Unable to use data whilst roaming in the EU

[#1]

I've been with Plusnet mobile for nearly 2 years with the same phone and SIM card. I've travel to the EU several times in the past and never had a problem, but now I can't get any mobile data whilst in France. I have tried phoning 500 and get given the usual script about we can't guarantee coverage abroad, have you tried switching on airplane mode, reboot phone, take out SIM card, etc. None of which makes any difference. I was thinking of moving my phone to a new network anyway and this is making we think that cheap mobile contacts come at a cost...

[#2]

Hi Steve, 

Sorry to see this has been an issue for you. Can you send me a PM with your mobile number please so I can have a look into it for you?

[#3]

Same problem here - second time in Europe this year and again data roaming is broken despite having tried all the various fixes suggested by Plusnet.

[#4]

Hi @36bits 

Could you send me a PM with the following details so we can investigate this further.

• Full name, including confirming you're the account holder
• Full address
• Bill amount and bill date found at the top right of an invoice
• Last 2 digits of bank account number and the last 2 digits of your sort code

It's worth noting that if we need to raise this for further investigation to our operations team you'd need to be in the country at the time because we'd need 3 specific detailed examples from within the past 48 hours.

[#5]

Same problem for me whilst I holidayed in Ireland at the end of June. Two curiosities; firstly, my girlfriend (who's contract is with EE, the network upon whom we are told Plusnet piggyback) had 4G signal for pretty much the whole journey down the West coast, and I never got a peep. Secondly, the roaming facility DID succeed in letting me use the local networks, but just not for data. Hardly useful when every dog and their granny is telling you it's easiest to find their holiday cottage/tour boat/restaurant/etc etc on Google maps.

[#6]

Hi @JoMoMacFad,

I'm sorry to hear you were having trouble with the signal for your mobile services while abroad. Please accept my sincerest apologies for the inconvenience caused.

Services while abroad can be temperamental in terms of what works and doesn't. This can down to the availability of masts to connect to and the connection in that country - for this reason coverage cannot always be guaranteed when abroad.

In this case, if you find this issue happening again please do get back to us and provide the three examples within 48 hours and we'll be able to pinpoint a reason and hopefully provide a solution.

Thanks.

[#7]

Funny, when I phoned Plusnet from France as my data wasn't working I was told there wasn't anything that could be done as I wasn't in the UK and they couldn't support me beyond the usual script of stuff to try that made no difference. Whereas, now the message is you must provide 3 examples in the past 48 hours whilst still in the roaming country. All I can say is that for 4 days I was in a combination of Switzerland and France, and whilst I was always able to access voice and SMS, I never got any mobile data. Yet everyone I was travelling with, none of whom have a Plusnet SIM, always had access to mobile data, normally 4G. I've been to France two other times in the past year and never had a problem with data roaming, but now I have little confidence it's going work when I go back there in a few weeks time.

[#8]

Thanks for getting back in touch @stevewilkins27, while it's correct that we can't guarantee service abroad we're more than happy to raise the issues you've had off to our Mobile Ops Team. If you could please private message 3 examples of the issue occurring we can raise this for you.

Regards

[#9]

Hi I have had the same problem while in Italy. I came to different parts of Italy three times in June, July and August and data roaming would not work. 

I tried to seek help several times from plusnet but they just said they cannot help as I am abroad. 

I had a major issue when I arrived in June as I hired a car and could not find the way without access to internet- got lost and it was a dreadful experience already. But I think this is acceptable that now it consistently fails to work at every visit.

I hope PlusNet can do something to resolve this issue as this is a terrible thing. 

[#10]

After no response to the two PM's I was asked for, I resolved my issue for my last trip to France by moving to a different network provider. Roaming data worked perfectly at all times. Sorry Plusnet, but you are likely to lose more customers over this if you can't provide a service others can.

[#11]

This has been an on going issues for a number of months. (search data roaming)

Just returned from a long weekend in Copenhagen. I could not get data roaming to work. Got on to Plusnet support....

After trying all the things suggested, manually switching operator, soft/hard reset, removing the SIM, turning off for 5 or more minutes, going into flight mode for 5 minutes trying them all at the same time It did not work.

The support response was it must be the other operator, or the local mast. I was walking around the capital city of Denmark (densely populated) hopping from mast to mast. I tried all the other available operators same problem.  I asked can they access any logs indicating what was failing ... No answer

The help desk person turned to his supervisor for help. This resulted in the stock response from IT support. Its not us its them. Your abroad we can't support you.No attempt to escalate to a more knowledgeable team or their host network EE

Well the contractual chain is clear. I have a contract with Plusnet not with the local operators. Plusnet have a contract with EE to provide service in the UK and abroad. EE have a contract with the Danish operators to provide the "Roam-Like-At-Home" product Plusnet advertise so freely. The product does not work and is not fit for purpose.

