U.S roaming not working

[billhe79]

Hello, my dad is on a trip in the States, I added a 1GB data roaming and talk/text onto his plan for the duration of his trip. But he says he can't use the internet from the local AT&T network. I suddenly remembered you have to manually configured the APN so the phone will recognize the network, but I don't know what their APN is. Where can I find out? Thank you. 

[srlawren]

@billhe79 he should be able to call any Canadian or US* number while in the US with an add-on that includes US roaming talk, so that is not the issue.  Manual APN configuration should not be required for data, either.  Are you able to talk him through manually selecting a network?  Some phones don't seem to work in the automatic network selection mode for whatever reason, but will usually work if you set it to manual and then choose either AT&T or T-Mobile.  (If one doesn't work well, try the other.).  I don't know why this is and I've never had an issue on auto, but for some it's required.

* there are a few US phone exchanges that are excluded as the companies that run those exchanges charge a fortune for the inbound calls; I don't have the info handy but it's probably irrelevant to this discussion since the issue was calling back to you, with your Canadian phone number

[billhe79]

Thanks for the reply, the problem is most likely adjusting the correct settings on his phone, unfortunately with his limited technical understanding and me not there in person I can't really help him.

One other thing strikes me as odd. It's one thing that the data roaming isn't working, but I can't seem to call him either, even though I added a u.s. call and text addon. Maybe it's because you can't call a canadian number while using a u.s. provider?

[Michael77]

@billhe79,

Has your issue been resolved?

[Mr-Bump]

Has your Dad been able to connect to the AT&T server or is he seeing no bars/connection? Can he make any calls?

If he is connected, then it is likely a settings issue in the phone (assuming the add-on was in fact successful).

[ShawnC13]

@billhe79, if you are positive that the addon is active on his account have him try and manually select a network.  ATT&T or T~Mobile

[billhe79]

Thanks for the reply. I've verified that the add-ons are active, and on my dad's side his data roaming option is turns on, but for some reason he's still not able to use the data.

Also it appears he can't receive calls from me, despite the talk/text plan I added.

Update: I've also read that AT&T might not be compatible with certain SIM cards, so that might be one reason.

[will13am]

No need to change APN settings.  Make sure roaming data is enabled.  Check also the account to make are that the add-on was purchased successfully.  Usually seeing funds in the account means the add-on was not successfully purchased.  Purchasing add-on is a 2 step process.