Emergencies Alerts and PM

[Russtynail]

Hi All, I have spent some time reading and trying my best to understand how Emergency alerts work and I still have some questions.

I understand that the phone has to be LTE capable.  What I can't find the answer to is if it has to be ON an LTE network as well.  The more specific question I suppose is: will I be able to receive alerts on a PM plan, since they are all 3G plans now?  Is it just a matter of just having LTE turned on in my phone settings (I know this throttles speeds way down--which is not ideal...)?

If not, does anyone have any other suggestions to ensure I receive Emergency Alerts?

[gpixel4 · Accepted solution]

@Russtynail PM is advertised as 3g but is actually LTE(throttled). as long as it says LTE on your notification bar then you should be able to recieve alerts

[gblackma]

No @Russtynail you have to have the right LTE bands,  frequencies and LTE enabled on your phone. Check your phone specs for the following 4g bands

4g  Frequencies 1700/ 2100 MHz AWS, Band 4 (LTE/ LTE Advanced).
                             700 MHz A/B/C/E, Band 12/13/17/29 (LTE/ LTE Advanced).

Stay safe. 

[Triguy]

To get emergency alerts, your phone must be set on or be able to work on 4g LTE. If your phone is only able to work on 3G data, it will not get the warnings.

[Jb456]

I can't help. I've never received one emergency alert from PM.🤷‍♂️😤

[Russtynail]

I have a new iPhone (SE 2nd Gen)--and eve still double checked the LTE bands to make sure the ones you listed were there--the list is massive and includes everything I presume.
In case you care:

• FDD‑LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 29, 30, 66, 71)
• TD‑LTE (Bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48)
• CDMA EV‑DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)
• UMTS/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

The bigger question is not whether my phone can receive them--because of course it can--it is how do I navigate receiving the alerts with  PM plan since they run on 3G not LTE.  Is just enabling my phones LTE enough?  Or does that not help since I am not on an LTE network?

Let me know if my question makes sense...you know more than me, so it could just be my lack of understanding.  If that's the case...just explain it to me like I am 4 years old ;)!

[Jb456]

@Russtynail 

Public mobile is LTE throttled to 3g speed.

See my screenshot it says LTE on top left.

 

[gblackma]

Quite simply @Russtynail , you have the required  4g LTE bands. Select 4g on your iphone and you will get the alerts. Switch it to 3g and you will not get them. Stay safe.

Here's a guide on switching between them 

https://www.helpforsmartphone.com/public/en/apple/iphone-se/ios-10/guides/24/Cambiar-entre-3G-4G-App...

[gpixel4 · Accepted solution]

@Russtynail PM is advertised as 3g but is actually LTE(throttled). as long as it says LTE on your notification bar then you should be able to recieve alerts

[computergeek541]

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@Triguy wrote:

To get emergency alerts, your phone must be set on or be able to work on 4g LTE. If your phone is only able to work on 3G data, it will not get the warnings.

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The emergency alerts are not related to data settings. Data can be disabled and the alerts will still come in. I fulll realize that LTE is only used for data and text messaging at Public Mobile, but while LTE has to be enabled, data does not not actually neeed to be turned on.

[SomeFriend]

You only need to have a LTE capable phone and be connected to the network over LTE.  Public Mobile supports LTE for data transmission and text messages.  If your phone is connected to 3G for any reason (ex. Unsupported frequencies, no LTE service, phone disabled LTE, etc), you will not receive any emergency alerts.

The last time they did a test emergency alert, I received it, even when I had my data connection was off.  So it works!