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Sometimes my phone has service, and sometimes it doesn't

Integrity-Fan
Great Neighbour / Super Voisin

I started with Public Mobile around mid-February, and have not used my phone much, but I tested it with texts and phone calls when I started, and everything was fine. Then on Feb 26 I wanted to make a call and my screen said I don't have talk on my plan!! I have unlimited Canada-Wide talk and text with some additional data. Later that morning, I saw the service was back on. Two days later, I noticed a circle with a line through it in my notifications bar at the top of my phone. I checked and my phone said it didn't have any service. Same thing the next day. 

 

Tonight is Saturday / Sunday and the phone has service again. I don't know if it will work or not from one minute to the next.

 

 

Public Mobile isn't a deal if my phone doesn't have access to the services I paid for. I rely on my phone. I used to be with Telus, so I know the network is good.

 

My account is active, my phone ported properly and I was in areas where I have always had no trouble getting phone service before. Does anyone know why this is happening? Are Public Mobile users shunted to the bottom of the Telus network priority list in favour of the Telus customers??

 

Thanks, 

6 REPLIES 6

@Integrity-Fan

 

That's good news Smiley Very Happy

 

Even though you may have done "nothing" while a network-side problem corrected itself (got fixed by Telus, etc).  The battery apps can give you finer control over power-consuming features on your phone, but their primary purpose is to log and report what's happening on your phone when battery life is depleted.  And even the best battery software can't compensate for failing/aging battery hardware.

Integrity-Fan
Great Neighbour / Super Voisin

Hi Korth, 

 

 I downloaded the first app for Better Battery Stats, and I will work through it when I have some time. I restarted my phone after I made the post, and the problem might be fixed. My phone has not had the problem since. 

 

 

Integrity-Fan
Great Neighbour / Super Voisin

My phone is a Samsung Galaxy Core LTE, model # SM-G386W 

Korth
Mayor / Maire

@Integrity-Fan

Your service problems started 2-3 weeks ago.  So something changed 2-3 weeks ago.

 

The problem could be your phone.

 

You can try restarting the device, this can correct all sorts of runtime glitches.

 

If the phone was dropped, smashed, crushed, squished, or otherwise abused some 2-3 weeks ago then it might actually have damaged antenna or other internal hardware problems.

 

If the phone is older than your battery might be too weak to sustain network connection, it doesn't hold much charge (even if it says "100%") and simply doesn't last very long.  The sure giveaway is that your battery log shows excessive power consumption whenever service is weak (low signal bars).

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.asksven.betterbatterystats&hl=en

https://www.howtogeek.com/216934/how-do-you-know-when-its-time-to-replace-your-battery/

https://www.howtogeek.com/254739/how-to-check-your-iphones-battery-health/

 

The problem could be your network.

 

Your local tower might have technical issues or be in the middle of an "upgrade".  It might be offline or have limited service during certain times due to high volume of cellular users/traffic - say two thousand people driving home at rush hour.  A new construction site or local ham radio operator could be interfering with everyone's service.  It seems unlikely that Telus would be unaware of issues or take so long to fix things, but who can say?

http://canadianoutages.com/status/telus/map

https://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/cancellsites.html

 

You can't really correct your problem until you identify the cause.  And intermittent failures are the worst to troubleshoot if you can't reproduce the faults on demand.

 

There's little you can do to troubleshoot the network-side hardware, but you can monitor where and when your service cuts out, map out where it works and where it doesn't.

 

The device-side hardware - your phone - is something you can control.  The simplest way to determine if it's a problem is to find a place/time where it has no service then transfer your PM SIM card to another (known to be working) phone and see if it can connect.

will13am
Oracle
Oracle

@Integrity-Fan, what model of phone are you using.  Network issues are rare.  I would look into possible intermittent phone problems.

Luddite
Oracle
Oracle

@Integrity-Fan Definitley odd; only suggestion I have is to set your phone to 3G only. That is the network used for calling/texting. Sometimes a phone set to LTE has difficulty going back & forth between LTE/3G, especially if the LTE signal is weak.

Let us know the make/model of your phone and the locale where you have problems.


>>> ALERT: I am not a CSA. Je ne suis pas un Agent du soutien à la clientèle.
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