Community

sharonschaler · ‎02-25-2023

Lately I have a lot of dropped calls and very poor reception, breaking up, etc. My partner who uses Public Mobile as well, is having the same issue. When we were with Bell Mobility this never happened. Can you please provide an explanation.

will13am · ‎02-26-2023

In theory what you say makes sense. However, Bell and Telus do not share network equipment. There can be performance differences between the two brands.

Swagoto1 · ‎02-25-2023

This can happen for a lot of reason for example

- Old phone

- Needs software update

- The cell phone tower you are close to is used mostly for the bell

- It also probably happened for the change in weather

LitlLdy · ‎02-25-2023

@computergeek541 wrote:
@will13am wrote:
@LitlLdy , in most jurisdictions, Bell and Telus have tower sharing agreements. A Bell tower can be carrying Telus gear. I would say that forcing a phone to 3G should not help with network performance. If the phone can't connect to the LTE network, it would auto navigate to 3G. That's why the settings menus say LTE preferred, recognizing that auto transfer to 3G is possible. These days LTE is far more ubiquitous. Spectrum is being repurposed from 3G to LTE. Although Canada is behind the US, 3G shutdown is happening in a couple of years.
As more and more 3G spectrum is repurposed to either LTE or 5G, 3G is going to continue to get worse. It used to be that this was a good troubleshooting technique for Public Mobile, but other than for a quick test, it's probably now a bad idea to leave a phone on 3G-only. Customers would be missing on the improving infrasttructure of newer networks but locking on to a network that will continue to deteriorate. There was a point about a year ago, that the 3G network became unusable for me when trying to use data. I used to be one of the people who set the netowrk to 3G but it became no longer feasible when I 3G data stopped working for me in some places. For these reasons, it would be my suggestion for others to no longer recommened the 3G-only network setting. I believe customers are going to be much better off setting your phone to the highest level type of network that your device is capable of.

I should have added that when I leave my phone on LTE with Public Mobile my signal is down to 2 bars or worse then more calls go to voicemail instead of ringing or I end up with dropped calls! With Lucky Mobile I can leave it on LTE & do fine plus also works inside stores while shopping but with Public Mobile my phone doesn’t work at all (no signal) while inside stores! If Bell & Telus share towers I would think it should be the same signal strength!

computergeek541 · ‎02-25-2023

@will13am wrote:
There's no need for nastiness. Oracles are not almighty, in fact we are just as human as the next customer. To the best of our abilities, we try to offer evidence based feedback. Personally, I am very confident the transition to VoLTE will not be a last minute rush before 3G is sunsetted.

Nothing is ever last minute. Things take time to test and implement. Companies don't just decide to wait until couple days before shutting off 3g to implement VoLTE. Doing so would just be too risky.

will13am · ‎02-25-2023

There's no need for nastiness. Oracles are not almighty, in fact we are just as human as the next customer. To the best of our abilities, we try to offer evidence based feedback. Personally, I am very confident the transition to VoLTE will not be a last minute rush before 3G is sunsetted.

computergeek541 · ‎02-25-2023

@wetcoaster wrote:
Ok, I'll bite and risk being banned for having the audacity of disagreeing with the almighty oracles, but here it goes:

IMHO it depends on the reasons one has for choseing the 3G network setting.
Your points are valid when we're talking about data.
However, as long as VoLTE is not accessible to Public Mobile customers*, having the preferred setting at 3G can help with reliability of receiving calls in areas with less than ideal coverage because the phone doesn't need to drop down from 4G. I have considerably less calls going directly to voicemail when the phone is on 3G in the area I rely the most on being able to take incoming calls.
No problems with the switch from 4G to 3G for calls at my friend's place, 2km as the crow flies (LTE and 3G go).

* And... I have tried to figure out what that "promise of VoLTE at Public Mobile in the near future", that is thrown out there so often, is based on? Personally I just can't believe the rumour - as long as we don't have an official statement about it there's as much of a chance that 3G only voice will be a PM feature until the decommisioning of 3G in Canada...

