Cellular

Automatic vs Manual Mobile Network Selection: What Changes

Most phones have a mobile-network setting that can choose a network automatically or let you select one manually. The manual option can look like a way to choose the strongest signal or a particular cell tower, but that is not what it does. This setting controls mobile network operator selection: which carrier network your phone tries to register with. It does not normally let you choose an individual tower, and seeing an operator in the list does not mean your SIM is allowed to use it.