Visitor to UK having trouble calling/texting to US

[jimschlemmer]

Hi All.

My daughter is in the UK for the month of June.  She bought an EE SIM card for her Samsung and got it installed.  I tried to buy a £20 pack through her account via the web page but it wouldn't go through.  I was able to buy a £10 Top Up, after which her account showed that she had 5G data/200 call min/unlimited texts, though the 'Current credit' was £0.0.  Still, I thought we might just be good to go.  And indeed, I was able to text and call her from the states.

The only problem is that she can't text or call me back (we've got the international prefixes all worked out).  I gather from searching this forum that we have to get her some kind of international minutes/texts, which is separate from what she has at present.  But it's not clear to me how exactly to add that on, if in fact it's the way forward.

Any help greatly appreciated.

-Jim

[XRaySpeX · Accepted solution]

@jimschlemmer : Her PAYG SIM is working fine but PAYG packs only cover calling & texting UK nos. To call or text an overseas no. she needs to top-up some more to cover the cost. They count as International calls & are chargeable.

International calls & texts to overseas nos. from UK can be rather expensive but EE has a free add-on that anyone, on PAYG or contract, can apply for to give these calls & texts at a fraction of the standard rates. See The Free CALL ABROAD Add-on for Cheap Calls/Texts from UK .

[jimschlemmer]

@XRaySpeX, thanks so much for the detailed answer.  I did finally figure out how to get her going, but it looks like the per-text charges run 10p, which could end up costing, so your extra info is much appreciated!

-Jim

[jimschlemmer]

Upon closer inspection, it looks like 10p might be the best rate we're going to get 😅.  I had already told her to text "CALL ABROAD" to 150 just before I topped up the account.

Thanks again.

-Jim

[XRaySpeX]

Yes, w/out CALL ABROAD texts would cost 25p each & calls £1 / min.

Thanks! You're welcome 🙂 ! Glad I could be of assistance & it is now sorted.

[jimschlemmer]

My daughter is in a group from the US and most of the others seem to have phone plans that work internationally.  We have a cut-rate plan, of course.  Ergo, the EE SIM.

So when she sends a text to one of her group mates, she's sending to an international (US) number.  That much is working now, though she says she's not getting images sent in texts.  Does anybody know if the international (i.e., 'CALL ABROAD') program is strictly SMS rather than MMS or is this more likely a setting on her phone?  Also, she says she's not getting group texts, which may be the same issue (and it might be for the best, as responding 'Sounds cool' to a 15 member group chat might cost her £1.5).

Thanks.

-Jim

[XRaySpeX]

The CALL ABROAD free add-on only gives cheap calls & texts (SMS) to overseas nos. It does not include Picture Msgs (MMS). Those you have to pay for out of your PAYG credit @ 40p each.

However this should not stop her receiving MMS containing images or from receiving group texts. Receiving both texts & MMS is free from anywhere.

[XRaySpeX]

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@jimschlemmer wrote:

My daughter is in a group from the US and most of the others seem to have phone plans that work internationally. 

Are the others on US plans that work internationally or have they found UK network SIMs that are cheaper than EE's.

As a matter of interest if the former can't your daughter do similar & use her US plan?

[jimschlemmer]

Thanks again, @XRaySpeX.  

Do you know if there's a phone settings help page somewhere?  I know for our domestic carries there's often a (byzantine) set of instructions to get all the SMS/MMS features running properly.  I think the path was something like Settings->Network & Internet->SIMs->Access Point Names.

-Jim

[XRaySpeX]

You'll find the APN Settings in EE APN Settings: Where to find them

Alternatively for most phones, you can download the MMS settings needed from the online set up tool.