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Disable and Re-Enable the SIM Slot
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Ensure Your Mobile Operator Isn’t Having an Outage
Your Galaxy phone may sometimes suddenly lose network connection and show a “Not Registered on Network” error. There’s no need to panic because the solution to this problem is simpler than you think. We’ll help you troubleshoot the issue below.
1. Toggle Airplane Mode
When you see the “Not Registered on Network” error, you should first toggle Airplane mode on your phone. This is simple and quick and should resolve the problem in most cases.
The “Not Registered on Network” error typically appears because of a network issue with your mobile operator. Toggling Airplane mode on your Galaxy phone will cause your phone to disconnect and register again on the network, hopefully resolving the issue.
Tap the Airplane icon in the Quick Settings panel to enable Airplane mode on your Galaxy phone.
Alternatively, you can navigate to Settings > Connections and enable the Airplane mode (or Flight mode) option. Wait for a minute and then disable flight mode. Your phone should then connect to the network within a few seconds.
2. Disable and Re-Enable the SIM Slot
If toggling Airplane mode doesn’t work, try disabling and re-enabling the SIM slot to resolve the “Not Registered on Network” error. Sometimes, the problem might be with your phone and not your mobile carrier, causing it to lose network connection.
In such cases, you should disable the SIM card slot for a few seconds to see if it helps.
- On your Galaxy phone, navigate to Settings > Connections > SIM manager.
- Toggle the SIM you need to disable. Confirm your choice by tapping Turn off from the dialog box that appears.
- Wait for at least a minute and then re-enable the SIM slot. Again, confirm your action by selecting Turn on from the dialog box.
The same method will also work if you use an eSIM instead of a physical SIM. Your Galaxy phone might take a few seconds to register again on the network.
3. Reinsert the SIM
While you have already disabled and re-enabled the SIM slot on your phone, you should also try reinserting the SIM card.
You should especially try this method if your Samsung phone started showing the “Not Registered on Network” error after a hard fall. The shock could have caused the SIM card to lose connection with the reader, leading to a loss in network connectivity.
Before reinserting the SIM, thoroughly clean its contact points and the phone’s SIM slot. This could help dislodge any debris that might be causing the network issue.
4. Restart Your Phone
Ideally, one of the above three fixes should have worked, and your Samsung phone should have stopped showing the “Not Registered on Network” error. If not, restart the device.
This could fix any underlying bug or software issue preventing it from connecting to the network. In some cases, if there’s heavy network congestion, a restart could help your phone latch on to the network.
- Expand the Quick settings panel with a two-finger swipe-down gesture and tap the virtual power button in the top-right corner beside the Settings button.
- From there, tap Restart to reboot your phone.
Once it boots back up, wait for a couple of minutes to see if it connects to your mobile operator.
5. Try a Different SIM
In some instances, the issue may not lie with your phone or network operator but with your SIM card. If your SIM card is over five years old, it could have unexpectedly malfunctioned. Or a configuration change from your operator’s end might have rendered it useless, leading to the “Not Registered on Network” error.
To confirm that your SIM isn’t the culprit, insert a different SIM into your phone and see if it connects to the network. To rule out all possibilities, try using a SIM card from the same operator. If your Galaxy phone latches onto a network connection, it means your old SIM card has gone bad, and it’s time you replace it.
This might also be a good time to consider switching to eSIM to avoid such problems. Almost all major US networks support eSIM, so ditching your physical SIM card should be easy.
6. Reset Network Settings
If the “Not Registered on Network” error shows up even after reinserting the SIM and restarting your Galaxy phone, your next option is to reset the network settings. This will not factory reset your Samsung device. Instead, only the network, i.e., cellular and Wi-Fi-related settings, will be restored to the factory state.
Thankfully, you can reset Wi-Fi/Bluetooth and cellular settings individually on a Galaxy phone. So, you can reset mobile network settings to default on your phone without affecting your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth configurations.
- Open Settings and navigate to General management > Reset.
- From the menu that opens, select Reset mobile network settings. Confirm your choice by tapping Reset settings.
- Next, enter your phone’s PIN to authenticate.
After resetting the settings, wait for a minute or two and then check whether your phone has connected to the network.
7. Ensure Your Mobile Operator Isn’t Having an Outage
Sometimes, the problem might not be with your phone but with your mobile carrier. There may be an outage, or the tower in your area could be down, leading to your phone displaying the “Not Registered on Network” error.
If you’ve tried all the solutions listed above and still cannot get your Galaxy phone to latch on to a network, check for reports on social media platforms to see if your mobile operator is experiencing an outage. You can also use sites like Downdetector to spot such reports.
If there’s a network outage, your only option is to wait patiently. There’s nothing you can do to fix the “Not Registered on Network” error on your Galaxy phone. It will go away automatically when your carrier resolves the issue from their end.
After trying the above steps, your Galaxy phone should hopefully stop showing the “Not Registered on Network” error. If the problem persists, it might be due to a hardware defect on your phone. You can confirm this by inserting your SIM into another phone.
If it works, your phone is the culprit. At this point, your only solution is to take it to an authorized service center for repair. Alternatively, you could trade in your device for one of the best Android phones.