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Can't hear the other party while in the USA

  • 26 September 2022
  • 4 replies
  • 124 views
P

My wife has a Koodo prepaid account. We used it last April in the US since she has purchased add-ons for voice, data and Texts. We are now back in the US for a month. She can originate and receive calls  but she can’t hear the other person. Data and texts messages are OK. We had a Koodo rep call us on another line, who then passed me to somebody in the technical service. She told me that my wife would need a 5G phone so it would work in the US.  She also said no 3G or 4G phones will work on Koodo prepaid accounts in the US! I know 3G phones no longer work in the US but 4G (LTE) should. My wife’s phone is an iPhone SE first generation, which is compatible with LTE and VoLTE.  By the way, I can’t enable VoLTE on her phone,  I get the message ‘’to activate LTE calls on this account, contact Koodo’’ The Koodo reps was no help to resolve this.

Finally I find it strange that we can still buy from Koodo add-ons for voice in the USA without any notice that the phone needs to be 5G compatible.

Could someone suggest a way to resolve this? We are in Florida and there is a hurricane coming. It would be nice to be able to call 911 if need be and hear the person answering our call!

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4 replies

R
Userlevel 7
Badge +4

On your wife’s iPhone SE, when you go to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data - do you see an option for selecting 4G? Or does it just give LTE as the option?

Unfortunately, VoLTE is not available on Koodo prepaid accounts. 

As in Canada, 911 will work with or without a SIM card if you need to call for help.

P

Thank you Rikkster for your reply. As you said, my wife phone as only the LTE option, plus 3G. There is no 4G option.

It is a relief to know the 911 will work, though I am not sure we will hear them speaking at the other end of the line since this is the problem we have. It is difficult to test unless we call 911 and I am sure they won’t appreciate receiving a test call. 

 

 

R
Userlevel 7
Badge +4

You’re welcome, Pierre.

If switching to a postpaid plan is an option, you may want to look into this. Switching to a postpaid account/plan should resolve the problem with your wife’s iPhone not being able to hear other parties. More importantly, you or your wife would be able to make emergency 911 calls when travelling to the U.S. You can add the VoLTE add-on free of charge from your postpaid self-serve account.

While Koodo’s prepaid service works well here in Canada and 3G networks are rumoured to be shutdown by 2025, prepaid has its limitations outside of this country.

Correction: According to the FCC, it looks as though 911 calls cannot be made as a result of 3G cellular networks shutting down in the U.S. My apologies for the confusion.

Plan Ahead for Phase Out of 3G Cellular Networks and Service | FCC 

Koodo has information on the shutdown of 3G networks in the U.S. and how it will affect prepaid customers, here. Scroll down to near the bottom of the webpage and click on the FAQ dropdown labelled: FAQS: US 3G/HSPA Network Shutdown. 

P

PROBLEM FIXED!

Thanks rikkster,

 

Yesterday we went to a T-Mobile store and talk to a person there about our problem. She did a ‘’Network Reset’’ on the iPhone and we were then able to hear the other person talking at the other end. Everything is working fine now.

 

I had rebooted the phone many times, switched the network provider (ATT, Sprint, etc.) and change or try to change any settings I could find on the phone, with no results. The only thing I had not tried is a Network reset.

This means that either my wife’s phone (iPhone SE 1st generation) is still supported in the USA or that T-Mobile did not yet remove support of the 3G band in Southern Florida!

 

Anyway, we’re happy. Thanks again rikkster for the time you spent on this!

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