Cannot send or receive texts abroad

[jodiecharlene]

Hi, I arrived in Canada a week ago and still haven't been able to send or receive texts or calls. It's a right pain when everything is two-factor authentication these days so I can't access important things!

I've already followed the guide for setting up phone for going abroad: APN is "Virgin Media Mobile Internet", and "Bell" is automatically selected for the network operator, I've restarted phone numerous times.

I have bars of signal, but my phone is unable to tell my phone number — usually my phone tells me the phone number of the SIM (this is definitely true as it identifies the number when my Canadian SIM is in) — so there is obviously some sort of problem.

Any help greatly appreciated. 

Thank you! 

[Nathan_B]

Hi there @jodiecharlene, welcome back to our forum and thanks for your post.

I'm sorry to see that you have had issues with your calls and texts while in Canada, thanks for checking that the roaming service is active. Just to confirm, was this done at least 24 hours before you left the UK?

If you are using an Android or Apple device I would recommend using the Sim tool kit app to see if this helps with the issue. Below are instructions on how to access this.

For Android:
Select Apps from the Home Screen
Select Virgin SIM Toolkit Icon
Select Roaming
Select Mode
Select Manual
Select International-you are done, go back to Home Screen
 

To Switch back when in the UK:
Select Apps from Home screen
Select Virgin SIM Toolkit Icon
Select Roaming
Select Mode
Select Automatic and go back to Home Screen
 

For iOS:
Select Settings from the Home Screen
Select Phone Icon
Select SIM Applications
On newer iOS 14 - Settings -> Mobile Data -> SIM Applications
Select Roaming
Select Mode
Select Manual
Select International and you are done, go back Home screen to retry
 

To change back when returning to the UK:
Select Settings from the Home Screen
Select Phone Icon
Select SIM Applications
On newer iOS 14 - Settings -> Mobile Data -> SIM Applications
Select Roaming
Select Mode
Select Automatic mode - you are done, go back to Home screen
 

It is important that you set the SIM roaming app back to Automatic mode once in the UK or you will not be able to access service when you return.

If you need any further support after you have tried this please let us know, we will be happy to assist.

Regards

Nathan

[jodiecharlene]

Hi Nathan, thanks for your speedy response. Yes, quite sure it was done 24 hours before leaving the UK, and if I remember correctly, I didn't have to change anything anyway.

Just tried the Sim tool kit, but this hasn't fixed anything unfortunately. Still not able to send or receive texts.

Thanks. 

[Nathan_B]

You're welcome, thanks for trying that. 

Are you able to try connecting your phone to another available network to see if this helps? Also, if possible can you please try your sim in another handset to see if this continues.

Regards

Nathan

[jodiecharlene]

Tried connecting to other networks, either had the same scenario where it says it is connected/registered on network but doesn't actually work, or it wouldn't connect to the network at all.

Will try my SIM in another phone later (currently 3am here).

Does it cost to receive texts in Canada? Perhaps the issue is my spending cap? 

[Paul_DN]

Hi Jodie,

Thanks for reaching back out, you can find everything you need to know around Roaming including any charges here.

Please let us know how you get on once you have been able to try your Sim in another phone.

Regards

Paul.