Roam further cuts off incoming calls every 5 minutes

[ImmortalSoFar]

I have an unlimited monthly plan and paid £25 for the roam further package so that I could receive calls while in the US. This should allow me to use my UK minutes in the US. However, when receiving incoming calls (from a number where I cannot return them), the call cuts off every five minutes with a British, female voice saying the call cannot be connected. Looking at the logs, the calls range from 5 minutes 1 second to 5 minutes 6 seconds so there seems to be an intentional disconnection.

My contact's calls are uninterrupted when we talk within the UK and when he calls other numbers. I cannot find any reference to a five minute limit in your documentation or TOS.

[Chris_B]

@ImmortalSoFar   There is no limit apart from the standard 120 minute cut off.   If all other calls are OK outside the UK in this location then it’s definitely not your line that’s cutting off the call. 

[bristolian]

Do you have a spend cap active?

Are the symptoms the same regardless of which local network you're connected to? Testing on another one would prove this either way.

[ImmortalSoFar]

I'm waiting for another contact to try a >5 minute call. So far, there's only one contact who does long calls but once I can get some more feedback, I should know more. So far as I can tell, there's only one network that EE uses over here.

[ImmortalSoFar]

Just tried an incoming call from another number and the same thing happens - this was a regular landline. "It is not possible to connect your call. Please try again later." after exactly 5 minutes.
No spend cap. When they call back, we get another 5 minutes.

[ImmortalSoFar]

Additional information: Outgoing calls seem to be fine but all the incoming calls are cut off after 5 minutes; either immediately or with the "It is not possible to connect your call" message. This is not what I signed up for and I'd have gone with the forwarding - Skype number - Local sim option if I'd known this would be the situation. Or I might just investigate O2's international options.

[Leanne_T]

Morning @ImmortalSoFar 

Thanks for coming back to us with the extra details. 

Have you tried connecting to another network to see if the same happens? 

Leanne. 

[ImmortalSoFar]

I'm in the US, I don't get to choose the network. Besides, the artificial voice is English so the connection is being dropped on that side of the Atlantic. 

[bristolian · Accepted solution]

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@ImmortalSoFar wrote:

I don't get to choose the network

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Use your phone's manual network selection menu to do so.

[ImmortalSoFar]

Got it. I turned off automatic select. Verizon was active and gave the problem, AT&T and 300100 were unable to connect but T-Mobile worked and I managed to hold an 8 minute, continuous incoming conversation. I guess Verizon disconnected after 5 minutes and the EE system sent out the message.

So, the solution is to switch to T-Mobile. Thanks to everyone who helped.