Service outside of London

[pc1]

Hi,

I just ported from Fido to PM yesterday!  In London, ON I get great 4G service; however, pretty much as soon as I leave city limits, I have no service at all -- no data, voice or SMS.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[imm1304]

There are a couple of people who have made posts about using the Xiaomi Note 3 with PM.  

As long as its their international/global version, it should work.

The specs you posted are compatible with PM.. both 3G and 4G.  Not sure why willmyphonework.net is not showing a solid green check mark.  

I just did some digging... its because even the global one doesnt have the 700 band.  

You will be fine using this phone with PM.  Most of the LTE is done on the Band 4 (1700/2100) and on occasions where the 700 band is dominant in an area, your phone will drop down to the H/H+ connection.  

Just make sure you do NOT buy the Chinese or any other Asian regional version.  They tend to use different bands there and it will be really difficult to sell an incompatible phone locally here in Canada and you may get stuck with a beautiful but useless phone. 

[pc1]

@aa and @imm1304 Presently, I'm looking at a Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro but I'm getting mixed messages from WillMyPhoneWork.net -- not a solid check on 4G.

The specs are:

3G: WCDMA B1/B2/B4/B5/B8 ; TD-SCDMA B34/B39 ; CDMA2000 BC0

4G: FDD B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8 ; TDD-LTE B38/B39/

Do you think it will it work reliably? Thanks!

[imm1304]

@pc1, flagship phones from last 2 years are excellent value phones today.  

If you only want to spend enough for a low to mid-range phone of current Fall 2016 model, I would strongly recommend getting a previous years' flagship model instead. 

I mean phones like the Samsung galaxy S5, Note 3, LG G3, G4, Oneplus2, HTC one m8, iPhone 5S etc.  

[aa]

@pc1 1700 on LTE is very important, the majority of the LTE backbone is going to be on that band. 2600mhz is shared with Bell and that has poor building penetration. You're essentially looking for bank 4 coverage. As for 3G you just need 850 and 1900. That's what you'll need for any sort of calling as Telus does not support VoLTE (yet). 

Check out this page

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telus_Mobility#Radio_frequency_summary

As for phones, I would suggest looking for North American phones rather than overseas phones. I would check out older phones like the Nexus 5 or a Samsung Galaxy S6 or even S5 that would have comparable specs.

[Luddite]

@pc1 

Public Mobile works on following frequencies: 

• For 3G use (UMTS/HSPA): 850MHz/1900MHz bands
• For 4G/LTE use: 1700MHz/2100MHz bands
• For 4G/LTE use: 700 MHz band

Which means most of the 3G,4G HSPA/ LTE phones that are compatible with these frequencies will work on Public Mobile. If your phone is locked to specific carrier, you’ll have to get it unlocked. 

Phones compatible with Telus, Koodo, Bell, Virgin will work on Public Mobile network. All 3G, 4G phones from Rogers, Fido and ChatR are compatible and will work on the Public Mobile network. 

Reference:Will my phone work 

If you have a specific model in mind this website has been quite accurate: http://willmyphonework.net

Of course you currently own the untimate test tool: your activated PM SIM card. A compatible phone will connect immediately.

[pc1]

Is there a page or list available of the bands and frequencies that PM operates on?

What would minimum recommended functionality be?

3G: WCDMA 850 MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 2100, 2600MHz

How important is 1700 on the 4G? 

Thanks!

[Luddite]

Afraid I'm not up on Android phones. I do know that Staples, Bestbuy, carry unlocked phones and that any phone from Telus/Koodo is compatible with PM.

Suggest you also read this thread: Phones for PM

[pc1]

Thanks @Luddite.  It would be something comparable to the Ulefone Paris...price, specs, o/s, etc

[pc1]

Thanks.

I was sure I provided my IMEI info and checked it all out, but I guess not.

Your response certainly explains the situation well!

Thanks again.

[Luddite]

@pc1 Let us know if you would like some ideas for a replacement phone. Just provide your price range, preferred operating system, memory, and if you would considered used. There are many cost effective options.

[clogan2]

Exactly, so while Data works, calling/texting aren't going to work.

It would work fine on Rogers/Fido/Chatr because they support GSM and VoLTE. But Telus supports neither in Ontario.

[imm1304 · Accepted solution]

Hi @pc1!

Welcome to PM!

I am afraid I have bad news for you.  The Ulefone Paris is only compatible with PM's LTE band -7/2600MHz.  Thats not even full compatibility to the 4G/LTE network which uses Band 4 1700/2100 for LTE more widely.

This means that your phone is unable to connect to PM/Telus's 3G/WCDMA bands 850 and 1900 MHz.  3G/WCDMA is extensively used by PM for all calls.  This explains why your are experiencing issues. 

Fido worked because Fido/Rogers operate on a 2G band as well as different bands.  

You will have to get a compatible phone to make better use of your PM service.

Reference:  http://willmyphonework.net/

[JaK]

Hi @pc1;

What it sounds like is that you maybe have your phone set to 4G/LTE only? This would explain why away from the city, as you would normally drop from LTE to 3G+ for data, it stops working. It would also explain the no calls, as calls are done on 3G.

[pc1]

Thanks for the response!

A big part of my decision to switch to PM was the coverage map 🙂  So I hope it's accurate!

Phone model: Ulefone Paris

I have removed the SIM and battery when I was outside of London and in London. Same issue.

Text, voide and data worked with Fido.

[clogan2]

Judging by Telus' coverage map, you should have good coverage well after you leave London.

I have a couple of follow up questions:

     - What model of phone do you have?

     - Have you tried rebooting your phone (and if possible removing/reinserting the battery)?

[pc1]

It seems that I can't make outgoing calls from London and all incoming calls go to voicemail.

When attempting to place outgoing calls my phone gets stuck on "dialing" -- so I assume it's just not connecting to anything.  

Texts and data seems to be working.

I did notice that on occasion my phone indicates "Emergency Calls Only", then flips back to 4G.