Unable to make calls from abroad

[IJLat43]

Arrived in Jamaica yesterday and I can't make or receive calls. I got the normal text messages saying how much it will cost but can't call UK. Been roaming with Virgin for years and never had this issue, all settings are correct, did an APN update but still nothing.

[Tom_W1]

Hi @IJLat43 thanks for your post here in the Community although I'm sorry to hear of your concerns.

What error message are you receiving when you try these calls please, can you confirm also if text messages are sent and received okay? 

Many thanks

[IJLat43]

Hi, I don't get an error. It just hangs up when I try to call. Text seem to work to virgin service numbers , like the text all to 78992 to get APN configuration message but will not send if I try to send a text to a number in my contacts. If I try to call 789 it just hangs up.

I get the Welcome to USA followed by welcome to Jamaica message every few hours.

[Paulina_Z]

Hi @IJLat43,

Thank you for coming back to us about your ongoing call issues while you're abroad. 

Have you made sure that all your settings are correct by checking our Using Virgin Mobile Abroad page? Have you checked our Jamaica Roaming Charges page to be aware of how much this would cost? 

Can you tell us what mobile phone you have? Is it an iPhone or an Android? 

Let us know.

Thank you. 

[IJLat43]

Hi,

Yes I have checked the pages and as I said in first post, all settings are correct.

I have been with Virgin for years and used my phone abroad many times without issue. I am using a Samsung A52 5g.

I appreciate that costs are high but I really needed to use my phone for an urgent call but couldn't.

As I said in my last post, I keep getting the welcome to USA and welcome to Jamaica text messages, every time I try to use my phone. Could that be a sign of a problem?

Thanks for your help with this.

[Paulina_Z]

Hi @IJLat43,

Thank you for coming back to us about your Mobile issues abroad. I can understand how frustrating this must be for you.

As you're an Android user, please follow these steps: Select Apps from your home screen > Virgin SIM toolkit > Roaming > Mode > Manual > International. Once this has been done, you might need to reboot. Let us know if this works for you.

Thank you.

[IJLat43]

Hi, I tried that, rebooted but it still doesn't work.

 

[Paulina_Z]

Hi @IJLat43,

I'm sorry to hear that this did not help resolve your issue. I'll be more than happy to investigate this issue further and see what I can do to help.

I will send you a Private Message to confirm some details. Please keep an eye out for a purple envelope at the top right corner of your Forum page. I will be in touch soon.

Thank you.

[Claire0308]

Hi - Sorry to jump on this, but can I please ask if you got this issue resolved.  I had the same problem in August in Spain, but I could use text and data, so I managed by using whatsapp for chats / calls, 2 other people on the same holiday also had iPhones on virgin contracts, all had the same issue - couldn't make or receive calls for the majority of the time but could use text / data so we knew our settings were right / roaming was on etc. 

We contacted Virgin when we came home and was advised that we all needed new SIM cards to rectify the problem - ordered and fitted these so assumed was ok. 

Now I've just returned from Florida and had the same issue again. Emailed Virgin to complain again and told it's because of the location of the masts (which doesn't explain why, every now and then a call would connect from the same location that it wouldn't do earlier that day) 

They've said that there's nothing they can do, and basically, I have to either put up with it or I can leave them to move to another provider - Great service! 

Thanks 

[Robert_P]

Hello Claire0308

Sorry to hear of the problems experienced with your mobile services whilst outside of the UK, we appreciate you taking the time to raise this via the forums and welcome to the community.

We aren't able to guarantee service when outside of the UK, this is dependent on a number of factors similar to when in the UK such as network congestion, mast issues, geographical location and the local area. Build quality of the property as well as other devices etc. We do have some help here in regards to using the handset abroad.

If you would like us to have a look over your account and make sure it is all set up to limit the potential impacts let us know and we'll be happy to take a look.

Rob