Plusnet need to raise it with their host network EE, to get them to engage and investigate and resolve the issue.

After struggling with Plusnet support to no avail. I tried something else:

I have a Nokia 5.1 on Android 9 with Security patches up to early August 19. Unlocked/SIM free on Plusnet/EE
My wife has a Motorola G5 on Android 8.1 with security patches to early Feb 19. Unlocked/SIM free Giffgaff/O2

If I put my SIM in her phone it works and I can use data when in Copenhagen

If I put my wife's GiffGaff SIM in my phone it works and and I can use data when in Copenhagen.

A new phone will be ~£150 or more if I want something flash. The deal I am on is £6.30/month promotion 1.5Gig + lots of calls and texts. If I came to Plusnet afresh I would be paying £8 for 3Gig + lots of calls and texts. I can get the same from Giffgaff for the same price. https://www.giffgaff.com/sim-only-plans AND I can Roam-Like-At-Home.

Its a no brainer.  If you want to use a relatively new phone abroad don't waste your time with Plusnet/EE or indeed any other EE hosted network.

By the way I do not want Plusnet to pay for travel and accommodation to Copenhagen so I can help Plusnet fix the problem.

[#12]

I have a Nokia 5.1 on Android 9 with Security patches up to early August 19. Unlocked/SIM free on Plusnet/EE
My wife has a Motorola G5 on Android 8.1 with security patches to early Feb 19. Unlocked/SIM free Giffgaff/O2

If I put my SIM in her phone it works and I can use data when in Copenhagen

If I put my wife's GiffGaff SIM in my phone it works and and I can use data when in Copenhagen.

 That points,towards a problem with the APN being set on your phone when using the,PN sim. Did you ever try manually creating an APN? 

[#13]

Sorry I forgot. I was unable to edit the APN settings but created a new entry with the same settings and used that. It did not work. So I deleted them.

[#14]

@Anvil-chorus  thanks for confirming that.

As you may be aware, there have been some issues with data roaming but they have usually been down to problems with the actual account. The fact that the SIM works in another phone does tend to discount this in your case.

I was unable to edit the APN settings but created a new entry with the same settings and used that.

Yes, you won't be able to edit the default APN created by the SIM itself. TBH , I had a problem with my previous phone and had to manually create a new APN to get data at all (even in the UK). My current phone worked fine as soon as I put the PN sim in it!

Your problem seems unusual, and given that the SIM works fine in another phone, I suspect that it's going to be difficult to get PN to investigate.

I notice that your phone is running Android Pie whereas the other isn't. I do see some reports of APN problems with Pie on the net but nothing conclusive. I hope it's not a Pie issue as my phone updated a month or so ago and I've yet to try roaming...

[#15]

MisterW

As you may be aware, there have been some issues with data roaming but they have usually been down to problems with the actual account.

I cannot find any cases of this see below.

Your problem seems unusual,

Looking at this list it appears not.

Iainski47    Mobile data roaming    ‎21-01-2019 8:48 AM  - appears not resolved
Cutecliffo    Mobile data roaming    ‎15-04-2019 8:39 PM  - appears not resolved
summersklg    Mobile data roaming    ‎30-01-2019 2:07 PM  - Fixed with a phone reset
GaryKinnear    Mobile data roaming    ‎27-04-2019 3:22 PM  - appears not resolved
PsiDOC99    OK plusnet.. What's the craic with data roaming in Spain?    ‎09-09-2017 4:10 PM - Corrected APN settings
Garethu        Data roaming in canada    ‎18-12-2018 6:38 PM  - appears not resolved
rmcw        Roaming Data Not Working‎ 17-04-2018 5:42 AM   - appears not resolved
stevewilkins27    Unable to use data whilst roaming in the EU    ‎12-07-2019 10:19 PM - appears not resolved
36bits        Unable to use data whilst roaming in the EU    ‎21-07-2019 2:22 PM - appears not resolved
JoMoMacFad    Unable to use data whilst roaming in the EU    ‎22-07-2019 5:55 PM  - appears not resolved
luispel2000    Unable to use data whilst roaming in the EU    3 weeks ago - appears not resolved
Laral        NO ROAMING IN EU. Plusnet this IS a problem    ‎07-04-2019 9:53 AM  - appears not resolved
36bits        NO ROAMING IN EU. Plusnet this IS a problem    ‎09-04-2019 4:40 PM - appears not resolved
NL1        NO ROAMING IN EU. Plusnet this IS a problem    ‎23-04-2019 9:06 AM   - appears not resolved
.
and so on.

I believe it is clear after this trawl that Users of Plusnet mobile need to think long and hard if they are to rely on mobile data services whilst roaming.

Having trawled this forum I have also convinced myself that Plusnet is incapable of resolving this issue.