Phone goes to SOS and no signal randomly

[rjag2034]

Mother in Law is on a pay as you go plan, been that way for years. Recently, in the last 6 months her signal is intermittent and goes to SOS. Happens indoors and outdoors. I upgraded her to a new Iphone13 the other week and had Rogers put in a new sim and it still goes to SOS. I put my Rogers Infinite sim in her phone and it works great so I know the only thing left is the pay as you go service. She lives in downtown Victoria. Any help would be appreciated.

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[57]

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@rjag2034 wrote:

...I upgraded her to a new Iphone13 the other week and had Rogers put in a new sim and it still goes to SOS. I put my Rogers Infinite sim in her phone and it works

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Something similar happens to me on my iPhone SE 2020 on the Rogers Pre-Paid plan when I travel the Toronto subway or sometimes when I'm in the US.  I believe that what happens is that Rogers limits the capabilities of the Pre-Paid phone to certain frequencies which may not be available everywhere.

For example when I'm outside the Toronto subway tunnel I have phone service, but when inside the signal disappears and goes to SOS.  This is despite the fact that Rogers now has (5G?) available in the Toronto subways and other Rogers Post-Paid people can use their phones..

Something similar can happen in the US - see the following:  

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Pay-as-You-Go/Rogers-PAYGo-Customers-Cannot-Use-Their-Phones-I...

P.S. When you have your SIM in her phone, you should be able to see the signal at the top of the screen (say 5G?).  With her SIM, you will likely see something different.  (I'm not an expert in these matters, but I'm one of the few on this forum who still has a Pre-Paid phone on Rogers.)

[rjag2034]

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@57 wrote:

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P.S. When you have your SIM in her phone, you should be able to see the signal at the top of the screen (say 5G?).  With her SIM, you will likely see something different.  (I'm not an expert in these matters, but I'm one of the few on this forum who still has a Pre-Paid phone.)

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Thanks, yes, when I put my sim in her phone has service so we know its not the location. The pay as you go must be throttled when it wasnt before. She has lived here for 8+ years and its only the last 6 months since the Shaw takeover that this has been happening

[57]

Exactly, each carrier (service provider) can limit (cripple) the devices under their control.  For example, some providers do not limit the capabilities of their pre-paid phones in the US - I researched this when Rogers first started limiting Pre-paid phones in the US. Interestingly, I was able to make a call when I was in the US in one location, but at another location, only got the SOS option (which I did not "test".  😉 )

[LordDrakkon]

This is actually a known issue on the Apple side of things. I have seem similar reports in other carrier forums from Canada and the US. Apple needs to correct this with a firmware update. The issue is pretty random, making it harder to track down and address.

[57]

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@LordDrakkon wrote: This is actually a known issue on the Apple side of things. 

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I do not believe the issues discussed in this thread is an Apple issue since the same phone acts differently depending on the SIM in it.  A Post-Paid SIM will access certain frequencies (like 5G) that the Pre-Paid SIM will not (due to crippling by the provider).

Also, the issue with Rogers Pre-Paid phones in the US is due to Rogers and their "US Partners" not coming to agreement on terms for their Pre-Paid services, especially on certain frequencies.  Some frequencies are shut down in the US (and not in Canada yet), which is a totally different issue, but can affect phones that were limited (crippled by providers) to those (shut down) frequencies, even though the phone itself is capable of the working frequencies (like LTE), which was limited by Rogers (pre-paid), but not by other Canadian (pre-paid) providers.

P.S. I know this also because I can travel to countries like Mexico and Costa Rica, which I did recently, and use my iPhone SE2020 (with Rogers Pre-Paid service) without issue in those countries.

[jays77]

Interesting thread.  I don't know much about cell phones but have wondered why pre paid are treated differently than post payed plans.  At least with pre paid Rogers knows they are getting paid for the use.

[LordDrakkon]

3G shutdown in the US is something that will start happening in Canada this year. This is also happening on other providers that don't as heavily restrict their prepaid and also happening with postpaid customers as well. There are threads on AT&It's for (Rogers roaming partner for the US, T-Mobile YSA, Verizon USA, and even a couple of threads on Apple's forum.

https://community.t-mobile.com/coverage-signal-32/no-signal-in-metro-atlanta-says-sos-only-55290

I travel a lot as well, usually spending half of the year in the US unless I am in another country, like Australia or the UK. I don't use an iPhone and my service is postpaid but I do spend a lot of the on cellphone related forums to know this is not some Rogers or prepaid isolated issue.

[57]

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@LordDrakkon wrote:
3G shutdown in the US is something that will start happening in Canada this year. 

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It won't be happening until the end of 2025 at the earliest for the cell phones used here in Canada.  See link below:

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Network-Coverage/3-G-service-plans-to-discontinue/m-p/474474/h...

[LordDrakkon]

That doesn't stop providers from doing it sooner and those plans for Rogers can always change.

[Pauly]

with 3G shutting down, or already partially shut down, Rogers should seriously consider opening up the 4G and 5G networks to Prepaid (formerly called Pay As You Go) customers