Roaming in USA, can't receive calls

[hd]

I've been in the USA for 2 weeks, roaming on T-mobile. I can make calls back to the UK, receive texts and use data. I can't receive calls or send texts. 

I have a Pixel 6a, unlocked from the manufacturer and a pay monthly customer. Fully up to date on Android 13 and patched to October 5th.

I have another Pixel 6a with the same behaviour. I've been through hours of Live Chat and poor advice saying the "caller" needs to have international roaming on etc etc. Anyway i've now done a factory reset and it hasn't resolved anything.

I think there is an issue with Pixel phones not bought directly through Three. Many problems in this forum recently on roaming in the US seem to be from unlocked phones. 

Is there anything three can do to help? 

[JonathanB]

Hi @hd,

Welcome to the Three Community, we'll do our best to help.

It's a really unusual one that the issue with calls is incoming and the SMS issue is outgoing. I've got a couple of thoughts, sorry if I'm asking you to try anything that we've already went over on chat, but can we give the following a go?

Change network selection to manual, and try any other available networks e.g AT&T, I don't have the exact same device/software but it ought to be Settings>Network and Internet>SIMs Three>Automatically Select Network: Off> Choose network. Sorry if the wording is off as this can sometimes vary with Android version and device. 

In terms of messaging, are you sending using RCS/"chat" (sent over data) or normal SMS? I'd check if toggling this on/off in the  settings of your messages app makes any difference.

If you can confirm on the above whether it seems to be all US networks, and if it's specifically "chat" texts/SMS/both, and the software versions of the two phones, I'll see what else we can do to get this investigated further.

Thanks,
JonathanB

[hd]

I tried AT&T and I can only access data, no ability to call out or receive calls. On T-Mobile I was able to make calls, use data, and receive SMS. 

When a person calls there's a message saying the number is not recognised in a British accent on their phone.

Both phones are Pixel 6a's unlocked. One is ruining Android 13 with security patch Oct 5th 2022, the other is Android 12 security update 1st June 2022. 

I've not seen a toggle for RCS/chat Vs SMS. I can send WhatsApp messages fine.

I can see others experiencing the same issue here. Google support 

[hd]

On AT&T I was only able to get data only. At least T-Mobile allowed outgoing calls.

I'm running Android 13 and the other is Android 12.

I didn't try toggling SMS RCS as I'm now back in the UK.

I certainly wouldn't pay £5 a day for this roaming service. Used to work fine before the 3G networks started to be switched off in the US.

[hd]

I can see others having similar issues here Google Support 

[hd]

On AT&T calls went straight to voicemail. On T-Mobile they said the number wasn't recognised in a British accent. When I called support they reset my voicemail but it didn't help.

I'm less concerned by the text issue, just by the fact that no one can call me or leave a voicemail when roaming.

[JonathanB]

Thanks for all the insight on this, I'd have liked to do more tests if you were still in the US, but I'll certainly feed everything back so that we can make sure this is looked into.

And all services are working as normal now that you're back in the UK?

JonathanB

[hd]

Everything is working fine now back in the UK. I'm back in the US in 6 weeks so may be back in contact then.

3 have sent a replacement SIM in the meantime to see if that helps next time.

[PeteG]

Hi, hd. 

I hope that when you're in the USA next, you don't have this issue.

If you do end up experiencing the issue again though, could you also try connecting to either the 3G or the 2G networks directly when choosing between networks? You'll see little icons next to the network name usually to indicate what type of network it is. 

Let us know how you get on.

Pete.  

[FC]

Hi there, I am currently in the US and facings the same issue exactly. I am using an iPhone 11. Was there any solution to your problem @hd ?