Can't Get US Service in NYC

[Colouratura]

Hi have the $50 Can/US plan and I can't get my phone to stay connected with the provider, T-mobile.  I managed 2 calls in 5 days.   

I have received texts.  Data works most of the time.    

I have roaming etc turned on.   I tried version and ATT but was rejected on those. 

I've turned off the phone a few times to reboot and still nothing.  It says "emergency calls only". That I'm not on a registered network. 

 

[apt4893]

Ah thank you for the clarification! I know for next time when I'm down in the States to try that. I prefer 5G in Canada, but I agree on vacation I think LTE is sufficient (and also less of a battery drain).

Interesting, the iPhone was purchased in Canada directly from Apple so not too sure.  I know that whenever it did try to connect to Verizon LTE though there was no signal at all so I had to wait until it swapped back to AT&T/T-Mobile.  It was far and few between, but it did happen.

[DennyCrane]

@apt4893 5G does work on T-Mobile, and probably should work on AT&T (but it doesn't). There's more to this, which is that AT&T was historically a roaming partner, but up until a few months ago it hadn't worked for a year or so (even though the PM website said it did). Now AT&T 4G is working again, but AT&T 5G isn't. Hopefully they're working on it, but in the meantime setting your Preferred Network to 4G is a great workaround. In my opinion 5G is overrated anyway, even here at home. I get better coverage and often better speed with 4G anyway.

As for the issue of automatic network selection and Verizon, I wonder if it's an iPhone issue (or your specific phone originating from Verizon?). I roam a lot (always with automatic network selection), and I've never had my phone try to connect to Verizon with my Android phones.

[apt4893]

As someone who just was in NYC with similar issue (although with an iPhone), it seems like I should have checked here to see I needed to turn off "Automatic" and keep on AT&T/T-Mobile (interestingly, the only other network I was also connecting to was Verizon LTE).  Eventually, I did figure out LTE/Standard was the most stable option.

Is it likely that PM users will eventually be able to connect to the 5G networks in the US?  Another person in our party had a Can-US plan from a bigger carrier and left on 5G Auto with no issues.

[will13am]

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@Colouratura wrote:

Lots of great info @dust2dust. 

I checked and it says unregistered.  TMOBILE is the one I had connected with.  It is the only one that I can get anything.  The others rejected me. 

Another note is my S20+ was not bought in Canada.  It was a gift from a US friend and I think was a Verizon purchase (unlocked of course). 

I made the change so it's not Global.  

 

 

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The Verizon source might be a deal killer for getting on the VoLTE whitelist.  Please use this link to see if the phone is enable for VoLTE.  BTW, there is something strange here, your mobile network state is disconnected.  

https://www.telus.com/en/support/article/how-to-use-volte

[Colouratura]

Lots of great info @dust2dust. 

I checked and it says unregistered.  TMOBILE is the one I had connected with.  It is the only one that I can get anything.  The others rejected me. 

Another note is my S20+ was not bought in Canada.  It was a gift from a US friend and I think was a Verizon purchase (unlocked of course). 

I made the change so it's not Global.  

 

 

[dust2dust]

What the heck is Network mode - Global? That should be something like 4G LTE and others if not 5G and others. Set it to 4G LTE and the others. In Network operators, connect to either AT&T or T-Mobile. Not Verizon. Leave the APN as it had been for being in Canada (assuming your data worked fine here).

It is interesting that you see the volte toggle. Can you go to settings, about phone, status information, sim card status and see if you can find any mention of IMS? And if so is it registered?
If you can get a call to work with some of the suggestions staying on 4G LTE then we can find some other evidence for volte. Some folks here say that having the volte toggle would suddenly make volte work. I doubt it. But you can help prove that one way or the other.

[hTideGnow]

HI @Colouratura 

so you tried AT&T and T-Mobile on 4G with VoLTE enabled on the phone?

if data works, use VoIP app TextNow for now to make calls, it uses data but it makes and receive calls on the app like a phone with another 10 digits number

[DennyCrane]

Unfortunately without VoLTE phone calls will be dependent on there being a TMobile 2G connection. As for data, try setting your Preferred Network to 4G because 5G AT&T doesn't work.

[will13am]

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@Colouratura wrote:

Hi. 

I'm on a Samsung S20+ 5G phone.  Is this an actually tech problem with my phone then?

I did try 2G setting and managed to get one really bad service call in on half a bar.    Then it went back to no service.  

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I have one of these phone running on the Public Mobile service that was purchased from Public Mobile.  The hardware and software are fully VoLTE compliant.  Check whether your specific phone is on the VoLTE whitelist.

https://www.telus.com/en/support/article/how-to-use-volte

[Colouratura]

Hi. 

I'm on a Samsung S20+ 5G phone.  Is this an actually tech problem with my phone then?

I did try 2G setting and managed to get one really bad service call in on half a bar.    Then it went back to no service.  

[will13am]

@Colouratura , as already mentioned your phone does not appear to be VoLTE enabled on the Public Mobile end.  Your only hope to connect to T-Mobile so that calls will come through via 2G assuming there is 2G coverage where you are located.  I would strongly discourage setting to the 2G network which will hurt data usage.  The phone will auto connect to 2G when doing a phone call, so forcing a 2G connection is totally unnecessary.  

[hairbag1]

@Colouratura 

try to select only using 2G instead of 5G or LTE. Talk works best with volte but sounds like it hasn't been turned on on your phone.