US Roaming w/5G plan / AT&T

[DennyCrane]

So I'm on my new $50/40GB 5G Can/US plan as of today, and currently in Washington state. I am able to confirm that we do have access to T-Mobile's 5G network.

Neither my wife or I (same plan) received the Welcome to the USA text, which actually surprised me because I thought it was generic, regardless of plan.

I also did a test to see if I could use the AT&T network, and I can confirm that I could get SMS and phone calls to work; no data though, I had to switch back to T-Mobile to get data to work. But that's progress that SMS and calls work, as that wasn't the case a few months ago.

Also as confirmed in another thread this morning, my holiday bonus add-on's still show as available, which leads me to believe the Can/US plans are *not* unlimited at 512Kbps after the 5G data bucket is used.

Here are a few speed test results. All on T-Mobile, with the first 2 being 5G and the last one being 4G.

 

 

 

@dust2dust 

[will13am]

@DennyCrane , great roaming review!  WA seems to be a weak point for AT&T.  I have used roaming add-ons many times there and I find that AT&T coverage to be terrible.  Maybe it could be that I like using 101 over I5, it is more convenient coming from Port Angeles.  I hope you will do a review of roaming in CA when you have a chance.  

[Beowulf15]

Drove from the W Kootenays to Spokane Washington and also visited fam in Charlotte NC. Given the shutting down of AT&T I chose the T-Mobile network and I would say I was more than satisfied with US roaming. 
Sure there were spotty areas where my phone didnt work in northeast Washington but that’s a given due to rural location (I have similar coverage limitation in rural southeastern BC- even when I was on Rogers and now using Telus’ network). 

[DennyCrane]

@BlakeRupert The $45 Canada plan does, but the $50 Can/US plan does not. 

[BlakeRupert]

Oh dang I thought when I signed up it included unlimited data at a reduced rate after the 40g was exhausted. 🤷‍♂️

[DennyCrane]

@BlakeRupert That's too bad you've had these issues. The only one of those I experienced was my hotspot stopped working at home, but an APN settings change fixed that up.

Regarding the unlimited data comment, it's not, nor does any contract state that. Those are generic terms that apply to all plans, and only the relevant term numbers that are noted in the plan description apply. The plan in question does not note term 2 for unlimited data, so if doesn't apply to this plan.

[hTideGnow]

HI @BlakeRupert 

they don't block hotspot

what phone you have? Android or iPhone?

[BlakeRupert]

Hey, I just switched to this plan as well. I think they’re still working out the kinks as I have been going back-and-forth with customer support to get features turned on. 

yesterday, my calls and texts weren’t working at all. And today those are fixed. However, I can’t turn on a hotspot.

I submitted a ticket and they were helpful in getting it fixed. Hopefully they can do the same with you and the data to really be unlimited like it says in the contract 😁

[Mohawk44]

I really depends on your device. T-mobile has been restricting imported devices from their network. Ones not made for North America may not work that well in the US even with correct bands. AT&T however just doesn’t want imported phones on their networks. So on T-mobile if the phone is imported, service may be hit and miss. 

[DennyCrane]

@dust2dust I've used Fongo for years, but it's not that great for voice quality either. It was better than TextNow for me, but still not great. I agree that free texting on TextNow sets it apart. 

[dust2dust]

All of ours favourite oracle frequently mentions Fongo. I decided against it due to having to pay for texting. There are other apps out there. I also have Google Voice as a backup of the TextNow backup.  I got that when I got a US service.

[DennyCrane]

@dust2dust I'll complain about free when it didn't work for me 🤣 I needed to make/receive some business calls in a pinch when VoLTE wasn't enabled, and I had zero success with about a dozen calls on a very solid WiFi connection. At most I could hear them but they couldn't hear me, but sometimes not even that. And I know that can usually be chalked up to a poor upstream connection, but that wasn't the case. But it must work for some based on all the love it gets in the Community.

[dust2dust]

So that's something I've been gathering from asking other customers. So AT&T on 4G. Got it.

Somebody here (Bkns, litllady?) has it. I use TextNow already. Can't complain about free.

[DennyCrane]

@dust2dust Correct, 4G data was solid on AT&T this time. And I could use 5G or 4G on T-Mobile.

