US Roaming

[cjan]

I am going to Florida for March break, and was going to purchase the US roaming add on. But PM has an announcement on their site saying that US roaming won't necessarily work. I'm not really that tech savvy, so I'm wondering if I am in fact interpreting this correctly. If this is in fact the case, what are my best and easiest options to be able to talk with my cell phone in the US? A google search tells me to do one of the following:1.Something about VOIP, or 2. get a us SIM card. I'm not too familiar with how to go about doing either of these options. Any advice? Thanks.

[sneezycat1]

I recently purchased a US roaming, call and text plan and it DID NOT WORK!  I could not send or receive texts except for a few, and those were delayed by hours.  I was unable to make or receive phone calls.  I would not recommend this add-on.  In fact, I believe it is unethical for PM to market this add-on when they know and admit that in most situations it won't work!  It was a very frustrating experience for me, I ended up having to depend upon another person's phone for communication, and I felt completely ripped off.  Avoid the frustration that I experienced and do not buy this add-on.  BTW, when I returned to Canada, I submitted a ticket, explained the situation, and asked for a credit to my account for the money I spent on a service that they did not provide. PM refused.  I am not a happy customer.

[sneezycat1]

I recently purchased a US roaming, call and text plan and it DID NOT WORK!  I could not send or receive texts except for a few, and those were delayed by hours.  I was unable to make or receive phone calls.  I would not recommend this add-on.  In fact, I believe it is unethical for PM to market this add-on when they know and admit that in most situations it won't work!  It was a very frustrating experience for me, I ended up having to depend upon another person's phone for communication, and I felt completely ripped off.  Avoid the frustration that I experienced and do not buy this add-on.  BTW, when I returned to Canada, I submitted a ticket, explained the situation, and asked for a credit to my account for the money I spent on a service that they did not provide. PM refused.  I am not a happy customer.

[softech]

@NYT    I agree the roaming situation is not ideal at the moment, but , PM is still enabling VoLTE and it could be another month or two before everything is settle 

While S10 might not be working in PM's own VoLTE network, it should work on T-mobile's network for roaming (they have a larger compatible list) .  You can try it next time if you are going US again and would like to give PM roaming another chance

[NYT]

I appreciate the response.  I'm using a Galaxy S10.  This phone should be more than fine.  It does not have an option in the menu to select VoLTE. 

All this is annoying anyway; everyone else I travel with does not have any of these problems.  You get what you pay for with PM (which used to be great) but the issues are not worth it for me anymore.

[dust2dust]

@NYT- if your device is not yet volte enabled here then it might have been a problem with your phone switching to 2G or that 2G coverage was poor. Some phones seem to have dropped 2G altogether. I have also experienced needing to manually change to 2G in a different area that was able to switch down automatically in a prior area. I haven't read here whether customers not yet enabled can just go ahead and use volte when roaming.

[softech]

@NYT   did you try VoLTE?  PM has now enabled VoLTE and hence as long as you have a compatible device and turn on VoLTE on the device, it will work

But for your voice trouble in US, open a ticket with PM support and they might compensate accordingly

1. Please open ticket via Chatbot (requires access to My Account): click this  Chatbot Ticket Link 

Then click "Click here to submit a ticket ↗" to open the ticket submission page
Next, enter your Community login, then enter your question.  Finally use My Account login or 4 digits PIN to validate.

2. If you have trouble with Chatbot or you don't have access to My Account: Private message CS Agent at: 

    https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

**Monitor your Community inbox (envelope icon on the top right) after the ticket is opened.  CS Agent will reply to you there

[NYT]

I just got back from Vegas and this US Roaming add-on wasn't working for voice at all.  And it's been hit & miss on my last few trips to difference parts of the US.

Just to be clear, PM sells this package, it works sometimes, and it is what it is?

[Peter-65]

I bought a cheap $100 USD 1 year plan, SIM is included and it works well for me. I purchased it at a large grocery chain. I travel to the US 3-4 times a year and come out ahead this way.

[hTideGnow]

Hi @lornebeaton if just for a week, using PM roaming is not bad.  Easier to use roaming data.  Roaming voice would depend if your account is VoLTE enabled or if you can connect T-Mobile 2G

[lornebeaton]

I bought the US $30 add-on the morning of travel 

[c_herrera]

Hello, I'm also going to the US for a week and I was wondering what solution you chose. Did you buy a SIM card in the US or did you buy the Public Mobile add-on?

[kaatelynash16]

You can look into esims as well. DENT for example is an app available on the App Store. Data packages are valid for 365 days in many countries (US included). 1GB for US$9.99, 3GB for US$27.50, 5GB for $US44.99 and 10GB for $US89.99. In your phone settings under Cellular, you can just switch the network so that you are connected to DENT. 

[hTideGnow]

HI @lornebeaton   text cannot be forwarded unless you use 3rd party app

But even with that, you will need leave your phone in Canada, connect to the power the whole time.  

But you will receive text for free when you are in US (without buying roaming).  You just cannot send without proper roaming add-ons

[lornebeaton]

How does one go about forwarding text messages?

[hTideGnow]

HI @Peter-65  

Yes, it is always easier and cheaper to get local data instead of roaming

I think roaming is only great if you need to receive your calls on your PM phone number

[Peter-65]

Agree with what you say. No problems with my extremely cheap Verizon plan. 1 year is equal to 3 PM roaming plans. 

