Tesco Mobile APN Settings
Quick Answer
The Tesco Mobile APN is prepay.tesco-mobile.com, with username tescowap and password password. The same APN covers pay monthly and pay as you go, despite the “prepay” in the name.
Tesco Mobile is one of the better-documented UK virtual networks: it publishes complete data and picture messaging values, in both its main help pages and a per-device guide portal. Everything below is Tesco’s own.
Complete Tesco Mobile APN Settings
| Name | Tesco Mobile |
| APN | prepay.tesco-mobile.com |
| Username | tescowap |
| Password | password |
| MMSC | http://mmsc.mms.o2.co.uk:8002 |
| MMS proxy | 193.113.200.195 |
| MMS port | 8080 |
| MCC | 234 |
| MNC | 10 |
| Authentication type | Not published by the operator |
| APN type | Not published by the operator |
| Proxy / Port / Server | Not published by the operator |
| APN protocol | Not published by the operator |
On iPhone, Tesco repeats tescowap and password in the MMS section as well as the data section, and gives a maximum message size of 2097152.
“Prepay” in the APN Does Not Mean Pay As You Go
This trips people up, so it is worth being explicit. Tesco’s help page introduces these as the pay monthly settings, yet the APN itself reads prepay.tesco-mobile.com. Its per-device guides give the identical values with no mention of plan type.
So on Tesco’s own evidence, one APN covers both kinds of plan and the word prepay is a leftover. If someone tells you there is a different pay monthly APN, Tesco does not publish one.
Entering Tesco Mobile APN Settings on Android
- Open Settings > Wireless & Network > Mobile networks, then Access Point Names.
- Add a new APN named Tesco Mobile.
- Enter the APN, username and password above, plus the MMS fields.
- Save, then select the new profile so it is the active one, and restart the phone.
Leave any field Tesco does not specify alone. Our Android APN guide and Samsung guide cover the menu variations.
Entering Tesco Mobile APN Settings on iPhone
Go to Settings > Mobile Data > Mobile Data Network and fill in the Mobile Data and MMS sections with the values above. iOS saves as you leave the screen. If that menu is missing entirely, our iPhone APN guide explains why and what to do.
If Tesco Mobile Data Still Will Not Work
Check the hyphen: prepay.tesco-mobile.com is frequently mistyped as prepay.tescomobile.com, which does not exist. Confirm the profile is selected rather than just saved, and restart. If picture messaging alone is broken, the MMSC or the proxy is the likely culprit — the proxy is a bare IP address with no http:// in front of it, unlike the MMSC. Anything else is covered in mobile data not working.
Tesco Mobile Runs on O2
Tesco states on two of its own pages that it is powered by O2, which is why the MMS server address is an O2 hostname. It has its own APN, though, so do not substitute O2’s — see O2 APN settings if you also manage O2 lines. Tesco Mobile has been an O2 joint venture since launch, so unlike some virtual networks there is no recent host change to account for here.
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Get a Mobile Quote →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the APN for Tesco Mobile?
The Tesco Mobile APN is prepay.tesco-mobile.com, with username tescowap and password password. Note the hyphen in tesco-mobile and that the password really is the word “password”.
Is the Tesco Mobile APN different on pay monthly?
No. Tesco publishes one APN and it covers both. This confuses people because the string begins prepay while Tesco’s help page introduces it as the “pay monthly” setting, and its per-device guides make no plan distinction at all. The word prepay is historical. There is no separate pay monthly APN to find.
What are the Tesco Mobile MMS settings?
Use the same APN, with MMSC http://mmsc.mms.o2.co.uk:8002, MMS proxy 193.113.200.195 and MMS port 8080. On iPhone, Tesco also gives the MMS username and password as tescowap / password, the same as the data profile.
Why do the Tesco MMS settings point at O2?
Because Tesco Mobile runs on O2 and says so on its own site. The MMSC address is an o2.co.uk hostname for that reason, and it is correct despite not mentioning Tesco.
What authentication type should I use for Tesco Mobile?
Tesco does not publish one, nor an APN type, proxy or protocol — it documents the APN, username, password and, in its device guides, the MCC and MNC (234 and 10). Leave the fields Tesco does not specify at their defaults rather than guessing.
Do Tesco Mobile settings arrive automatically?
Tesco is more cautious about this than most: it says you might need to enter the settings manually on some devices, and publishes the values up front rather than treating manual entry as a last resort. There is no configuration text message or shortcode.
