covergage 2 SIm Cards, 2 Devices, Same Location - Differing Coverage

[JackCandem]

So my fiancee is in Austraila on a WHV right now and on a farm. She has a very strange problem which I could not find a solution to....  

  

She has 2 sim cards with her: Her German one (A) and an Australian one (B). One is in her Phone (1) and the other in her Tablet (2).

 

As she was complaining about no coverage on her phone but on her tablet. I told her to change the sim cards expecting her phone simply not being able to get any coverage And now here is the weird part:

 

A in 1 = Coverage

A in 2 = Coverage

B in 1 =  NO Coverage

B in 2 = Coverage   

  

Is there anything she can do to get coverage on her mobile phone using her australian simcard? Because we would really love to call each other on our phones. Any tests she can run?

 

So far:

She restarted both devices multiple time

She changed sim cards several times

She tried to manually/automatically select a provider/network on her phone but manually she can not chose anything and on "automatically" it changes nothing.

[FrowningHippo]

Could you tell us a bit more about the devices?

 

Sounds to me the phone might simply not support the Australian Sim for some reason. Band issue perhaps? I am just grasping though. 

[Technous285]

What phone is she using and who is the service provider for the Australian SIM card? Some service providers here support 3G cellular service in rural areas (eg: Optus) with hit-and-miss service (eg: 3G service outdoor but not indoors service) whilst others (such as Telstra) support 4G/LTE service in the same rural areas with full service (both indoors and outdoors).

 

I know with my Huawei Y625 I get 3G service from Telstra in my little town here in the Riverina (NSW) and with my iPhone 6 32GB I get 4G service (~34mbps) from Telstra, but with either phone if I was with another service provider such as Optus or Vodafone I'd be lucky to pick up a GSM (let alone 3G) signal from their service (even using the same cellular towers as Telstra).

 

It could be as simple as the phone not supporting the frequency bands used by the Australian company or said company not being able to provide the service in the area.

[JackCandem]

It is a Honor 8.

[JackCandem]

3 minutes ago, Technous285 said:

What phone is she using and who is the service provider for the Australian SIM card? Some service providers here support 3G cellular service in rural areas (eg: Optus) with hit-and-miss service (eg: 3G service outdoor but not indoors service) whilst others (such as Telstra) support 4G/LTE service in the same rural areas with full service (both indoors and outdoors).

 

I know with my Huawei Y625 I get 3G service from Telstra in my little town here in the Riverina (NSW) and with my iPhone 6 32GB I get 4G service (~34mbps) from Telstra, but with either phone if I was with another service provider such as Optus or Vodafone I'd be lucky to pick up a GSM (let alone 3G) signal from their service (even using the same cellular towers as Telstra).

 

It could be as simple as the phone not supporting the frequency bands used by the Australian company or said company not being able to provide the service in the area.

She is using an Honor 8 and using AldiMobile which uses the Telstra Network. Her German Sim uses AldiTalk which also uses Telstra

[kelvinhall05]

Make sure the SIM isn't disabled on the phone.

[Technous285]

4 minutes ago, JackCandem said:

She is using an Honor 8 and using AldiMobile which uses the Telstra Network. Her German Sim uses AldiTalk which also uses Telstra

What is the tablet she's using then, as she might be in an area that uses Band 28 (700MHz) towers whilst the phone uses Bands 7 & 38 (2600MHz) or Band 3 (1800MHz), as Telstra operates towers that operate at the 700MHz, 1800MHz & 2600MHz ranges, but not all three types in the same area (the lower-frequency bands are more likely to be used in rural areas due to getting extra distance for the same power using longer wavelengths, with Telstra using the (700MHz) band previously allocated for analogue TV for its "4GX" implementation of 4G LTE).

[JackCandem]

1 minute ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Make sure the SIM isn't disabled on the phone.

It is not. She could use it just fine in Melbourne before travelling to the farm.

 

Thanks for your help guys btw!