For best reliability of services, customers need to be allowing the device to connect to whichever networks are available. Taking steps to limit the types of networks that can be connected to will lead to a decrease in service reliability.

wetcoaster · ‎02-25-2023

will13am · ‎02-25-2023

To this point, Telus does not have tower sharing with Bell in YWG and YBR. On 3G, the only connection is on B2. On 4G and 5G, there's all sorts of bandwidth. There's never going to be any investment to improve 3G. They will simply limp to the finish line with an ever diminishing resource.

computergeek541 · ‎02-25-2023

@will13am wrote:
@LitlLdy , in most jurisdictions, Bell and Telus have tower sharing agreements. A Bell tower can be carrying Telus gear. I would say that forcing a phone to 3G should not help with network performance. If the phone can't connect to the LTE network, it would auto navigate to 3G. That's why the settings menus say LTE preferred, recognizing that auto transfer to 3G is possible. These days LTE is far more ubiquitous. Spectrum is being repurposed from 3G to LTE. Although Canada is behind the US, 3G shutdown is happening in a couple of years.

As more and more 3G spectrum is repurposed to either LTE or 5G, 3G is going to continue to get worse. It used to be that this was a good troubleshooting technique for Public Mobile, but other than for a quick test, it's probably now a bad idea to leave a phone on 3G-only. Customers would be missing on the improving infrasttructure of newer networks but locking on to a network that will continue to deteriorate. There was a point about a year ago, that the 3G network became unusable for me when trying to use data. I used to be one of the people who set the netowrk to 3G but it became no longer feasible when I 3G data stopped working for me in some places. For these reasons, it would be my suggestion for others to no longer recommened the 3G-only network setting. I believe customers are going to be much better off setting your phone to the highest level type of network that your device is capable of.

will13am · ‎02-25-2023

@LitlLdy , in most jurisdictions, Bell and Telus have tower sharing agreements. A Bell tower can be carrying Telus gear. I would say that forcing a phone to 3G should not help with network performance. If the phone can't connect to the LTE network, it would auto navigate to 3G. That's why the settings menus say LTE preferred, recognizing that auto transfer to 3G is possible. These days LTE is far more ubiquitous. Spectrum is being repurposed from 3G to LTE. Although Canada is behind the US, 3G shutdown is happening in a couple of years.

LitlLdy · ‎02-25-2023

@will13am wrote:
@sharonschaler , please use this cell tower map see what coverage is like in your area. Clicking on a tower will give you information of the bands on the tower. This might help to explain calling performance.

https://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/cancellsites.html?lat=50.042129&lng=-100.058670&zoom=10&type=Roa...

@will13am , thank you for sharing the link. I was curious so I looked up my area which only shows Bell & Rogers cell towers! I have great signal with Rogers & Bell (Lucky) but Telus (Public Mobile) not so good! I keep my phone on 3g though. I keep getting told Telus & Bell share towers but when comparing signal & dropped calls Public Mobile has issues for me!

sharonschaler · ‎02-25-2023

Text Now is a good idea thank you! Here is hoping that VoLTE will be here soon. Thanks again!

softech · ‎02-25-2023

@sharonschaler there are rumours that PM will enable VoLTE soon. Once this is enabled, all calls can use LTE as well and calls will be less an issue

Another thing you might want to consider is to get a VoIP app like TextNow as a backup. You can make calls and receive calls using the TextNow app which you will pick another local 10 digits number. You can even setup Forward when unavailable to your TextNow number, so instead of calls being routed to voicemail, it will get routed to your TextNow number and the TextNow app will ring. Hope this can help before VoLTE is enabled here

sharonschaler · ‎02-25-2023

Thank you again, sad to say though I doubt if they will send a technician because we are in a remote area in the Yukon, but we do have the bell tower in our small town of 500. I will keep this information for followup should others in the community who use PM have similar issues. Most people here use Bell, Koodo, or Virgin Mobile.

softech · ‎02-25-2023

@sharonschaler if you continue getting poor voice reception or dropped calls issue in a particular place (like your home or work), I strongly suggest you to open to ticket with PM support so they are aware of it. Maybe it is a known issue and they have a ETA for a fix, or maybe they can send technician to check the network tower there

To engage PM support:

1. Please open ticket via Chatbot (need access to My Account): At https://publicmobile.ca/chatbot.

Start by typing "Submit a ticket", then click "Contact Us", Then click "Other", then click "Click here to submit a ticket ↗"

2. If you have trouble with Chatbot or you don't have access to My Account: Private message CS Agent at:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

