Using 5G Canada/US plan in Florida (gulf side near Dunedin) with non-whitelisted VoLTE phone

[eddieO]

Just wanted to share some info based on my wife's experience today in Florida with her Samsung Galaxy S10+ which has VoLTE but is not on PM's whitelist.

T-Mobile: Calls going out and in worked, texting out and in worked, data works

AT&T: Calling out does not go through, calls in go to voicemail after one ring. Texting out and in worked, data works

Verizon: Her phone said something like SIM card does not allow it, no calls, no texts, do data.

[eddieO]

@BCgirl60, don't be afraid to ask any questions here in the community, we're all here to support each other and I have certainly learned a lot from our super knowledgeable contributors. 

[Phil_Adelphus]

@BCgirl60   It doesn't matter if your phone is 5G compatible, in fact in the USA 5G roaming on AT&T is iffy although it should work on T-Mobile.  More important is whether your phone is on Public Mobile's VoLTE list here

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/get-help/articles/volte 

[BCgirl60]

Hi EddieO, okay thanks again, i think i will do that and because my plan just was paid on june 27th, I will have it changed for the next billing cycle, also, my only other silly question is , i am not sure my phone is a 5 g compatible, i dont know if i am near 5 G towers, will that matter,I am glad with your help and the community here that I realize now that i worried about nothing, but I was not sure and i am pretty sure when i went to vegas in 2021 , i had this same plan and i bought the added feature for travel to usa as i did not know at the time and was too chicken to ask the question, 

[eddieO]

Hi @BCgirl60, in your shoes I would definitely switch plans to the one that I am on. By making the switch you would have 50 GB vs 8.5 GB, you would have upto 5G speed which is lightning faster than 3G (with a 5G compatible phone and with 5G towers in your area otherwise speeds experienced could be less), you would have the other features your plan lists (unlimited talk and text in Canada and the US and international texting) and you would save $16 a month! ($192 over the course of a year). 

You are correct, PM is a prepaid service so you can rest easy knowing that you will not incur any additional fees for anything, if you didn't pay for something up front it just won't work and more importantly you will not have any surprise charges.

If/when you change your plan just be sure to select the "Change on renewal" option if you have a lot of days left before your next renewal this way you will close out the current month having used up what you paid for and you will start the next month (30 days technically) fresh. If you choose "Change now" you will be on the new plan right away but you will be charged for the new plan and will NOT get any money back on any remaining days from the existing month. Changing now is okay if you only have very few days left as you wouldn't be losing much. Hope this helps!

[BCgirl60]

Hi Eddie, been in  Florida for a few days now, I was concerned with if I should get an add on, with my plan, which is an older plan but I believe by what I have been seeing and reading on the threads that I would not need any add on for roaming etc, while I have wifi , which where I am staying I do. I can not make a call out , but have not tried to have a call come to me. my plan I believe is a canada/usa plan because when i am in canada where i live i talk and text to my friend in Florida all the time, but my concern origanally was will I be charged someone at the end of the day, but that is implossible because i have a plan which is prepaid, right.... but when I was looking at the plans i realize i can change my plan or i should change my plan to a better up dated graded plan which actually might be cheaper, I mean i want the texting, and phone calls and roaming or data, what ever its called for when I am in canada and when I am in the usa, vice versa, the plan i have noe is that but its only 8gb and 50 dollars, can you advise me on the other plan that would be good, like the 34 dollar one a month looks the same with more gb, but it does not say, calls, and currently from usa i am unable to make the calls out to canada even if i am on wifi, , thanks in advance, here is a copy of my current plan i have now .....

CURRENT SUBSCRIPTION

$50.00

/ MONTH

• 8.5GB at 3G Speed
• 30-day plan
• Unlimited Talk to Canada and the US
• Unlimited International Text

[Soda-pop]

I spent the winter in FL and had no issues , it was in the Tampa area so I had good service.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@eddieO  T-Mobile's 2G network was originally planned to be shut down this past April but they now say they don't have a definite date but will be shutting down parts of it over time.  Fortunately for Canadians roaming without a PM approved VoLTE phone it still works where available. 

[eddieO]

I think you might be right @Phil_Adelphus. I asked my wife to check if she could see if it was still showing LTE or something other. The screenshot she sent me only showed an R which I'm assuming it's for roaming 

[Bill31]

Oh, that's surprising! Thanks for clearing that up.

[hTideGnow]

HI @Bill31 

but look like the VoLTE or not is based on PM's whitelist and not T-Mobile's

[Bill31]

I'm new here so forgive me if I'm saying something that everyone knows already ...

If you go to the T-Mobile  website you can enter the IMEI number of your phone and they'll tell you if it is VoLTE compatible and to what extent it will work on their network in the US.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@eddieO   Is it possible that T-Mobile worked because the phone was dropping to 2G?   That's the usual fall back for non VoLTE phones when US roaming since T-Mobile still has some remaining 2G network (for now).  

[hTideGnow]

HI @eddieO 

thanks for sharing.  I am eager to know if Verizon works, but sadly, we got 2 posts today saying it does not