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us roaming not working

omnideuce
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

paid for us network and data add ons

 

the data works intermittently

 

the cellular network will not connect at all unless i am connected to a wifi network

 

how do i fix it

 

edit: roaming is on. i am using signal messenger. phone is an android j3

13 REPLIES 13

darlicious
Mayor / Maire

@omnideuce 

Read the post below for some background but for the moment AT&T has become very unreliable and offers no ability to make voice calls except with a voip provider. Manually select T-Mobile and you should have better success maintaining a stable connection when a network is available. 

 

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/US-Roaming-Add-ons-Decommissioning-of-US-...

 

 

Screenshot_20221018-043036_Chrome~2.jpg

If you look at the 2G and 4G LTE network coverage for your route from BC to your current location it will make more sense why your Roaming service has been.....crappy....there is very poor coverage especially in Nebraska.

Screenshot_20221018-043051_Chrome~2.jpg

The US does not have the same kind of coverage that Canada has (world leading) and unlike Canada whose network providers have made great effort to ensure nearly every mile of highway in this country has network connectivity. US coverage is population based. Add in mountainous terrain and you have a recipe for unreliable roaming.

 

A US Sim card may not solve the issue either depending on the provider and how far down the pecking list the provider of the Sim card/service happens to be? Of course once VoLTE is implemented for pm customers that will help improve voice calling but you will still be reliant  on being connected to the 4G LTE network same as a voip provider. If it doesn't exist then nobody around you is connected.

 

Why AT&T has been so hit and miss we do not know but some customers in some parts of the US have no problem connecting to their 4G LTE network while others cannot even find it? It's YMMV currently. Nearly every other Canadian provider has roaming agreements with AT&T only. Public Mobile gives you two options by having roaming agreements with both AT&T and T-Mobile. In that aspect you could say Public Mobile is industry leading?🤔

@omnideuce I just tried TextNow using data without WIFI to made a call and send text at home and it worked.  Of course is not in US.

hi @omnideuce 

 

the voice situation is what makes it messy

before that PM roaming service is as easy/hard as any other carrier

omnideuce
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

"The 10 Day US Roaming add-ons that PM offers have degenerated to be unreliable any longer."

 

well that would have been great to know 4 days ago.

 

textnow is useless to me because everything already works as long as i have wifi. it's when i don't have wifi that i have a problem.

 

good idea on the american sim card i'll probably end up doing that.

 

omnideuce
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

i have been using automatic network selection and it has consistently selected tmobile. i'm just making a phone call like i always do. can't say how it appears on the other end.

That's the second time I've seen someone mention that they can make calls while on wifi. Does it look like your normal number at the other end? And you use your normal dialer? It's a thing called VoWiFi. Certainly this place doesn't offer that. But I wonder if you're connected to a carrier that does.

Is your phone set to automatic networks? Or are you manually scanning and selecting?

Recent changes to the 3g networks in US have resulted in near-useless PM roaming options.

Alternative...if you have access to wifi, download free TextNow app. You'll get a free Cdn number and be able to place free calls / texts to/from most numbers in Canada and US; using wifi.

Other alternative...stop by Walmart and pick up a local sim and a cheap plan that has better calling and data for use whilst in US.

The 10 Day US Roaming add-ons that PM offers have degenerated to be unreliable any longer.

omnideuce
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

the lack of roaming data while aggravating is not as critical as the lack of cell network

 

i'm a helicopter mechanic travelling for work and i NEED to be able to talk to home base hahaha

 

edit: i drove from bc to nebraska and the whole way i have had zero cell service unless connected to a wifi network for some reason? i thought the two were not connected but apparently i am wrong

My recent experience is similar to you. I found use of roaming data to be hit and miss, at best. Once I got away from  cities...it just wouldn't work while traveling in eastern Washington state.

Once you get home, you could ask the CSA group to credit your account as the add-on is unreliable.

omnideuce
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

available networks are tmobile which does not work or cell one of ne colirado which will not connect.

omnideuce
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

roaming is on. 

available networks are t mobile which does not work or cell one of ne colorado which will not connect.

hairbag1
Mayor / Maire

Turn roaming ON.

Manually select T-Mobile or AT&T.

Data is poor in rural areas, seems to work better in urban areas.

hTideGnow
Mayor / Maire

Hi @omnideuce which network you tried?  any difference when try T-Mobile or AT&T?  Both are partners with PM, but seems like T-Mobile works better lately

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