[dust2dust]

@Snodge- AT&T does. Yes sometimes support can be like pulling teeth.

[Snodge]

"...as they will gladly refund partially or fully if the Talk service did not work"

gladly? not in my experience, it took about 20 emails and messages over a number of days to get a partial refund for my US roaming plans. It was painful. The PM reps seemed to only want to pin the problem on me even though i had screen shots and documentation of the problem. 

Im heading to the states and will be getting a sim card there this time. I sure wish Canada would leave the dark ages of cell phone service. At least 2 US carriers allow their customers to roam internationally (for a limited time) without any extra charges. I'd love to see t mobile and verizon operating north of the border!

[softech]

@Peter-65   T-Mobile just doesn't show the 2G coverage, but it is still there  🙂

again, the 2G might not work everywhere, but it works in some area.  PM just want to give the option open, as they will gladly refund partially or fully if the Talk service did not work

you tried the chat to open ticket and didn't work?  try again using the method below.  If chatbot way does work, use direct message (method 2)

1. Please open ticket via Chatbot (need access to My Account): At https://publicmobile.ca/chatbot.

Start by typing "Submit a ticket", then click "Contact Us", Then click "Other", then click "Click here to submit a ticket ↗" 

2. If you have trouble with Chatbot or you don't have access to My Account: Private message CS Agent at: 

    https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

**Monitor your Community inbox (envelope icon on the top right) after the ticket is opened.  CS Agent will reply to you there

[dust2dust]

The thing is though that it does work in many places with many devices. It's not the responsibility of Public to make US networks use the same network as Public does. Public is even the only lower tier provider that has ANY roaming let alone the upper level ones with their exorbitant daily rates.

Is data and text working for you? If not then it's simply that T-Mobile is not in your area. Also not the responsibility of Public.

But we all absolutely agree that Public should be moving on to VoLTE and after that, re-upping roaming agreements with other providers like AT&T that they used to be with.

[Peter-65]

Interesting but the map must be out of date. I went to T mobiles site, 3G is gone and 2G isn't available. They list 4G LTE and 5G as options. What really matters in this discussion though is that PM roaming did not work in any areas showed as covered on your map. I followed directions from PM via chat and had no success. The plan is not functioning properly and, in my opinion, should be avoided until it is updated to function easily. Most users do not have the skills/knowledge to manage their phones or really understand how they function. Previously PM roaming worked seamlessly for me, it needs to be upgraded to do so again.

[softech]

@Peter-65   your Moto 2022 should be able to backward compatible to the 2G system.  The T-Mobile 2G system is old and unreliable.  You can check the 2G coverage map here:

https://www.gsma.com/coverage/#466

BUT.. it could show available and still does not work  😞

[Peter-65]

Perhaps my 2022 Moto won't 2-G. I shall check. T-Mobile was showing 4G LTE when scanning for carriers. I travel to the US fairly often so $100 USD for a year seems very reasonable. 

[dust2dust]

Data & text should have been fine. Of course it varies depending on T-Mobile coverage where you are. Then your phone would need to be able to drop down to the old 2G that T-Mobile still runs and lets us roam on (adding - for talk). That coverage is even less than LTE. Some phones have stopped being able to do that.

Data would need roaming data on and of course actual cell data on.

I got a service from ebay from Red Pocket Mobile that has limited features for $30US a year. I'm a low usage customer so it suited me fine.

But roaming worked just fine too where I was in West Maui. T-Mobile has no coverage in Alaska. Although who goes to Alaska in February? 🙂

[softech]

@Peter-65   this issue will likely be resolved after the introduction of VoLTE here.  It was supposed to be last year but it was not done.  So, hopefully this is the year that it will finally be here

[Peter-65]

I did use automatic as well, Public Mobile recommended manual. I was in the US days ago and had no luck with Public mobile roaming anywhere. I shared with PM support and did receive a full refund.  Unfortunately, it seems something hasn't been addressed in the software. September 2022 there were no issues, US roaming was excellent.

[Peter-65]

True, 3G is gone in the US as of December 2022- January 2023.

[softech]

@Peter-65   just an FYI, setting your phone to 4G LTE will help text and data but not voice calls

PM roaming now using T-Mobile's 2G network for voice and 4G LTE for text and data.  You need to set the phone to Automatic for the phone to switch to 2G when a call is made (or came)

If you got the roaming addon not long ago, you can open a ticket with PM support and share your bad experience, they might be able to provide partial refund based on your experience

[Peter-65]

Because of the US shutting down 3-G, US roaming is spotty at best. I was only able to send 2 messages, it took 12 hours. I was not able to send or receive phone calls. Setting your phone manually to 4G LTE is supposed to help. I ended up buying a cheap US talk and text plus 1GB data for about $10cdn. $100 US for a year. Sim cards are free or $1 depending on the provider. Very easy, available at convenience stores, some sales people will help.  Public Mobile did refund my roaming purchase and promises they are rolling out 4G LTE in the US. 

[dust2dust]

You could still be subject to coverage gaps even for data and text as you go through rural areas. Just be aware. Find a T-Mobile coverage map and turn off 5G to see 4G and see how it looks for your route.