3 problems you might face when setting up your Ntel 4G SIM on an Android phone



Alright, so you just got yourself an Ntel 4G LTE SIM card or any network’s (e.g GLO, MTN etc) 4G compatible SIM card and are looking forward to a pleasurable experience. You are very likely to experience some problems settings up on your 4G LTE enabled Android phone so I’ll highlight 3 common ones and how to resolve them.

1. No network / Emergency calls only

Before buying a 4G enabled phone, you need to be sure that your 4G SIM will actually work on the 4G phone ; in other words, the 4G band which your network supports needs to match what the phone supports. This is the most important factor when choosing a 4G phone to go with your new SIM card.

Even when you have a match, you might still run into no network issues or Emergency calls only (your SIM details gets detected but you don’t get signal).

4G LTE Android no signal or network

This is likely as a result of you not setting the right network preference. You have two options (Option 2 is recommended):
1. Go to Settings > More > Mobile networks > Preferred network type > Set to 4G

4G Android network preference

2. Using Shortcut Master Lite to locate Engineer mode (root not required), navigate to Telephony > Network selecting > Select LTE only (you can select other options which include 4G if your network supports non-4G bands)

Engineer Mode Network Selecting

2. No internet / data connection

Now that you have signal, the next challenge would likely be no internet access even though you’ve purchased a data bundle. This is likely as a result of you not setting the right APN.

To resolve this, navigate to Settings > More > Mobile networks > Access point names > Tap the + icon > Fill in Ntel’s APN settings or your service provide’s APN settings (for non-Ntel users) > Tap the menu at the top (3 white vertical dots) and select Save > Back under APNs, ensure the newly created APN is ticked, checked or selected.

Ntel Nigeria Android APN Settings

3. Still no 4G network or stuck with 2G / 3G network

Your phone now gets signal, you’ve purchased a data bundle, you have APN correctly setup, you’ve turned on mobile data (under Settings > Data usage) but still don’t get 4G. Instead, you only get 2G or 3G. This might either be as a result of your phone / service provider having 4G restrictions (I’ll address this in another article) or you not setting a primary SIM card.

You see, on some Android phones, only one particular slot (at a time) might support 4G. You could also experience this on some 3G Android phones where only one slot (at a time ) supports 3G.

To resolve this (If your phone is such), navigate to Settings > SIM cards > Select primary card > Select the SIM you want to use 4G on (in some cases, you’ll need to insert the SIM in that slot).

Android select primary sim card

I’m unable to make or receive calls on my Ntel line

I experienced the same issue. I could get signal and surf the internet but could not make or receive calls. I also was unable to send out or receive SMS. What you need to do is install the Ntel VOXHD app at http://reserve.ntel.com.ng/ntel-vox-hd-app.apk and run it. You could set it to be your default dialer



36 thoughts on “3 problems you might face when setting up your Ntel 4G SIM on an Android phone”

  1. i just bought the ntel sim, i subscribed for the bolt-on standard bundle but didnt get any 10gb nor 500% bonus data.

  2. i just bought the ntel sim, i subscribed for the bolt-on standard bundle but didnt get any 10gb nor 500% bonus data. is the promo still on?

  3. I just bought my ntel sim. It works, I have tried to log in on their app it doesn’t respond & ntel website is not opening.how else do I check my active plan?

  4. Before buying the sim, I tried browsing on my Infinix android phone using the ntel sim on my wife’s modem and it worked perfectly after setting up the APN and other configuration on the phone. Now I bought the sim and inserted it. I hv the free offer data loaded and also loaded wawu2G using the N1000 in the account. My total data balance is 22GIG but it is not browsing.
    The ‘4G’ is displayed on my phone with up to four bars but on the top left corner, you would see network bars with a question mark. When u swipe down, you would see the message ‘sign into network’ message like it appears when you want to sign into hotel wifi. When clicked, it wd give the final error message ‘net::ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED’.

    1. They’re having network issues (especially with activating WAWU sims). I’m on the Ntel unlimited plan myself and have terrible speeds. I’ve reached out to them…no response yet.

  5. Hi! My gionee M5 supports just one of the two bands that ntel lte supports. It’s been 3 days now and I haven’t gotten any signal yet. What can I do about it?

    1. What 4G bands does your phone support? Your phone must support Ntel’s 4G bands else you won’t get signal

    1. Exactly what do you mean by unable to connect? Do you mean to the internet? If Yes, then ensure you have a data bundle, have set the Ntel APN and have turned on mobile data

  6. I tried running the NTEL VOXHD app but it keeps telling me validation failure, do you have any idea how to go around this?

    1. This is usually a connection issue. Ensure you are using mobile data and not Wifi. The app requires an active internet connection and an activated ntel SIM

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