Roaming in California. Data and text work, but no voice

[Kitchener]

I'm on vacation in California and purchased the talk + text + data roaming package.  Texting and data work, but no voice service.  I get a "couldn't connect" message every time I try calling.  Have tried restarting my phone.  (Samsung A50) Also have same issue with my wife's phone (Iphone  7).  Have used exact same phones and roaming plan in Florida (September 2023).  Roaming connects to AT&T - when I try to choose another operator manually, it doesn't give me a second option.  Really not sure what else to try.  Only thing I can think of is that my phones/plan aren't "5g" compatible (4g, yes, but 5g no). Also, I have the same error message ("couldn't connect") when calling local (California) numbers as home (Canada). Issue was immediate and has persisted for over 24 hours without exception.  

[Kitchener]

@Phil_Adelphus   That worked for me.  I dropped to "GSM" (option that was available in phone menu) and then went back to network operator selection and it refreshed to T-Mobile.  Voice service works for me now.  Seems that our phones (Samsung A50 and Iphone 7) just don't work with voice on AT&T network here in California.  Thank you

[Phil_Adelphus · Accepted solution]

@Kitchener   Yes if you have to drop to 2G then T-Mobile is your only option where it is available

[Kitchener]

@Phil_Adelphus

Neither device has 5G support.  Both devices support 4G, but will not connect to AT&T if anything less than 4G/LTE selected in network mode.

[Kitchener]

@ Kristowhy

I don't recall if there was a VoLTE indicator showing when calling at home in Canada.

When I turn off LTE (on either the Samsung A50 or the iphone 7), it disconnects from AT&T network.  No alternate network is available.

The specific model of A50 I have is not listed on the AT&T support list, but the iphone 7 is specifically supported by AT&T. https://www.att.com/scmsassets/support/wireless/devices-working-on-att-network.pdf

I think we had T-Mobile in Florida.  That could be a clue - maybe a network provider issue.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@Kitchener   Are your phones set to connect to 5G?  If so change it to 4G/LTE and see if that helps.  It probably won't if you don't have VoLTE but just in case it might be worth a try.  Apparently AT&T doesn't work on 5G with PM roaming.  Otherwise without VoLTE you will need to be able to connect to T-Mobile's 2G network if you can (but you're not seeing T-Mobile?) because there is no more 3G in the USA

[Kristowhy]

@Kitchener 

Both of those phones are not on PM's VoLTE list.  It could have been working before and perhaps things changed since you were in FL in Sept.

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

Do you recall if your voice calls in Canada were using VoLTE or dropping back to the 3G HSPA network.  Indicator would typically say LTE or VoLTE during calls.  If H or 3G during calls it's not using VoLTE