US roaming

[DavidHawes]

I have paid for  US add on and have absolutely no calling or texting. Roaming is on, T-Mobile is provider, data is on. Nothing works. I can't even access my account. I  turned phone on and off again. searched for network. Still not working.  I found the network. bars came on and disappeared again.  Reset the phone several times. Still not working. If this problem is  not fixed, then I will have no choice but to cancel my account with public mobile.

Dave

[dust2dust]

Again, if you had a phone that was enabled for volte then that would work on 4G LTE on T-Mobile along with text and data.

2G would have worked for text as well but yes you need to be in their coverage.

Then sure yeah wouldn't it be nice if AT&T was re-connected for those coverage areas that were different from T-Mobile....on volte.

Also keep in mind that US carriers serve where they make money. Canadian carriers are under some regulations to compel them to work in less profitable areas.

[Drrod]

I was able to, at times, txt even though I had no voice service but not often.

Switching to 2 G had no impact. 

Usually had no sign of T-Mobile service. 

Unless PM changes it partnering, I see no value in getting the add on. I will simply wait until I have wifi.

[dust2dust]

If you were able to switch down to 2G for talk then good. The next problem is coverage. T-Mobile has much lesser coverage for their old 2G.

No point in trying 3G as that is no longer running in the states.

But did you do alright for text and data on 4G?

[Drrod]

I tried 2G, 3G, and 4G. No joy. I didn't investigate my travlemates phones much. I just borrowed them to make calls.

[dust2dust]

Then your friends had volte as that's the only way they would work on AT&T.

Seems you don't.

But your text and data should have worked alright. But you asked about talk.

[softech]

@Drrod 

PM's roaming partners are supposed to be both T-Mobile and AT&T.  Not sure why the roaming partnership with AT&T ended around 2 years ago, even though the Help article still have it listed. I hope we will get back AT&T for roaming soon

[Drrod]

I honestly gave up and quit using the roaming and relied on WhatsApp to make calls, etc. This is not a new thing. I have experienced this on several occasions in the past with various phones. Granted, I was not in major centers but I was not in the hinterland either. Friends were roaming on  At&T . The worst case is Leveen, AZ. No service (not this trip). It is a subhurb of PHX!!. I have tried changing the band, etc. The problem is crappy T-Mobile coverage. PM should try someone else. Why not piggy back on Telus' partnership with AT&T? Couldn't be much worse.

[dust2dust]

@Drrod- Do you know if your phone is enabled for volte? Do you know if your travelmates had volte? Without volte, talk will only run on T-Mobiles old 2G GSM network and your phone needs to be able to switch down to 2G or manually do it.

Perhaps your friends had volte and you don't.

Even if they re-partnered with AT&T you'd still need volte as they have no 2G.

[softech]

@Drrod was your last day without voice in Washington state?

And what phone, brand and model, do you have? do you know if you were using 2G for voice or VoLTE?

And your Telus friend were roaming with T-Mobile or AT&T?

[Drrod]

Yes I did. I worked periodically. The problem is T-Mobile. They don't have very good coverage.

That being said, US cell service in general is a bit of a dog's breakfast.

[Drrod]

I just returned from a 13 day  tour of ID, OR, CA, and WA. I purchased the US talk/text.data 14 day plan. Fully half the days I had no voice service. Partnering with T-Mobile is not working. I was travelling with Telus users and they had no trouble connecting. Hopefully PM will rectify this and start partnering with other providers in the US.

I realize that it is a "low cost" option of Telus but it is not so low cost if it doesn't work. 3rd World countries have better coverage.

[hairbag1]

@DavidHawes 

depending on where you are, the talk portion of the add-on can frustrate as it might be unusable or very flakey at best. I found it will work best in urban areas but diminish rapidly as you move away from town. Text and data should be usable though. Makes me wonder if you got the incorrect add-on.

Can you log in on a laptop and look at Plan and Add-ons...Add-on Usage should show a number like 1/15 or 3/15...something along those lines. If not...you may not have successfully loaded the 15 Day US Roaming add-on.

[BKNS27]

@DavidHawes 

How many bars are on your phone?

It could be a week signal or a T-Mobile outage where you are.

You can ask for a refund when you return to Canada.

[hTideGnow]

HI @DavidHawes 

if you really unable to connect to US roaming, get local prepaid roaming sim card first

And you can always submit ticket with PM agent and they will refund you the roaming add-on cost

[softech]

@DavidHawes   which city and state you are at?

did you just get the Roaming Talk & Text or you got roaming data as well?

Roaming data should be relatively easy to connect.  Make sure you have Mobile roaming data enabled on our phone, make sure your network type is set to Automatic  or LTE.  Try in different area of the city

For voice, it could be harder. . First try if VoLTE works.  Enable VoLTE on your phone.

If that does not work, try to change the network type to 2G or GSM and see if it works

[HALIMACS · Accepted solution]

@DavidHawes 

just to confirm, you did purchase a US roaming add on and not a US long-distance add on, correct?

If you have tried manually connecting to the T mobile network, with the correct add on, and you still have no calling or texting, try manually switching your device to 2G if it has the capability.

otherwise, public mobile is usually fairly flexible with the roaming add-ons and will refund the purchase to the account if it wasn’t working for you.

To contact a Customer Support Agent, there are 2 methods:

1. Use the ticketing system for a faster response time. Click here and type Customer Support Agent, then select Contact Us, then select Other (or the topic that more closely matches your request).  Click the result which states Click here to submit a ticket and follow the prompts,  or, 

2. Send a private message to the Customer Support Agent by clicking here  You’ll need to be logged into your Community account for the link to work.

Watch for their response in your Community private mailbox which will be indicated by a number on the small envelope icon to the left of your Community avatar.

[DDM69]

Did you add funds to your account to cover the cost of the US add on you were purchasing?  

FYI...the community is all customers.  This is a place for questions and to receive help. Threatening to leave Public Mobile has no impact on us.  

Hopefully someone can help you resolve this.  Let us know if you get it to work.