DATA in Alberta Canada?

We’re going to Alberta this fall - Waterton Lakes, Banff, Jasper. We have the Magenta MAX 55+ plan which provides 40gb/mo of hotspot data on our phones.

Is there ANYTHING we need to do to have our current phones work for calls, text and DATA in these locations?

magentatechie
7 years ago
Hey there! I'm sorry your S8+ is giving you a hard time. I did a little research, and it appears that there are other folks who've also been having similar issues with the audio on their Galaxy. Have you tried putting your phone into safe mode to see if the crackling sound persists? You can do this by:
Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
When "SAMSUNG" appears on the screen, release the Power key.
Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.
If you don't hear the sound in safe mode, it's likely an app causing the issue. You will want to think back to when the sound first started and if there were any new apps downloaded about that time.
You might also want to try wiping the cache partition:
Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the Android logo displays, release all keys ('Installing system update' will show for about 30 - 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe cache partition.”
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight “yes” and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.
The last step, if all else fails, is a full factory reset (after you make sure your information, contacts, photos, etc is backed up!).
Settings menu and tap General Management > Reset > Factory data reset.
Tap Reset.
If you have screen lock turned on, enter your credentials.
Tap Continue.
Tap Delete all.
Finally, if you still hear the sound, you'll want to reach out to T-Mobile via 611, the "message us" link on this page, or T-Force via Facebook or Twitter because you'll need to process a warranty exchange (provided that it's a T-Mobile device and still covered under warranty).

8 Replies

GracieAllen
Roaming Rookie
2 years ago
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I think I’ve found at least three alternatives to the T-Mobile data passes that are a lot more cost effective. I’ll have to do some more research, but hopefully at least one of them will prove to be real. If so, it should be between 75 and 100 GB for about the same price T-Mobile is charging for 15 GB.
drnewcomb
Fiber Fanatic
2 years ago
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You should not have to buy a Data Pass but if you do, you can wait until it becomes evident and then buy the pass via the T-Mobile app on your phone.
GracieAllen
Roaming Rookie
2 years ago
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Looking at Telus, they don’t seem interested in monthly prepaid plans with much data using my own phone… $55 for 10GB was the best I found. Bell MIGHT be marginally better 50GB for $50 and 75GB for $60. I’ll have to call them and see where the “gotchas” are…
I found a couple “here’s how to get the best data” articles and they both pushed Phonebox, so I may have to call them and see if someone actually answers the phone...
syaoran
Transmission Titan
2 years ago
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GracieAllen wrote:

We’ll be in Canada around 5 weeks, so we shouldn’t get cancelled!

I found a couple sources for supposedly Canadian eSIMs (Phonebox for example) for data at fairly reasonable prices - 45GB for $65, but they have such poor reviews - more than 30% being 1 star, that I’m reluctant to trust them.

Your best option for service in Alberta is with Bell/Telus/Koodo. Telus/Koodo bring your own device policies are not very friendly though.
GracieAllen
Roaming Rookie
2 years ago
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We’ll be in Canada around 5 weeks, so we shouldn’t get cancelled!
I found a couple sources for supposedly Canadian eSIMs (Phonebox for example) for data at fairly reasonable prices - 45GB for $65, but they have such poor reviews - more than 30% being 1 star, that I’m reluctant to trust them.
formercanuck
Fiber Fanatic
2 years ago
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You should be fine. I’ve been up through that area in the past, and have friends that have been to Jasper. I’ve only hit Banff Springs, Lake Louise and down to Idaho.
The only big issue is … how long are you going to be up there ? Don’t hit the 2 month limit, or T-Mobile may cancel you.
GracieAllen
Roaming Rookie
2 years ago
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Thanks for the reply.
I talked to T-Mobile this evening. Our phones will only have 5GB/month of hotspot data once we’re in Canada. But, they SHOULD work, just not have much data.
T-Mobile has a couple data add-ons - 10-Day, 5GB, $35. And 30-day, 15GB, $50.
I figure with 2 phones and the ability to buy a few $50 data passes we should be reasonably good as long as I don’t have to do any fer-real work…
Everything I need for image storage, management and processing will be local in the RV, so I shouldn’t have to shove huge backups to the cloud, which will help keep the data load down...
syaoran
Transmission Titan
2 years ago
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All you need to do is have roaming turned on in your devices settings for each device roaming in Canada. As a precaution, you can give Customer Care a call at 611 or reach out to them via Facebook or Twitter by sending them a DM to confirm your account is set to allow them to roam internationally. Just be mindful that data and hotspot allowances while traveling to Canada are significantly less than what your plan normally has in the US. I have personally been to Calgary and Banff. Very beautiful places to visit.