : ( Leave it blank )Multimedia Message proxy : (leave blank)Multimedia message port : (Not Set)MCC : (639)MNC : (03)Authentication type : (none)APN type : (default,supl)APN protocol : (IPv4)Bearer : (Unspecified)Mobile virtual network operator : (none )
Save this profile and then select it from the available APNs. Should everything work as expected, you should be connected to the internet. Sometimes, you might need to toggle Airplane mode on and off, or restart your device.
Alternatives
Admittedly, this might seem a little intimidating to many who don’t feel comfortable fiddling with settings. For such users, you might want to request for these settings from Safaricom. You can do this by calling customer care on 100 and asking the service representative to send you internet settings.
