Can’t connect to cellular data network

I’m not sure if anyone experiences this problem of not being able to connect to the internet via your cellular carrier. Obviously, it worked before, maybe even a day or two ago and nothing has changed (as far as you know) since then. Obviously, something did change or perhaps the database got corrupted. It doesn’t matter. When you now launch your browser, it can’t connect. I have previously experienced this many numerous times with my Treo 650 so it was quite frustrating to expect to get online only to find that it didn’t work. So, I’m thinking that I may not be the only person experiencing this problem. That is why I’m sharing this trick.

This can be very frustrating, especially if you have paid for a monthly data plan and find out that you can’t access it at the time when you need to. It is very likely that the database or settings that contains the cellular data connection somehow got corrupted.

From time to time, this has happened to me on my Treo 650 and think I have figured out how to get things working again without much hassle. And, yes, you’re right if you are expecting me to say the same thing over again: BACKUP. Having a regular backup is very important especially if you experience problems and wish to get things working quickly without much hassle. Before restoring an archived backup, I’d suggest deleting the NetworkDB.pdb file first on your Treo before restoring that file back. Then, you should get things working right away (provided your archived file isn’t corrupted). If it’s corrupted, you may have to try to restore an older archived copy. Of course, you should delete the file on your Treo first before restoring the copy since it normally won’t overwrite the current file.

Here’s what to do if you do find that you suddenly can’t access the internet using your cellular’s data connection and you were able to do so before.

Before doing anything else, try performing a soft reset first. Most times, doing a soft reset will clear a lot of what may be conflicting and causing problems. But, if the database file got corrupted, obviously, doing the soft reset won’t change anything. It doesn’t hurt to try.

If you have done a soft reset and still can’t access the internet via your browser or email program, then, read on.

You will need to delete and remove the current (likely corrupted) database file and restore an arhchived backup copy or have your device re-create a new one and then you can re-enter your cellular carrier’s data settings. Here are the procedures to help you do so.

1 - Delete your NetworkDB.pdb file.

Open up a file manager program like FileZ or FileProg or Resco Explorer or other similar apps. Then go into your device’s RAM or built-in memory (not the expansion memory card).

Here’s a few screenshots to step you through on FileZ. The procedure will be somewhat similar in other file manager programs.

After running FileZ from your launcher, you’ll be greeted by the first screen (LEFT). Tap on the View and Edit Files button and you’ll be taken to the next screen. (CENTER)
Tap on the right pointing triangle next to Internal so that you’ll expand the Internal folder and see a similar screen to the screenshot (RIGHT). If the triangle turns black, you have selected the entire folder. Tap on it again to unselect it and tap on the triangle so that it points down and the contents are shown.

Scroll down to find the NetworkDB.pdb fiile and select it. In FileZ (which is what’s in the screenshot), you should also see the red checkmark on the left. Other file managers will be somewhat different to indicate that the file has been selected.
Next tap on the Details button at the bottom (or equivalent for your file manager) and you’ll see the next screenshot.
Now, tap on the Delete button. There may be a confirmation screen to confirm you really want to delete it. Select Yes or whatever similar choice. You have now deleted the NetworkDB.pdb file.

2 - Restore an archived NetworkDB.pdb file from your backup program or from your computer’s copy

a - Restore NetworkDB.pdb file with your backup program

Run your backup program (consult your backup program’s instructions) and restore the NetworkDB.pdb file from an older archive backup copy. You have to delete the file first (see #1) or it won’t replace the corrupted file with the archived copy.

b - Restore NetworkDB.pdb file from computer

If you have not performed a hotsync for a while, you may be able to try the NetworkDB.pdb found in your Palm folder in Windows.

C:\Program Files\Palm\[YourHotsyncID]\Backup

But, if that copy is already corrupted, you will still not be able to access the internet. But try it anyway if you don’t have a regular backup program.

You can either transfer the file via a card reader or software card reader program like Card Reader, Card Export II or send it via bluetooth if your computer supports bluetooth or you have a bluetooth adapter for your computer.

As a preventative measure for NEXT TIME, you may want to copy your working NetworkDB.pdb file to somewhere else on your SD card once you’ve entered your cellular data settings on your Treo. Or, make a copy of it somewhere on your computer. That way, if you experience the same problem, you can DELETE the corrupted NetworkDB.pdb file and replace it with your working copy and get online quickly.

Now, it’s NOT the end of the world if you don’t have an archived copy of the NetworkDB.pdb somewhere. What it means is that you’ll have go back to reconfigure your data connection to your cellular carrier to access the internet. So, it’s not a big deal. Once you delete the NetworkDB.pdb and do a soft reset, the Treo will create a new one.

Being able to restore an older file will help you immediately connect to the internet without having to input all the settings. Again, it’s not that big of a deal, that is, if you know the settings. That’s when a call to your cellular carrier will help, or if you have written it down in a Memo for these cases.

Now, hopefully, this information can help some of us with this problem. Hope you enjoyed reading.

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