Continually losing connection to service for months now.

[PapaWolf65]

For the past month and a half, or two months, I continually lose connection to the network. I have gone through all of the troubleshooting steps (including having an agent remotely reset my settings) more times than I even care to remember. This started when PM announced their partnering with Telus, and has steadily gotten worse over the months. What makes this even worse, is when I try to log into my account to come here and get help, the two factor authentication wants to send me a verification code in order to log in to get help... How can I get the verification code when I can't connect to the netwrok to receive the text with the verification code?????
This needs to be addressed and fixed ASAP or I will be forced to find a new provider!

edited by computergeek541: inappropriate language removed

[hTideGnow]

HI @PapaWolf65 

Freedom is only good if you are in city most the time and don't go rural a lot or drive from city to city.  There is a reason the plan price is slightly better

[PapaWolf65]

I actually just tested my son's Freedom Mobile SIM in my phone and got even better signal than I did with Fido. I'm thinking I might need to switch to Freedom.... I hate losing all my rewards and such, but I've been without phone and text service for a couple of months now, and it's been a huge inconvenience.....

[sheytoon]

I don't think so 😔

[softech]

thanks @sheytoon .  So the *#0011# won't work on other Android at all? not even Pixel?

[sheytoon]

On Samsung phones you can dial *#0011# and take a screenshot of the signal stats. That will provide a lot of useful info.

The Fido SIM swap would indicate Bell has better coverage than Rogers at your location. Telus doesn't build outdoor sites in Belleville at all.

The other suggestion that you've received which could be helpful is to change your network mode to WCDMA (i.e. 3G) and see if there's any improvement.

[maximum_gato]

@dust2dust 

And here....

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Announcements/Plan-updates-new-10-limited-talk-and-te...

[dust2dust]

Yes we should. Or freaking well use industry standard implementations to turn on volte for all. Not their special little protectionist proprietary method that they can select what devices to allow.

[maximum_gato]

@PapaWolf65 

Try toggling airplane mode on/off to see if you can re-establish your network connection. You may need to get closer to your cell tower to connect again. 

For the moment once you do reconnect to the 3G network for voice calls try and call forward your phone number to a voip provider like textnow.....this may or may not be possible since the introduction of VoLTE messed up call forwarding.

Hmmmm....shouldn't we be getting a discount for this missing feature of our plans?🤔

[dust2dust]

Don't bother with GSM here. It doesn't exist. Only Rogers etc. Your 3G plan is only 3G speed. It doesn't affect what network you connect to. If you choose the LTE etc option then it would connect to LTE and then calls would be on WCDMA. If you choose WCDMA etc or only then everything would work without any switching. But it's suggested to just leave it on LTE etc. And leave the auto network as you have it.

[PapaWolf65]

I probably should have mentioned, I'm on a 3G only plan... I've tried all the settings from the two auto ones (LTE/WCDMA/GSM and WCDMA/GSM) and the WCDMA only and GSM only, and it doesn't change anything with regard to connecting to the PM network.... Pretty frustrating, as I have several calls and texts I need to send, but have no service to do so.......

[PapaWolf65]

Now I'm confused Gato.... I read on a few other sites that a lower dBm number was better than a higher one.... They said that -150 dBm is a dead signal, whereas -50 dBm to -65 dBm was best signal.....

[dust2dust]

@maximum_gato- Lucky you. Did you get my tag in another earlier thread?

[maximum_gato]

@PapaWolf65 

Unless you set your phone to 3G or WCDMA only your signal strength reading will default to 4G LTE.

Ideally you want your 3G signal between -60dBm and -80dBm. Anything lower than -100dBm is the trouble zone. Mobile data can be used on the 4G LTE network with a signal as low as -116dBm.

On a recent camping trip with my signal fluctuating between -114dBm and -127dBm I just gave up and set my phone to 3G. The signal hovered around -100dBm and it worked fine for hotspotting data along with calls and texts.

@dust2dust 

I noticed my Google pixel 4 now has VoLTE.

[PapaWolf65]

No, it doesn't actually time out with a message, just sits on that rotating circle thing saying trying to register. Then after a while just nothing, no message, no connection, etc.... It's a Canadian version phone.

[dust2dust]

Good. I'm firmly opposed to hot-swapping. It just doesn't feel right to me. My other phone shows Telus but works fine. Does it actually time out and say so?

Is this a Canadian version of the phone? Or an international? Also why the specific model number is being asked for above.

[PapaWolf65]

Sorry, didn't see this til now Gato. Model is SM-G986W

[PapaWolf65]

No, not hot swapping. Turning phones off to switch SIMS. Auto network is set. But I tried to choose my own network afterwards and Public Mobile doesn't even come up, just Telus, and when I select it it just keeps trying to register for the longest time but never does.

[dust2dust]

One of my phones also got those updates to A13 and 1UI 5.1 and security May 1. Suddenly 5G appeared in the networks list as an option. Suddenly volte worked. I can choose the 5G etc option and when I turn on data the 5G icon shows up up top. That would mean there's 5G in my area. But the fact the 5G shows up as an option doesn't mean there's 5G in the area.

So it's interesting that that update didn't bring those features.

Adding - do you "hot-swap" the sims? Can you check again with the networks to make sure it's set to 4G/LTE etc. Also turn on automatic networks.

[PapaWolf65]

Yeah I noticed that when looking at coverage maps too Gato... I just tried something here with my buddy's phone, switching his Fido SIM into my phone, and my PM SIM in his phone... Here's what happened..