**Monitor your Community inbox (envelope icon on the top right) after the ticket is opened. CS Agent will reply to you there

sharonschaler · ‎02-25-2023

Thank you very much, your explanation was extremely helpful, thank you for your support, time, and patience.

sharonschaler · ‎02-25-2023

Thank you very much, your explanation was extremely helpful, thank you for your support, time, and patience.

softech · ‎02-25-2023

@sharonschaler depends on your plan, you can have faster data speed 🙂

first, I have emphasized that, PM ONLY uses 3G network for voice calls, this is for everyone whether they have 3G speed plan or 4G speed plan

if you are on 4G speed plan now, yes, with LTE settings, you will get as much as 100Mpbs data speed, but again, when voice calls come, the phone needs to switch it back to 3G to take the calls. So, you will have slower data speed if you currently have 4G speed plan

If you are on 3G speed plan, when you connect to LTE , the speed is capped at 3Mpbs. But if you change it to 3G setting, Pm will give you the full 3G data speed, which can go up to 15Mbps usually (could also be slightly higher). But while 3G could get a higher speed compare with LTE setting if you have 3G speed plan, the latency on 3G network is higher. So, there is good or bad. However, with your phone locked on 3G network, it saved the phone from switching network when calls are made or received, less calls will be dropped. But this setting won't improve the voice quality itself.

sharonschaler · ‎02-25-2023

Oh, I forgot to mention my choices in settings is either LTE or 3G

sharonschaler · ‎02-25-2023

Thank you for a good reply. While you were answering my question I googled the difference between LTE and 3G And this was the response : "LTE provides fast data download speeds of several 100th megabits per second (Mbps), compared to several 10th Mbps for 3G, meaning that LTE is 5-10 times faster than 3G. LTE can support data, voice (VoLTE), instant messaging and video on smartphones and tablets over a single interface."

Your explanation seems to indicate that I should not suffer any consequences by switching, but the googled response seems rather scary to me.

softech · ‎02-25-2023

@sharonschaler Usually people leave it on LTE or 4G and the phone will connect using LTE or 4G. When calls come, the phone will switch to 3G and it could take times or it could take longer if the 3G signal is poor

You can leave it on 3G so it saves the phone time in network mod switching, which could cause less call being dropped and sent to voicemail. However, in terms of call quality itslef , this won't change

I would say if you are on 3G speed plan, leaving it on 3G won't do any harm at all. if you are on 4G speed plan now, the data speed will be slower, which is not ideal, but again, this could help in terms of incoming voice calls being dropped

You can try to leave it in 3G (or WCDMA) for a day and see if you like it. If you don't, you can always change it back to Automatic or 4G/LTE anytime

sharonschaler · ‎02-25-2023

If I change the setting from LTE to 3G, what will happen. I ask because I remember when we set up the phone with PM that it was recommended to use LTE.

sharonschaler · ‎02-25-2023

Thank you for sending me these links. The tower is right here in our small town. It is Bell Tower. I will keep both these links for reference in future.

softech · ‎02-25-2023

@sharonschaler

for iPhone

Press Settings.
Press Mobile Data.
Press Mobile Data Options.
Press Voice & Data.
To use 3G for both voice calls and mobile data, press 3G

For Android

From home screen, tap Apps Applications icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap More networks.
Tap Mobile networks.
Tap Network mode.
Tap the appropriate setting: 3G or WCDMA.

will13am · ‎02-25-2023

Unless you believe loose SIM card is a possible problem, I am not too sure how this helps.

sharonschaler · ‎02-25-2023

Pixel 4a, Android V13

will13am · ‎02-25-2023

@sharonschaler , please use this cell tower map see what coverage is like in your area. Clicking on a tower will give you information of the bands on the tower. This might help to explain calling performance.

https://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/cancellsites.html?lat=50.042129&lng=-100.058670&zoom=10&type=Roa...

sharonschaler · ‎02-25-2023

Where do I find the Network Mode and if it is the problem, how do I change it?

sharonschaler · ‎02-25-2023

Unfortunately I am never out of the area so cannot verify if that is the issue. Thank you for the suggestion.

hTideGnow · ‎02-25-2023

HI @sharonschaler

what make and model is your phone?

Try to reseat your sim card with a reboot

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Dropped calls