Calls dropping

[Bslmlk]

My calls are frequently dropping multiple times a day. I talk for a few minutes and it drops after a few minutes. I have full bars data is fine. 

[funpig1]

Update:  Today, PM/Telus sent me an SMS text advising that my ticket is linked to a known issue and that they will notify me when it is resolved. I texted back and asked what is the known issue. They just repeated that they will notify me when the issue is resolved.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@smurfit  Are you also on $15 unlimited incoming plan?

Not sure who you're asking but I'm not, I'm on a 5G unlimited data plan.

[smurfit]

Are you also on $15 unlimited incoming plan?

[smurfit]

I'm on the old $15 3G unlimited incoming calls plan. Is there some hidden disclaimer that says unlimited incoming calls under 9min in length? Anyways, it only happens if I use a modern phone. 3G flip and 9year old S5 work fine.  

[Phil_Adelphus]

@smurfit  My phone is already on 4G (LTE) and calls dropped yesterday although I have no idea if it's a trend or just a one off since I seldom use the phone for longer than a few minutes (I did have a call the other day that only lasted 3mins and it didn't drop, mine were on the 9 min drop.  From what I was reading earlier this morning it could be a switch problem.   Interestingly,,a couple of years ago someone locally said they were having dropped calls on Telus and it was said to be related to an update of some kind by Bell (I don't recall whether it was software or hardware) on the tower.

[smurfit]

I don't think the problem is signal related. My own call logs show that the signal doesn't get degraded and the calls still get disconnected at random intervals of 3min. Like 9min or 15min or 18min. Using old flip phone works fine. That's what I will be using when expecting any important calls from now on. I believe there is a software bug in the volte network equipment that's trying to force calls onto 4G at some regular interval. Like some sorta mismatch error involving the Telus imei database ond the PM volte whitelist. Just let us disable volte ourselves already!

[Phil_Adelphus]

@funpig1  Phil_Adelphus Is it possible the fault is with the other caller's network? It takes two

No way to know, it certainly could be just a coincidence that it happened to me when it's happening to others.  I'm rarely on the phone for more than a few minutes.  

[funpig1]

@WilliamFWIW, I am only repeating what I was told by Telus tech support.  However, it does make sense to me because If your phone setting preferred network is set to 5G(recommended)  your phone will continuously search for 5G signal even if there is no coverage, connecting when it can and disconnecting when the 5G signal and speed decreases. On the other hand, if you set it to a lesser network (or even stick your sim into an old 3G phone as some have done) it will not search for the 5G even if 5G coverage is present. Less fluctuation and more stability. At least that's how I understand the theory from talking with tech support.  Feel free to accept or reject anything that I say.

[will13am]

@funpig1 , thank you for taking the time to share this with the broader community.  There are some notable takeaways, however I am not quite certain the Telus agent provided totally accurate information or all the information.  This dropped call problem which I profess to have no idea of its cause has been around for a long time now.  If you back to this community announcement, apparently a fix was successfully implemented.  This would suggest that there is a "known" problem not necessarily related to coverage and signal strength.  

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Announcements/Resolved-Experiencing-Dropped-Calls-Iss...

Having said that, I am situated right in the heart of the big city, however, I am among a sea of single family homes with no towers nearby.  This situation will not change unless owners would be willing to allow carriers to place utility poles on their property.  Anyway, my signal strength fluctuates between -110 to -120 db and sometimes goes even lower.  Generally I am able to hold a call without issue.  Yesterday was a quite a different experience.  I was getting what I would call a "half duplex" calling experience, something that harkens back to the days when Wind Mobile was my provider.  The call did not drop but I had dead spots where there was no sound for several seconds.  Later in the day, the problem went away.  So it is definitely something in the network and it should be identifiable and fixable.

With respect to preferred network type and its influence on call quality, I would have to say the information you have been provided is very likely to be inaccurate.  My phone (pixel 7) has separate cellular connections for each of voice and data.  Where the signal is strong enough, I would see a 5G connection for data (mobile data network type) and a 4G connection for voice (mobile voice network type).  The voice connection is never 5G because we only have VoLTE or 3G calling at the moment.  Leaving the phone on 5G preferred should have no bearing on call functionality.  I suppose putting the setting to 3G would make a difference as it would force both data and voice onto the 3G network.  I have never tried this as 3G data is unusable in my area.  As for manual connection to Public Mobile instead of auto, I don't see how that matters.  I have never experienced a network drop and connection to an unauthorized network.  For those situated in border towns, connection to a US roaming partner could happen and so manual connection to Public Mobile might be the better option.  

On the topic of plan type, the labeling is merely a marketing gimmick for data speed cap placed on the plan.  You can be on a lowly "3G speed" plan and have a 5G connection.  Generally 3G speed plans are capped at ~3 mbits/s, 4G speed plans at ~100 mbits/s and 5G speed plans at ~250 mbits/s.  

Long story short, I believe there to be an ongoing problem unique to the calling function.  There could very well be work in progress to identify and resolve the problem.  In the ~8+ years that I have been with this service, the one thing I have come to accept is total silence on this kind of stuff.  I sense the marketing folks do not wish to be transparent about such problems as it paints a picture of a poor quality service.  Notice how announcements typically have both the problem and solution all at the same time.  As customers we are left in the dark wondering what is going on.  There is a price to pay for silence as we can make up all sorts of stuff that could be far worse than reality and propagate it in the social media channels.  There is a risk for being silent.  In the meantime, we should keep the discussion going and help each other navigate through the darkness as much as possible.  

[funpig1]

@Phil_Adelphus Is it possible the fault is with the other caller's network? It takes two...

