Three sim suddenly not compatible when roaming?

lifemagic

I'm volunteering long-term in Cambodia. I needed to get some banking done and so asked my niece to send a selection of payg sims to test with my phone, a wiko Jerry I bought unlocked in Bangkok. The Sim from Three worked fine so I linked it to all my accounts.

Everything worked fine for about ten months, then I lost the signal completely, no bars. Three customer service said there is nothing wrong with the account, told me to change Sim slot, manually connect to the provider (which said FORBIDDEN next to it), but nothing worked. I was put through to a technical person who said that the problem is that the phone is not compatible. She said to buy any cheap 3g phone in Cambodia and it will be fine. To me that's ridiculous as it worked previously in the same place.

Since then I've traveled on to Malaysia and Thailand (but not been to uk). The minute I touched down the same phone and Sim connected and I've never lost signal.

I'm planning to go back to Cambodia though so I need it to work there. I complained via resolver as so many accounts are linked to this Sim but they are sticking to their guns that the phone is not compatible.

Is that really possible? Considering the inconvenience, does my complaint have grounds?

pmduk

Checking here, you should be OK on 3G only.

The networks Seatel won't work with your handset and Smart would need to have 4G turned off in settings.

UK tech support staff often struggle to support little-known brands precisely because they are so little-known and rarely have a UK presence.

eDicky

Don't bother asking Three customer service or technical support people about such things, they are unlikely to have relevant knowledge. It's nothing to do with handset compatibility, also obvious as it worked fine for ten months.

When you select networks manually the ones that show 'Forbidden' have no roaming agreement with the home network and you cannot connect - even if it worked previously they may now have a payment dispute or other problem and the agreement is terminated.

So you cannot rely on being able to roam in Cambodia on Three UK when you return there.

Instead of wasting your time with complaints for such an obscure issue, use a different UK network that does roam in Cambodia (most will), and perhaps you can ask Three for a PAC to port your number and avoid having to change the number you have registered with all your financial services.

eDicky

Perhaps you are using a local SIM for mobile data with the Three SIM in the other SIM slot. If your handset has only 2G connectivity on the second (non- data) SIM, and the network in Cambodia that you were roaming on switched off (discontinued) their 2G service, that would be the cause of your problem.

PHK

Actually, looking at the handset (the band's it supports). I think both eDicky and Three are correct. The handset doesn't support many of the bands used in Cambodia.

With 2G switch off, the number of places with issues is likely to increase.

"Forbidden" does not necessarily mean there's no roaming agreement. It could mean that the network only accepts registered handsets on those bands.

I would recommend either using local SIMs or traveller SIMs.

(On the banking side, it's worth speaking to your bank. Most accounts are designed for people resident in the UK and so are difficult to use when overseas for longer periods of time. Your bank can advise on accounts suitable for people who aren't resident. They can be easily managed from overseas regardless of your phone number )

lifemagic

Thank you. It's clearly not a simple issue. I posted on a local expat facebook group to see is anyone else was having issues but two three customers replied and said they were OK.

The frustrating thing is that I had a few sims sent out to me, they all worked and I chose three as the credit lasted the longest, i.e. without being forced to make calls as I just need to... then stupidly didn't keep the others.

The thing about cambodian sims is that the validity is limited, I'd need to keep topping up, but I don't really use mobiles other than occasional but important banking texts.

... I guess it would be really pushing it to ask three to send me a competitors sim with ported number!

pmduk

lifemagic wrote: »

... I guess it would be really pushing it to ask three to send me a competitors sim with ported number!

That's not going to happen, get a relative to arrange it.