Does the USA Roaming Package Add-on Work?

[Bullet77]

I am now in the new rewards and kinda wished I never switched , but anyway I have been keeping 15 points just in case I ever went to the USA, I could pick up  the 10 day USA roaming package add on with points.

But when you read the community forums all you see and read is people wanting a credit when they get back as the packaged didn't work.

Can anyone verify they have successfuly used the USA roaming add on. If not I will just get another $15.00 off my next bill.

[darlicious]

@Dando 

Depending on your normal monthly data usage acquiring an account with the legacy $60 Canada/US 8.5gb/2gb Roaming plan could work for your needs keeping it suspended for periods of up to 90 days when no US travel is planned. It could be used as a wifi Hotspot to supplement domestic data and/or for Canada wide calling and US calling for family/home phone if downgrading personal phone plans to the $15 plan would help offset the $60 plan cost. 🤔😉

[dust2dust]

@Dando- Use a dual sim phone and get a cheap US service. I found one called Red Pocket Mobile on ebay. Prepaid for a year averaging $2.50US per 30 days which is when the counters reset.

[Dando]

Hi, is there a way to get a suggestion to the Moderators or the Company about US Roaming?  We live close to the border and often cross to Washington State for a day or two.  The 10 day Roaming package is really overkill, but a 3 day package would be great, allowing for a weekend or day trip.  It could be priced at half of the 10 day price and still be more profitable for Public Mobile.  Can you assist in getting this idea pushed up?  Thanks.

[Bullet77]

I will try it when go to Montana, but  like you said lots of open spaces there too. Lots of buffalos and rattlesnakes that don't use phones there too. LOL. I will try the addon, but I also have wifi calling  and text messenging for Canada and the USA as a back up. I would think the addon would be great in Vegas , Seattle or Portland, but not sure about Great Falls or Kalispell Montana

I will post what my results are when I get back too.

[darlicious]

@Bullet77 

Have you ever used a US Roaming add on? Of all of the replies you recieved the vast majority of them have not actually used them. If you went by all of the autopay failure posts you would think it's completely unreliable but that's because the community gets far more complaints than compliments. There are many tens of thousands of customers who never ever have an autopay failure....unless they forget to update their expired card. There are many thousands of customers who use US Roaming add ons without issue other than the current voice call limitations. If you properly prepare yourself before leaving for the US so you know how to properly connect to T-Mobile and figure out your back up plan for voice calls then you probably won't have an issue. There is a need to understand that the US does not have the same kind of seemless and extensive coverage that Canada has via the big three and Saskatel. They have great coverage in urban centers but in rural areas they more often than not have poor coverage. This is not the fault of pm its the US networks that lack coverage because they invest in their infrastructure where the most possible customers live....since they can't sell phones and plans to cows or bears or trees they don't invest very much in areas where flora and fauna outnumber humans. That's why coverage in Alaska really sucks! Bears don't have a lot of disposable income to spend on staying connected.

[Bullet77]

So I guess I will never use the USA roaming package. Thanks for all the posts.

[Christine_Bird]

@darlicious thank you for the links!

[Christine_Bird]

@softech thank you so much for this information! 

[darlicious]

@Bullet77 

US Roaming data works perfectly fine with T-Mobile's 4G LTE network. Using it in conjunction with a voip provider like textnow will allow you to use all services just not all services will be with your pm phone number. Incoming and outgoing voice calls will be with your textnow phone number as will SMS Texts however you will still recieve incoming pm SMS texts. Both incoming and outgoing MMS should work with the US Roaming data add on.

For more info on US Roaming please see this post.....

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

You may also want to follow along with this thread as another member has kindly agreed to do some testing while in the US....

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/Call-forwarding-while-roaming/td-p/899228

@Christine_Bird 

The above threads may be of interest to you as well.

[darlicious]

@Christine_Bird 

Your MMS should work with the US Roaming data add on. Using a voip provider as suggested by @softech is the best option for talk as T-Mobile's 2G network is the only option for voice services and is location dependent. 

[softech]

@Christine_Bird  if you need to make calls, download free VoIP app TextNow.  

You will select a new 10 digits number during registration.  You can then use the app to make free calls and send text  to Canada and US.  It will work as long as you have Wifi or Mobile Data.  You can also give the number to your friends for them to call you and text you to that number

[Christine_Bird]

Ahh, ok, that is likely the issue. I only bought the 250 Data. I thought that text would be included, but I guess not. 

Thank you! 

[softech]

@Christine_Bird   which Roaming add-on did you get? 

If you get only Data roaming add-on, as the name suggested, that only work for data but NOT text or Talk. 

You need to buy roaming that include Talk and Text to be able to make and receive calls and send text.  (Yes, receiving text is always free, just not sending)

[Christine_Bird]

I am having issues with the Data/Roaming package I purchased. Incoming texts are working, but every time I try to send a text I get an error "Sorry, your plan does not include sending texts while in the US, Add a US roaming plan" which I have, I can see it on my account! 

Also, I cannot make phone calls or check my voicemail. My phone says it's connected to T-Mobile, and my Roaming is turned on. 

I'd really like to get this fixed while I am here (only for 4 more days); and I plan on travelling to the USA for 2 months this winter. Guess I might need to get a local SIM next time. 

[mojorising]

T-Mobile.

[hTideGnow]

Thanks @mojorising   for confirming.  Roaming is hit or miss these days

So, do you remember which network you were using?  T-Mobile or AT&T ?   The Community is puzzled if AT&T still works, many said they cannot connect to AT&T

[mojorising]

I was in Los Angeles back in September for 10 days and the 1GB roaming data I bought worked without a problem. 

[hairbag1]

During the summer, I went on a short 2 day trip to eastern Washington state area. I had mixed results. I found I had to manually select T-Mobile as the preferred network on the phone...AT&T just didn't work at all.

I found I could make calls and use data whilst I was in most larger towns...but as I moved away from larger areas, reliability diminished considerably. Texting was mostly ok...but slow.

If you're planning on being in US for awhile...I'd suggest getting a local sim and a cheap plan.

[Yummy · Accepted solution]

It depends on your luck. Some people have luck with data. Most people do not have luck with calls at all.

[dabr]

@Bullet77   Some customers have had success (not 100% of the time) using the roaming add-ons and others, as you've noted, not so much and then had to request a refund if they were unable to use their roaming purchase. 

Depending on how long your trip down south is going to be for, you might want to look into getting a local SIM instead.

[ZuckMark]

PM as well as we are Canadians. And the USA is a different country fella. Meaning that not PM nor we have control over US mobile carriers, services, and network coverage. Keep in mind that the US has shut down the 3G Network and in PM we do work as a 3G Network band switch.

[ZuckMark]

Not guaranteed. They might work they might not. And BTW this is a PREPAID service, there is no such thing as your next bill. P R E P A I D