[Phil_Adelphus]

@Rastin   I had had no issues in Ontario either but then I don't usually get long enough phone calls!  This week I did, and the calls dropped at approx 9 min intervals with three beeps and the caller had to call me back twice.  According to another thread @Dunkman  said PM is aware of the issue and investigating.

[funpig1]

@Bslmlk @Rastin @eddieO @will13am

I was able to get a response from a PM customer agent and Telus technical support today. Maybe this information will be useful to you.

We have always had a coverage issue in our neighborhood. We have been dealing with poor cell signals for almost 30 years. Voice calls would always fade in and out and I usually have to make cell calls on the second floor. Lately, things have gotten much worse where calls dropped abruptly. My signal strength ranges from -122 dBm to -113 dBm.

According to the coverage map, we are in a 5G dead zone, and the LTE signal strength is very weak. The nearest Telus tower is approximately 2.2 km away.

During the messaging, the PM agent provided me with a few tips and agreed to escalate my ticket to technical support.

And amazingly, somebody from Telus technical support actually telephoned me!   It probably helped my case when the call went straight into my PM  voicemail because they could not get a cellular connection with my phone!  I returned the call on my landline and left a message to phone my landline.

Telus technical support called me a second time and we spoke for about half an hour discussing possible causes of the problem and the tips to resolve issues. I learned quite a bit. 

First, the 5G range from a tower is very short. Ideally you need to be within 500 m to get the best signal. It drops off after about 1 km. By 2 km, it is non-existent. Our house is more than 2.2 km from to 5G towers and we get no 5G signal at all and a very weak LTE signal. 

According to the tower locator map, there are a few Microcell transceivers approximately 400 m from my house. However, Telus tech support told me that these microcell transceivers only have a range of about 200 m and also are directional. In our case, the nearest microcell transceivers are pointed away from my house towards a townhouse development. Even if the transceiver was pointed at our house, they would be out of range.

The perfect solution would be to install a microcell transceiver on an electric pole located about 100 m from my house. Tech support said that my neighborhood is a known problem zone and is under consideration for further upgrades. But I was told not to get my hopes up; upgrading the infrastructure is not an easy process.

As I said, we have been dealing with this problem for almost 30 years. However, I wanted to know why the dropped calls have gotten so much worse recently.

One explanation is that the current infrastructure in my area is unable to support the increasing customer base and cellular traffic. More people trying to access the same bandwidth. 

Interestingly, 5G can exacerbate the drop call problem according to tech support. Our smartphones are always trying to search for and switch to the fastest channel, which is 5G. As I understand the explanation, our phones use mobile data for voice calls. With increased distance and increased mobile data traffic, the 5G data speed will decrease during a voice call and your phone may switch and downgrade to LTE which has better coverage and speed.  But your phone continue to seek 5G. Frequent switching between 5G and LTE especially in poor coverage and high traffic may result in dropped calls.

Both the agent and the technical support advised me that one realistic solution is to change the "preferred Network type" in my phone settings from 5G (recommended) to LTE. This would prevent switching which could result in a dropped call. The downside of this is that if you have a 5G plan, your mobile data will then be limited to LTE speeds. If you have a 5G plan, you have to remember to switch your setting back to 5G in order to get the higher mobile data speed. 

[EDIT: in a subsequent message with the customer agent the next day, PM also advised that downgrading further from LTE to 3G should also make the voice call more stable. Therefore, making 3G the preferred network or even sticking your sim into an old 3G flip phone should reduce the frequency of dropped calls.]

In my case, I only have a 4G plan. If I select "5G (recommended)", my phone can sometimes get 5G service if I am in a high signal area, but my fata speed gets throttled anyways down to LTE speeds. Therefore, it should make no difference to me to leave my preferred Network on LTE all the time. Technical support told me that, as long as I have a good signal, I will not notice the real world difference between LTE and 5G anyways.

The other tip that might help is to disable the automatic select network and manually select public mobile. 

Telus technical support advised me that they looked at their current maintenance reports and that there are no known maintenance issues at this time in my area, other than the coverage issues discussed above.

Telus technical support suggested that switching to Telus or Koodo for Wi-Fi calling would be a good solution for me. I still have a landline for the occasional fax which I can use to make really important phone calls. [I have also tried call forwarding my PM number to a TextNow number so that I can take PM calls using Wi-Fi.  Ask @LitlLdy ]

I asked tech support for their opinion about installing a cellular booster in my house. They advised against it. First, they said it is very expensive. Also, they say it can cause interference with my neighbors and some municipalities will crack down on their usage. They also said in their opinion they don't make sense in a urban environment and are best used in remote areas. This is contrary to the Amazon reviews which I have read, but that is what Telus told me, FWIW.

I do not claim to have any technical expertise and I am only repeating what was told to me by the PM agent and Telus technical support. I hope this information is helpful to you.

Only time will tell as to whether or not those tips reduce dropped calls at my house. Hopefully, Telus will improve the infrastructure for my neighborhood. It has only been 30 years.

Good luck to all.

[Rastin]

I'm in ontario as well. Have had no issues so far other then then not getting any text when I signed up but that fixed now. Hopefully PM will be able to help you out with your ticket.

[eddieO]

I'm in southern Ontario and have been experiencing numerous dropped calls as well. Opened a ticket today but still waiting to hear back 

[Rastin]

I'm guessing you are in bc there been a lot of complaints this past week about this problem. There a problem with the network out there so you are going to haft to wait it out. The only work around I heard of is if you have an old phone that is 3g use it and it should work. Change new phone to 3g will not work

[will13am]

@Bslmlk , please use the chat symbol on the lower right corner of this webpage to initiate a support ticket.  It is likely that you need an account reset to clear issues with the calling feature.