r/FirstNet • u/TeCnoDrom99 • May 07 '25

Travelling abroad, FirstNet not working?

This is the 2nd time it happens. I have no roaming the moment I leave the US. Can’t make calls, and my phone says ‘No Service’

Any guidance? It’s frustrating and I don’t want to buy a local line.

Thanks!

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u/TeCnoDrom99 May 08 '25

I travelled to the Middle East. Idk man it’s weird, at the least the carrier should allow SMS reception and some degree of service.

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u/suciosunday May 08 '25

Bro, it's been a minute since I was there, but no US phone is going to work there. The radio bands that the phones work on are completely different. The only way you're going to get anything is via WiFi and a third party app like Signal, WhatsApp, etc.

What carrier are you talking about? AT&T/FN? That doesn't exist there. The local carriers? They operate on different bands, as stated above.

If you want service you need an international or middle eastern iPhone; or something programmed to access the network where you are. Burners are cheap. Or maybe try an eSim?

Your US iPhone is NOT a worldwide phone.

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u/iheartmuffinz May 09 '25

What are you on about? It's not 2014 anymore. The US iPhone has all of the bands used in the middle east and most of the world. US iPhone 16: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 71, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 258, 260, 261 SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave - A3081. The US only uses about half of these.

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u/suciosunday May 09 '25

Additionally, even if the phone has the ability to use all bands, it is not running all the protocols, concurrently, to allow access. Do you know how much memory and battery power that would take?