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Phone didn’t work in USA despite having roaming on and setting a spending cap


Tracy A
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Hello

 

A couple of weeks before leaving for New York, I  set up a sensible spending cap and made sure data roaming was enabled.

 

The whole time I was away, my phone (iPhone 14) showed either 4g or 5g connectivity but it never worked once?!

 

Ive ‘roamed’ all over Europe with no issues and so thought putting a spending cap on would let me use in the USA - clearly not!!

 

I’ve looked on this site for information but can’t see I missed anything - Any ideas what I did wrong?

 

Best answer by Tom

Hi @Tracy A 

 

Sorry to hear this, it sounds like something else blocked usage while in New York, did your device have roaming enabled?

 

Have you tried manually connecting to a network while there? We rely on AT&T and T-Mobile for customers in the USA.

 

Tom

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andewhite
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  • May 10, 2024

What value was your bill cap, @Tracy A

Perhaps it wasn’t high enough to cover the iD charges for the USA.

 


Tracy A
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  • May 10, 2024

I set it at £50 and not a penny was spent… 

 


andewhite
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  • May 10, 2024

Did you get a roaming rates text message on arrival in the US, @Tracy A 


Tracy A
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  • May 10, 2024

Hi, that’s a good point I didn’t and I do normally when in Europe…

 

Maybe I need to speak to someone within ID mobile? 


andewhite
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  • May 11, 2024
Tracy A wrote:

Hi, that’s a good point I didn’t and I do normally when in Europe…

 

Maybe I need to speak to someone within ID mobile? 

Sounds like something wasn’t setup or working correctly when you visited the US, @Tracy A

I used a data only eSIM in my iPhone when I visited the US in 2023, which worked well for me.


Tom
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  • May 14, 2024

Hi @Tracy A 

 

Sorry to hear this, it sounds like something else blocked usage while in New York, did your device have roaming enabled?

 

Have you tried manually connecting to a network while there? We rely on AT&T and T-Mobile for customers in the USA.

 

Tom


  • Active Contributor
  • 13 replies
  • August 21, 2024

I had exactly the same. 

 

Arrived in Denver on 21st May to tour Wyoming. 

 

Hire car sat nav needed data. 

 

Not available.

 

Contacted iD through chat and was told to buy more data and raise cap, which I did. 

 

Still no good. Re-contacted through wi-fi. They said..”oh, that data you bought isn't available in USA, but you can use it when you get back to the UK”

 

Totally rubbish. 

 

Next bill was huge, but they now deny the bad advice and won't refund. 

 

Basically ID don't work in the USA> 

 

Next time I buy a new phone it's back to EE or another proper big provider. ID are con artists. 

 

 


Tracy A
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  • August 21, 2024

I had the same recently when we visited Alaska, no problems using it in Canada though!!!