US Roaming update?

[Ben_Kayfetz]

In Feb 2023 I took my PM phone to the Fort Lauderdale / Miami area with the US talk/text/data add-on.

The service was horrible. 

Almost every call dropped. Call clarity was very poor. Data was playfully slow. Data was not available while while on a call.

I heard PM was going to upgrade their US roaming service. Did that happen?

Have any of you been the Fort Lauderdale / Miami area recently with PM roaming? Can you share your experience? 

I am heading back down this Feb 2024 and trying to figure out the best options...

TIA! Ben.

[SusanC2]

So I wonder, if you have a phone that doesn't have the VoLTE, if you try changing the setting to LTE and it doesn't work, if you have a 5G plan, I wonder if you then try staying on 5G but forcing the choice of carries to T-Mobile or AT&T and not auto, and see if that helps?

[hTideGnow]

HI @Ben_Kayfetz 

PM has both T-Mobile and AT&T for Roaming service now, most people came back with good news

just not select 5G for network, stay with 4G 

[Nezgar]

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@Phil_Adelphus wrote:

@Nezgar  Others may know for sure but my impression is that being on Telus's  VoLTE whitelist doesn't guarantee a phone will also be on PM's.  There are no Blackberries on PM's VoLTE list.

The list of models suggested in Public Mobile's help article is not exhaustive. The phones actually supported by the network is much larger. I for one am using a BlackBerry KeyOne (running Android 8.1) released in 2017 with fully working VoLTE on Public Mobile network, and it also shows a green check mark using Telus Mobility's VoLTE support IMEI checker.

Phones without VoLTE will work in Canada because the carriers here still have 3G for voice calls.  That's not the case in USA where the carriers shut down their 3G networks last year.  That's why a non-VoLTE phone has to use T-Mobile's 2G because PM's other US roaming carrier AT&T does not have 2G.   But yes there do appear to be phones that are VoLTE enabled with some carriers and not others including in the USA.

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When I was in the USA with the aforementioned BlackBerry Keyone that fully works with VoLTE with Public Mobile in Canada, it did not have VoLTE in the USA on T-Mobile. This means that even though this phone is allowed/supported by Telus Mobility/Public Mobile, T-Mobile does not - which is understandable. Indeed in that case, I was forced to use T-Mobile 2G network for calls as you described.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@SusanC2   Most of us with iPhones don't have a VoLTE toggle, it just works.  Someone, maybe @BKNS27 ? said they do have a toggle on their iPhone.  My iPhone 13 doesn't.  All iPhones from iPhone 8 and up, with ios 16 and up, are on the PM whitelist for VoLTE.  This is one of the things that makes it difficult, there are phones like ours that have VoLTE but no toggle, and phones that have the toggle but no VoLTE (the latter was the case with my previous carrier where I had an Android).  

[SusanC2]

I have the iPhone 14 Pro and I did not have to do anything with VoLTE.  I just changed to LTE and everything worked.  I believe I remember seeing something that suggested VoTLE was on (a green toggle switch), but I don't remember for sure.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@Nezgar  Others may know for sure but my impression is that being on Telus's  VoLTE whitelist doesn't guarantee a phone will also be on PM's.  There are no Blackberries on PM's VoLTE list.  Phones without VoLTE will work in Canada because the carriers here still have 3G for voice calls.  That's not the case in USA where the carriers shut down their 3G networks last year.  That's why a non-VoLTE phone has to use T-Mobile's 2G because PM's other US roaming carrier AT&T does not have 2G.   But yes there do appear to be phones that are VoLTE enabled with some carriers and not others including in the USA.

[Ben_Kayfetz]

Thanks @SusanC2 . What phone did/do you have ? And did you mess with VoLTE as others suggested?

[Nezgar]

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@hairbag1 wrote:

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That phone doesn't seem to be on the PM whitelist of volte enabled cellphones. You'll have to rely on 2G to make / rec calls. Your Note 10+ has 2G capability so it will sorta work as long as you're near a T-Mobile tower. If you have a good wifi connection in US, you could download free wifi app like TextNow to make / rec calls for free using wifi or separately purchased data. Alternative..if you have wifi, use of WhatsApp should work for free too.

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Even though a particular phone may be on Public Mobile's allow-list (aka Telus Mobility's list), it may not be on T-Mobile or AT&T's allow list. Case in point, my BlackBerry keyONE android 8.1 phone is VoLTE enabled here in Canda, and the IMEI indicates supported on Telus Mobilty's list but the phone only had LTE data service in the USA in Feb 2023, and voice only worked if forced onto the T-Mobile 2G network, and didn't work at all on AT&T's network.

So... Depending on the phone, especially older models, voice may still be hit-and miss in the USA even if it is 100% working in Canada.

[hairbag1]

@Ben_Kayfetz 

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@Ben_Kayfetz wrote:

A note 10+ 

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That phone doesn't seem to be on the PM whitelist of volte enabled cellphones. You'll have to rely on 2G to make / rec calls. Your Note 10+ has 2G capability so it will sorta work as long as you're near a T-Mobile tower. If you have a good wifi connection in US, you could download free wifi app like TextNow to make / rec calls for free using wifi or separately purchased data. Alternative..if you have wifi, use of WhatsApp should work for free too.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@Ben_Kayfetz   Samsung Note 10 is not on PM's VoLTE list so that may be your problem.  You would need to connect to T-Mobile's 2G network where it is available.  This is because the USA has shut down their 3G networks.

[SusanC2]

I was in Fort Lauderdale in October.  I have the Can-US plan.  At first I had no data at all when I had all my settings on auto and data roaming on.  It said 5G at the top of the screen but I had no actual service.  Having read some posts before I left, I changed my voice and data setting from 5G Auto to LTE and I had solid service after that and no issues.

[BKNS27]

@Ben_Kayfetz 

In the past, PM on T-Mobile newtwork but recently added the AT&T network so you have two networks to use while in the USA.

Best to connect to the network that gives you the highest signal where you are located.

[Ben_Kayfetz]

A note 10+ 

[hairbag1]

@Ben_Kayfetz 

for best results you need to have a phone that has volte turned on. Otherwise you're going to be connecting to sub-standard 2G for talk. What kinda phone you using ?

added..

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/The-Lounge/NEW-Blog-Post-Navigating-VoLTE-with-Public...