Issues Roaming in the USA

[Dm2]

Hi everyone.

Any ideas why my cellular data isn’t working in particular USA state? When I travel to IL my data stops working. I have had a temporary fix by switching from ATT roaming to Tmobil. But now it seems that I cant use my data despite I switch to any other US operator. Have tried everything. Reset my network settings, turn off my phone, remove sim. 

There is no problems in any other state or province. Only Illinois 

[BellAntgio · Accepted solution]

Hey there @Dm2 , 

Welcome to the Community and thanks for your post. 

As you are traveling and are outside of Canada, we can't guarantee service in all roaming locations. As per your description, you are manually selecting the local networks where you're located and it is the right thing to do (depending on local network traffic, you may need to repeat the step several times until you capture a working network).

iOS / iPhone:

1. From your Home screen, tap Settings
2. Tap Cellular
3. Tap Cellular Network or Network Selection
4. Tap the Automatic switch to turn off
5. Once available, networks will appear. At this point, you may select your desired local carrier.

Android / Samsung:

1. From your Home screen, swipe down and tap the Settings icon in the top right
2. Tap Connections
3. Tap Mobile networks
4. Tap the switch to turn Select automatically off
5. Once available, networks will appear. At this point, you may select your desired local carrier.

Let the Community know if you have more questions.

[Dave_Ings]

My wife’s phone just experienced this *exact* problem in the USA. Turning off automatic network selection, and forcing a switch from ATT to T-Mobile, as you suggest, fixed the issue. Oddly, my phone was working fine on Automatic / ATT even though hers was not.

Is there a simple explanation for what causes this non-obvious problem?

[ijtoro]

Im in the USA . I can not make or receive phone calls including contacting Bell . I pay for roaming in the USA .

[jiggles19c]

Hi all,

I switched phones from Samsung to Ulefone Armor X6.
Had my wife register the new phone and it works great in Canada.
Tried using it in the USA but I couldn't make or receive calls. Text messages and internet access was all good.

Went to the local Bell store only to be told my phone needs to be 5G capable because ALL of the US has stopped using 4G and lower. Last info I found states that the 5G transition will be in effect sometime in 2030.
Also checked that this phone was compatible with US carriers. ( It is ).

Funny that my colleague's IDENTICAL phone works but not mine.
Compared all the settings and they're identical. Is it because he's with Videotron ?

Getting really tired of this BS Bell keeps pushing instead of finding and fixing the issue.
Or should I just go to Videotron ?

If anyone can help I'd appreciate it.....

Thanx

[John2]

I'm having an issue with my Android phone in the USA also, It's a 4G compatible........I figure this might be the problem because of the changes going allowing only 5G compatible phones to work properly, My question is the following, can I buy an Android phone in the USA and insert my Canadian sim card into it? Will the phone work??

Any info would be appreciated.....

John2

[Rashpal]

I am in bakersfield us having issue with network their is no network on my fon.

I tried almost everything. Like sim slot change  fon restart and everything. 

Please help me out .

[Gump]

I am having the same issue.  ATT does not allow calling but it appears to be the preferred network for Canadian phones.  When i do manual seletion and select TMobile everything works fine except that i get disconnected from them many times in a day and I have to manually reconnect.  If you miss the notification of the disconnect, ot if you are driving, you can go quite a while without service.  And when i do reconnect the TMobile signal is very strong so I am confused as to why it is happening.  Is there some way for me to change the default network to be TMobile so i could set the Auto Connect?  I have a Samsung.

[Randy12]

Currently in the U.S. Hi. my older Samsung S7 cell phone is not accepting or making calls. I can text.

[WelshTerrier]

Can you elaborate & provide further details? Mobility plan? Prepaid or Post paid? Roaming on & activated? Cellular coverage network & number of bars, etc. Checked your device phone & data setting? Airplane mode off? Device OS & Apps are all up to date? Have you tried doing a complete power off & back on for your device?

Let us know & we will endeavour to assist you.

[Gump]

Hello Welsh Terrier:

• Mobility plan? Yes
• Prepaid or Post paid? Yes
• Roaming on & activated? Yes
• Cellular coverage network & number of bars, etc. Yes, Bars varied by location but some areas had full bars
• Checked your device phone & data setting? Yes
• Airplane mode off? Yes
• Device OS & Apps are all up to date? Yes
• Have you tried doing a complete power off & back on for your device?  Yes

I have received a suggestion from the local chat support which I am not sure that I tried.  They suggest a reboot of the phone after changing the Carrier.  They suggest that this will change the default carrier and that will allow me to return to the Auto Reconnect setting.  I plan to try this on my next trip, it does not fix the issue I am having with the ATT network but hopefully this will fix the issue of having to manually reconnect to the TMobile network so frequently.  

Do you have any thoughts on this suggestion?  I will add a reply once I have had a chance to test.

Gump 

[WelshTerrier]

Bell can't guarantee service in all roaming locations. Have you contacted Samsung support? I have followed up & checked with Samsung online support & I could not find anything suggesting a reboot. I can not disagree with the suggestion that you were given to reboot. It may or may not work. The only way to find out will be for you to try it next time.

 As you indicated in your earlier post last November 26th., you are manually selecting the local networks where you're located and it is the right thing to do (depending on local network traffic, you may need to repeat the step several times until you capture a working network). I can appreciate that the selected carrier may also change any number of times if you travel any amount of distance. I just do not have a quick fix for this.

Android / Samsung:

1. From your Home screen, swipe down and tap the Settings icon in the top right
2. Tap Connections
3. Tap Mobile networks
4. Tap the switch to turn Select automatically off
5. Once available, networks will appear. At this point, you may select your desired local carrier.

Thanks for the update.

Take care

[Ijd836]

I'm out of country and phone only displays SOS

[WelshTerrier]

Welcome to the Community and thanks for your post. 

Can you elaborate & provide further detaills? Which device do you have? Which mobility plan do you subscribe to? Monthly or Pre-paid? Do you have an outstanding account balance and / or is your account topped up? Which country are you in? Does your device support the country you are trying to use it in?

This can be a result of a few different things, however the majority of the time it's simply due to your phone randomly disconnecting from the network. A quick fix is to fully power off your phone and wait a few minutes and power it back on again. If it doesn't resolve the issue, check your MyBell profile to review your status and seek out assistance if needed.

You can contact Bell at: 310-BELL or 1-866-310-BELL or *611 from any Bell mobile device or by internet Chat at: Contact Bell | Bell Mobility, Internet, TV and Home phone | Bell Canada

Thank you for contacting the Bell Community Forum.

Take care

[Ijd836]

currently in California. My phone only works partially. iPhone 15pro. Monthly subscription and all paid up.