Service Issues

[Mia]

I am not sure what is going on, but lately the service in my home and community has been all over the place. I have 4 bars, and I don't move my phone at all, and suddenly it drops the call and there is no service at all.  It's been going on for months...I am not used to this online only customer support thing, so I didn't know how to get help with the issue and I only hope someone can tell me why it is so spotty lately.

[will13am]

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@Mia wrote:

You are correct, the signal for the phone is strong for the most part along highway 4, but drops off and on through out stirling.

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Coverage problems are not so easy to deal with at the individual user level.  If an area of the country is not well covered, Telus needs to consider and include it in future tower upgrades.  The timing for such upgrades are difficult to predict.  The only solution is to perhaps consider the competition (Rogers).

[Mia]

You are correct, the signal for the phone is strong for the most part along highway 4, but drops off and on through out stirling.

[Mia]

My brother has stated that his phone has been acting up for quite some time, so I am not sure that it is my sim card. I am not saying that isn't; but if it is the service provided by public mobile then is there something they can do to fix it? My brother, sister-in-law, son and I are all on public mobile.

[Mia]

I will let you know, I am hoping it is not my sim card. I don't see any damage or turning to the card at all. So I will let you know for sure shortly. Thank you so much!

[CalgaryBen]

@Mia, I had a look at OpenSignal (a crowd-sourced cell signal strength tracker), and see that TELUS/Koodo/PM signal in Stirling is a bit weak (lots of red dots) in the town, and improves along Hwy 4. Is that consistent with your observations?

Rogers' signal is actually quite good in Stirling (lots of green dots). What carrier are your brother and his wife on?

My TowerLocator app shows that there's a Rogers tower just east of Stirling, while TELUS towers are near Raymond and New Dayton, so a ways from where you are.  That might explain discrepancies in performance, especially if your brother and his wife happen to be on Rogers/Fido.  If they're also on TELUS/Koodo/PM, then I'd concur with other posters here about it being isolated to your handset/SIM.

I'm usually a huge proponent of TELUS and its subsidiaries, especially in rural Alberta/BC (going back to the AGT Mobility days when they were a pioneering force behind the cellular network buildout), but I have to acknowledge/credit Rogers (then AT&T CANTEL) for having a few more towers (and therefore better signal) in your area. 

[cltrecartin]

If the coverage map on here indicates you should have good service, and the issue is happening across multiple devices with the same SIM, I think you've narrowed it down to the SIM card. Unfortunately they can be damaged inadvertently.

When you've taken the SIM out of the phone to switch it to another, have you noticed any bends/kinks on the edges? I've had one bent slightly on one corner (the cardboard bit rather than the actual board) so it wasn't really touching the connector. Adjusting that part may assist. 

At the end of the day, though, I'd suggest getting your hands on a new SIM when you can. And until then, perhaps check with other PM users in your area to see if they're getting the same issue. It's uncommon, but tower issues do happen.

[will13am · Accepted solution]

@Mia, if you don't get a favorable solution via the moderator team and you can tolerate waiting up to a week, I can mail you a SIM card via snail mail.  Send me a private message with receiving address. 

[JL9]

Good luck with resolving this. Hope that works 🙂

[NDesai]

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@Mia wrote:

No damage to my phone at all, and I have tried other phones and have had the same issues. My brother and his wife have tried their sims in my phone and had no issues, so I don't know if it is my sim card...but I can't afford to buy a new one right now, money is very tight.

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Seems like it is a faulty sim card. Get in touch with the Moderator_Team with an explanation and they might give you a new sim.

[Mia]

I lived in Warner Alberta, and moved last month to Stirling, Alberta and the service here was good for 2 weeks and now it is doing it again.

[Mia]

No damage to my phone at all, and I have tried other phones and have had the same issues. My brother and his wife have tried their sims in my phone and had no issues, so I don't know if it is my sim card...but I can't afford to buy a new one right now, money is very tight.

My son's phone was doing the same thing, but his phone got stolen today so I guess that doesn't matter anymore. I will be cancelling his plan as I just have zero extra dollars to replace his sim card, and phone.

[Anonymous]

@Mia, Any chance your phone was dropped, got wet, or otherwise damaged just before this started happening?  Do you have access to another phone you can try with your SIM, or another PM customer's SIM you could try in your phone?

Where abouts are you located?  Perhaps there are others in your neighborhood who may or may not be seeing the same thing.