Just arrived but no phone signal or roaming data

[pigby]

I am on EE with an iPhone XR and although have paid fir £10 roaming package with EE including AT&T have no signal since I landed. Changed to manually set network on settings on phone but no joy. Tried various networks - so what US network do you use? What am I doing wrong? Need help asap

 

[Plague]

Deleted.

 

[gismo1554]

I had similar issues with EE previously. This may sound silly but have you shut your phone completely on and off to see if that works? It may be that the phone itself is locked to the EE network. If this is the case then I am not sure it will work on another network. Try contacting EE customer services as they might have a solution?

 

[Minniesgal]

It sounds like your phone it locked to your network

 

[nursejackie]

I had planned to add a money credit to my Giffgaff goodbag just in case the car breaks down and I have to call for help, so it's alarming to read it's not just plain sailing. I hope you get it sorted (sorry I don't have any answer to help you out). On the bright side, you are in Disney World, enjoy

 

[Plague]

I had planned to add a money credit to my Giffgaff goodbag just in case the car breaks down and I have to call for help, so it's alarming to read it's not just plain sailing.

I've never had a problem with giffgaff in the US, though that was last in 2019.
From what I recall it just connected to a US network a few minutes after turning it on at the airport.
Obviously used it on WiFi as far as possible, but I had to roam on my balance a few times to get rides, etc.
They piggyback the O2 system, so probably different roaming arrangements from EE.

 

[csimon]

I have used GiffGaff successfully in 2019 too, but I have just been in the USA and tried to use a different SIM - Asda Mobile PAYG, piggybacks off Vodafone. My phone is dual SIM. I got a phone signal but no data, although I didn't actually try making a call to see if it worked. There was just no internet connection. Switching back to GiffGaff was OK, but the Asda Mobile still didn't have data when switching back. Checked all account settings etc and that international data roaming was on, and re-downloaded the "settings" for the provider and rebooted phone. Several times.

I sent a message to their customer support while I was there but didn't get a response. Since coming back home, I've had a text, not sure if it's a response to my message if or if they just sent it anyway:

"Hi, we'd like to make sure your phone can access data abroad if you're planning to travel this summer. We've previously sent settings to your phone which should already be installed. Sometimes these settings may have been missed - please visit http://mobile.asda.com/APN for info on how to check if you have the correct settings before you travel. We'll also be resending settings to you in the next few weeks. Please follow the instructions when you receive them."

I think my situation might be complicated with the phone being dual SIM. It does indeed store the settings separately for each SIM but I have to assume it switches settings correctly when you switch SIM. But anyhow I checked that page that they referred me to and the APN name was different. I had "Vodafone UK Data" wap.vodafone.co.uk and the web site says it should be "ASDA Internet" MY.INTERNET.

I've now changed that, so I'll see what happens next time and whether it changes again when they eventually proactively send me the settings. (And why I didn't get the correct APN when I used the Download Settings on the phone before, I don't know).

This is not the same situation as yours, but just letting you know the type of thing that can go wrong. Obviously, contact EE to see if they have a solution (maybe as others have suggested your phone is locked to EE - but I would have thought they'd have a solution for roaming in that case - the APN should allow a partner provider to connect when abroad, although I don't knwo the technical details as to how this would work), but is there a page like Asda where they provide what the settings should be so you can check that in your phone?

[EDIT: https://community.ee.co.uk/t5/Mobile-Data/EE-APN-Settings-Where-to-find-them/td-p/1145404
iPhone
You are unable to update/change APN settings on an iPhone as these are locked out by the network. These are done by Carrier updates."
Buit the APN appears to be "everywhere" for Android. ]

 

[McCrae]

I have EE, am just back from a trip to Orlando. No issues getting a connection. AT&T was the most common carrier my phone connected to…
I have an old Iphone 7+..still works well.

 

[itf]

I am on EE with an iPhone XR and although have paid fir £10 roaming package with EE including AT&T have no signal since I landed. Changed to manually set network on settings on phone but no joy. Tried various networks - so what US network do you use? What am I doing wrong? Need help asap

Absolute worst case, when you can get on WIFI install the T-Mobile Prepaid eSIM app (your phone supports this) and you can get a US phone number + data for a month on a PAYG basis - the just select that new line as the line you want to use for data + calls while you're there. Not ideal but might be easier than trying to get hold of EE.

Prices are
$10 for 1000 minutes, 1000 texts + 1GB
$15 unlimited talk / text, 3GB
$25 Unlimited talk / text 6GB
$35 Unlimited talk / text 12Gb
$40 Unlimited talk / text 10Gb < Don't do this one it's worse than the $35!
$50 Unlimited talk / text & unlimited data
$60 Unlimited talk / text / data + 10GB hotspot data

 

[pigby]

Spoke to EE today - they hadnt set up correctly when I rang them before I left UK - now sorted

 

[gismo1554]

Glad you got it sorted!