AT&T 4G:

I had Ubigi esim annual plan which was $48/year for 2GB per month, but I really needed phone service as well, so this PM Can/US plan is much better for me. We transfered our Ubigi esims (and the remaining 9 months of service) to family members of ours, as we had no use for them anymore.

Looking forward to hearing how the TextNow sim service is. I don't like the quality of their VOIP solution, but I imagine their sim service would be more solid (they're just an MVNO, right?).

[dust2dust]

Odd. 611 works fine for me.
So did you switch down to 4G and get a data connection with AT&T? Still not clear on that factoid other than deduction.

I will also be in the states in December. I'm sure we'll have all these sorts of tests done before then. I'm going to try out the TextNow sim service. My current US service has a little data though. The TextNow does not other than buying some along the way.

Adding - using add-ons from here on one account.

[DennyCrane]

@dust2dust In Canada I couldn't get 611 to work, but *611 was fine. But when I dialed 611 from home I still got the text confirmation about calling the IVR, but it wouldn't connect. In the US both 611 and *611 worked.

Also I should clarify I was able to connect to 5G AT&T, but I couldn't get a data connection. Maybe if I had more time it would have eventually worked. This is already better than 2 weeks ago though, which tells me PM is working to reinstate or resolve the AT&T roaming gap.

I'll be in California in December for an extended period of time and will be able to perform more tests at that time.

[dust2dust]

Love it when people do real world testing and verifying!

So by deduction, AT&T needed 4G LTE?

Funny, I thought *611 didn't work at all.

[DennyCrane]

@hTideGnow Correct. Long distance add-on's appear to only be for calls originating from Canada. The roaming add-on's and the Can/US plans allow for calling to/from the US, but there's no option for calls from the US to any country other than Canada and the US.

Today's geeking out was in Washington state again.

[hTideGnow]

thanks for the report

So, LD addon might not be there

And which state you are in?

[DennyCrane]

Today's US experience:

-Calls, SMS, **and data** worked on AT&T (last time data wouldn't work on AT&T

-5G did not work on AT&T, but it did on TMobile

-Calls to 611 and *611 worked on both AT&T and TMobile

-Calls to 1-855-4PU-BLIC worked on T-Mobile but not AT&T

-UK numbers work in Canada, but not in the US (even with the holiday LD add-on). When I make a call from the US it just says the number is not setup to take incoming calls, but the same numbers work from Canada

-I received the welcome to the USA text

[Mohawk44]

I have the same plan and last month didn’t get the welcome to US message. Instead I got you need a roaming add on message. I was in NY state and only got T-Mobile to work. That was no issue.

[dust2dust]

Another test to add to your list of geeking out.
Connect to T-Mobile. Dial 611. Does it connect? Dial *611. Does it connect? Dial 1-855-4pu-blic. Does it connect? 
Connect to AT&T. Repeat.

[dust2dust]

Find a McDonalds somewhere in England and try to call it. Use Google Maps or whatever.
I would expect it to not work. But that's what testing is. This is a whole different plan, not just an add-on. I know with the add-on you can call a few more US protectorates that we can't otherwise call.

[DennyCrane]

Edit: Never mind. I get it. See if it works from the US like it does in Canada. Sorry, took me a minute. I'd expect no, but I can try. 

[dust2dust]

Yes it is.

[DennyCrane]

I do. The UK wasn't included in those minutes from what I recall?

[dust2dust]

I thought of another test. Do you still have any freebie international calling add-ons? If so, the next time you're down, try to call a McDonalds or something in England somewhere and see if it rings and answers. Then hang up.

[DennyCrane]

LOL back home now. Wife got tired of me geeking out in the truck, and she was done shopping. #notapassengerprince

[DennyCrane]

@MetaMorpheusMob I agree, but there seems to be a lot of people assuming it is, fueled by PM representatives saying that it is (I believe they are misinformed).

[DennyCrane]

I updated the original post to clarify that I didn't receive the welcome text.

I believe it was 4G AT&T i tried. I will try again now from a different location. 

I'm in Bellingham, too far for PM coverage.

Speed tests say PM, but I'm on T-Mobile.

 

 

[dust2dust]

Interesting about the data. Did you try 4G/LTE on AT&T?

Adding - and the welcome text?

Adding again - wait, are you in Blaine? Maybe you're still connected to Public. Why do those speedtests say Public?