My phone (S20 Plus 5G) with Fido SIM: SIM status info - between -137 dBm and -119 dBm with ASU fluctuating between 14 and 20.... LTE on both network types

His Phone (Galaxy A51) with PM SIM: SIM status info - between -119 dBm and -116 dBm with ASU fluctuating between 24 and 28. LTE on both network types

Now... When I put my SIM back into my own phone I get cell bars, but it says emergency calls only. I check the SIM status and it says signal strength is -113 dBm 0 asu.... But it says no service under the Network name, and it shows LTE under mobile data type, but unknown under voice network type...

[maximum_gato]

@PapaWolf65 

What's your model#? SM-G781U1?

[softech]

@maximum_gato you are right, no 5G right in DT Belleville according to Telus Coverage map.  But there are 5G just outside of it (weird)  So, depends where OP lives

[maximum_gato]

@PapaWolf65 

Well Belleville is a bit of a puzzler as it appears to be underserved by all of the big 3 but telus has more towers than the bell and rogers but you have bell on your side as well. However your quadrant east of the river and below college st is only served by one telus tower limited to band 5 in fact of the few 3G towers only half have band 2 and band 5 with nearly all of them adjacent to the Highway. There's a bit of the "Manitoba" problem it seems....? I don't really see any zone coverage close to Bleecker and Pine unless the data hasn't been reported to cellmapper? Your closest tower is on College east of Stanley with Band 5 only. 

We need the engineer's technical expertise (and insider knowledge) to understand what's going on with network coverage in Belleville. I think you can boost your signal as it's relatively flat between you and your tower from what I can tell?

Edit:

@softech  No 5G in Belleville yet.....or reported yet?

[PapaWolf65]

Ahh I didn't know that about Bell and Telus Gato.  But I did a deep dive research trying to find at least a temporary fix and discovered something... Apparently it's not PM, it's the operating system on my phone. There are many reports that the new update for Android phones, One UI 5.1 is causing all kinds of problems (which I have also noticed over the past couple of months. Battery draining issues, WiFi connection issues, and mobile network connection issues. My phone updated to 5.0 in April, and then to 5.1 May 1st.... That's right around when my issues started. If anyone else is also having any of these issues, then it's most likely you are using One UI 5.0 or 5.1.....

However, in case this is not my issue, I welcome any other suggestions.

[softech]

@PapaWolf65 

for your 2FA issue, you can ask the system to send the code to your email and hope it helps in the meantime 

On the screen it is expecting you to enter the code, click Resend code and then choose Send email

For your network issue, was it both voice and data with the problem? or was it just voice??  just data?

is the connection any better when you are away from your usual area? away from Belleville?

What is your setup with Preferred network type (or Network mode) on your phone now? 

On the phone status, is it showing connected to 4G? LTE? or 5G?

And last, you try another provider sim card on your phone? or your tried your sim on another phone?

[maximum_gato]

@PapaWolf65 

Telus and Bell have a network sharing agreement so you will connect to your nearest telus or bell tower anywhere in Canada.

Thank you for the postal code I'll have a look see at the map.....

[PapaWolf65]

We also Have Bell providers in our area Gato. That's what I was going to be looking at... But if someone can help me fix this here, I would like to keep my rewards and such. My postal code is xxxxxxx.

[maximum_gato]

@PapaWolf65 

That leaves you with only one choice.....Roger's. If you are seriously considering leaving be sure to test the service of the new provider before porting your phone # out as it would be a shame to lose your rewards account if they cannot offer you better service.

While pm paid customer support has let you down you haven't let the unpaid sometimes rewarded customers that provide community support really roll up their sleeves and try and find a solution. We have experts we haven't called in yet that may be able to provide additional insight like @sheytoon or maybe @Nezgar ?

And a more precise location would be immensely helpful? Care to share your postal code perhaps? Sometimes a cell tower is taken out of commission for longer than expected due to storm damage or vandalism.

[PapaWolf65]

The issue with signing into my account is the two factor verification. I can't receive the code they send me to login because of the lost network connection.
I turned the phone off, removed the sim, turned it back on, then turned it off again and reinserted the sim and that fixed the issue for a bit, like all the other trouble shooting options I've tried.... The network connection was lost again shortly after, just like it has with all other options.... 

Thanks to you and Gato for trying to help here esjliv, but I'm tired of dealing with this issue for about two months now, with what amounts to zero actual customer service.... I spoke with two of my tenants today, who are both Telus customers, and they have both said they have been having a lot of connection issues for the past couple of months as well..... So I'm gonna have to find a new provider. I can't justify paying for a service that I very rarely even get to use because it's down so much. It's a shame too, because I've been with PM for many years now, and never had any real issues at all until this........

[esjliv]

@PapaWolf65 - 3 bars is better than what I usually show which is 2, sometimes 1 bar. But I don't loose connection to services.

Changing your network to WCDMA Only may help with a greater signal, but I wouldn't recommend keeping it there; I feel automatic is better to leave it on and forget it. But there are times WCDMA only is needed to even use services depending on where you are.

When you go to other areas away from your location do you experience better services? I would guess yes. If so, then your area is obviously having issues.

Are you still having issues getting into My Account? Try a tab in incognito mode then try again. If still issues, what about using the "Forgot your password or email" option? Does that guide you to get to where you need to go?

[maximum_gato]

@PapaWolf65 

Basic instructions on how to use the cell mapper site can be found here....

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/US-Roaming-Add-ons-Decommissioning-of-US-...

And the cell mapper link...

https://www.cellmapper.net/map?MCC=302&MNC=220