Cell phone: makes, receives calls but no apps work.

[elocs]

Alcatel TCL A3. It's connected to my router with WiFi being on. I've tried unplugging the router, powering up again, didn't work. None of the apps work, but none say that I'm not online.
What to do? What to do? What to do?
TIA

[hippywife]

1. You unplugged the router, but...

did you also power down the phone and bring it back up again?

[Effete Snob]

2. Can you make a blood sacrifice?

A goat would be ideal for this sort of issue.

[usonian]

3. If you have a computer, that will check your internet connectivity

Connectivity is way more than your router. It’s very complex, starting with the network settings on your phone (like DNS, and so on) and the router and the ISP … But if the computer works, that tells you that the problem is in the phone.

If it was Apple, I’d say log back in to your account because Apple checks apps for being purchased or not. Don’t know about Google.

That’s it for now. One step at a time.

[elocs]

4. Yeah, the computer works just fine.

At least the phone makes and receives calls.

[usonian]

5. OK, your internet is fine. The problem is with the phone.

On Apple, there’s a network reset function. It’s non-destructive. You just have to re-do your network settings, which could fix things. Maybe the same on android.

One thing to try is to turn wi-fi off on the phone and make sure that cellular data is on. That way, everything goes through cellular, which presumably is working. Just don’t keep it that way, it will run up your cellular data, if that’s limited.

That’s one data path. Wifi is the other.
My best guess.
Helps to have friends nearby who know these things. Remote debugging is rough.

Good luck

[elocs]

6. WiFi is shut off completely, still no internet even cellular.

My YouTube app tries to load, then says I'm offline.
I think I'm going to need to call Safelink about this and hope I get somebody whose accent these old senior citizen ears can understand as I screw the phone into my ear.

Thanks for trying to help.

[usonian]

7. Good move. With cellular data on, you should get internet.

It's got to be in the settings.

There are settings that are meaningless to you, and sometimes me.

Someone who knows how to diagnose things can walk you through, and get feedback as you do so.

Faster if someone is on hand to just fly through them. Of course, if you are testing settings that can affect the call, like turning cellular on and off, you'll need to be contacting help via computer or another phone.

Old-timer here, too, but I made a living with tech.

Good luck.

[elocs]

8. I got the answer & it was simple. It was not the phone.

My phone is a Safelink Lifeline phone. A few weeks back I was de-enrolled with no warning & so my phone wouldn't work at all. After getting re-enrolled, it was fine until last week when I could make & receive calls but no data. After I was re-enrolled I was sent a new phone which I didn't need since my old one was working fine so I never took it out of the box.

The simple answer was that I had used all the data on my old phone, the first time that had ever happened. Turns out that all the new data was on the new phone which has its own SIM card. So I got the new phone up and working, with a new number. The old phone still has no data, but still makes & receives calls (for now) on the old number.