Phone not working in the US

[rbk201]

Sorry if this is long - I have been trying to solve this for 5 days now! 

I added a roaming package to my plan before travelling. When I arrived in the US I received a text to say "While you’re in the United States thanks to your Roaming Pass you can use your plan, minutes, texts and data allowance at no extra cost.” However, I can only use my apps and send and receive text and WhatsApp messages when I'm on Wifi. I can't make or receive any calls, even when I have Wifi. I texted ROAMING to 150 and got a reply that said "Your plan doesn’t include roaming in the USA" even though I can clearly see it on my account. 

I have tried phoning EE four times! And because I can't make calls from my phone, i had to use a phone belonging to someone in the US who has now been charged over $100 for my calls! I have the email addresses of two of the EE customer support agents I spoke to but neither of them will email me back now. 

Mobile data is ON, Roaming is ON. Network selection is automatic and it only finds T-Mobile. When I try to manually select another network such as AT&T, it goes to SOS mode. I tried switching from 5G to 4G. I tried setting a spend cap. I have tried turning my phone off for 10 minutes and back on again. I honestly don't know what to do. 

[XRaySpeX]

The Roam Abroad Pass (text ROAMING PASS)  & the ability to roam worldwide (text ROAMING) are 2 separate things.

As you are on contract, did you activate roaming on your EE a/c before you left UK by texting ROAMING to 150? Having a roaming billing add-on doesn't of itself activate roaming on your a/c. Having roaming activated on your EE a/c, not just on your device, is crucial to using your contract SIM abroad.

Often just rebooting the phone is the simple remedy. Also try selecting a network manually rather than auto.

Otherwise you need to call CS to get your roaming activated. Try calling CS on the Freephone no. in my sig. on Skype over WiFi. It should be free.

[bristolian]

On the face of it, this has all the symptoms of roaming not being enabled, which does beg the question of what your basis is, for saying "roaming is ON", However, you've also said "When I arrived in the US I received a text" which demonstrates your phone had a mobile network connection - thus roaming is enabled.

You're doing all the right things - if roaming is enabled, then the fix for a local network issue is to manually select alternatives. The fact you have sent a text to 150 and received a reply, demonstrates roaming is enabled.

You mention "it only finds T-Mobile" which suggests your phone shows a network connection - so what happens when you try making a call? The spend-cap has been to cause issues if it's set too low - is there some headroom between your current usage (text BALANCE to 150) and the cap?

[Chris_B]

@rbk201  Are you trying to call/text UK numbers ?  Are you putting 44 or +44 instead of the 0 at the start of the number ?  You say you texted 150 and got a reply so roaming is enabled on your account or that text wouldn’t send.  

[rbk201]

Thank you for the Freephone number. Unlike the one given to me by EE customer services, this one actually works. The suggestion to call using Skype was also helpful. They are closed now for the day, but at least I know now that I will be able to phone them tomorrow. 

[rbk201]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I travel to the US regularly so I know how to activate my roaming, I know how to dial UK numbers etc and I have never had a problem like this before. This is a new phone since the last time I was here and I think for some reason it's not picking up the local cell towers or just not connecting to the network properly. When I am on Wifi, I can do everything except make and receive calls. I have already spoken to EE Customer Services four times so I was hoping someone here might have some greater wisdom for me. At least now I have a Freephone number that works so I will be able to contact them again tomorrow. 

[bristolian]

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@rbk201 wrote:

I think for some reason it's not picking up the local cell towers or just not connecting to the network properly.

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If you are able to send & receive text messages, you are connecting to the local networks - and they are providing an onward connection to EE's UK central network.

The spend cap theory doesn't seem to have been ruled out, and neither would a VoLTE issue surprise me. In an earlier post, I asked what happened when you tried making a call, you've not confirmed the symptoms.

[rbk201]

So why can I only send and receive texts when on Wifi? If I send a text when I have no Wifi it doesn't go through. Likewise, if someone texts or messages me on WhatsApp, I only receive it once I have Wifi. 

If I try to make a call, it attempts to connect until it times out and 'Fails'. It doesn't ring. The other person doesn't get a message to say I've attempted to call them. 

I tried setting a spend cap and that made no difference. 

[bristolian]

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@rbk201 wrote:

So why can I only send and receive texts when on Wifi? If I send a text when I have no Wifi it doesn't go through.

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WiFi-calling isn't officially supported abroad, but it can sometimes work - but if it works for texts, it should also work for voice calls, and you mentioned sending a text to 150, and receiving a response. Did you do this over a mobile network connection, or did your phone show a WiFi-calling indicator?

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@rbk201 wrote:

If I try to make a call, it attempts to connect until it times out and 'Fails'. It doesn't ring. The other person doesn't get a message to say I've attempted to call them. 

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This is consistent with a VoLTE issue - the phone has a 4G connection but not IMS/VoLTE. If there's no CSFB option to fallback to 2G/3G, the call fails. Not guaranteeing this is the problem, but it's not unexpected behaviour.

[rbk201]

It's an iPhone 14 and VoLTE is turned on?