Does US data = US roaming?

[vwprince]

Hi there, my subscription plan indicates that I have 20GB data within US, and unlimited US wide minutes and messaging. Does this mean I have free US roaming? If so, does it mean that I can simply take my phone from Canada to the US and continue using without additional action required?  Urgent reply please as I am travelling to the US soon. Thanks.

[DennyCrane]

You're good for VoLTE then.

Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Data Roaming = On

[vwprince]

Thanks for the response. I have an iPhone 16. Do you know what are the steps to "turn on" roaming? Or is it set to auto by default? I do not see a toggle to turn on roaming. Thanks!

[eddieO · Accepted solution]

@vwprince, as already shared, if you have the Canada-US or Canada-US-Mexico plan you can continue to use your phone in the US as if you were in Canada. Just make sure you have Data roaming turned on. You should be able to automatically connect to either of the partner carriers (T-Mobile, AT&T or Verizon). If you get a welcome message when crossing the boarder that says Welcome to the US, if you'd like to buy a roaming add-on,... etc, just ignore it, it gets automatically sent. What phone do you have? Hopefully it has VoLTE enabled on the PM network, if not, you will have issues with voice calling/receiving and will need to manually connect to T-Mobile's 2G network if it is available in your location. If not you'll need to rely on apps like WhatsApp, Messenger etc. but text and data will work no problem

[DennyCrane]

If your plan is a Canada/US plan, then yes you can use it freely to roam in the US at no extra charge. Make sure to turn data roaming on in your phone settings. It includes data, calls, and texts; though calling is dependent on having a VoLTE device because the US shut their 3G networks down. What phone do you have?

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/get-help/articles/volte

[hTideGnow]

hi @vwprince 

are you looking to buy US roaming data addon?

Yes, the US data is the roaming data.  You can buy that addon to use data in US.  the US roaming data does not include voice and sms, if you need all those, you need to buy the US roaming Bundle

but if you have a Canada-US plan, then the data, voice, and text are all  included

[Yummy]

That is correct. You do not pay any extra for using your phone in USA