[Technous285]

9 minutes ago, JackCandem said:

It is not. She could use it just fine in Melbourne before travelling to the farm.

 

Thanks for your help guys btw!

Use of the SIM in her phone in Melbourne, but not in the rural area, might be using 1800/2600MHz 4G bands available in Melbourne but out on the farm only the 700MHz 4G Band or 3G is available (the German SIM might be running over 3G but the Australian one is a 4G SIM).

[JackCandem]

Just now, Technous285 said:

Use of the SIM in her phone in Melbourne, but not in the rural area, might be using 1800/2600MHz 4G bands available in Melbourne but out on the farm only the 700MHz 4G Band or 3G is available (the German SIM might be running over 3G but the Australian one is a 4G SIM).

oh I see..so if I got this right:

 

You say that it might be that her tablet is able to use the 3G Band which her German sim uses as well as 700MhZ 4G which her Australian sim uses.

 

Her phone only is able to use 3g which her german but not Australian can provide. 

 

Right?

[Technous285]

Just now, JackCandem said:

oh I see..so if I got this right:

 

You say that it might be that her tablet is able to use the 3G Band which her German sim uses as well as 700MhZ 4G which her Australian sim uses.

 

Her phone only is able to use 3g which her german but not Australian can provide. 

 

Right?

In a nutshell, close enough.

 

It sounds like the Australian SIM is providing access only to the Telstra 4G network (but not the 3G network) whilst the German SIM is providing 3G & 4G access (3G whilst on the farm), but the phone can only take advantage of the 4G service of Telstra (on either SIM) in a city like Melbourne

It's possible the tablet also has 4G 700MHz support that the phone doesn't have (as the phone only has support for 4G 1800MHz & 2600MHz, at least for what Telstra provides service over).

[JackCandem]

2 minutes ago, Technous285 said:

In a nutshell, close enough.

 

It sounds like the Australian SIM is providing access only to the Telstra 4G network (but not the 3G network) whilst the German SIM is providing 3G & 4G access (3G whilst on the farm), but the phone can only take advantage of the 4G service of Telstra (on either SIM) in a city like Melbourne

It's possible the tablet also has 4G 700MHz support that the phone doesn't have (as the phone only has support for 4G 1800MHz & 2600MHz, at least for what Telstra provides service over).

Welp, while this is sad news, I am thankful for your answers because it was bugging me as I could not find a logical explanation. Thanks a lot !

[cretsiah]

@JackCandem she may need a temp bush phone.

 

most competitor companies will only deal with main city area's (where they can make money). 

 

Bush phones as we call them out here, have the ability of tower range, however sometimes you still need an external antenna.

if she is using Aldi they use Telstra Network her best bet would be to find a "Blue Tick" phone (designed for the bush)

 

look for the blue circle with a tick in it.

https://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/prepaid-mobiles/prepaid-phones#!/filter/brand//os//features//type//sort/featured

 

bush phones will still work on the city, but most of the pre-paids lack some features. 

 

if she wants a plan she could get something flashier.

but she will be locked in for 2yrs 

https://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/mobiles-on-a-plan#!/filter/brand//os//features//plan/s/sort/featured

Edited September 15, 2018 by cretsiah

[JackCandem]

3 minutes ago, cretsiah said:

@JackCandem she may need a temp bush phone.

 

most competitor companies will only deal with main city area's (where they can make money). 

 

Bush phones as we call them out here, have the ability of tower range, however sometimes you still need an external antenna.

if she is using Aldi they use Telstra Network her best bet would be to find a "Blue Tick" phone (designed for the bush)

 

look for the blue circle with a tick in it.

https://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/prepaid-mobiles/prepaid-phones#!/filter/brand//os//features//type//sort/featured

oh cool, thanks !

[Technous285]

Yeah, getting her a Blue Tick/Bush Phone to use in-lieu of the Honor 8 will net her the longer range 4G 700MHz band whilst she's out on the farm.

That is something I kinda forgot about as I was sidetracked into figuring out the technical reasoning behind the problems she's having. ^.^;