unable to make/receive calls from abroad

[Vincent221]

Hi everyone,

I’m currently in China using a monthly subscription plan but unable to make or receive any calls. I can receive texts but cannot send them, which makes it impossible for me to contact EE through 150 or other numbers (such as +44 7953 966150).

I’ve already tried adding credits, enabling data roaming, and rebooting my phone, but none of these have resolved the issue.

Has anyone experienced something similar or have any ideas on how to fix this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance!

[Schockwave]

Hello @Vincent221 ,

Welcome to the community,

If on contract, did you enable roaming? I believe you did if you can receive4 text.

Did you receive the welcome message from EE?

Have you tried to do a manual search for a network?

[bristolian]

Regardless of any billing add-on, your ability to get coverage abroad (which calls, texts & mobile data rely on) is dependent on roaming being activated - which allows your phone to connect to foreign networks.

Have you used your phone abroad previously, did you receive a welcome text message on first arrival abroad? These are good evidence of roaming being enabled if so. In these cases, manually cycling through all available local networks often resolves issues - toggling flight mode can have the same effect.

[Vincent221]

Hello Schockwave,

Thank you for your message.

Yes, I did receive a welcome message from EE. I have roaming enabled on my phone, but I did not send a ‘ROAMING’ text message to EE before I left the UK. Could this be the problem?

The local network seems to be fine but I data roaming is not available. The only function that works is receiving text.

I would be grateful for any further advice.

Thanks!

[Schockwave]

@Vincent221 , if you have never had roaming enabled on your account, then yes that would be the problem and you would have to contact customer service to get it enabled, check my signature for ways of doing so.

Having said that, if your received the welcome message from EE, then you should be good to go, but I would also do a manual search for a network.

[bristolian]

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@Vincent221 wrote:

Yes, I did receive a welcome message from EE. I have roaming enabled on my phone, but I did not send a ‘ROAMING’ text message to EE before I left the UK. Could this be the problem?

The local network seems to be fine but I data roaming is not available. The only function that works is receiving text.

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Try manually connecting to alternative local networks - cycle through each in turn.

Texting ROAMING to 150 is how you enable roaming. If those permissions are in-place, you can connect to foreign networks - if they're not, you can't connect and thus don't have coverage abroad. The permissions are at account-level, so when you say "roaming is enabled on my phone" you are likely thinking of the "data roaming" setting.

By being able to receive text messages, you have a local network connection and thus roaming is enabled. What happens when you try making a call or sending a text message?

[Vincent221]

Thank you for your suggestion. I tried manually connecting to alternative local networks, but the result is still the same.

I didn’t text ROAMING to 150 before leaving the UK, but I received a welcome message from EE upon arrival and can receive other EE texts, including verification codes. However, when I try to send texts, they are always marked as undelivered.

When I call my number using a local phone, the screen shows "user busy." When I try to make calls, I hear a short message, "... this number abroad," before the call is automatically dropped, and the screen shows "call failed."

Any additional advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[Vincent221]

Many thanks for your advice. I tried manual searching for other network, but it didn’t work. May I ask if using Skype to contact support means I should search for +44 800 079 8586 or +44 800 956 6000? Thank you very much! 

[Leanne_T]

Hi there @Vincent221 

Thanks for trying this and letting us know. 

To get your account looked into, please see our Contact Us from Abroad page for numbers to call from any other phone. 

If you are calling using a VoIP such as Skype please call +44 800 9566000. 

Leanne.