Mobile phone provider recommendation on best service

Some12

I have been signed up to Vodafone since 3G came out but have an issue they cannot fix so I need to switch providers. I have reported this issue to Vodafone multiple times over two years and they can't resolve.

Problem: Vodafone Ireland will not connect to the Canada area code 672 with phone number starting with 999. Vodafone also partner with limited providers in the US and Canada so the service quality there is generally very bad (West coast North America) generlly getting only 1 bar signal strength.

I had to buy a Canada SIM when I was in Canada 4 weeks ago so I could contact people with these numbers.

I'd like a bill pay phone with enough calls/texts/data for the EU and add a roaming plan option for the USA and Canada for calls/texts/data. My current bills are ~50 - 100 per month depending on my travel.

There are multiple mobile phone providers in Ireland and I would appreciate suggestions/guidance/reviews on who has the best service. I'm not too worried about cost but who has the best world-wide service quality. I don't want to be standing outside an airport in Canada again asking a stranger if I can borrow their phone to call my hotel/taxi.

Thanks in advance!!

babelfish1990

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058256934/mobile-phone-provider-recommendation-on-best-service

Have you got VOLTE (Voice over LTE/4G) enabled on your phone? North American networks have switched off their 3G networks, so you need to have VOLTE enabled to do voice over 4G/5G. You cannot depend on being able to use a 2G network in US. I don't know about your 999 number problem - but you should also store numbers in your phone in International format eg +1 672 999 XXXX for the number you are calling in Canada. If you store a local number starting in the digits 999, any Irish based operator might assume you are trying to make an emergency call?. You should also consider using WiFi Calling - it will give you free Roaming when in US/Canada, when you have access to WiFi, and it will eliminate any roaming issues at least when you have WiFi. WiFi Calling keeps you on your home network even when you are roaming, so the behaviour of the phone should be exactly the same as at home. Eir are the only Irish operator who offer WiFi calling when roaming. I haven't been doing much roaming in the last two years, but I never have problems roaming with Eir.

Micky 32

I have always found Vodafone great for roaming in the US. I’m over there a few times a year.

Have they now activated VoLTE roaming in the USA already ? When i was there in May i could no longer use their main roaming partner AT&T because they turned off 3G and 2G and VoLTE wasn’t available from them. You could still use them for data but no voice calls. I got this text message from them:

“”Welcome, you are roaming on AT&T. Due to network technology compatibility, traditional voice calls will not work. Please use data, SMS, and app-based calling.””

You will now roam on T Mobile. They still have a 2G service. When you get a voice call your phone will revert to 2G to take the call.

However T Mobile are switching off their 2G networks later this year and Vodafone are claiming they are working on VoLTE roaming for later this year.

If you have an iphone with E-Sim and you are on Eir there is a cool trick. You could purchase a data roaming esim from Airalo. When you have it activated set your phone to manual network selection on the main sim and select a network that doesn’t work, say Verizon. Your main sim won’t have any signal but it will activate wifi calling by tethering off your airalo sim. This only works on iPhones unfortunately.

Some12

Thanks for the comments babelfish & Micky!

It looks like you have identified one problem - My Samsung S8 does not seem to have 4G (It's an old phone and I never had a need to upgrade). So, it looks like I need to get a 4G/5G compatible phone. I did not know 3G networks were being shut off - this probably explains my 1 bar signal strengths. I don't have a VOLTE option in my phone settings - Only LTE/3G/2G

Regarding the +1 672 999 XXXX number, I cannot call or text this number from Canada or the US. My family are also on Vodafone and they lso cannot. My gut feeling is that Vodafone have not agreed to accessing that group of numbers for some kind of business reason (probably no agreement on reimbursements for cross network or roaming access). I can now phone that number from Ireland (sometimes) but cannot text.

I wonder if the lack of 4G/5G on my phone is the problem with calling that number from Canada or the US?

However, it was Vodafone customer service that told me to buy a Canadian SIM in order to access the +1 672 999 number while in Canada. This speaks volumes for Vodafone knowing there is a problem with that number.

I'm still thinking that I may need to switch provider to be able to call the +1 672 999 number set when I am roaming.

Thanks!

babelfish1990

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119415630#Comment_119415630

The Samsung Galaxy S8 does support 4G(LTE) and VOLTE. You might need to check if you have the latest software updates? It is also possible that Vodafone don't support 4G & VOLTE roaming in Canada, even if your phone supports them.

I don't believe that the +1 672 999 number problem has anything to do with the lack of 4G/LTE. Your gut feel could be correct - it might be a lack of an agreement between Vodafone and the operator who owns this number - or it could just be an error in one of the operators routing tables. It is possible that porting to another operator would get around this problem. However, it is also possible that the error is in a transit operator's routing tables, and will still be a problem with another Irish mobile operator. There are only three operators in Ireland. Vodafone, Eir and Three. If you know someone in Canada with an Eir or Three SIM, you could ask them to call the number. Porting to Eir is probably the best option, as it also gives you the option of WiFi calling, just in case Eir also have the same problem with routing calls to +1 672 999 from Canada. The Samsung S8 also supports WiFi calling.