No ingoing/outgoing calls

[TonyCharalambou]

Hello, I switched to o2 last week while in the UK. I'm currently in Portugal but I can make or receive calls or send messages. Weirdly, my data works and I have access to the Internet. I contacted o2 but they weren't able to help. I rest the network settings and added a new APN. Any ideas?

[MI5]

@TonyCharalambou 

Where did the phone come from?

[TonyCharalambou]

Hey, it's a UK phone with a UK phone number. I switched to a Pay as you go plan which offers EU roaming as part of the plan.

[TonyCharalambou]

Hey, it's a UK phone with a UK phone number. I switched the a pay as you go o2 plan which inlcudes EU Roaming.

[MI5]

@TonyCharalambou 

O2 PAYG phones have problems in countries with no 3g network.

Try switching phone to 2g to see if calls can be made or manually search for a network with 3g coverage.

[TonyCharalambou]

I own a Samsung s23 Ultra which is a 5G phone. The O2 plan offers 4G data. I'm no sure that's the issue. I also tried to switch between different providers but no luck, as well as changing the APN but still nothing. Any ideas?

[MI5]

@TonyCharalambou 

The issue is that O2 PAYG doesn't allow 4g calling, so if the network you are using can't provide fallback to 3g, calls are impossible unless you get lucky and can latch onto a 2g signal. 

Many networks are also turning off 2g though and for that reason, O2 PAYG is not a viable option for roaming, which, of course, they will not tell you until it's too late.

Use WhatsApp to call others with the app is about your only hope.

[TonyCharalambou]

This is very useful, thank you. I was not expecting this simple functionalities, calls and messaging, to rely on data. The leaflet I received with my pay as you go SIM literally says " we cover roaming in our Europe Zone as part of our tariffs"! Do you suggest I move to a rolling plan? I really need to be reachable by phone!

[MI5]

@TonyCharalambou 

Rolling plans are still classed as PAYG. 

You need a monthly contract for 4g calling to work on O2.

Like I said above though, get WhatsApp and get the people who want you to do the same as an emergency measure.

[Peter_L]

Hello @TonyCharalambou I am not sure if this is the same issue but to me it seems like it. After I switched to O2 from other provider I went abroad twice and I couldn't receive or make any calls at all or send any texts but weirdly I was still able to receive text messages. But data worked perfectly fine. I reported this issue to O2 - nothing has been done for months. After a very long time someone from technical team finally called me and they said they will reset my account (more less making it like a brand new or so - not sure what exactly that meant...) and I also swapped a SIM card for a new one. Next time when I went abroad my calls, texts and data worked fine as normal.

I am on Pay monthly plan though but I am sure even on PAYG your calls and texts should still work when abroad. However it could be worth to ask for a new SIM card maybe and see if that helps.