Roaming U.S not working

[Jodysb]

My mother and sister are in the U.S and their roaming is not working. No calls or data. My mother has the add on for talk and my sister has a plan that includes U.S roaming talk and data. Neither one can make a call. Have tried all the standard troubleshooting. They can't even get a text to log into account. Which is why I'm posting.

[slusagm]

@Jodysb 

not the VoLTE rollout but the end of 3G network

the end of 3G network started in Jan for Manitoba, but for the other provinces, it will be March 2027

They don't turn off all 3G in the province overnight, they do it days, weeks and even months (it took US for over 6 months to turn off 85% of the 3G network in the country).     That's why someone in Manitoba still using 3G with a non compatible phone now, but someone already have no voice calls for 3 weeks if they don't have a VoLTE compatible phones

In short, both your phones not compatible, both are using 3G for voice even you are using 4G or 5G for data and text.  

you are in US and voice does not work because US has no 3G network now and you need VoLTE, your phones have it but not compatible with PM

If you are not in Manitoba, you will be ok when you are back in Canada, but time to shop for a new phone

[Jodysb]

It looks like volte rollout already happened March of this year and their phones worked all this month.

[slusagm]

The phone was using 4g or 5g for data, but when you make calls, it connects back to 3g.  This is how all non VoLTE  compatible phones actw

[Jodysb]

These phones are not using 3g, in Canada or the U.S. the lg has been used in the U.S before. Even if they were incompatible for U.S they both support 4 and 5g in Canada. 

[slusagm]

@Jodysb yes , both LG Velvet and Samsung A51 are not on PM's whitelist.  They have VOLTE but not compatible here

Now, you only have problem in US because their 3G network is decommissioned.  But our 3G network in Canada will be decommissioned soon too, next March.  So, you need a new phone 

[Jodysb]

Both my sisters phone A51 and my mother's the LG velvet are capable of VoLTE. A fact confirmed by a simple Google search. Yet support is saying my sister's A51 is not capable.

[Jodysb]

One is LG velvet the other is a newer Samsung phone not sure if model. I did confirm that text is working but still no calls. 

[softech]

@Jodysb 

5G capable phones do not necessarily mean they are compatible with PM's VoLTE system.  Most grey market phones or phones sold and designed solely for Asian/European markets are not on PM's VoLTE whitelist.  Please use the IMEI checker to confirm if your phone is on the whitelist

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

[Jodysb]

Both 5g capable phones. They may get texts I may have misunderstood but they definitely do not receive or make calls. They made Facebook calls from public  Wi-Fi connection.

[hairbag1]

@Jodysb 

they should both recieve sms regardless. Make sure to enable Roaming to get data working. If they have older cellphones, they might not be able to call due to lack of VoLTE. Here's some reading on the subject with a device checker at the end of the article...

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

[softech]

@Jodysb 

Critical part to US roaming depends on T-Mobile/AT&T/Verizon coverage and whether you can connect successfully onto either network.

If the phone is not connecting to T-Mobile/AT&T/Verizon, change the Network Connection from Automatic to Manual and select and test each of the three and see which one you can connect and work best

If your issue is with data, make sure your Roaming Mobile data is enabled and you have disabled your mobile data limiter.  Also change your network mode to 4G (and don't try 5G until you can connect and works on 4G)

If your issue is with voice, use the IMEI checker to check if your phone is VoLTE whitelisted by PM here:
https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/get-help/articles/volte

If your phone is capable with PM's VoLTE, you might want to enable VoLTE on your device if you see the option there (although most phones would have that enabled already and the option is hidden)
If your phone is not on PM's VoLTE whitelist, you might need to use some VoIP app like TextNow as a workaround